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grailfinders · 4 years ago

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Fate and Phantasms #111: Irisviel (Holy Grail)

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re making the holy grail herself, Irisviel von Einzbern! Iri’s most well known for her healing abilities, but she can still surprise you.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Your cup runneth over again, but in a slightly less Destroying Humanity kinda way.

Lineage and Background

I’m almost getting tired of using Protector Aasimar for half-god characters, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t fit her. This lineage gives you +2 Charisma and +1 Wisdom, as well as some Darkvision, Celestial Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage, Healing Hands to start off your healing skills right, and the Light cantrip, using your charisma.

You’re not that far away from the rest of civilization, but I’d say literally being the holy grail probably didn’t help your social life. That’s enough of a justification for being a Hermit, I think. This gives you Religion and Arcana proficiencies, as well as one juicy secret directly from the DM themself.

Ability Scores

Good news! You’re a really nice person. Also, Charisma is your main casting ability, so we’re making that really strong. Your Wisdom is pretty good-you’re a mom, you have eyes in the back of your head, you know how it be. You’re also part omniscient wish-granting cup, so your Intelligence isn’t half bad either. After that is Dexterity, you’re not really wearing armor, not getting hit is pretty vital to your survival. Your Constitution isn’t great but we try not to dump that if we can. The same can’t be said for your Strength- it isn’t very useful in this build, and you’re definitely not in the same niche as Jalter.

Class Levels

1. Sorcerer 1: Yes your power comes from the holy grail, but it comes from you being the holy grail. That’s a Divine Soul Sorcerer if I ever saw one. That makes you Favored by the Gods, letting you add 2d4 to a failed saving throw or attack once per short rest. “Please don’t let me get hit by that fireball” is a pretty easy wish to grant. You also get proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as two skills. Persuasion and Insight should help you keep Illya in line.

You can also cast Spells, using Charisma as your casting ability. On top of the normal sorcerer spells, your Divine Magic lets you grab spells from the cleric spell list, including Cure Wounds as a freebie.

For your other spells, grab Friends to strengthen your mom stare, Control Flames for a bit of that elemental nonsense from the end of the zero event, Prestidigitation for the hell of it, and Mending so you can heal inanimate objects as well. You can also Bless up to three creatures for up to a minute, giving them an extra d4 for attack rolls and saving throws. You should also grab Mage Armor so you don’t die. The Dress of Heaven gives you a lot of things, but AC isn’t one of them.

2. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers become a Font of Magic, giving you a number of sorcery points equal to your level. As a bonus action you can spend sorcery points to make new spell slots, or spend a spell slot to make more sorcery points.

You can also cast Purify Food and Drink now, to clean up all the grail mud.

3. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers can use Metamagic to customize their casting. Irisviel can cast Quickened Spells, reducing the casting time of a spell from an action to a bonus action, or Twinned Spells, casting a single-target spell to two targets instead. Turns out being part grail gives you an edge over traditional mages.

This is also the level your Radiant Soul takes effect, letting you transform as an action once per long rest. It lasts a minute, giving you a flying speed for the duration, and letting you add radiant damage to your attacks and spells once per turn. The extra damage isn’t super useful, but you’re a literal angel now!

To celebrate, you can also say a Prayer of Healing to heal your party all at once.

4. Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to round up your Wisdom and Charisma. More Healing, and later more healing! What’s not to love?

You can cast Guidance this level to add a d4 to a creature’s next check as a cantrip, or Enhance Ability to help grant some ability check-related wishes.

5. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers get third level spells, but they also get Magical Guidance. When you fail an ability check, you can re-roll the check by spending a sorcery point.

You can also cast Daylight now, shining light out from either a point or object you choose and dispelling magical darkness.

6. Sorcerer 6: Sixth level divine sorcerers have Empowered Healing- whenever a nearby creature is healed by a spell, you can spend a sorcery point to re-roll any dice in that spell, once per turn.

To make the most of that feature, you can now cast Mass Healing Word, to heal six creatures as a bonus action.

7. Cleric 1: Being a cleric and divine sorcerer causes a bit of an overlap, but come on-you are the holy grail, after all. As a Life Domain cleric, you get another set of Spells that use your Wisdom to cast. You’re also a Disciple of Life, giving extra healing based on the level of your healing spells.

(You also get heavy armor proficiency, but let’s just ignore that.)

Speaking of spells, you can cast the cantrips Resistance, Spare the Dying, and Word of Radiance now, and you can also prepare 1st level cleric spells, including your domain spells Bless and Cure Wounds. They’re not as strong as your sorcerer spells, but if you need something weirder like Create or Destroy Water or Ceremony you don’t have to commit as much as your sorcery spell list.

8. Cleric 2: Second level clerics can Channel Divinity once per short rest to either Turn Undead or Preserve Life. The former forces a wisdom save (of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your wisdom modifier) or they’re forced to run away from you until they take damage. The latter lets you heal five times your cleric level to any creatures within 30′ of you, but only up to half their HP, as an action.

9. Cleric 3: At this level, you learn how to use Lesser Restoration for healing status effects, and you can trace swords thanks to your Spiritual Weapon.

10. Cleric 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity so you don’t have to worry about dying quite as much. You can also cast Thaumaturgy, because we’re running out of cantrips.

11. Cleric 5: Your Turn Undead becomes Destroy Undead, instantly killing any undead of cr 1/2 or lower who fail their wisdom save. You can also cast third level spells, like Beacon of Hope to maximize your healing and Revivify to bring others back to life. Death is generally pretty permanent in Fate, but you’re the grail you do what you want.

12. Cleric 6: Your final level of cleric lets you use Channel Divinity twice per short rest, and you become a Blessed Healer. Whenever you heal another creature, you also regain a bit of HP.

