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marketingcomcaio · 4 years

Text

How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

It’s been roughly a month now since the Coronavirus started to flip our lives upside down.

From having to practice social distancing and getting used to life without the outdoors to continually washing our hands and wearing masks and seeing loved ones and friends getting sick, the Coronavirus is something none of us expected.

Even our businesses our suffering. Just look at the Coronavirus marketing stats I shared a few weeks ago. The results are devastating.

It’s why I decided to change Ubersuggest and make it more free to help small businesses out.

Since then a lot has changed and there are new opportunities that have come around when it comes to your online business and marketing activities.

Opportunity #1: Help others selflessly

My ad agency has thousands of clients around the world. We lost a ton, but we still have enough to see trends in what’s happening.

When I saw businesses starting to lose a ton of money, I decided to give more of Ubersuggest’s premium featurs for free. That means it would take me much longer to break even, but hey that’s life.

Just look at the image below… you’ll see something interesting.

The chart breaks down how many free-trial signups Ubersuggest has received throughout the month.

Keep in mind, new customers means free trials… a large portion of free-trial users doesn’t convert into paying customers but still, the more trials you get in theory, the more paid customers you will eventually get.

As you can see, the chart is declining. That’s because I opened up more of Ubersuggest’s paid features and made them free.

What’s interesting is you (and other community members) helped support me.

The moment I blogged about more features being opened up for free, many of you decided to purchase a paid subscription.

I received dozens of emails from the marketing community thanking me and letting me know that they appreciate everything that I was doing AND they purchased a paid plan to help me out.

Now granted, in general signups are down, but that’s what happens when you decide to give away more for free. I didn’t do it because I am trying to leverage Coronavirus or look good, instead, I am just trying to help people out like I’ve been lucky enough to have people help me out during my time of need.

But here is what’s interesting… my traffic started to go up on Ubersuggest the moment I told everyone that I am giving more away for free.

I’m not the only one who experienced this.

Eric Siu decided to give away a course that teaches people how to start a marketing agency for free (he normally charges $1,497) and a bit more than 250 people have taken Eric up on his offer. If you want it, you can get it here for free.

This has led Eric to gain more social media fans and it’s given him an opportunity to do a webinar about his product/services to a new audience of 50,000 people.

Similar to me, Eric wasn’t trying to do this to gain anything, he is just trying to help people out.

I also know someone in the health space who did something similar and one person in the employment space.

They all saw the indirect benefits of helping people out.

In all cases that I have seen, the result is more traffic.

With your website and business, consider what you can give away for free. Anything you can do to help people out is appreciated, especially during this difficult time. You’ll also find that it will drive you more visitors, which is a nice indirect benefit.

Opportunity #2: Paid ads are really, really cheap

The latest trend we are seeing is that paid ads are becoming cheaper.

It makes sense because the way these big ad networks make money is through an auction system. They need small businesses to drive up the cost per click (CPC) for ads so that way the big, billion-dollar corporations have to spend more money on ads.

If you don’t have as many small businesses advertising (like we are experiencing now) there isn’t as much competition for the inventory, so the cost per click decrease.

But the virus has been causing us to spend more time online, so much so that companies like Netflix have had to reduce their streaming quality to help.

In other words, traffic on the web is up and there are fewer advertisers. This means ads are cheaper.

Now we are also seeing conversions rates dropping in certain industries, but nowhere near at the same rate as the CPCs.

When we average things out per industry and globally, we are seeing paid ads producing a much higher ROI than before the Coronavirus hit. Just look at the chart below.

Our clients, in general, have seen their ROI go from 31% to 53%. That’s a 71% increase in ROI.

If you haven’t tried paid ads yet, you should consider it. If you do, consider ramping up as there is more excess inventory than there has been in years.

Opportunity #3: Conversions are down, but there’s a solution

For many industries, conversion rates are down. Here’s a quick snapshot of what it looked like right after the first big week in the United States.

Since then, things have changed. For some industries, it has gotten better, but for others like travel, it’s still terrible and will be for a while. Delta Airlines is currently burning $60 million a day.

But we found a solution that has boosted conversion rates by 12% on average.

If you are a store selling something online, consider offering payment plans through services like Affirm.

Payment plans reduce the financial burden your customers will face in the short run.

And you don’t have to be an e-commerce company to leverage payment plans. If you are selling consulting services, you can accept money over a period of a year.

If you are selling ebooks or digital courses, you can also have a monthly installment plan.

When I sold digital products on NeilPatel.com, I found that roughly 19% of people opted in for my payment plan.

It’s an easy way to boost your conversion rates, especially in a time where many people are looking to reduce their cash spend in the short term.

Opportunity #4: Offer educational based training

If you are looking for a good opportunity, consider selling your audience educational based courses.

With unemployment numbers reaching all-time highs, more people than ever are looking for new opportunities.

Many of these opportunities are in fields like high-tech that not everyone has experience in.

And, of course, going back to school can be expensive and is time-consuming. Plus, let’s face it… you can probably learn more applicable knowledge on YouTube than sitting in a college class for 4 years (at least for most professions).

So, where do people go to learn? Any online education website offering very specific, niche advice and courses.

Whether that is Udemy or you are selling your own courses, people are looking for help.

If you don’t know how to sell online courses in mass quantity, follow this. I break it down step by step and even give you the templates you need to be successful. It’s the same ones I used to reach over $381,722 a month in sales.

Opportunity #5: Geography diversification

COVID-19 is a global issue. But it is affecting some countries worse than others.

