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thinkveganworld · 7 years ago

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This is long, but I thought I’d post on the outside chance anybody might find it worth reading. It’s part two of a three-part series of articles I wrote years ago, and it includes information on modern day U. S politicians’ use of political propaganda.

Goebbels and mass mind control: Part Two How PR opinion-shapers undermine environmental protection

In part one, we examined the fact that Hitler's propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, admired Edward Bernays, a self-proclaimed founder of the public relations industry. Goebbels used Bernays' book "Crystallizing Public Opinion" in his campaign against Germany's Jewish population. Now we'll look at specific propaganda techniques shared by Goebbels and today's corporate PR teams, and at how those techniques undermine today's environmental movement.

Public relations can be used for good or ill. When PR spin is used to convince people that harmful things are good for them, or to turn people against their own best interests, it is used for ill. Goebbels practiced propaganda as a black art.

He helped organize Hitler's "brown shirts," and incited them to violence. He instigated the events leading to "Kristallknacht," the infamous nights of widespread brutal attacks against the Jews, November 8-9, 1938. He helped create the "fuhrer cult," spinning Hitler as Germany's great redeemer and convincing millions that the Nazi state was vital to their well-being.

Goebbels believed in using stealth tactics, or "institutional lying," and in using "fronts" to promote anti-Semitism and Nazi policies. For example, Goebbels set up a film office in July 1933, made it part of a branch of the Reich Cultural Chamber, and then used films to influence mass audiences. Klaus P. Fischer writes in "Nazi Germany: A New History" that most of the entertainment films "presented a sanitized image of carefree life under the protective umbrella of the Nazi regime."

When pro-Nazi or anti-Semitic propaganda came from the mouth of a popular German movie star on the screen, instead of directly from Goebbels, the public perceived it differently. In the same way, today's PR firms use front groups (fake grassroots, or "astroturf " groups) or specific so-called "third parties" to speak for corporations.

In "Global Spin," (Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997) science lecturer Sharon Beder writes that Merrill Rose, executive vice-president of the PR firm Porter/Novelli, said: "Put your words in someone else's mouth . . . There will be times when the position you advocate, no matter how well framed and supported, will not be accepted by the public simply because you are who you are. Any institution with a vested commercial interest in the outcome of an issue has a natural credibility barrier to overcome with the public, and often with the media."

John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton point out in "Toxic Sludge Is Good For You," that on behalf of tobacco company Philip Morris, the PR company, Burson-Marsteller, "created the [front group] 'National Smokers Alliance' to mobilize smokers into a grassroots lobby for smoker's rights . . . To defeat environmentalists, PR firms have created green-sounding front groups such as "The Global Climate Coalition" and the "British Columbia Forest Alliance."

Both Goebbels and today's PR firms have used euphemisms and Orwellian newspeak and doublespeak to influence the public mind. For example, corporate PR spinners have told the public that polluting-corporations are friends of nature; that weapons-manufacturer General Electric does no harm but merely "brings good things to life;" that spreading sludge on farm fields is "beneficial use;" that human beings killed in war-for-profit are "collateral damage."

American corporations have at times managed to circumvent the U.S. Constitution and ignore laws designed to protect our own workers and the environment by moving their companies offshore, in the name of "freedom." In Hitler's Germany, the euphemistically named "Law for Terminating the Suffering of People and Nation" (or, the "Enabling Law") gave governments such "freedoms" as the right to deviate from the constitution, ultimately helping Hitler undermine democracy and gain political power.

Goebbels presided over a communications monopoly in Germany by denouncing intellectualism and urging book burning. Today, U. S. corporations have a Goebbels-like communications monopoly, because virtually all television networks and the vast majority of other media outlets in the country are owned by a handful of corporations.

Klaus Fischer writes, "On May 10, 1933, an appalling event in the history of German culture took place-the burning of the books . . . This particular 'cleansing action' (Sauberung) was carried out by the German Student Union."

Of the book burning, Goebbels said, "The age of extreme Jewish intellectualism has now ended, and the success of the German revolution has again given the German spirit the right of way." (J. M. Ritchie, "German Literature Under National Socialism," 1983.) Today corporations discourage Americans from educating themselves about corporate wrongdoing by, as Stauber and Rampton say, "burning books before they're printed."

For example, science writer David Steinman obtained obscure government research from the Freedom of Information Act and used the information in his book, "Diet For A Poisoned Planet." Steinman wrote that many U.S. foods contained contaminants and gave readers a chance to make safer food choices by comparing the amounts of toxins contained in various foods.

Right away, corporate PR firms, including a "pesticide industry front group with deep Republican connections" went to work attacking the book. The Ketchum PR agency (representative of Dole Foods, the Beef Industry Council, Miller Brewing and many other corporate food clients) markets itself as a specialist in "crisis management," according to Stauber and Rampton. A Ketchum memo to the CALRAB food safety team read: "The [Ketchum] agency is currently attempting to get a tour schedule so that we can 'shadow' Steinman's [book promotional] appearances; best scenario, we will have our spokesman in town prior to or in conjunction with Steinman's appearances."

Stauber and Rampton's source inside Ketchum said the PR firm called every talk show where Steinman was booked, saying the shows shouldn't allow Steinman to appear without also presenting "the other side of the issue." The firm also tried to portray Steinman as an "extremist" without credibility.

According to Sharon Beder ("Global Spin") corporate front groups are a fairly recent phenomenon in America . . . a response to the rise of genuine citizen public interest organizations. One front group, the American Council on Science and Health, receives funds from Burger King, Coca-Cola, NutraSweet, Monsanto, Dow, Exxon and other corporations.

Dr. Beder, author of numerous books, and a professional engineer and senior lecturer in Science and Technology Studies at the University of Wollongong, Australia, writes that "the American Council on Science and Health is one of many corporate front groups which allow industry-funded experts to pose as independent scientists to promote corporate causes. Chemical and nuclear industry front groups with scientific sounding names publish pamphlets that are 'peer reviewed' by industry scientists rather than papers in established academic journals."

On the subject of corporate front groups, Beder quotes Mark Megalli and Andy Friedman ("Masks of Deception: Corporate Front Groups in America,"1991): "Contrary to their names, these groups often disregard compelling scientific evidence to further their viewpoints, arguing that pesticides are not harmful, saccharin is not carcinogenic, or that global warming is a myth. By sounding scientific, they seek to manipulate the public's trust."

The goal of pseudo-scientific corporate front groups, says Beder, is to cast doubt on the legitimacy of authentic environmental problems. For example, the Global Climate Coalition is a front group for various gas, oil, coal, automobile and chemical corporations; and it has battled restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.

Global Climate Coalition has sent journalists videos claiming increased carbon dioxide levels will help feed the world's hungry by increasing crop production. The coalition has lobbied against mandatory emissions controls and asked the Clinton administration to avoid agreements that would reduce greenhouse emissions, claiming they "would damage the U. S. economy."