13. Sorcerer 7: Back in sorcerer, you can finally cast fourth level spells! Aura of Life gives those around your resistance to necrotic damage, and your allies regain 1 HP if they start their turn in the aura with 0 hp. One HP is always a lot when it’s the difference between consciousness and having to make a death save, but combining that with Disciple of Life will give them just a bit more breathing room.

14. Sorcerer 8: Speaking of not dying, use this ASI to get a bit of Constitution for a retroactive 14 bonus HP. A lot of casters are pretty squishy, but there’s limits to what you should have to put up with.

You can also cast a Death Ward on a creature to give them their own guts, preventing them from reaching 0 HP or dying once in the next 8 hours.

15. Sorcerer 9: Grab Mass Cure Wounds as your first fifth level spell to get the most out of all your healing bonuses.

16. Sorcerer 10: Tenth level sorcerers get another Metamagic option- Extended Spell will help you get the most out of Death Wards and Auras.

Your newest spells don’t benefit from this, but Gust and Greater Restoration are still great picks, giving you a bit more elemental control as well as taking care of more stubborn status effects.

17. Sorcerer 11: Your first and only sixth level spell is Heal, for, y’know, healing. It heals a flat 70 HP, and ends blindness, deafness, and disease.

18. Sorcerer 12: Use your last ASI to bump up your Dexterity one last time for an even better AC.

19. Sorcerer 13: Your final spell of the build is multiple choice! Investiture of Flame, Ice, Stone, or Wind will let you take on one of your Elemental personas from the event. Flame deals damage to creatures near you, makes you immune to fire and resist cold damage, and you can use your action to launch gouts of fire at your enemies. Ice makes you immune to cold and resist fire damage, the area around you is difficult terrain for anyone who isn’t you, and you can use your action to blast freezing cold. Stone gives you resistance to nonmagical weapons, you can use your action to create earthquakes, and you can pass through earth-based difficult terrain or solid stone normally. Finally, Wind causes disadvantage on ranged attacks against you, you gain a flying speed, and you can use your action to make windstorms that push creatures and deal bludgeoning damage.

20. Sorcerer 14: Your capstone level gives you an Angelic Form, using your bonus action to create a pair of wings that give you a flying speed until you dismiss them.

Pros:

You’re really good at healing your party, with multiple features to maximize your healing spells, and metamagic to fit as many of them into a turn as possible.

Flight is incredibly useful for casters, as it significantly reduces the number of enemies that can hurt you. It also lets you ignore difficult terrain as you move between teammates.

Thanks to Blessed Healer and your metamagic, you won’t have to make as many choices between healing yourself and healing your party.

Cons:

You have very low hp, so you’re in danger of getting destroyed by surprise attacks from martial classes or getting hit with a Power Word Kill.

You don’t have too many spells with Concentration, but you do have enough to make your low constitution a bit of an issue.

Your low strength means you might be getting pushed around by beefier enemies.

#Fate Grand Order #Irisviel von Einzbern #D&D 5e #FGO #Fate and Phantasms

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wide-eyedscottishlass · 4 years ago

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Scarlett and the Professor - a startling revelation

[continued from] [contains brief NSFW material]

The way that Scarlett had kissed him when they parted lingered in Hennessy’s mind far longer than was fit for his intentions towards her. As he fell asleep in the nights that followed; when he woke up in the dark, needing to use the loo. Making him wonder if she was sleeping soundly, warm and soft, and far from his bed. Making him hope that he was the stuff of her dreams.

But this was ludicrous! Untenable and undisciplined. And even as he watched her, innocently sitting two rows back from his desk—modestly attired in a knee length dress of pale peach, silk chiffon, the flawless skin of her throat and decolletage beckoning to him nonetheless—he sure as hellfire intended to do something about it.

Thus far, she had made no obvious attempt to garner his attention. Throughout Monday’s class and today’s—which was quickly winding down—Scarlett had played the part of a model student. Seated demurely while studiously taking notes, alert and attentive, and even raising her hand in bids to answer questions. True, when he allowed himself to call upon her, the slight flush that colored her cheeks was surely on his account, but she answered so confidently that it almost felt like she was daring him to correct her.

She’d worn her hair loose today and on Monday too, instead of her customary chignon. Distracting him with thoughts of how it felt pooled in his hands, spread across the skin of his chest, and—for Christ’s sake!–brushing against his thighs when she worshipped him with her mouth. Goddammit! How the hell had she insinuated herself into his forebrain this way, and after such relatively little time? It boggled the mind.

Hennessy was particularly aware of her scent; the combination of her shampoo, the natural aroma of her skin, combined with her light, delicate perfume. He knew that couldn’t be helped, of course, as he’d worn her scent on his skin during their many hours of sin, and it had lingered on his sheets until his cleaning woman had changed them out. Whenever Hennessy walked the aisle where Scarlett sat, it assaulted his senses, made his mouth water, and caused him just the slightest hesitation in delivery of his lecture.

Even now, as he backed up the aisle on his way to his desk, she didn’t even react when his fingertips just grazed her arm where it rested on her desk. Scarlett before the series of sensual lessons he had granted her would have given a quiet gasp and wouldn’t have been able to tear her eyes from him. This Scarlett was gazing at the blackboard while she absentmindedly nibbled on the end of her pencil, seemingly unaware of how that action made him lick his own lips as he considered the taste and texture of her pretty, precious mouth. Hennessy realized he must do something soon to change the trajectory he was on.

He was so immersed in his thoughts that the noon bell took him by surprise, but he quickly recovered and muttered his dismissal. Scarlett was up and out of his classroom with the rest of the students, not even granting him a moment’s acknowledgement of their wicked secret. How was this to be borne! No lover had turned the tables on him so effortlessly before, and without even trying. But what could he do about Scarlett?