For example, South Korea has had better luck controlling the spread of the virus compared to many other countries.

And countries like the United States and Italy have exploded in daily cases.

With over 84,000 new cases a day and growing quickly, the spread of the virus or the slowdown of the virus can affect your traffic drastically.

For that reason, you should consider diversifying the regions you get your traffic from.

Through international SEO, you can quickly gain more traffic and be less reliant on one country’s economy.

For example, here is my traffic swing for my SEO traffic in the United States over the last few months.

The US traffic is slowly starting to climb back. It’s still not back to where it was during my all-time highs, but it’s not as low as when the Coronavirus first hit the United States.

On the flip side, our traffic in Brazil has been going through the roof.

We haven’t changed our strategy, it’s not algorithm related… we haven’t produced more content than usual… we’ve just seen an increase.

We are also starting to see a nice increase in India.

By translating your content for other regions and leveraging international SEO, you can quickly grow your traffic.

Sure, it may take 6 months to a year to start seeing results in the United States, but that isn’t the case with regions like Brazil where there isn’t as much competition.

If you want to achieve similar results to me, follow my global SEO strategy. It works well… just look at the images above.

Conclusion

Sadly, the next few months are going to get worse. The daily count of new Coronavirus victims is growing.

From a personal standpoint, all you can do is stay indoors and practice social distancing.

But from a marketing, business, and career perspective, you can make a change.

You should have more time now (sadly), so use it to your advantage. Put in the effort so you can grow, that way you’ll come out of the Coronavirus stronger.

So which one of the above opportunities are you going to implement first?

The post How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) appeared first on Neil Patel.

How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Publicado primeiro em https://neilpatel.com

0 notes

jimmyjohnsmnm · 4 years

Text

How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

It’s been roughly a month now since the Coronavirus started to flip our lives upside down.

Even our businesses our suffering. Just look at the Coronavirus marketing stats I shared a few weeks ago. The results are devastating.

It’s why I decided to change Ubersuggest and make it more free to help small businesses out.

Since then a lot has changed and there are new opportunities that have come around when it comes to your online business and marketing activities.

Opportunity #1: Help others selflessly

My ad agency has thousands of clients around the world. We lost a ton, but we still have enough to see trends in what’s happening.

Just look at the image below… you’ll see something interesting.

The chart breaks down how many free-trial signups Ubersuggest has received throughout the month.

As you can see, the chart is declining. That’s because I opened up more of Ubersuggest’s paid features and made them free.

What’s interesting is you (and other community members) helped support me.

The moment I blogged about more features being opened up for free, many of you decided to purchase a paid subscription.

I received dozens of emails from the marketing community thanking me and letting me know that they appreciate everything that I was doing AND they purchased a paid plan to help me out.

But here is what’s interesting… my traffic started to go up on Ubersuggest the moment I told everyone that I am giving more away for free.

I’m not the only one who experienced this.

This has led Eric to gain more social media fans and it’s given him an opportunity to do a webinar about his product/services to a new audience of 50,000 people.

Similar to me, Eric wasn’t trying to do this to gain anything, he is just trying to help people out.

I also know someone in the health space who did something similar and one person in the employment space.

They all saw the indirect benefits of helping people out.

In all cases that I have seen, the result is more traffic.

Opportunity #2: Paid ads are really, really cheap

The latest trend we are seeing is that paid ads are becoming cheaper.

If you don’t have as many small businesses advertising (like we are experiencing now) there isn’t as much competition for the inventory, so the cost per click decrease.

But the virus has been causing us to spend more time online, so much so that companies like Netflix have had to reduce their streaming quality to help.

In other words, traffic on the web is up and there are fewer advertisers. This means ads are cheaper.

Now we are also seeing conversions rates dropping in certain industries, but nowhere near at the same rate as the CPCs.

When we average things out per industry and globally, we are seeing paid ads producing a much higher ROI than before the Coronavirus hit. Just look at the chart below.

Our clients, in general, have seen their ROI go from 31% to 53%. That’s a 71% increase in ROI.

If you haven’t tried paid ads yet, you should consider it. If you do, consider ramping up as there is more excess inventory than there has been in years.

Opportunity #3: Conversions are down, but there’s a solution

For many industries, conversion rates are down. Here’s a quick snapshot of what it looked like right after the first big week in the United States.

But we found a solution that has boosted conversion rates by 12% on average.

If you are a store selling something online, consider offering payment plans through services like Affirm.

Payment plans reduce the financial burden your customers will face in the short run.

And you don’t have to be an e-commerce company to leverage payment plans. If you are selling consulting services, you can accept money over a period of a year.

If you are selling ebooks or digital courses, you can also have a monthly installment plan.

When I sold digital products on NeilPatel.com, I found that roughly 19% of people opted in for my payment plan.

It’s an easy way to boost your conversion rates, especially in a time where many people are looking to reduce their cash spend in the short term.

Opportunity #4: Offer educational based training

If you are looking for a good opportunity, consider selling your audience educational based courses.

With unemployment numbers reaching all-time highs, more people than ever are looking for new opportunities.

Many of these opportunities are in fields like high-tech that not everyone has experience in.

So, where do people go to learn? Any online education website offering very specific, niche advice and courses.

Whether that is Udemy or you are selling your own courses, people are looking for help.

Opportunity #5: Geography diversification

COVID-19 is a global issue. But it is affecting some countries worse than others.

For example, South Korea has had better luck controlling the spread of the virus compared to many other countries.

And countries like the United States and Italy have exploded in daily cases.