Corporations have worked to shape the next generation's environmental perceptions "through the development and distribution of 'educational' material to schools," writes Beder. Of course, the "educational" materials promote a corporate slant on environmental problems.

Conservative think-tanks have also opposed environmental legislation, working to cast doubt on greenhouse warming, industrial pollution and ozone depletion. These think-tanks mingle with lobbyists, consultants, interest groups and others and, as Beder says, "seek to provide advice directly to the government officials in policy networks and to government agencies and committees."

The think-tank employees ultimately "become policy makers themselves," and act more as pressure groups or interest groups than as academic institutions. Even so, says Beder, think-tank employees are treated by the media as "independent experts" and sources of expert opinion. Most conservative think-tanks promote free-market ideas, including corporate deregulation and lower taxes for the wealthy.

Corporate and think-tank PR spin doctors typically show little respect for the targets of their propaganda, and little regard for democracy. In another book by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, ("Trust Us, We're Experts!" - Tarcher/Putnam, 2001) the authors write, "If you ask the managers of these ever-more-expensive propaganda campaigns why they have vulgarized the democratic process [with, for example, fake grassroots campaigns], they will frequently tell you that the problem is not with them but with the voters who are too "irrational," "ignorant," or "apathetic" to respond to any other kind of appeal."

Stauber and Rampton quote Bill Greider's "Who Will Tell The People:" "On issue after issue, the public is belittled as self-indulgent or misinformed, incapable of grasping the larger complexities known to the policymakers and the circles of experts surrounding them. The public's side of the argument is said to be 'emotional' whereas those who govern are said to be making 'rational' or 'responsible' choices . . . The reality, of course, is that the ability to define what is or isn't 'rational' is itself loaded with political self-interest."

Hitler's spin doctor, Joseph Goebbels, also expressed contempt for the people and democracy. Klaus Fischer quotes the propagandist: "We go into the Reichstag in order to acquire the weapons of democracy from its arsenal. We become Reichstag deputies in order to paralyze the Weimar mentality with its own assistance. If democracy is stupid enough to give us free travel privileges and per diem allowances for this service, that is its affair. We do not worry our heads about this."

Fischer also points out that the Nazis were beneficiaries of popular anti-democratic theories of their time, and of a "totalitarian mood," which included "a wish to dismantle the egalitarian welfare state." Again, Goebbels' techniques and attitudes and the fruits of his propaganda were different in degree from those of today's corporate propagandists, but they were clearly of the same basic nature.

Goebbels and today's corporate PR firms often practice public relations as a black art, however some citizens inform people in helpful ways that produce the fruits of increased public health, safety and well-being.

For example, registered nurse and environmental activist Terri Swearingen worked to prevent the building of one of the world's largest toxic waste incinerators. When accepting the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, Swearingen said, "There are experts who are working in the corporate interest, who often serve to obscure the obvious and challenge common sense; and there are experts and non-experts who are working in the public interest."

Swearingen added, "Citizens who are working in this arena-people who are battling to stop new dump sites or incinerator proposals, people who are risking their lives to prevent the destruction of rain forests or working to ban the industrial uses of chlorine and PVC plastics-are often labeled obstructionists and anti-progress. But we actually represent progress-not technological progress but social progress. We have become the real experts, not because of our title or the university we attended, but because we have been threatened and we have a different way of seeing the world."

In part three, we'll take a closer look at propaganda and politics.

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wizmachinesforrent-blog · 6 years ago

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What to Look Out for When Shopping for Used Industrial Equipment

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otmatters-blog · 6 years ago

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Influence.

Social media recently has humanized influences; key figures of online communities share their tough days, physical flaws, and mental struggles which provides a certain level of ‘okay’ to adopting these behaviors.

(Rampton, n.d)

Looking at the media today, there has been a drive toward leading a healthier lifestyle – eating organic superfoods, exercising regularly, seeking mental help and cutting off people that are toxic. There is an emphasis on ME – my health, my well-being, my life.

In all honestly, I have been influenced. Reading quotes, watching vlogs, opening the newspapers and looking at pictures online, I subconsciously decide ‘I want to be that person’/ ‘look like that’/ ‘have that life’, and find myself stopping sugar with my tea, going to the gym instead of comfort eating and seeking help from a therapist instead of believing that I am expected to always have it together.

It is phenomenal; the impact one picture/quote/story/ articles/ vlog has on a person. Not just a fleetly surge of motivation, but lasting enough to become a habit, and a lifestyle. This drive toward being informed is something that we, as health care professionals have to capitalize on, and take it to the poor and disadvantaged communities.

In order to do this, we need to understand the roles media has i.e. Media as a) an educator, b) as a supporter, c) as a program promoter and d) as a supplement. These multiple roles the media has is effective in all levels of audience organization i.e. individual, network, organization and societal levels. This is indicative of the fact that health promotion at each of these audience organizations, affects health behavior at the individual, social and environmental level factors (Flora, Maibach, & Maccoby)

As occupational therapists, we are able to serve at all audience levels, through ergonomic and environmental modification, lifestyle changes to include health promoting and disease preventing behaviors, management of chronic conditions, and the identification of impairments within lifestyles i.e. childhood development, school competency, employment seeking/training/application and performance, fulfillment of life roles and healthy aging.

This can and is being accomplished through the primary health care system, which delivers services to directly to the communities; increasing awareness and access, and decreasing certain barriers including transportation costs. The elements of the primary health care system are; health education, maternal and child health, family planning, nutrition and feeding, water and sanitation, immunization, control of communicable diseases, treatment of minor illnesses/ injuries, rehabilitation, STD’s and HIV/AIDs, essential drugs and oral and mental health serve the immediate problem and assist in minimizing preventable complications. However, there still remains gaps between funding, the running of and accessing these services.

With understanding the specific role media has, knowing the levels of audience and the challenges faced by the communities, we are able to start a movement toward a healthier life by not forcefully enforcing it, but rather through using charming tools to elicit motivation – a more sustainable way of life.

We all have access to some form of media; we are all telling our story on an international platform.

(Campbell, 2019)

The next time you’re about to hit post, take a second and ask yourself: What type of a difference am I making?

__________________________________________________________________

References:

References

Campbell, C. (2019, January 2019). 20 Highly eddective ways to promote a product. Retrieved from Shopify Blogs : https://www.shopify.com/blog/how-to-market-a-product

Flora, J. A., Maibach, E. W., & Maccoby, N. (n.d.). The role of media across four levels of health promotion intervention.