Hennessy took to his chair, mulling over his options, and each seemed less satisfactory than the previous one. His mobile buzzed with a text alert, and he grabbed his phone from the pocket of his jacket, which was draped across the back of his chair. “Well...I’ll...be...damned...” he grinned, his dexterous fingers skating across the keypad in reply. This is practically a deus ex machina, he chuckled, with timing that couldn’t be more perfect.

_______________________________________

Hennessy was nursing his second scotch on the rocks, taking his drink slowly as he figured he’d be hitting the road not long after his awaited guest arrived. This wasn’t so much a bar, as a seedy, roadside dive, but considering the nature of their meetup, it suited the mood perfectly. His belly felt tight with anticipation, further piqued by the burn of the liquor as he scanned the room, satisfied to see that the other few, isolated patrons were involved in minding their own business.

She was late, of course, a perpetual habit which he’d grown accustomed to years ago, but he expected her arrival at any moment now. And sure enough, as though he had summoned her by thought alone, his favorite tall and leggy redhead strolled through the door.

Sylvie Martin, Professor of Biology, specializing in Humans and Primates. Sylvie Caldwell nee Martin, he reminded himself as she approached and he caught the flash of her huge and rather gaudy diamond engagement ring. Interestingly, she was wearing it on her right-hand ring finger rather then her left. A portent of good things to come, as far as Hennessy was concerned.

She wore a snug, silk dress with a Mandarin collar and a slit up one side, with a dark green, Oriental print embossed on it’s emerald green background, along with her trademark spiked heels, in matching green. Sylvie knew that color flattered her best, and she certainly was a sight for sore eyes. Once she spotted him, she moved with unflappable focus towards his booth. “Darling...Henns!” she greeted him as he rose to embrace her, allowing him the familiarity of lingering his palm against her back. No bra...all the better, he thought, breathing in Dior’s J’adore, which had always been her favorite perfume, and wondering if she had arrived sans thong as well. He’d likely discover the answer for himself soon enough.

“Sylvie, you dazzle me as always,” he proclaimed, kissing her cheek, “And honestly, the island hasn’t been the same since you decamped.” Hennessy motioned to the cocktail waitress to bring the round of drinks he’d preordered for them; a dirty martini for Sylvie and another tumbler of scotch for himself. He waited for his guest to slide into the booth and then joined her, not at all hesitant to press his thigh against hers. “So tell me, darling- what brings you back to us now? Business...or pleasure?

“Hennzy,” she smirked, tracing the rim of her glass before eyeing him sideways, “A little bit of business, as I finally found a buyer for my old place.” Sylvie turned to him and ran the same finger along his cheekbone. “And as for pleasure, well...” she sighed and batted her eyes, “...I was counting on you for that.”

“Moi,” he exclaimed, feigning shock, “I thought those days were done! I mean, what would Gerald say?”

“That he married an insatiable tart,” she huffed, then took a deep swallow of her martini, “And that a leopard can’t change her spots, no matter how much luxury you lavish upon her...”

“Ahhhhh, my poor, dear Sylvie,” he tutted, biting his lip against a smirk of his own. Hennessy had been certain when she’d left the University without giving even a week’s notice, and had barely bid farewell to even her closest friends as she pursued the 50-something tech mogul that had feted her through a whirlwind courtship---following him to his home base in the States---that she would be back one day. In the finest gold digger tradition, they had married within a month. Hennessy hoped now, as he had when he first read her text announcing the news, that she’d been smart enough to get a generous prenup. “I’ll be only too glad to help, of course,” he patted her hand in mock consolation, knowing that her heart had never truly been invested in that relationship, “Just tell me what you need, darling.”

Sylvie laughed slyly, confirming what he had expected from the moment he had gotten her text this afternoon, “Well, we could start with a night full of shameless shagging.” Leaning into him, she murmured in his ear, “You know that you were always my favorite fuck buddy for that, Henns.” She tugged his earlobe between her teeth as she pulled away, and his prick twitched with the need she had awoken. “Please don’t say no, darling,” she pouted as she eyed him hungrily, “It’s been ages since I’ve been properly railed.”

Why the hell not, he thought, astounded that the universe had hand delivered the perfect answer to his dilemma. She’s the most delectable, effortless and no-strings-attached distraction that I ever could have asked for. Hennessy grabbed his glass and downed the remaining liquid in a single, hearty swallow. “What the fuck are we waiting for,” he growled, “Which will it be, darling- your place or mine?”

___________________________________

As Sylvie had arrived by Uber, they took took the Spitfire back to her hotel. Never one to stand on ceremony, she didn’t even wait two minutes before she snaked her hand across his thigh. “Mmmmm...good old Hennessy,” she purred, “And your...mmmmm...incomparable...dedicated...always delicious cock...”

He shifted slightly, instinctively thrusting his pelvis up to maximize her access, even while warning her, “Christ, woman---let me get us there in one piece first...”

“I can’t help it, baby,” she whined, “I’ve missed this...missed you...sooooo verrrrry much.”

Hennessy turned her way just enough to note the naked lust in every line of her gorgeous features. There’s never been anything subtle about her, he recalled, as a moue of distaste whispered at the back of his mind; but sometimes a man wants subtlety. Sometimes he wants a woman who’s soft and pliable, and...aching to follow his lead.

He gave a rough shake of his head, banishing that very uncharacteristic course of thought, and pressed his foot down harder on the gas pedal. Sylvie threw back her head at the sudden acceleration, laughing hard and taking that as a sign of his eagerness. “Oh, Henns, you know I’ve always adored when you go fast!” She gave the bulge in his trousers a hearty squeeze.