With over 84,000 new cases a day and growing quickly, the spread of the virus or the slowdown of the virus can affect your traffic drastically.

For that reason, you should consider diversifying the regions you get your traffic from.

Through international SEO, you can quickly gain more traffic and be less reliant on one country’s economy.

For example, here is my traffic swing for my SEO traffic in the United States over the last few months.

The US traffic is slowly starting to climb back. It’s still not back to where it was during my all-time highs, but it’s not as low as when the Coronavirus first hit the United States.

On the flip side, our traffic in Brazil has been going through the roof.

We haven’t changed our strategy, it’s not algorithm related… we haven’t produced more content than usual… we’ve just seen an increase.

We are also starting to see a nice increase in India.

By translating your content for other regions and leveraging international SEO, you can quickly grow your traffic.

Sure, it may take 6 months to a year to start seeing results in the United States, but that isn’t the case with regions like Brazil where there isn’t as much competition.

If you want to achieve similar results to me, follow my global SEO strategy. It works well… just look at the images above.

Conclusion

Sadly, the next few months are going to get worse. The daily count of new Coronavirus victims is growing.

From a personal standpoint, all you can do is stay indoors and practice social distancing.

But from a marketing, business, and career perspective, you can make a change.

You should have more time now (sadly), so use it to your advantage. Put in the effort so you can grow, that way you’ll come out of the Coronavirus stronger.

So which one of the above opportunities are you going to implement first?

The post How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) appeared first on Neil Patel.

Original content source: https://ift.tt/2RjRzRx via https://neilpatel.com The post, How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19), has been shared from https://ift.tt/2VcN0tB via https://ift.tt/2r0Go64

0 notes

jjpocketbook · 4 years

Text

How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

It’s been roughly a month now since the Coronavirus started to flip our lives upside down.

Even our businesses our suffering. Just look at the Coronavirus marketing stats I shared a few weeks ago. The results are devastating.

It’s why I decided to change Ubersuggest and make it more free to help small businesses out.

Since then a lot has changed and there are new opportunities that have come around when it comes to your online business and marketing activities.

Opportunity #1: Help others selflessly

My ad agency has thousands of clients around the world. We lost a ton, but we still have enough to see trends in what’s happening.

Just look at the image below… you’ll see something interesting.

The chart breaks down how many free-trial signups Ubersuggest has received throughout the month.

As you can see, the chart is declining. That’s because I opened up more of Ubersuggest’s paid features and made them free.

What’s interesting is you (and other community members) helped support me.

The moment I blogged about more features being opened up for free, many of you decided to purchase a paid subscription.

I received dozens of emails from the marketing community thanking me and letting me know that they appreciate everything that I was doing AND they purchased a paid plan to help me out.

But here is what’s interesting… my traffic started to go up on Ubersuggest the moment I told everyone that I am giving more away for free.

I’m not the only one who experienced this.

This has led Eric to gain more social media fans and it’s given him an opportunity to do a webinar about his product/services to a new audience of 50,000 people.

Similar to me, Eric wasn’t trying to do this to gain anything, he is just trying to help people out.

I also know someone in the health space who did something similar and one person in the employment space.

They all saw the indirect benefits of helping people out.

In all cases that I have seen, the result is more traffic.

Opportunity #2: Paid ads are really, really cheap

The latest trend we are seeing is that paid ads are becoming cheaper.

If you don’t have as many small businesses advertising (like we are experiencing now) there isn’t as much competition for the inventory, so the cost per click decrease.

But the virus has been causing us to spend more time online, so much so that companies like Netflix have had to reduce their streaming quality to help.

In other words, traffic on the web is up and there are fewer advertisers. This means ads are cheaper.

Now we are also seeing conversions rates dropping in certain industries, but nowhere near at the same rate as the CPCs.

When we average things out per industry and globally, we are seeing paid ads producing a much higher ROI than before the Coronavirus hit. Just look at the chart below.

Our clients, in general, have seen their ROI go from 31% to 53%. That’s a 71% increase in ROI.

If you haven’t tried paid ads yet, you should consider it. If you do, consider ramping up as there is more excess inventory than there has been in years.

Opportunity #3: Conversions are down, but there’s a solution

For many industries, conversion rates are down. Here’s a quick snapshot of what it looked like right after the first big week in the United States.

But we found a solution that has boosted conversion rates by 12% on average.

If you are a store selling something online, consider offering payment plans through services like Affirm.

Payment plans reduce the financial burden your customers will face in the short run.

And you don’t have to be an e-commerce company to leverage payment plans. If you are selling consulting services, you can accept money over a period of a year.

If you are selling ebooks or digital courses, you can also have a monthly installment plan.

When I sold digital products on NeilPatel.com, I found that roughly 19% of people opted in for my payment plan.

It’s an easy way to boost your conversion rates, especially in a time where many people are looking to reduce their cash spend in the short term.

Opportunity #4: Offer educational based training

If you are looking for a good opportunity, consider selling your audience educational based courses.

With unemployment numbers reaching all-time highs, more people than ever are looking for new opportunities.

Many of these opportunities are in fields like high-tech that not everyone has experience in.

So, where do people go to learn? Any online education website offering very specific, niche advice and courses.

Whether that is Udemy or you are selling your own courses, people are looking for help.

Opportunity #5: Geography diversification

COVID-19 is a global issue. But it is affecting some countries worse than others.

For example, South Korea has had better luck controlling the spread of the virus compared to many other countries.

And countries like the United States and Italy have exploded in daily cases.