Rampton, J. (n.d.). How to create powerful social network platform in 8 steps . Retrieved from Inc.: https://www.inc.com/john-rampton/how-to-create-powerful-social-network-platform-in-.html

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ncmagroup · 6 years ago

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Image credit: Apple | Enhanced by Entrepreneur

by John Rampton

Every entrepreneur knows that the success of their business ultimately rests on their shoulders. Yes, the product you build and the team you hire are important, but your ability to lead is what carries your company.With that kind of pressure, it’s easy to feel stressed, lonely and overwhelmed at times. Every great leader has faced a challenge that defined their greatness, which is why we often turn to their advice when needed.Whether you’re an entrepreneur, business owner, or team leader, here are 50 inspirational quotes on leadership for when you need a little pep talk.

1. “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.” – Rosalynn Carter

2. “A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.” – Lao Tzu

3. “It’s hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.” – Adlai E. Stevenson II

4. “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.” – Colin Powell

5. “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” – Max DePree

6. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

7. “A leader is a dealer in hope.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

8. “A leader…is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.” – Nelson Mandela

9. “He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.” – Aristotle

10. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

11. “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” – Bill Gates

12. “A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” – John Maxwell

13. “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.” – Brian Tracy

14. “The leaders who offer blood, toil, tears, and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.” – George Orwell

15. “I start each day by telling myself what a positive influence I am on this world.” – Peter Daisyme

16. “Earn your leadership every day.” – Michael Jordan

17. “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch

18. “Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” – Peter Drucker

19. “My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.” – Steve Jobs

20. “The led must not be compelled. They must be able to choose their own leader.” – Albert Einstein

21. “Great leaders find ways to connect with their people and help them fulfill their potential.” – Steven J. Stowell

22. “To have long-term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way.” – Pat Riley

23. “If you think you are leading and turn around to see no one following, then you are just taking a walk.” – Benjamin Hooks

24. “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor but without folly.” – Jim Rohn

25. “A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” – Max Lucado

26. “To do great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

27. “It is absolutely necessary…for me to have persons that can think for me, as well as execute orders.” – George Washington

28. “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.” – Vince Lombardi

29. “A cowardly leader is the most dangerous of men.” – Stephen King

30. “A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason.”- J.P. Morgan

31. “Not the cry, but the flight of a wild duck leads the flock to fly and follow.” – Chinese Proverb

32. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

33. “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.” – Andrew Carnegie

34. “Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.” – Orrin Woodward

35. “Those who try to lead the people can only do so by following the mob.” – Oscar Wilde

36. “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” – Sam Walton

37. “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” – Albert Schweitzer

38. “If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” – Dolly Parton

39. “I am reminded how hollow the label of leadership sometimes is and how heroic followership can be.” – Warren Bennis

40. “In this world a man must either be an anvil or hammer.” – Henry W. Longfellow

41. “It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself. (Absurdum est ut alios regat, qui seipsum regere nescit.)” – Latin Proverb

42. “The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” – Thomas Carlyle

43. “A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward.” – Ovid

44. “You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader” – Henry Ford

45. “Rely on your own strength of body and soul. Take for your star self-reliance, faith, honesty, and industry. Don’t take too much advice — keep at the helm and steer your own ship, and remember that the great art of commanding is to take a fair share of the work. Fire above the mark you intend to hit. Energy, invincible determination with the right motive, are the levers that move the world.” – Noah Porter

46. “Don’t blow off another’s candle for it won’t make yours shine brighter.” Jaachynma N.E. Agu

47. “I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody.” – Herbert Swope

48. “He who has learned how to obey will know how to command.” – Solon

49. “If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.” – Maya Angelou

50. “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Bonus:

“Screw it, let’s just do it.” – Richard Branson

Go to our website: www.ncmalliance.com

50 Quotes on Leadership Every Entrepreneur Should Follow Image credit: Apple | Enhanced by Entrepreneur by John Rampton

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fullspectrum-cbd-oil · 5 years ago

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Trump Sticks With Choice for Spy Chief Despite Apparent Biographical Embellishments

U.S. President Donald Trump signaled on Thursday that he still plans to nominate Representative John Ratcliffe to be the next U.S. spy chief despite worries that Ratcliffe may have exaggerated his achievements as a prosecutor.

As he left the White House for a rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, Trump was asked by a reporter whether he was concerned.

“Congressman Ratcliffe is an outstanding man and I’m sure that he’ll be able to do very well,” Trump said. “Highly respected by everybody that knows him.”

Ratcliffe, who would oversee the 17 U.S. civilian and military intelligence agencies, has touted his counter-terrorism experience while in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

In a Feb. 25, 2015, press release, he said he “convicted individuals” in the 2008 prosecution of the now-defunct Holy Land Foundation, a charity that funneled funds to Hamas, a Palestinian militant group on the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Three defense attorneys in the case, however, told Reuters they have no recollection of Ratcliffe’s involvement in either of two trials, the first of which was declared a mistrial.

“I was in the case from the beginning and I never came across him once,” said Joshua Dratel, a New York-based attorney.

“I have no memory of Mr. Ratcliffe trying the case,” said Linda Moreno, who represented one of the five defendants convicted in the second trial.

Marlo Cadeddu, a third defense lawyer in the case, said that after Ratcliffe’s planned nomination was announced she went through 12 years of records related to the litigation, including the initial mistrial and the retrial, but could not find a single document or email with Ratcliffe’s name on it.

Ratcliffe is not listed among the chief prosecutors in 2008 Department of Justice press releases on the case.

A Ratcliffe spokeswoman, Rachel Stephens, did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

Democratic lawmakers and some former senior U.S. intelligence officers have said Ratcliffe, 53, lacks the expertise and experience to replace Daniel Coats as Director of National Security and some have voiced concerns that he would warp U.S. intelligence to support the president’s views.

A Trump loyalist who has served for six months on the House of Representatives’ Intelligence Committee, Ratcliffe gained attention last week by criticizing former Special Counsel Robert Mueller during a hearing on Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

Trump has repeatedly called the investigation a hoax and a political witch hunt. He also accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial that Moscow meddled, alarming U.S. allies in Europe who consider Putin an adversary.

NOT PART OF THE TEAM

The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday quoted one of the lead prosecutors in the Holy Land case, former U.S. Attorney Jim Jacks, as saying that Ratcliffe “wasn’t part of the trial team or the investigative team.”

Asked if it was accurate to say the congressman “convicted individuals,” the newspaper quoted Jacks as replying “no.”

Jacks said that Ratcliffe was “appointed to look into a collateral matter after the first trial” and was engaged in that work for a “relatively short-lived period of time.”

Jacks did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment.

In a statement earlier this week to ABC News and NBC News, Ratcliffe spokeswoman Stephens said that while serving as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, Ratcliffe was appointed to investigate issues arising from the 2007 mistrial.

“Because that investigation did not result in criminal charges, it would not be in accordance with Department of Justice policies to make further details public,” she said.

Critics have raised questions about how closely the White House vetted Ratcliffe before Trump announced on Sunday that he was selecting him to replace Coats.

The White House declined to comment when asked how much vetting was done.