He grunted back, then plucked her questing hand from his crotch and raised it enough to give it a half-hearted kiss. “Not in everything, Sylvie,” he reminded her, his eyes remaining squarely on the road ahead, “And never when it’s crucial to go slow.”

“Hmmmmm...right. I’d forgotten that sometimes a devil like you can show the patience of a saint,” she trilled, taking back her hand and laying it next to the gear shift, “So I suppose I’d better follow your example---for the time being.”

“You best believe it, Syl...” Much to his chagrin, Hennessy was beginning to remember the slew of things about his friend-with-benefits that used to get on his nerves, and always ended with them going their separate ways for months at a time. Until one or the other of them had an itch for the kind of raw, filthy sex that had been their perpetual default setting. Of course, that was exactly what he was in need of now. At least once we begin, he reckoned, she’ll just shut up and put her mouth to better use than stating the obvious.

She stayed fairly silent for the rest of the trip, likely having picked up the vibe that he wasn’t in the mood for trifling. Sylvie did grab his hand when they exited the car---pulling him along from the parking lot and through the airy lobby, and then into the elevator up to her suite. As soon as the doors slid shut, she had draped her arms around his neck, pressed her body to his as tightly as she could, and captured his mouth with a relentless, probing kiss. Hennessy had answered her advance by cupping her bottom in both hands---finding that ‘yes’ was the answer to his earlier speculation that she might be completely bare under her dress.

He was thinking what a cliche this was, and that he wished she was making their liaison at least a bit challenging. Worse still, Hennessy was finding himself more than a little sorry for Sylvie, wondering just how miserable she must have been since the fresh bloom of her hasty marriage had faded away. That she’d fooled herself into thinking she could endure a union that had no true spark, and that Caldwell’s money would be enough to make her happy with a man who clearly didn’t understand or appreciate her true nature.

But as she swiped her keycard to grant them entry to her rooms, Hennessy reminded himself that he wasn’t here to be her therapist or confessor. He wasn’t going to ask about what problems she was having---be they marital or otherwise---and he hoped that Sylvie wouldn’t try to tell. They each had pressing needs to fulfill, and as far as he was concerned, this was simply a palate cleanser. A chance to put some distance between himself and the threat that he was developing an obsession for the most unlikely of candidates.

Once across the threshold, Sylvie headed towards the bar cart, where sat a sealed bottle of Glenlivit 12-Year, alongside a covered ice bucket. The sight immediately sobered him, as though the universe wanted to remind him of the very memories he was trying to blot out. It’s just coincidence, he tried to convince himself; besides which, Sylvie knows what I like. Of course she’d have that waiting for us, on the presumption that we’d end up here tonight. Hennessy didn’t say a word as she poured out for the both of them---moving to her side instead, to take the tumbler she offered him and set it back down on the bar.

Perplexed, she started to ask why, but he shook his head and then took her face in his hands, to land a needy kiss upon her willing mouth. All that he wanted now was to be in the moment; to spare no thoughts for the past several days, nor any for the future beyond what would happen in the confines of these rooms.

Ensnared in hungry, almost violent kisses to begin with, their hands plucking at one another’s clothing, they ended up on the sofa with Sylvie straddling his hips, bending low to slather his skin, his nipples, the contours of his ribs, with further hot, impatient kisses. Hennessy was well aware where she was leading, and he thrust both hands into her flame-red tresses, gradually guiding her down to her inevitable destination. She slid her body further down so that she could undo his trousers and nuzzle his erection through his briefs.

He groaned at the scrumptious sensation, watching her intently, and she looked up at him with a knowing smile. “Bet I still give the best head on the island, Hennzy,” she proclaimed, then wet her lips and smacked them hard.

“I’ll be the judge of that, Syl,” he countered, laying his head back while tightening his fingers in her hair, “Talk is cheap. Just fucking show me. Right fucking now...”

She tugged his clothing far enough down to give herself full access to his works. And good god, yes, she hadn’t lost a trick; her tongue was as silky and as talented as he remembered. Her fingers knew just what he liked. Her mouth welcomed him greedily, and it all felt bloody fantastic.

Yet something was missing. Something elementary, but vital enough that despite how great it was, he felt a sort of cool detachment. That he was experiencing a purely mechanical act, carried out by rote, devoid of...joy. Stripped of warmth and any connection beyond the physical. Sylvie was dedicated alright, relentlessly sucking and taking him deep, caressing his bollocks and teasing them with her manicured nails, groaning as she worked him---and yet, Hennessy didn’t feel any nearer to his climax. And shockingly, he didn’t care if he came or not.

Without intending to, his fingers went slack in her hair, although Sylvia didn’t seem to notice. He squeezed his eyes tighter, aghast at the sudden notion of losing his erection before she was finished with him. Desperately, he searched his mind for images to help him stave off a humiliation he had never experienced before. His heart jumping ahead, supplying the answer which he couldn’t deny.

Scarlett.

His soft, compliant, delectable Scarlett.

Hennessy drew a sudden gasp---Sylvie would take it for a gasp of pleasure---as the images flooded his mind. Scarlett kneeling before him in the sand, woefully inexperienced and skittish, but bravely following his first demand of her. In his study, sliding onto the floor from his lap, eager to please him, to taste him, but turning shy in the aftermath, at the relish she had taken in their shared sin. His Scarlett. The pure dedication in her eyes as she looked up at him before she began, and the small, sweet sounds she gave over as she generously loved him---which always felt like proof of her devotion. The astonishing beauty of her head and hands adoring him, reflected in the mirror above his bed. And then how she clung to him afterwards, leaving trails of soft, loving kisses on his thighs.