With over 84,000 new cases a day and growing quickly, the spread of the virus or the slowdown of the virus can affect your traffic drastically.

For that reason, you should consider diversifying the regions you get your traffic from.

Through international SEO, you can quickly gain more traffic and be less reliant on one country’s economy.

For example, here is my traffic swing for my SEO traffic in the United States over the last few months.

The US traffic is slowly starting to climb back. It’s still not back to where it was during my all-time highs, but it’s not as low as when the Coronavirus first hit the United States.

On the flip side, our traffic in Brazil has been going through the roof.

We haven’t changed our strategy, it’s not algorithm related… we haven’t produced more content than usual… we’ve just seen an increase.

We are also starting to see a nice increase in India.

By translating your content for other regions and leveraging international SEO, you can quickly grow your traffic.

Sure, it may take 6 months to a year to start seeing results in the United States, but that isn’t the case with regions like Brazil where there isn’t as much competition.

If you want to achieve similar results to me, follow my global SEO strategy. It works well… just look at the images above.

Conclusion

Sadly, the next few months are going to get worse. The daily count of new Coronavirus victims is growing.

From a personal standpoint, all you can do is stay indoors and practice social distancing.

But from a marketing, business, and career perspective, you can make a change.

You should have more time now (sadly), so use it to your advantage. Put in the effort so you can grow, that way you’ll come out of the Coronavirus stronger.

So which one of the above opportunities are you going to implement first?

The post How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) appeared first on Neil Patel.

Original content source: https://neilpatel.com/blog/covid-19-marketing/ via https://neilpatel.com

The original post, How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19), has been shared from https://imtrainingparadise.wordpress.com/2020/04/07/how-to-adapt-your-marketing-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19/ via https://imtrainingparadise.wordpress.com

0 notes

tamboradventure · 4 years

Text

16 Things to See and Do in Tallinn, Estonia

Posted: 03/12/20 | March 12th, 2020

Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is a medieval city nestled against the Baltic Sea. With its picturesque historic Old Town that dates back to the 13th century, it has been drawing in tourists since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Cheap flights, cheap prices, and the beauty of Prague without the crowds have made Tallinn an appealing weekend getaway for Europeans.

I visited the city on a trip from Finland — there’s a frequent ferry service between the two cities — and was enamored by it. It was a blend of Nordic and Baltic culture with plenty of things to see and do.

Best of all, it was super affordable!

Though the city has become a bit more crowded and expensive in the last couple of years, it’s still one of my favorite places in the region. It’s peaceful and wonderful: the people are open and relaxed and the country is super tech-forward (they offer e-residency services specifically for digital nomads).

To help you make the most out of your trip, here are the best things to see and do in Tallinn — from the super touristy to off the beaten trail!

1. Take a Free Walking Tour

One of the best things you can do when you arrive in a new city is to take a free walking tour. They’re a great way to learn about a destination and its history while taking in the main sights.

Not only will it give you a solid introduction to the city but you’ll get access to a local guide who can answer any and all questions you might have.

EstAdventures has a few different free tour options, including general walking tours, tours focused on the city’s communist past, and street art tours. Just make sure to tip your guide!

2. Estonian Maritime Museum

Founded in 1935 and located inside a historic 500-year-old building, this museum highlights the history of Estonia’s maritime culture. The main attraction is the interactive Seaplane Harbour exhibition, which includes a Short 184 seaplane as well as the steam-powered icebreaker Suur Toll.

And don’t miss the 1936 submarine Lembit, the only surviving Baltic warship from before WWII (and one of only two submarines in Estonian naval history). There’s also an aquarium, ship miniatures, and a flight simulator. It’s a fun and educational place for adults and kids alike.

Vesilennuki tee 6, +372 6200 550, meremuuseum.ee. Open Tuesday–Sunday 10am–6pm; closed Monday. Admission: 15 EUR.

3. Glehn Park & Castle

Glehn Park, located on the Nomme hillside, is home to medieval-style Glehn Castle. Built in 1886, both the park and castle were created by Nikolai von Glehn, a rich and eclectic man known for his unusual taste in decoration (such as tables and chairs carved like figurines, large statues, and an obelisk in front of his house marking the grave of his favorite horse).

Unfortunately, most of the castle was looted during World War I, so none of the unique pieces of furniture he created remain. However, you’ll still get to see the statues he built on the grounds of the park. There’s also an observatory tower and palm house, which has a gorgeous mosaic rooftop. It’s a good place to relax, go for a walk, or go skiing during wintertime.

Vana-Mustamäe 48, +372 652 5076, ttu.ee/organisatsioonid/glehni-loss. The building isn’t open to the public as it is now used for events (weddings, conferences, receptions, etc.).

4. Tallinn Town Hall & Square

Tallinn’s Gothic town hall is the oldest in the Baltics. Completed in 1404, it boasts a 64m spire topped with a weather vane of an old warrior (named Old Thomas), a Tallinn city guard and hero from the 16th century who fought in the Livonian War.

You can climb the spire to 34 meters (111 feet) from May through September. The interior of the Town Hall is open to visitors as a museum only during July and August; inside, you’ll get to see colorful designs on the walls, intricate wood carvings, and stunning arched ceilings as you learn about the city and its history.

The surrounding plaza is a great place to people-watch and it hosts lots of activities and markets throughout the year.

Don’t miss the annual five-day Tallinn Old Town Days festival held in May. It’s dedicated to the cultural heritage of Tallinn and includes themed days such as Medieval Day and Children’s Day, as well as numerous workshops, music, and theatre performances.