Coats, who steps down on Aug. 15, angered Trump with analyses that countered the president’s views, saying Iran was in compliance with an international 2015 nuclear deal and North Korea was unlikely to eliminate its nuclear weapons program.

Coats also reaffirmed a finding by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to boost Trump’s campaign, a conclusion the president repeatedly has questioned.

On the biographical section of Ratcliffe’s congressional website, he states that “as a U.S. Attorney and federal terrorism prosecutor, Ratcliffe put terrorists in prison, arrested 300 illegal aliens in a single day, and cracked down on drug trafficking and public corruption.”

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas said that Ratcliffe – an assistant U.S. attorney – was never formally the U.S. attorney, a position that requires presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.

The spokeswoman said he was tapped by the Justice Department to serve as U.S. attorney in an interim capacity from 2007-2008 but was “never presidentially nominated” for that position.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball in London and Jonathan Landay in Washington; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton and Arshad Mohammed; editing by Grant McCool)

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trulyaltruistic · 5 years ago

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How to do my own seo for my website

Professionals Share one of the most Effective SEO Tips to Drive Website Traffic to Your Web site [Expert Roundup]

If you have an internet site, the concept is for people to visit it. A web site s web traffic shows exactly how well an organisation is doing online. It is additionally an indication of consumer behavior, as well as will assist you formulate an advertising and marketing technique that will get you a much better position in the internet search engine outcomes. The keynote of SEO optimization is getting much more website traffic to the site. However with 1.24 billion sites in the world, how do you make sure that your website obtains great website traffic? Right here are my top seven Search Engine Optimization suggestions that will aid drive web traffic to your site:

7 SEO Tips to Drive Website Traffic

Keyword phrases: In a lot of searches, at least 50% of people use 4 words or even more. This means that just key words are trivial. You require long-tail key words that are specific to the search. When it concerns broad search phrases, there is tough competition available which means that you require to supply something more to stand apart among the crowd. A long-tail keyword phrase is essential to make sure that individuals get details results for what they are seeking. High Quality Material: In this competitive world, there are lots of people that write on the exact same topic. What should you do different to get noted on top of the search listings? The solution is composing great, well-researched material. The web content on your internet site need to also vary to stay clear of any type of inner competition amongst websites for internet search engine listings. You need to arrange your web site in way that when individuals search for something certain, all associated information is quickly obtainable. Likewise make certain that your material is on a regular basis updated as search engines consistently check for updates to offer the very best outcome to its individuals. Composing great material can increase up your traffic as well as ultimately impacts your SEO. Meta Summary and Title Tags: Title tags are similar to a book title. This is the clickable web link that shows up on online search engine result web pages. If we take Google s example, a suitable title tag must be less than 60 characters. A meta summary is what appears listed below the title in internet search engine outcomes. This is what produces the first impression on a user, as well as believe me, first impressions issue. If you have a good and also concise meta description, there s a much better possibility of people seeing your websites as well as likewise great for Search Engine Optimization. Maximize Pictures: Pictures are what add color to a web page as well as make it much less dull. I can t also think about a websites with photos. For a better search engine listing, make sure that you optimize the pictures by adding summaries, alt tags, as well as titles. Its useful for your site SEO initiatives. An online search engine can t determine a photo s material. It is the text with a picture that aids them price exactly how appropriate a web page is. For this, make use of initial, efficiently sized, high quality photos. Backlinks: For a search engine, back links are an endorsement of a web site. A visitor blog site on one more website that connects back to yours will certainly drive web traffic to your site. Getting a listing in online directories will likewise drive web traffic to your web site. The description of your service in a e-directory will have a web link to your website. See to it you continuously update your information in these directory sites to produce web traffic as well as raise your Search Engine Optimization position. SSL Certificates: For an online search engine, an SSL certification is essential. What an SSL certificate basically does is it alters your web site s http:// to https:// that makes it much more credible as well as safeguarded. If you want a search engine to trust you, a SSL certification is a must. Mobile Kindness: According to Google, there are much more mobile searches than on desktops in 10 nations consisting of Japan and also the US. In order to take advantage of this expanding trend, your web site needs to be mobile pleasant. Certainly, besides these fundamental Search Engine Optimization ideas, there are several other manner ins which Search Engine Optimization can aid drive web traffic to your site. Below, 91 Search Engine Optimization professionals share their best SEO pointers for traffic generation.

Kevan Lee - Buffer

We get regarding 80% of our web traffic from search, as well as we depend on simply a number of simple devices and techniques to do so. We have the Yoast Search Engine Optimization WordPress plugin, which assists make sure that every message is well enhanced for search with headlines, material, summaries, as well as more. And after that we likewise use keywords as part of our blog post suggestion procedure, i.e. what high-volume keywords have we not written about that may be a great suitable for our Barrier blog site content? These two aspects have actually been massive for us. To obtain really granular, a couple of small strategies we ve tried are adding a day to an article title (e.g., Best Devices of 2018 vs. Best Tools) and leading with the keyword in the heading (e.g. Facebook Algorithm Tips vs. Tips About the Facebook Formula).

Larry Kim - MobileMonkey, Inc

There s another aspect you can?? as well as should be?? focusing on. It s something that can increase your web traffic. Yet so many people are neglecting it. Your organic click-through price. Does your internet site have cancer? Do you have the symptoms? Are individuals bouncing off your pages like rubber spheres? Is your click-through price unbelievably reduced? If so, it s dragging down your general domain-level interaction metrics. Adhere to these ridiculous hacks to increase your CTR (and increase your organic search rankings).

John Rampton - Schedule

It s vital to get involved in the minds of your target audience by comprehending search intent. By understanding why they browsing and also how they could browse with that said intent in mind, it assists increase the outcomes of your keyword research study and choice which will eventually improve your search engine optimization ranking. There are informative searches, navigational searches, and acquisition searches. Each can have their very own keyword phrases in mind while likewise sharing various other key phrases. Do this right as well as you ll obtain the kind of traffic that transforms.