“Yes...yes...mmmmm...that’s my girl,” he murmured, beginning to thrust himself into Sylvie’s mouth. “My darling, little lamb,” he panted, repeatedly hitting the back of Sylvie’s throat, as he imagined it was Scarlett doing the deed, with her pretty, pouty mouth. Her tender, loving tongue. “Fuck...oh fuck, that’s good baby,” he groaned, the need to explode into his orgasm building and building all through his pelvis and his loins, as it hit him that when Scarlett did him, each moment of bliss she gave him arose from her generous and loving heart. “Mine...mine...” he cried out, arching his body off the sofa cushions, grunting with each hard pump of his hips and tugging hard on Sylvie’s hair. “...mine...my jo...” he sighed as he finished, the euphoria and warmth spreading through his veins, mercifully allowing him to forget for a little while that he’d been forced to fantasize in order to reach his to satisfaction.

Sylvie propped herself above him, her lipstick smeared, her mouth and chin slick with her saliva and his semen, and looking very pleased with herself. “God, how I’ve missed that, Henns! Just like old times,” she laughed, “But what’s with this little lamb shit? Where the hell did that come from?”

Hennessy had no problem fibbing his way through that faux pas. His mouth dropped open as though he was shocked and he huffed cynically, “Honestly, Syl? I have no fucking clue...”

She narrowed her eyes and frowned slightly as she looked for the lie on his face. “Alright then- but don’t do it again. If you’re going to call me by a pet name, I’d rather it weren’t a farm animal.”

“Got it,” he winked, “Let’s forget it ever happened.”

“Forgotten already,” she told him, then brushed a quick kiss on his mouth, before clambering off of him. The top of Sylvie’s dress was bunched around her waist, but she didn’t seem to care as she headed to refill her glass and fetch his. This time, when she offered him the scotch, he took it and immediately swallowed half ot it---for he knew he couldn’t avoid what was coming next.

“So, Henns...”Her voice had taken on a pouty, singsong quality, “Not to be gauche, but you owe me one now...”

Christ! Was she always like this, he wondered; and was I just blinded by the sex?

”...well, at least one,” she added, “Although I know you’re good for...many more.” She tossed back the rest of her scotch, gave a shake of her head as the burn went down, then wagged her head in the direction of the bedroom. “How about we crack on, as you Brits like to say?”

“Righto.” Hennessy finished his drink and stood up, resigned to the unsavory outcome he’d wrought for himself. Knowing that he was obliged to a small degree---the wheels in his head busy spinning as he searched for a way to extricate himself with his dignity intact, before he was quite literally in too deep.

tagging: @strangelock221b @thelostsmiles @letterstosherlock @splunge4me2art @tsukuyomi011 @emilyinnj4real @aeterna-auroral-avenger @frowerssx2 @groovyfluxie @humanbornarchangel @elizaaugust @ravencatart @doctor-stephenstrange @ben-c-group-therapy @cumbercougars

#my writing #Scarlett and the Professor #buyer's remorse #Scarlett Campbell #OFC #OMC #not my OMC and used with permission #(as long as tacit permission remains)#Scarlett's wicked Professor #Professor Hennessy #Hennessy.#OFC.#Sylvie Martin

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goodguysparis · 5 years ago

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wolfmaskart · 5 years ago

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What is an Autoresponder and do I require one for My business? The 2nd Do I require to consider Email Marketing?