Raekoja plats, Kesklinna linnaosa (City Center), +372 645 7906, raekoda.tallinn.ee/. Open weekdays from 10am-4pm. Advance reservations required. Admission is 5 EUR.

5. Tallinn Museum of Photography

Hidden amidst the cobblestone streets of Tallinn, this small museum is tucked away inside a 14th-century prison. It focuses on Estonia’s history of photography with a permanent exhibition including antique photos and cameras from 1840 — when photography first made its way to Tallinn — to 1940.

You can also check out contemporary photography from modern-day artists in many of the museum’s rotating exhibits. It’s a very small museum, but super interesting even if you’re not a huge photography buff.

Raekoja 4/6, +372 644 8767, linnamuuseum.ee/fotomuuseum. Open Saturday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10am–5pm, Thursdays from 12–8pm, and Sunday from 11am–4pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

6. Estonian Open-Air Museum

Located 15 minutes from the city center by car, this open-air ethnographic museum recreates what life was like in Estonia’s rural countryside. It’s a life-sized rural village composed of farms, a wooden chapel, a school, fire station, shop, and an inn that highlights how families from different social classes lived during the 18th and 19th centuries.

There’s plenty to do, from eating a traditional Estonian meal to riding a horse to taking a workshop. It’s open all year round, but you might want to go during the summertime when it’s warm! It’s also one of the best things to do in Tallinn with kids. Download the mobile app Numu for a free audio guide while you’re at the museum.

Vabaõhumuuseumi tee 12, +372 654 9100, evm.ee/est/avaleht.Open daily from 10am–5pm. Admission is 8 EUR. Free entrance with a Tallinn Card.

7. Ichthus Art Gallery

This is one of Tallinn’s best-kept secrets. It’s tucked away in the depths of St. Catherine’s Dominican Monastery, which dates back to 1246. On arrival, turn right toward steep steps that take you into the cellar. The confined space used to contain three wings, called the Claustrum, that housed monks in the 13th century.

Today, the space is used by artist Aleksandr Savchenkov, who sells his original artwork from the cellar. As you wander about you’ll also see the ‘Energy Pillar’, which is located in the ancient monastic chambers and is said to be a source of spiritual well-being.

Müürivahe Tänav 33, +372 5559 5920. Admission is free; however, donations are accepted.

8. Epitaphs of the Cathedral of Saint Mary

The grounds of this church date back to the 13th century, though the current building itself is from the 17th. What makes it unlike most other churches is that coats-of-arms epitaphs hang on the walls of the church instead of more traditional religious artwork or decorations.

Historically, these were used as headstones for people of importance, such as nobles and knights. They reflect the people of status who were buried on the grounds.

In fact, the first man who ever led a Russian voyage around the world, Admiral Adam Johan von Krusenstern, is buried here. Climb the 69-meter (226-foot) bell tower to get a beautiful view of the city.

Toom-Koolitänav 6, +372 644 4140. Open Tuesday–Sunday 10am–3:30pm, closed Mondays. Admission is 5 EUR for adults and 3 EUR for children. Dress respectfully as this is a place of worship.

9. Estonian Architecture Museum

The Estonian Architecture Museum was established in 1991 during the fight for Estonian independence. The museum is located in the Rotermann Salt Storage building, which was built in 1908 (and then reconstructed in 1995 with multiple additional floors for the museum).

Its galleries now feature drawings from the 1920s, as well as over 11,500 archived items (such as drawings and sketches) and some 18,000 items in their photo collection. There are always some interesting rotating exhibits here too.

Ahtri tänav 2, +372 625 7000, arhitektuurimuuseum.ee. Open Tuesday–Sunday 11am–6pm, closed Mondays. Admission is 6 EUR.

10. TV Tower

Adrenaline junkies will get a kick out of visiting the TV Tower. Not only will you have an incredible bird’s-eye view of Tallinn from the top, which stands 314 meters (1,030 feet) tall, but you can also try the Walk on the Edge experience. Hop into a harness and step outside of the tower onto the exposed deck. It’s the highest open deck in Northern Europe and offers both an amazing view and a huge rush!

The TV Tower was constructed when Tallinn was chosen as a host city for sailing during the 1980 Moscow Olympics. It closed in 2007 for renovations and reopened in 2012. It has floor-to-ceiling windows (not ideal if you’re afraid of heights) so you can really soak in the view as well as touch-screen information panels so you can learn about the tower and the city.

The tower hosts many events, such as music concerts and the annual Stair Run to mark the anniversary of its reopening.

Kloostrimetsa tee 58 A, +372 686 3005, teletorn.ee. Admission is 13 EUR and the Walk on the Edge costs 30 EUR.

11. Telliskivi Creative City

The Telliskivi Creative City is a workplace for over a thousand people, with artist’s studios, a radio station, rehearsal spaces, and NGO offices, all situated throughout ten repurposed factory buildings. Telleskivi hosts a flea market every Saturday, and there are over 600 cultural events throughout the year, including dance performances, music concerts, and improv theatre.

There are colorful murals on many of the buildings and you’ll also find restaurants and bars full of locals and tourists alike. Make sure you eat at Peatus (“Stop” in Estonian) for a really unique experience: it’s located inside two old Soviet railcars (and the food is great too!).

Telliskivi tänav 60a, Pohja, Tallinna linnaosa.

12. Bastion Tunnels

These tunnels were initially built in the 17th century as an addition to the Kiek in de Kök (Peek in the Kitchen) tower, and were intended for storage. They later held prisoners and then were used as shelters against air raids during World War II.