Myles Anderson - BrightLocal

I m going to turn this concern a little. We function a lot with SEOs as well as SMB entrepreneur of physical companies. These businesses aren t just curious about web website traffic; they wish to produce call (e.g. plumbing professionals, accountants) or tramp right into their premises (e.g. retail). So their on the internet exposure drives offline conversions that have immense value to them. Google is relocating to a design where they intend to offer searches with all the solutions in Google as well as not push them bent on third party sites. Right here are a few instances. 1. Answer boxes?? obtain a stylish solution to any concern right in the Google SERP. 2. Understanding panel?? see company get in touch with information, examines & driving instructions in Google SERP. 3. Resident Solution Advertisements?? obtain quotes from validated regional plumbers etc that Google has vetted and authorized. 4. Google Posts?? services publish updates, news & offers into GoogleMyBusiness that searchers can read in Google. And Google isn t mosting likely to stop right here. So my ideas to organisations that provide a physical service to their clients is to consider exactly how you can use all these brand-new possibilities that Google is giving you to enter front of clients as well as impress them. The majority of there are Free so why not?! 1. Make sure that your GoogleMyBusiness account is well optimised which you re connecting to the very best page on your website that strengthens what you use & where you re situated. 2. Create Google Posts (just 300 words) to offer individuals extra information concerning your solutions & any offers you have. 3. Produce extra examines on your Google My Organisation profile (boosts ranking & conversion). And also reply to all your reviews as well! 4. Display Google Q&An and answer any concerns that are uploaded there. 5. Get yourself signed up with Resident Solution Ads if you re in a sector & place where Google has actually rolled this bent on. 6. Figure out what questions people are asking about your kind of service. Then produce comprehensive as well as distinct material to answer these concerns. This is practical to any type of visitors to your site and also it gives you a possibility to start appearing Google Solution Boxes and also ultimately boost your seo efforts.

AJ Ghergich - Ghergich & Co

My preferred tips would be reoptimize your old web content to make Google Included Fragments. Making Included Bits allows you to inhabit setting 0 as well as acquire high CTRs versus your competitors. These adjustments will additionally set you up nicely for Voice Browse Optimization. 80% of Google Home inquires return responses from Included Bits. 1. Seek content that has leading 10 20 rankings however has not made highlighted snippets. 2. Reformat your content to include purchased as well as unordered lists. 3. Usage lots of descriptive sub headers to separate you content. 4. Maintain you material succinct with paragraphs no more than 40 50 words. 5. Send your upgraded material to Google through Browse Console.

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todaynewsstories · 6 years ago

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Kavanaugh accuser wants FBI investigation before she will testify

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A woman who has accused President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, of sexual assault decades ago wants her allegations to be investigated by the FBI before she appears at a U.S. Senate hearing, her lawyers said on Tuesday.

FILE PHOTO: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the third day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Alex Wroblewski/File Photo

The development further roiled a confirmation process that once seemed smooth for Kavanaugh, whose confirmation to the lifetime post could consolidate the conservative grip on the top U.S. court.

Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor in California, has accused Kavanaugh of attacking her and trying to remove her clothing while he was drunk at a suburban Maryland party in 1982 when they were both high school students, allegations Kavanaugh has called “completely false.”

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which is overseeing the nomination, had called a hearing for Monday to examine the matter, and the White House had said Kavanaugh was ready to testify.

In a letter to the committee’s chairman, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, Ford’s attorneys said an FBI investigation needed to come first.

“A full investigation by law enforcement officials will ensure that the crucial facts and witnesses in this matter are assessed in a non-partisan manner, and that the committee is fully informed before conducting any hearing or making any decisions,” the lawyers wrote. A copy of the letter was posted on the committee’s website. (bit.ly/2OAJWD0)

A spokesman for the panel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democrats, already fiercely opposed to the nominee, have also been seeking an FBI investigation, a request that Republicans have rebuffed. Trump and other Republicans said they did not think the FBI needed to be involved.

A hearing would represent a potential make-or-break moment for the conservative federal appeals court judge’s confirmation chances, as Trump pursues his goal of moving the federal judiciary to the right.

Republicans control the Senate by only a narrow margin, meaning any defections within the party could sink the nomination and deal a major setback to Trump.

Earlier on Tuesday, Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the committee’s Republicans, said the panel would vote on the nomination next week whether or not Ford testified. A vote in committee would be a precursor to action in the full Senate.

“If she does not want to come Monday, publicly or privately, we’re going to move on and vote Wednesday,” he told Fox News Channel.

TRUMP STANDS BY NOMINEE

In a statement on Monday, a representative for the Justice Department said the FBI had followed protocol forwarding information about the allegation to the White House.

“The FBI’s role in such matters is to provide information for the use of the decision makers,” the statement said.

Trump earlier on Tuesday stepped up his defense of Kavanaugh and expressed sympathy toward his nominee, who met with officials at the White House for a second straight day, although not with the president.

“I feel so badly for him that he’s going through this, to be honest with you,” Trump told a news conference. “This is not a man that deserves this.”

“Hopefully the woman will come forward, state her case. He will state his case before representatives of the United States Senate. And then they will vote,” Trump added.

Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, appeared to cast doubt on Ford’s allegations.

“We just don’t know what happened 36 years ago and there are gaps in her memory. She doesn’t know how she got there, when it was, and so that would logically be something where she would get questions,” Cornyn told reporters.

Cornyn’s fellow Republicans have generally avoided criticizing Ford, instead castigating Democrats for not revealing her allegations earlier.

The confirmation fight comes just weeks before the Nov. 6 congressional elections in which Democrats are seeking to take control of Congress from Trump’s fellow Republicans, which would be a major blow to the president’s agenda.

‘HATE MAIL, HARASSMENT, DEATH THREATS’

Ford detailed her allegation in a letter sent in July to Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee’s top Democrat. The letter’s contents leaked last week and Ford identified herself in an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday that included details about the alleged assault.

In a statement, Feinstein, said the committee should accede to Ford’s wishes and postpone Monday’s hearing.

“A proper investigation must be completed, witnesses interviewed, evidence reviewed and all sides spoken to. Only then should the chairman set a hearing date,” she said in a statement.

Lisa Banks, an attorney for Ford, told CNN her client was dealing with “hate mail, harassment, death threats” and that her immediate focus was protecting herself and her family.

Democrats have objected to the proposed hearing format, with Feinstein arguing there should be more than just two witnesses, possibly to include people in whom Ford previously confided. The committee’s Democrats said witnesses should include Kavanaugh’s friend Mark Judge, who Ford has said witnessed the alleged incident.

A lawyer representing Judge sent a letter to Grassley saying Judge did not want to speak publicly about the matter.

“In fact, I have no memory of this alleged incident. Brett Kavanaugh and I were friends in high school but I do not recall the party described in Dr. Ford’s letter. More to the point, I never saw Brett act in the manner Dr. Ford describes,” the letter quoted Judge as saying.

Judge is the author of a 1997 memoir titled “Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk,” which recounts his experiences as a teenage alcoholic.

One Democratic senator, Richard Blumenthal, said Kavanaugh should withdraw his nomination.

“I believe Dr. Ford. I believe the survivor here,” Blumenthal said. “She has come forward courageously and bravely, knowing she would face a nightmare of possible and vicious scrutiny.”

The showdown has echoes of current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ contentious confirmation hearings in 1991 involving sexual harassment allegations lodged against him by a law professor named Anita Hill.

Thomas, the court’s second black justice, was ultimately confirmed, but only after a nasty televised hearing in which Hill faced pointed questions from Republican senators and the nominee said he was the victim of “a high-tech lynching for uppity blacks.”

Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Eric Beech; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Roberta Rampton, Steve Holland, Andrew Chung, Amanda Becker and Mohammad Zargham; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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wocado · 7 years ago

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You can say anything to anyone ~ @johnrampton

You can say anything to anyone,

words, behavior, reaction, action, action quotes, behavior quotes, words quotes, reaction quotes, wording, wording quotes, John Rampton, John Rampton quotes #PICTUREQUOTES, #QUOTES

#words #behavior #reaction #action #action quotes #behavior quotes #words quotes #reaction quotes #wording #wording quotes #John Rampton #John Rampton quotes #PICTURE QUOTES #QUOTES

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alamante · 6 years ago

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s offer of dialogue with Tehran belies a hardening of U.S. policy that intensifies economic and diplomatic pressure but so far stops short of using his military to more aggressively counter Iran and its proxies.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the economy while delivering remarks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 27, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

U.S. officials tell Reuters that the goal of Trump’s push is to curb Iranian behavior, which America, its Gulf allies and Israel say has fueled instability in the region through Tehran’s support for militant groups.

Trump has also voiced hope for a stronger agreement with Iran to prevent its pursuit of nuclear weaponry than the 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers which Trump pulled out of in May.

But the U.S. government has not clearly defined its desired end state for its Iran policy or outlined a face-saving path for Iran’s rulers that would allow them to deescalate steadily mounting tensions between Washington and Tehran, experts say.

That has raised concerns of an increasing risk of confrontation. Significantly, Trump has also not articulated what he would do if his policies were to destabilize Tehran, which has been at odds with Washington since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, or if U.S. pressure were to embolden hardliners.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warned on July 22 that hostile U.S. policies could lead to “the mother of all wars.”

Trump responded on Twitter that Iran must never again threaten the United States or it would suffer “consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.”

Trump significantly softened his tone on Monday, saying he would meet Rouhani without preconditions. Both men are expected to address the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders on the same day in September, according to a tentative list of speakers.

REIMPOSING SANCTIONS

Iran views the United States as acting in bad faith by withdrawing from a deal that it helped negotiate and has long blamed Washington for stoking instability in the Middle East.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman on Tuesday said Trump’s offer to negotiate with Tehran contradicts his actions.

“Sanctions and pressures are the exact opposite of dialogue,” Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Fars news agency. “How can Trump prove to the Iranian nation that his comments of last night reflect a true intention for negotiation and have not been expressed for populist gains?” he added.

Trump’s policy is already putting significant pressure on the Iranian economy, although U.S. intelligence suggests that may rally Iranians against the United States and strengthen Iran’s hardline rulers, officials say.

Iran’s currency plumbed new depths on Monday, dropping past 120,000 rials to the dollar, as Iranians brace for Aug. 7 when Washington is due to reimpose a first lot of economic sanctions following Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal.

This includes reimposing sanctions on Iran’s purchases of U.S. dollars as well as its trade in gold and precious metals.

Iran’s oil exports could fall by as much as two-thirds due to the sanctions, straining oil markets.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly supported Trump’s actions, and Israel’s energy minister has said he believes the sanctions could bring Iran to a decision point within months.

FOMENTING UNREST

The Trump administration has also launched an offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups, according to U.S. officials.

As part of that effort, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on July 22 compared Iran’s leaders to a “mafia” and promised unspecified backing for Iranians unhappy with their government.

Pompeo said the U.S. government was launching a Farsi-language channel on TV, radio, digital and social media platforms. The U.S. government would also help Iranians get around internet censorship.

LAUNCHING ‘ARAB NATO’

The Trump administration is also pushing ahead with a bid to create a new security and political alliance with six Gulf Arab states plus Egypt and Jordan, in part to counter Iran’s expanding influence.

The plan to forge what officials in the White House and Middle East have called an “Arab NATO” of Sunni Muslim allies would likely contribute to tensions with Shi’ite Iran.

But similar initiatives by previous U.S. administrations to develop a more formal alliance with Gulf and Arab allies have failed in the past and it is unclear what, if any, U.S. military involvement there will be in the alliance.

One of the risks of emboldening regional allies, U.S. officials say, is that they could inadvertently trigger a conflict that could draw in the United States.

BUT NO REGIME CHANGE

The tougher U.S. posture on Iran has fueled speculation that Trump is seeking to promote enough unrest to potentially unseat Iran’s rulers.

But U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on July 27 the Trump administration had not instituted a policy of regime change or collapse toward Iran.

“We need them to change their behavior on a number of threats that they can pose with their military, with their secret services, with their surrogates and with their proxies,” Mattis said.

There have been mixed messages from Trump’s administration about the military’s role in confronting Iranian influence. White House National Security Adviser John Bolton linked the U.S military presence in Syria to the “Iranian menace.”

The head of U.S. forces in the Middle East, General Joseph Votel, clarified that the U.S. military’s job in Syria was still strictly battling Islamic State militants, which are not linked to Iran. However, the presence of U.S. and U.S.-backed forces presents a de facto check on Iranian expansion.

Reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington; Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy, Lesley Wroughton and Roberta Rampton in Washington, Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Mary Milliken and James Dalgleish

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airoasis · 6 years ago

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John Rampton on Twitter: "Chris Sacca Quotes For Start-up Inspiration https:

“Chris Sacca Quotes For Startup Motivation https://t.co/K5koVcngZf”

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beautifulartisticearthquake-blog · 7 years ago

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In every day, there are 1,440 minutes. That means we have 1,440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact.

Les Brown.

You have 1,440 opportunities to make an impact on your life or the lives of people around you. Every one of those 1,440 isn’t going to be perfect, but there is always more than just that one chance.

Rampton,John. (2015) 15 Uplifting Quotes for Positive Vibes. Success.com

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timothyakoonce · 7 years ago

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7 Platforms to Spice Up Your Content Marketing Efforts

7 Platforms to Spice Up Your Content Marketing Efforts written by Guest Post read more at Duct Tape Marketing

Modern content marketing is about so much more than mere blogging and self-promotion. It’s about telling stories that engage your audience over time.

Indeed, “content marketing is a long-term strategy, based on building a strong relationship with your target audience,” notes Neil Patel in a step-by-step guide, “by giving them high-quality content that is very relevant to them on a consistent basis.”

Serial entrepreneur John Rampton, meanwhile, suggests that content marketing represents a strategy, laser-focused on specific goals and guided by metrics.

Given the heavy emphasis on content marketing as it relates to SEO performance and social media, there’s no denying the benefits of being able to track your data and performance every step of the way.

Although its definition may vary from business to business, most can agree that the many moving pieces of content marketing can be a major headache. Creating and curating content is time-consuming enough; however, the fact that the modern marketing world is facing a saturation crisis signals a major problem for companies in competitive niches.

For small businesses looking to keep up with bigger players in their industries, tools have emerged to level the playing field, allowing those of us looking to make our voices heard of expanding our reach.