Having a targeted e-mail list and utilizing effective email marketing resembles owning a individual bank device ... but only as long as you do it right. Many people don't. It's essential to keep in mind, that I have actually run email campaigns that have generated thousands in commissions, and I've sent out e-mails that failed to produce a single cent. While it's not always foreseeable, there are things I've discovered throughout the years that can produce more consistency in between the 2. Now presuming you have actually done the foundation and matched your deal to the list, there specify methods you can do to increase your sales from each e-mail. It's naturally difficult to speak to each individual individually. While they get the email straight to their inbox and read it as if you sent it to a single person, you really may be speaking to 10s or perhaps numerous thousands of people at when. The trick here is that all of us have fundamental characteristics that you must be "speaking" to. Tap into these and view your outcomes skyrocket. A while back I surveyed one of my lists and the following are principles I've pulled from the precise words used by genuine paying clients. Save Time: The bulk of us get a lot of e-mail, and it's safe to presume we have very hectic lives. The technique here is that we all MAKE time for the things we desire. (like perhaps your marketing offer!). Here's how to tap into this belief. Prior to sending your next promo, ask yourself ... Does the deal saves your consumer valuable time? If so you need to absolutely discuss how it does. " Do you waste hours, on x, y, and z? Would you rather hang around on (list more intriguing things). Here's an deal that conserves you time by doing this, and letting you do (the more interesting things).". Fix a Issue:. Disappointment is a substantial incentive! Understanding your audiences most significant issues, and disappointments is the essential to increasing your sales. If you can legitimately offer a service to assist them fix a big problem, it's an easy sale. Your only task then is to clearly describe and let them understand how it does that. Combine it with the time trick above you have major sales firepower. " Are you squandering your time trying to solve this big and frustrating problem? If that issue was gone, picture how much simpler your day would be. The great feature of this (insert product) is the hours of time it conserves and how it solves xyz problem by doing this this and this. Here's where you get can it now ...". Amuse:. How lots of people sit down each night and see TV for a minimum of an hour? Consider all the different methods, and billions of dollars invested on entertainment. It must be apparent that we like a little excitement and variety in life. Make certain your emails not just explain the product, but they are entertaining and interesting at the same time. Tell stories, and paint photos. If you can conserve time, resolve a issue, and be amusing or funny in the process. Well golly gee you're going to be rich and popular at the very same time! " Bahhh, Bahhh ... The animals mixed in line, one by one. What a aggravating zoo this day has been. Today I was standing in line at the coffeehouse. I felt rather ridiculous simply waiting there, and started to fantasize. When I suddenly thought of everybody bleating aloud like sheep. I nearly lost it chuckling in the middle of Starbucks. Can you envision me, the crazy guy in line just busting out laughing. Possibly I actually was crazy. Who wishes to stand around like sheep wasting important time, for an overpriced cup of joe. So back in the house on the computer system, and truly sulking I got to believing. There's got to be a much better way. After one creative Facebook post about the encounter and hours of feline videos later on ... Bingo ... I stumbled onto this ... (affiliate link). This amazing maker makes actual Starbucks coffee right there on your countertop. Get this ... it does it in 10 seconds at the push of a button. What a relief. I went to the shop and bought it on the area. Think which line I WON'T be in tomorrow. If you do not wish to pay too much, and lose time in line for a easy coffee than I extremely suggest this extremely amazing immediate coffee machine. You do not even have to leave your house to buy it. You can get it right here online ... ( link). Now you have actually got more time for feline videos like me! Bahhh bye for now!". Got it? Amusing, story, entertaining, save time, solve issue ... immediate sale! Talk to Emotions:. Okay, I snuck this one in there on the previous example. Unless you're a cyborg or something, you probably have experienced more than your share of emotions in a life time. Guess what? They work fantastic in story telling, and sales. In the above story, I felt frustrated, silly, and laugh out loud happy, and lastly relief. Oftentimes ours issues come along with really particular feelings. Anger, frustration, unhappiness, and so on. With those problems fixed, we experience the opposite. Delighted, relieved, pleased. When you feel these things, take note. Incorporate them into your marketing. More than happy when you make money from all your e-mail sales. Create Exclusivity:. Someplace deep within us is a 5 years of age joking sticking out their tongue and saying "na na I got this and you donnnnn' t". It's some sort of difficult coded sensation that we desire to be special distinct flowers of exclusivity. Envision you see an fantastic item of clothing at the shop, buy it, and more than happy. The next day you are standing in line for coffee (see what I did there hahaha) ... and literally EVERY single individual in line was using the same thing. Well gosh you may feel a bit dissatisfied. It's also the factor so numerous iDevices are sold on the very first day, because there's a limited supply and you'll be among the select couple of that has it initially. So let's see how we might make this work. As an affiliate you have limited effect on the exclusivity of the item you're promoting. You can create your own. You can include value, service, or bonus to the offer that Remains In restricted exclusive supply. Nobody else will get this valuable benefit offer however you, my valued customer. Geminii Review:. Geminii has been produced to offer HUGE value on the front end and will give any beginner access to the 3 essential tools that EVERYBODY requires when they begin their online business. These 3 important tools are likewise consisted of in the ONE TIME ONLY price that would otherwise cost you individual month-to-month costs. The apps consist of:. - Simple cloud based autoresponder to enable users to begin with the wildly successful e-mail marketing organisation design. Functions include the capability to publish their consumer lists via.csv, send unrestricted email newsletters. - The Geminii e-mail marketing tool box; Increase your click rates utilizing Timers, Shortage Bars and Buy Buttons " Within" your emails. - Squeeze page creator with 2 personalized design templates completely hosted by us with the option to download all leads generated. - Training by zeeshan will show you how each specific app works and Jono will show you how all of the apps mesh and how to begin driving traffic to your pages utilizing Bing advertisements. - Premium List Structure Revenue Tools WITHOUT Monthly Expenses - Conserve $1000s each year. - Maximize Your Email Profits & Conversions - Without any copywriting skills. - Your Own On-Demand Traffic Source - For limitless revenue capacity. - Effortlessly Start & Grow Lists In Any Niche From Scratch - 100% newbie friendly. - Automate & Scale Your Income - The finest passive profit technique in the world. - Develop Possibly Life-Changing Income In Minutes Per Day - Just by sending out an email.

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poisonappletales · 7 years ago

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BATW Update + Ambrosia’s Tips

Good evening, everybody! Some of you might recognize this from Ambrosia’s. It’s also one of her future costumes and hairstyles in Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces). Now, I assume you all would have voted for which style you prefer, so I won’t have to make two different versions all the time.

If you’ve played Ambrosia’s, you’ll be able to see the animation as well - her shoulders rising and falling as she breathes. Her eyes flicker and her hair rustles.

The other characters will have similar animations with some differences.

About this costume specifically, it’s meant to be evocative of a rose. The red shawl makes up the encircling petals, while the green floor-length skirt is like the stem. Can you see it?

Anyway, I’ve been working on the programming/writing for Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces) lately. Let me give you a brief preview. I’ve edited it to be in first-person story format (from Ambrosia’s perspective) since I feel odd just plunking it down here in game format.

If you’re here just for Ambrosia’s Tips, then feel free to scroll past the excerpt below:

“It’s the Vi I can’t really trust,” Sir Chase said, his eyes like hard flints. “Especially that prince. What’s his name? Alexandrite?”

I scarcely nodded before he continued, “He’s responsible for more than half of our battles – the ones that could be called massacres. He’s the one who has Onyx on a leash."

At that, I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh, Sir Chase!"

“What? It’s true, isn’t it? Onyx is the prince’s dog. The king’s too, but it’s not like the king does anything other than lay with our women.” His frown deepened. “For that matter, I don’t trust Onyx either. I feel like he enjoys seeing our men bleed.”

His hazel eyes darkened as he added in a mutter, “Stinkin’ war chief." He snapped his gaze back to me. “In fact, I don’t know which one of the Vi I would really want to sit down and share a meal with."

I wished I could have changed his mind by extolling a few of the Vi’s virtues, but what could I have said? Would he have wanted to hear about how strong and stalwartly the Vi defended us when it spelled their demise?

Would he have wanted to hear how they were our hero when they were the perpetrator behind the Trold’s downfall?

Truth be told, I scarcely even knew the Vi on a personal level.