In more modern history, thieves and rebels used them for shelter since the police usually avoided the tunnels. They were cleaned out and opened up to the public in 2004. If you’re brave enough, you can explore the winding maze of the dark, damp tunnels on a guided tour when you visit the tower.

Komandandi tee 2, +372 644 6686, linnamuuseum.ee/kiek-de-kok. Open Tuesday–Sunday 10am–5pm (Thursday until 8pm), closed Monday. Admission is 14 EUR.

13. Toompea Castle & Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Toompea Castle dates all the way back to the 9th century and is currently used by Riigikogu, Estonia’s Parliament. The east wing has a brightly colored pink and white exterior in baroque style, as ordered by Empress Catherine the Great in 1773. The opposing side still has its medieval stone exterior. The Estonian flag is raised above the tower at sunrise every day.

You can also visit the nearby Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It opened in 1900 during the Czarist Empire and is home to Tallinn’s largest bell (it weighs 15 tons). The impressive exterior showcases Russian Revival architecture with its onion-shaped dome. The interior is decorated with colorful mosaics and stained-glass windows and has three ornate altars.

Toompea Castle: Lossi plats 1a, +372 631 633, riigikogu.ee. On Thursdays at 11am, there’s a 45-minute English-language tour of the castle. Admissions is free though you need to reserve your spot in advance.

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral: Lossi plats 10, +372 644 3484, cathedral.bg/en/home. Open daily from 7am-7pm. Admission is free. Dress respectfully as it is a place of worship.

14. Soviet Statue Graveyard

The Soviet Statue Graveyard, located near Maarjamäe Castle, contains a collection of discarded statues, such as those of Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, and Mikhail Kalinin. After the Soviets left Tallinn, they were dumped here and ignored.

You’ll find large statues of heads (a classic Soviet statue trend) and others that tower over three meters (ten feet) tall. It’s a surreal place to visit — especially when you realize it hasn’t even been 30 years since Estonia achieved independence and these statues were left to fade into history.

Pirita tee 56, 10127, ajaloomuuseum.ee/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/noukogude-aegsete-monumentide-valinaitus. Open Tuesday–Sunday 10am–6pm, closed Monday.

15. KGB Museum

Rooms previously used by spies during the Soviet era sit on the top floor of the stylish Hotel Viru, located on Viru Square. They house listening and recording equipment (some cleverly disguised), dial telephones, uniforms, and a typewriter.

Few people ever knew these rooms existed, and they were only exposed in the 1990s when the KGB fled the city. They shed light on just how controlling and subversive the Soviet government was during the occupation.

Viru väljak 4, +372 680 9300, viru.ee/en. Open daily from 10am–5pm. The guided tour begins in the hotel lobby.

16. Take in the View

For the best view in the city, head to Kohtuotsa viewing platform. It’s on Toompea Hill and offers the best view of the city and harbor. You’ll also often find buskers here, making it a nice place to end your day and watch the sunset.

***

Tallinn remains one of my favorite destinations in Europe. It’s a fun and lively city home to quirky museums, hidden art exhibits, and beautiful architecture.

Go enjoy all the wonderful things to do here.

Book Your Trip to Estonia: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay elsewhere, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. My favorite hostel in the city is:

Tallinn Backpackers – This is a lively, social hostel that makes it easy to meet people since they have a pub crawl every night. The staff are great too!

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those over 70)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

Photo credit: 3 – Vladimir Varfolomeev, 4 – Holger Vaga, 5 – Pudelek, 6, 7 – Sander Säde, 8, 9 – Zairon, 10 – Nosser, 11 – Sheila Dee, 12 – Relkmsaiia, 13 – Narva69, 14 -Diego Delso, 15 – Ferran Cornella, 16, 17 – PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ

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sjphotosphere · 7 years

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(My Favorite Mutual Fund) I confess that I play favorites. Back in 2005 when I finally started figuring out what the heck I was doing with my four figure investment portfolio, the first mutual fund I ever purchased without the “assistance” of a commissioned salesman masquerading as an advisor was the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (TSM). It is still my favorite mutual fund and I suspect I will own it until the day I die. In fact, at 25% of my current retirement asset allocation, TSM is my largest investment holding and may always remain so. It also makes up nearly 100% of my HSA allocation and plays a large role in my children’s Roth IRAs (Target Retirement 2060) and UGMAs (TSM and Total International Stock Market Index Fund.) I have owned it via three different brokerages and have owned all three “retail” share classes (Investor in my Vanguard Individual 401(k), Admiral in Vanguard Roth IRAs, and the ETF in my Schwab 401(k) and HSA Bank/TD Ameritrade HSA.) We spend a lot of time on this website talking about “alternative” investments, real estate, factors and all kinds of fancy stuff. Today, let’s go back to basics and talk about 8 reasons why TSM is such an awesome mutual fund. # 1 Awesome Long Term Performance I don’t select mutual funds based on past performance. There is a very good reason why all mutual fund prospectuses must tell you that past performance is no indicator of future performance. But the process I use to select mutual funds leads to excellent long-term performance, the only kind I actually care about. So what is the track record of TSM? Let’s take a look (all data in this post taken on the date it was written- 1/26/2017.) Let’s start with a quick look at Vanguard’s list of mutual funds. We see that it has already made nearly 3% in 2017, but that column is almost irrelevant. Let’s move a little more to the right. We see that it made 12.66% in 2016, 14.62% (per year) from 2012 to 2016, and 7.23% from 2006 to 2016 (which included the greatest bear market in our generation.) In fact, the admiral share class started in 2000, near the beginning of the tech stock bust. So even including most of TWO of the worst bear markets the US has ever seen, it still made 5.85%. The investor share class was begun in 1992, 25 years ago. Its annualized return is 9.34%. If you can’t retire on returns of 9.34% per year, you have a savings problem, not an investing problem. But even so, absolute performance isn’t everything. It is also important to consider relative performance. I mean, there are other mutual funds out there. So let’s see how TSM did against its peers. Morningstar is the world’s preeminent authority on comparing mutual funds. Here’s what they have to say: Morningstar considers TSM to be a “large blend” fund, which is reasonable if you plot out its holdings. Take a look at the columns, particularly the line at the bottom, “rank in category.” Over the last year, its rank is 20. That means it beat 80% of mutual funds in its category. Same for the last 3 years. But as you move out further, to the 10 and 15 year mark, you see its rank is 12, meaning it beat nearly 9 out of 10 mutual funds. Not bad considering its “know nothing” strategy. # 2 It Isn’t Going Anywhere At this point, a few of you are thinking, “I don’t want to invest in TSM if 1 out of 10 funds are beating it over pretty long periods of time. I want to invest in one of the funds that beat TSM.” Aside from the folly of taking a gamble on something you only have a 10% chance of doing (although admittedly there are ways to increase that percentage somewhat such as only choosing low-cost actively managed funds), the real issue is that those “rank in category” numbers don’t include all the funds that closed over those long time periods. That is not an insignificant number of mutual funds and it introduces “survivor bias” into the data. Morningstar had this to say about survivor bias specifically when discussing TSM: After adjusting for survivorship bias, the relative performance of existing funds looks better. For instance, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index‘s VTSMX 9.5% annualized return placed it in the top 19% of all large-blend funds before correcting for survivorship bias. After this correction, its ranking jumped to the top 9th percentile of the category. That’s not bad for a fund that offers passive exposure to the market. Likewise, the ETF SPDR S&P 500‘s SPY 9.4% return originally placed it in the top 24% of all large-blend mutual funds, but correcting for survivorship bias would place it in the top 11th percentile. Low-cost, broad market-cap-weighted index funds, like Vanguard Total Stock Market Index and SPY, have a better chance of surviving than their actively managed counterparts. Over the 20-year period, only 34% of active large-blend share classes survived, while 55% of index fund share classes survived. Consequently, their relative performance is better than many investors realize. It’s weird to think that 45% of index funds disappeared, but I guess that’s what happens when you open an “index fund,” charge 0.9% a year for it, and hope there are enough idiots out there who will invest in it. # 3 It Is Super-Tax Efficient But wait, there’s more. Many investors are investing in taxable accounts, where tax-efficiency matters. TSM, by virtue of its strategy (which can be found in the prospectus): is inherently extremely tax-efficient. So you should not be surprised that when you adjust the data for taxes, that TSM looks even better than its peers. (By the way, this data, also from Morningstar, does not adjust for survivorship bias either.) As you can see, at the 10 and 15 year mark, TSM is beating 93-94% of its peers, almost 19 out of 20. Now, imagine adjusting that for survivorship bias and running the numbers out to 30-60 years, your likely investing career length. Still want to take a bet on choosing a fund that will beat it? I wouldn’t. One of the reasons TSM is so tax-efficient is it can use its unique ETF share class structure to flush appreciated shares (with their associated capital gains) out of the fund. But the main reason is simply it’s low, low turnover. Since it just buys all the stocks, those stocks never leave the index so there isn’t any rapid-fire buying and selling like you see in an actively managed fund (and to a lesser extent, in an index fund that only covers a small portion of the market.) # 4 No Tracking Error Investing isn’t all about logic. It is also about behavior and discipline. One of the hardest things for investors to do is to stick with their portfolio through thick and thin. That is especially hard when their portfolio deviates significantly from that of their peers and the overall US market which is reported on a daily basis in numerous sources- print, TV, and online. That deviation is called tracking error. Guess what? TSM essentially doesn’t have any tracking error. Tracking error is MEASURED from TSM. That helps the investor to stay the course. # 5 Super-Diversified Diversification protects you from what you don’t know. If you were omniscient, you would simply pick the stock that is going to go up the most and leverage up as much as you possibly could. But you’re not, so you don’t. Instead, the smart move is to diversify. Is TSM a diversified fund? Do skiers love powder? Check this out from the most recent semiannual report: See that “number of stocks” line? 3,650. That’s a lot of companies. What’s going to happen to your investment if a couple of them go out of business this year? You’re not even going to notice (unless the two that go bankrupt are Apple and Google.) Why only own some of the stocks when you can own all the stocks? Lots of people, including Warren Buffett, like the 500 index fund. Sure, I guess 500 stocks is pretty diversified. But it seems downright silly when compared to 3,650 stocks. # 6 Economies of Scale The mutual fund industry has been built, in a sense, on witchcraft. – John C. Bogle TSM is huge. How huge? $498.5 Billion. By comparison, that’s larger than the GDP of 40 of the states in this country. Larger than Sweden’s GDP. Larger than Chile and Finland combined. If liquidated, it could run the entire US military for a year. When you have half a trillion dollars you can benefit from some sweet economies of scale. You get great prices on your trades. People come to you (and pay you) when they want to borrow shares. You can get expense ratios down into the single digits. Admiral shares and ETF shares are 5 basis points and Investor shares are 16 basis points. What does that mean? That means for every $1000 you have invested in the fund, the fund spends 50 cents on its expenses. It is essentially free. You can own the equivalent of every publicly traded company in the most economically successful country in the world for free and buy and sell it online in 10 seconds, for free. Now, there are some “me too” funds out there. Schwab has a TSM fund (3 basis points for the ETF). So does Fidelity (4.5 basis points) and iShares (3 basis points.) Is it worth it to go to these other funds to save 1-2 basis points? I don’t think so, but all of these funds are excellent investments. # 7 No Manager Risk One of my favorite aspects of TSM is that it is an index fund. That means low costs and excellent long-term returns, but it also means that I can “set it and forget it.” I don’t even know who is in charge of managing it. It’s basically all done by a computer, and that computer isn’t going to retire, get dumb, or get unlucky. I don’t have to watch it, check on it, benchmark it, or anything. I certainly don’t have to worry about whether the manager has “lost his touch” or become senile. Why run risk that you don’t have to? # 8 Widely Acknowledged to Be Smart Gold Level Scholarship Sponsor Every investment authority who is worth listening to acknowledges that a low-cost, broadly diversified index fund like TSM is a great way to invest. Warren Buffett: “Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net results (after fees and expenses) delivered by the great majority of investment professionals.” Allan Roth: “The S&P 500 fund is a great way for investors to harness the return that capitalism has to give. In fact, I think it’s better than 99.9 percent of mutual funds out there. A total stock market fund is just slightly superior.” Jack Bogle: “The index fund is a sensible, serviceable method for obtaining the market’s rate of return with absolutely no effort and minimal expense. Index funds eliminate the risks of individual stocks, market sectors and manager selection, leaving only stock market risk.” Platinum Level Scholarship Sponsor Jonathan Clements: “Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny should take a few pointers from the mutual-fund industry. All three are trying to pull off elaborate hoaxes. But while Santa and the bunny suffer the derision of eight-year olds everywhere, actively managed stock funds still have an ardent following among otherwise clear-thinking adults. This continued loyalty amazes me. Reams of statistics prove that most of the fund industry’s stock pickers fail to beat the market.” Jeremy Siegel: “There is a crucially important difference about playing the game of investing compared to virtually any other activity. Most of us have no chance of being as good as the average in any pursuit where others practice and hone skills for many, many hours. But we can be as good as the average investor in the stock market with no practice at all.” William Bernstein: “An index fund dooms you to mediocrity? Absolutely not: It virtually guarantees you superior performance.” Taylor Larimore (whose favorite fund is also TSM): “Index investing is an investment strategy that Walter Mitty would love. It takes very little investment knowledge, no skill, practically no time or effort-and outperforms about 80 percent of all investors. It allows you to spend your time working, playing, or doing anything else while your nest egg compounds on autopilot. It’s about as difficult as breathing and about as time consuming as going to a fast-food restaurant once a year.” I think you can now see why the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund is my favorite mutual fund and my largest individual holding. What do you think? Do you own TSM? Why or why not? What part has it played in building your wealth? Comment below! !function()function e()var e=document.createElement("script"),n=document.getElementById("myFinance-widget-script"),a=t+"static/widget/myFinance.js";e.type="text/javascript",e.async=!0,e.src=a,n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);var c="myFinance-widget-css";if(!document.getElementById(c))var d=document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0],i=document.createElement("link");i.id=c,i.rel="stylesheet",i.type="text/css",i.href=t+"static/widget/myFinance.css",i.media="all",d.appendChild(i)var t="http://ift.tt/2oFUowK";document.attachEvent?document.attachEvent("onreadystatechange",function()"complete"===document.readyState&&e()):document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e,!1)(); http://ift.tt/2qH1K3j