From ideation and promotion to tools that help your content truly stand out from the noise, consider how the following platforms can serve to help you reach your content marketing goals – whatever they may be.

1. Promo By Slide.ly

Although you may be tired of hearing the cliché that “content is king,” perhaps a more apt saying for today’s businesses is “visual content is king.”

Visual content, encompassing anything from imagery and infographics to video content, is proven to drive more clicks, conversions, and engagement than traditional written pieces, according to HubSpot. Considering that approximately 75% of marketers use some form of visual content as part of their marketing strategies, creating visual assets should serve as a priority for modern businesses.

Visual platforms such as Slidely, along and their sister platform Promo, provide businesses with opportunities to create an image and video-based marketing content with ease. Video clips created with Promo help marketers break through the noise with eye-popping imagery, helping to boost brand awareness among your audience.

Content marketing via imagery can accomplish what most written content cannot: that is, instantly grab the attention of your audience and keep them paying attention to your message for longer periods of time.

2. DrumUp

Social media platforms have provided the perfect vehicle for content promotion. That being said, the time, resources and legwork involved with consistent promotion and engagement can certainly be a hassle. For example, the “optimal” number of brand tweets per day is approximately five, but that doesn’t include additional engagement or sharing other relevant content to your audience.

Therein lies a major social faux pas facing a bulk of today’s businesses: they focus solely on themselves and fail to grow their audiences due to their purely self-promotional feeds.

Thankfully, content curation platforms like DrumUp provide a helping hand for businesses who need a steady stream of content for their audiences but don’t have the bandwidth to scramble for it. DrumUp claims to cut Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn management time by up to 90% through its real-time assessment of fresh content for followers.

Boosting relevant content beyond your own not only gives something else for your audience to ponder but also signals that you have your finger on the pulse on your industry.

3. SentiOne

Sometimes social media gets a nasty reputation when it comes to content marketing. As noted, poorly targeted social media campaigns can represent a massive time-sink. Similarly, sometimes the ROI of social media is difficult to measure in terms of profits or traffic, despite the built-in analytics of platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

In response, SentiOne’s robust social listening tool provides businesses with the opportunity to analyze their social reach and clue themselves in on their brand sentiment over time. Analyzing positive and negative interactions, for example, helps users understand which pieces of content perform well and resonate with followers.

Understanding your content marketing strategy by the numbers will ultimately keep you from wasting time and energy on pieces and messages that fall flat. The more data you have on hand to support your marketing decisions, the better.

4. MyBlogU

Many modern content marketers swear by the 80/20 rule of creation and promotion. That is, only 20% of your time should be spent on actual content creation (writing and editing, for example) versus promotion via various channels such as social media or email outreach.

Due to the frustrating yet necessarily nature of cold email or link-building campaigns, the promotional piece of content marketing can be incredibly frustrating. You likely often feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle.

In order to remove some of that stress from creators, MyBlogU emerged as a resource for marketers looking to connect with each other. The platform represents a win-win for creators and marketers looking to expand their reach and build their authority.

By encouraging direct collaborations through citing sources and providing quotes from fellow writers, content creators are able to work together in the pursuit of new readers and the best content possible.

5. Canva

Yet again, the importance of imagery for content marketers simply cannot be overstated. Beyond the aforementioned engagement stats, social posts containing photos are among the most-shared in the content marketing space.

However, you probably don’t have always had a designer on deck to give our pieces the imagery they so desperately need.

The solution? DIY platforms such as Canva allow for the creation of sleek social “cards” and other imagery to accompany any given piece of written content. The platform’s drag-and-drop functionality, combined with its free fonts and themes, make it a breeze to use for absolute newbies to design.

Considering that today’s readers would rather bounce than stare at a wall of text, filling your written pieces with images (think: including personalized quotes and graphics) can help longer pieces seem less monotonous.

6. OptinMonster

As noted earlier, effective content marketing is based on goals. Oftentimes the ultimate goal of content marketers is to nurture their own audience who they can sell to time and time again, usually in the form of an opt-in email list.

Yet creating such as a list is easier said than done for marketers who don’t know how to ask for opt-ins.

Enter OptinMonster, which offers a wide variety of embeddable registration forms, which ultimately encourage your traffic to transform into long-term readers and customers versus just another stat on your analytics report. Noting that over 70% of site visitors who leave your site will never return, email capture mechanisms serve as insurance to make sure you’re getting the most value possible out of your on-site content.

If you feel that such tactics are tasteless or spammy, think again. As long as you’re providing legitimate value to your audience, they’ll be more than happy to exchange their information for quality content. Besides, tracking your ability to build an email list answers an inherently important question: “Does my content build trust?”

7. Evernote

For many content marketers, the elephant in the room is the same: coming up with halfway decent ideas for content.

From brainstorming sessions to pulling inspiration from fellow marketers, applications such as Evernote provide a central hub of planning and ideation. Rather than scramble to take notes for a webinar or save a screenshot of a competing site that caught your eye, Evernote allows to you categorize and keep your marketing materials centralized.

Evernote is especially useful when collaborating with fellow users: sometimes your best ideas arise from bouncing them off of others in your industry.

Effective Content Marketing Requires the Right Tools

Whether you’re a solopreneur or part of a team looking to leverage content marketing, don’t make the mistake of spreading yourself too thin.

There are a wealth of tools out there – why not use them to your advantage? With the right tools on deck, you can keep track of your marketing performance and better understand how to refine your messages regardless of your niche or industry.

About the Author

Itai Elizur is the COO at Inbound Junction, a content marketing agency specializing in helping startups and business increase their online visibility. Prior to joining the Inbound Junction team, Itai worked as a Creative Manager at Wix.com, and as the Director of Marketing at Infolinks, the 3rd largest website network in the world. Itai specializes in helping business develop and optimize large-scale user acquisition strategies through content, brand messaging and marketing automation.

from Duct Tape Marketing https://www.ducttapemarketing.com/content-marketing-platforms/

#Duct Tape Marketing

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trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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10 books every entrepreneur should read in 2017

Image: Mascha Tace/shutterstock

Entrepreneurship is a commitmentnot only to your venture or business, but also to a unique learning process. Where others seek guidance through big universities and established companies, I know many entrepreneurs like myself who have a desire to go their own way and learning becomes a self-guided experience. As a result, Ive gained a whole new dimension to my learning experience, having combined it with what I have chosen to read and what I have learned in the field.

Many entrepreneurs are avid readersnot just out of curiosity, but necessity. I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks because its something I can do while Im on the go whether that is traveling or exercising. Reading is one of the only ways you can learn from the worlds best and brightest, especially those who choose to share their thoughts on paper instead of through a weekly podcast.

Here is an entrepreneurs reading list for 2017 that include ten books that I have been motivating, insightful, and humbling for me. I hope that they leave a positive impression and assist you on your journey toward building something impactful in the world.