I couldn’t say that Sir Onyx was an experienced veteran with sage wisdom and a hearty laugh when I never ate with him myself. I couldn’t even tell you how his laugh sounded like. I had never seen him without his helmet myself.

No, that wasn’t quite right.

I had seen him without his helmet once. I had seen the prince’s visage at that time as well. However, it was so long ago and amidst so many people that I could hardly begin to remember.

Something I will note about the above:

✿ This is from the First Act!

❀ Depending on your choices, you may miss this scene, but I wanted you to learn a little more about the Vi’s reputation, so there you go.

✿ Within a social circle, Ambrosia tends to be the quieter one. In the demo, Jasmine and Rosemary will sometimes go back and forth, while Ambrosia listens or gently tries to keep the peace.

Rosemary is outgoing, Jasmine is opinionated, and Ambrosia is the shy sweetheart. She doesn’t want to interrupt the flow of conversation, and she sees herself as a person who neither draws attention nor deserves it, so it’s better if someone more interesting speaks.

Of course, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have thoughts or strong feelings, as you might have observed in the excerpt above.

By the way, I’m not sure if anyone’s realized this, but Ambrosia is meant to speak with a hint of an “imperfect” accent. Reminiscent of British and oriental - but not the stereotyped sound you might hear in a movie or TV show. Closer to the kind you might hear when someone speaks another language and English isn’t their native tongue.

On one hand, her soft-spoken intonation is a product of her demure nature. On the other...well, I’ll let you find that out yourself later, but it’s why X wonders (in X’s Notes and the bonus scene, pictured directly below) whether she really has an accent.

I’ll leave that there as food for thought. On a side note, I’ve updated Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces) recently to fix minor bugs and typos! I’ve also increased the volume of Ambrosia’s lines since someone mentioned it was a tad low. A big thank you to all of you who are helping us this way.

Now then! Let me give you some tips for when you pay a visit to Ambrosia’s. ♥

- This is a super short game! Think of it as being episodic, with each update bringing in new features.

- You will run out of questions to ask her. At that point in time, feel free to put down the game and wait for the update. Pay her a visit any time you want some company! The game will automatically save your current number of relationship points.

- When you’re talking to her, don’t forget that it’s a conversation. In between questions, you may want to wait around for her to say something. It shouldn’t take her too long to speak. If you shoot off questions in a row, it’ll sound like a job interview or an interrogation, right? But you can certainly do that if you want to.

- If you raise her suspicion/make her feel Guarded, this is easily fixed. You don’t have to re-download the whole game. In real life, what would you do if you accidentally alarmed someone? You could change the subject to something happier or do something else (like play a game or watch TV). You could also exit the game and come back.

- If you want to know if she’s feeling Guarded, make these choices: Talk to Ambrosia >> You wanted to ask... >> Something in general. >> Ask about how she’s doing.

If you get a statement similar to the screenshot above, that means she’s feeling Guarded.

You can ask her how she’s doing as many times as you want! She won’t treat it as hostile or like an interrogation. She’s happy and honored you’re interested in seeing how she’s doing.

- You don’t have to play in real-time! This is only an option. If you don’t have time for that, you can simulate it by exiting the game and coming back in. Exiting the game and coming back in is kind of like your webpage’s refresh button.

- You can share your problems with Ambrosia by talking to the screen OR making the following choices: Talk to Ambrosia >> You wanted to talk about... >> You’re feeling down about... >> Any choice (except for Back) >> Any choice (except for Back)

If you wait around, she’ll say something different when you wait around for her to speak.

If you tell her about an upcoming exam/test or doctor’s appointment, she’ll say something different when you close the game and come back.

- When it comes to watching TV, she won’t recognize every series you type down, but you may be surprised by what she does! As a general rule, she doesn’t like graphic series or shows with offensive content.

If you do pick something that she’s not comfortable with, she’ll let you know! Other times, she may try to push herself to watch what you want. She tries to look for the positive in anything you watch. But expect her to close her eyes during any scary scenes!

In the screenshot above, this is something she murmurs during one of your TV sittings. (In this case, we randomly went with Game of Thrones.)

- What’s that Update button for? Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces) updates. Each game update/episode will see something new when you click that button!

- Do you want to restart the game? We strongly recommend reading the in-game How to Play, which shows up as one of the beginning choices when you start up Ambrosia’s.

To summarize, here are possible ways to approach Ambrosia (whether it’s the best way or not is up to you!):

♥ Have a conversation with her and don’t ask her too many questions straight in a row. (Make statements by choosing to talk to her about something or wait for her to speak. You can also do some other activities if you like.)

♥ Periodically ask about how she’s doing if you want to know if she’s feeling Guarded (and thus, less forthcoming).

♥ Playing games, watching TV and talking to her will give you a better relationship. When it comes to talking, don’t forget that you might want to treat it like a conversation (i.e. occasionally make statements and/or let her say something to you).

♥ Exit the game and come back to give Ambrosia some space. She’ll treat it as if you stepped out the room and came back. Made a mistake with her? This is what you want to do. It’ll be like refreshing your web browser!

♥ Forget all that and do whatever you want! If you want to grill her with questions, go for it. Do you want to ask her how she’s doing after every action? You can! How you interact with her is entirely your choice.

♥ Please be patient when waiting for the next update. The story will continue in, shall we say, the next “episode.” After you’ve done all you can do, all you can do is answer the survey and/or wait! Your relationship will carry over to the next update.

♥ If you want to restart the game, read the in-game How to Play for more details. By re-downloading the game, you can restart it...but the How to Play will give you more details!

♥ Feel free to join the Discord. Whether you’ve played Don’t Take This Risk, Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces), or any one of our other games, you’re welcome there.