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reputationiseverything · 4 years

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How to Adapt Your Marketing During the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

email marketing for business

It’s been roughly a month now since the Coronavirus started to flip our lives upside down.

Even our businesses are suffering. Just look at the Coronavirus marketing stats I shared a few weeks ago. The results are devastating.

It’s why I decided to change Ubersuggest and make it more free to help small businesses out.

Since then a lot has changed and there are new opportunities that have come around when it comes to your online business and marketing activities.

Opportunity #1: Help others selflessly

My ad agency has thousands of clients around the world. We lost a ton, but we still have enough to see trends in what’s happening.

When I saw businesses starting to lose a lot of money, I decided to give more of Ubersuggest’s premium featurs for free. That means it would take me much longer to break even, but that isn’t something I am worried about right now.

Take look at the image below… you’ll see something interesting.

The chart breaks down how many free-trial signups Ubersuggest has received throughout the past month.

As you can see, the chart is declining. That’s because I opened up more of Ubersuggest’s paid features and made them free.

What’s interesting is you (and other community members) helped support me.

The moment I blogged about more features being opened up for free, many of you decided to purchase a paid subscription.

I received dozens of emails from the marketing community thanking me and letting me know that they appreciate everything that I was doing AND they purchased a paid plan to help me out.

Now granted, in general signups are down, but that’s what happens when you decide to give away more for free. I didn’t do it because I am trying to leverage Coronavirus or look good, instead, I am just trying to help people out just like I’ve been lucky enough to have had people help me out during my times of need.

But here is what’s interesting… my traffic started to go up on Ubersuggest the moment I told everyone that I am giving more away for free.

I’m not the only one who experienced this.

Eric Siu decided to give away a course that teaches people how to start a marketing agency for free (he normally charges $1,497) and a bit more than 250 people have taken Eric up on his offer.