1. “All In” by Bill Green

This is a must read for any first-time entrepreneur who thinks building a business is an easy process. Author Bill Green uses “All In” to both inspire entrepreneurs on their quest for greatness and put things in perspective. Starting in a flea market and ending with a publicly traded company, Greens story demonstrates what it means to go all in on an ideaand not stop until the goal is achieved something that stands out for me in terms of the perspective that has helped me in bringing my own business ideas to fruition.

Greens company was Wilmar Industries, a corporation that ended up employing more than 2,300 people. When Wilmar went public in 1996, Fortune rated Wilmar as one of the best IPOs of the year. In 1999, Wilmar was named by Forbes as one of the top 200 Best Small Companies in America. “All In” describes Greens humble beginnings, his bootstrapping mindset and, ultimately, his rise to building a company that today is owned by Home Depot, with revenues topping $1.8 billion.

2. “Top of Mind” by John Hall

In a noisy world of digital marketers, how do you stand out? CEO of Influence & Co. and business thought leader John Hall has some valuable insights. After all, his recipe for staying top of mind with your consumers is the same step-by-step process he used to build Influence & Co to one of Forbes Most Promising Companies In America.

Top of Mind is full of tactics, with insights into how consumer needs and expectations have changed over the past few years; how you can build a brand that serves both your ideal customers and your own employees; and ways to use digital content to build lasting trust with your readers, followers and subscribers. I have put many of these tactics to work already with great success in my own business.

3. “The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs” by Hal Elrod and Cameron Herold

Consider this your wake-up call. Few books can change your daily habits as effectively as “The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs.” Author Hal Elrods original “The Miracle Morning” was a self-development crash course. In this follow-up page-turner, wisdom is added from Cameron Herold, a bestselling author and widely respected business coach, using the Miracle Morning framework as a foundation.

The book has given me six daily practices to create and sustain positive change in my lifepersonally and professionally. I have found that one of the most difficult challenges is to maintain a balance between building a successful business and taking care of myself. It has taught me that if Im off, then the whole picture is off. The principles in this book have put balance back in my life, which has benefitted my business, helped me feel better, and made my family a lot happier.

4. “Grit” by Angela Duckworth

Can success be reduced to a process? Pioneering psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Angela Duckworth thinks it can. She calls it grit. “Grit” does an incredible job of exploring what makes someone exceptionaland, as Duckworth has discovered, it certainly isnt talent or inherent intelligence.

She argues that the most successful people discover their own genius through the daily habit of persistence while always remembering to lead with what they are most passionate about. I thoroughly enjoyed the personal stories as well as interviews with peak performers and industry leaders, ranging from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

5. “A Paperboys Fable” by Deep Patel

This book struck me for its title because it made me think about my first job and the other ventures I tried when I was younger.

Part story, part riveting interviews with professors, entrepreneurs, CEOs and more, “A Paperboys Fable” creatively shares some of the most tried and true lessons learned in business. Like the Arbinger Institutes Leadership and Self-Deception, what makes “A Paperboys Fable” a worthwhile read is its ability to take high-level and timeless business lessons and make them both easy to understand for beginners and poignant reminders for us more seasoned entrepreneurs.

6. “Rich20Something” by Daniel DiPiazza

The brand, Rich20Something, was started by Daniel DiPiazza, a recognized digital marketer and influencer. A website, a massively popular Instagram page, and now a book packed with lessons, “Rich20Something” is DiPiazzas story of being a typical twenty-something, unsure of what to do in life, and how he built a brand around the hustling mentality that can turn any young entrepreneur into a success.

Unlike the conventional corporate ladder path, “Rich20Something” is essentially a guide to hacking your way to wherever you want to go. DiPiazza shares his own advice from the trenches along with anecdotes from other successful entrepreneurs and mentors and step-by-step techniques for building businesses around my personal skill set. Its helped me beyond the dream and make things happen.

7. “Managing the Mental Game” by Jeff Boss

Who better to learn mental fortitude from than a former Navy SEAL? In Managing the Mental Game,” Boss reflects on his experiences as a SEAL and walks readers through techniques that build self-confidence, mental endurance and positive habits.

The book is comprised of over 23 mental exercises, covering topics such as how to deal with stress, how to avoid common mental traps, how to handle uncertainty and even the neuroscience behind change. Ive used these in my daily work life to deal with those unexpected issues and barriers that seem to pop up with a startup, which has provided me with a much more measured and logical approach when these do happen.

8. “Disrupted” by Dan Lyons

What is Silicon Valley really like? After 25 years at Newsweek, journalist Dan Lyons lost his job to younger talent. Shortly thereafter, he found himself working for a famed Silicon Valley startup, Hubspot, which had over $100 million in venture capital. “Disrupted” is Lyons take on the idealized entrepreneurship scene in California. As a resident of Silicon Valley, this book hit home in terms of familiar situations and advice on how to navigate the territory here.

One part crash course on entrepreneurship, two parts humorous stories and unfortunate conclusions, this book shows that heavily funded startups arent all they seem to be from the outside. According to Lyons, Its a world where bad ideas are rewarded, where companies blow money on lavish perks, and where everyone is trying to hang on just long enough to reach an IPO and cash out.

9. “Be Obsessed or Be Average” by Grant Cardone

Grant Cardone is a success story, to say the least. In addition to having one of the strongest personal brands, Cardone has made a name for himself by building five successful companies and turning himself into a multimillionaire. “Be Obsessed or Be Average” is like his other NYT bestseller,The 10x Rule a humbling reminder of just how much you have to want success in order to e ventually have it. It reads just like Cardone sounds in his videos and on his podcastfull of energy and motivation. His quotes have stayed top of mind long after finishing the book, which have been inspirational when faced with some critical issues in my business.

From Cardones perspective, success ultimately comes down to three basic rules: first, be willing to set crazy goals, and aim to reach them, every single day; second, value your money and make it work for you; and, third, use your haters as fuel. These rules have worked for me and many colleagues, so they will work for you, too.

10. “The Fire Starter Sessions” by Danielle LaPorte

Theres a reason “The Fire Starter Sessions” has sold over a million copies. Author Danielle LaPorte explains that many of the things we believe about the road to success are actually wrong, and that we end up driving ourselves mad by searching for things that dont actually exist.

Some of the controversial topics covered in this book include the fact that life balance is a myth, that our principles and beliefs might be the very things holding us back, and that happiness has far more to do with how we feel while were working and not necessarily the achievement of our goals. “The Fire Starter Sessions” offers helpful reminders for any entrepreneur who wants to build a meaningful future. Its certainly given me a lot of food for thought on how Ive looked at my own business and leadership style.

John Rampton is serial entrepreneur who now focuses on helping people to build amazing products and services that scale. He is founder of the online payments company Due. If you’re looking for even more to read, check out his book: “Self Employed: 50 Signs That You Might Be an Entrepreneur.“

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John Rampton