As a side note...if you want to maximize your relationship with her, it’s your conversations and activities that matter most. If a week passes but you don’t speak with her, it’ll count for very little.

What does this mean? If you don’t want to play the game over the course of a few days, spam the exit button and then charge straight back in. As I said, exiting the game and coming back will be the same as you leaving and returning. An alternative to playing it in real-time.

Tips for the Don’t Take This Risk easter egg:

♥ There’s a 1-in-23 chance of getting it when you first open the game!

♥ You have to specify yourself as female in the prologue.

♥ It won’t show up at all if you exit the game and come back under an hour. Wait at least an hour before trying again.

An update for the game is on the way, so be sure to get your survey answers in! This is your time to let me know what you want to do.

You might have noticed that it’s impossible to go outside. Not to mention, there’s only one game you can play with her (Rock, Paper, Scissors). That’s because I wanted you to tell me where you want to go and what you want to do in the survey. While I could think up a series of random events and activities, I wanted you all to get involved this time. Have fun with it.

Let’s see if I can’t crank out an update next month or the month after that.

Don’t forget to let me know which Art Style you prefer. This will affect the art in Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces), so you better believe your vote counts.

Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces) is still the main project at the helm here! I just thought it would grow stale if I kept calling out progress percentages/hallmarks, so I’m trying to make things fun and colorful. It’ll also let me flex my creative muscles while the main dish is still on the way.

That said, if you don’t feel like visiting Ambrosia’s, there’s no pressure!

You can vote for your preferred Art Style right here.

Ambrosia’s is meant to help you visualize the sprite in-game, together with the animation. Not only that but you can switch between the art styles willy-nilly until you’re sure of your choice.

If you’ve already voted in Ambrosia’s survey, feel free to give this one a go, too!

You see, I find myself in a writing mood (as you may have noticed recently). When I have the time, I’d like to write some extra scenes/short stories/blurbs for you all, so if you feel like it, let me know what you’re interested in reading by voting in the new survey linked above. (When it comes to your preferred Art Style, just tick off the choice that says you answered it already or skip that particular question entirely.)

Some Lovely X Playing Pieces Theories:

♥ @cursedauthor [Theory 1] [Theory 2]

♥ @liversquiver [Theory 1]

♥ @rose-of-the-winds [Theory 1]

You’re all awesome! You know I love reading these. I hope I haven’t missed any out there, but if I have, just let me know.

I really want to give a shout-out to every single person who’s made something related to my games. Unfortunately, I can’t always be everywhere, and it’s a little past midnight right now, so I’m going to turn in for the evening. I just wanted to be sure I got this update in since I’m sure some of you are curious to know what’s going on. A few of you had some questions about Ambrosia’s as well, so I hope these tips were helpful!

I’ll be going through some of my e-mails tomorrow, and I’ll have a more thorough Fan Corner next time. Keep being wonderful, everybody, and let me know what new thing you’ve made! Your support, no matter what shape or form, never fails to encourage and inspire us all.

Bonus treat: Before I head off, here’s a Let’s Play of Ambrosia’s - mostly in French. A partly translated version, you might say! Guess who’s playing it? The voice actor who does Don’t Take This Risk’s Unknown in the 2017 Valentine specials and the 2018 Valentine promo here.

Give Nicolas Derre some love and support if you have the time!

Also, since @therealjohannamarie brought this up in the comments...

Profanity and cussing. Those don’t exist on Virgo Island. (By that, I’m talking about the f-bombs and other modern-day imprecations.) Just a little fun fact to end this update!

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cdigitals · 4 years ago

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Your proposal will show up in your prospect’s inbox in a beautifully designed email, complete with your images and message. And with the integrated e-signature feature, your prospect can sign your legally binding contract in minutes.

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Features – Grow your Business – VidProposals Review

In-built video creator:

Video will help you stand out from the crowd, and with it’s built-in video creator. You can create stunning videos that showcase your offering to include into your proposals in VidProposals Review.

VidProposals gives you an option to record a video using your camera or your screen, or even both. And the best part is that you can customize the videos you have recorded. Grow your business like a pro with this software.

Cloud storage:

With VidProposals, you can save and manage your proposals in the cloud.

The cloud storage allows you to access your proposals from any place as long you have an internet connection and a browser. VidProposals Review

In-built content generator:

Generate great proposals first by using the content generation tools in this software. This is a great tool for people who don’t know how to present their offer. There are DFY texts that will help you write proposals first. Grow your business like a pro with this software.

Document editor:

VidProposals also provide an easy-to-use document editor that you can use to create text proposals.

You can embed media, include e-signature blocks, and upload product screenshots to make your text proposals convincing.

More Features – Grow Your Business

Instant notification:

With this feature, you will never miss a proposal status update as you will always get notification of when a proposal was opened, viewed, and signed.

Electronic signatures:

To make it easier for your clients to enter into a deal with your agency, VidProposals adds e-signature blocks into your proposal where your client can sign electronically from their mobile phones. This allows you to close deals with ease.

24 DFY templates:

You also get 24 beautiful templates that you can use to create proposals for different services you are offering. The templates are optimized to look good on both desktop and mobile devices.

E-signature tracking:

There is an embedded audit trail offers that provides proof of the person who signed the document and the date they did so. The audit trail allows you to see when your proposal was viewed and completed. So, grow your business now.

Other features:

Capture date stamps for accountability.

Download option.

No-delete option.

Commercial license.

And much more.

So, now grow your business like a pro with this software.

Who Can Use? – Grow Your Business

Consider all the features; I personally believe the following should use VidProposals-

Local marketers: Make your proposals to your valued clients with a personal video that includes a secure, legal contract for you to sign with an e-signature

Affiliate marketers: You can now offer a top-notch suite of tools to your clients that offer value and security

Agencies: Can offer contract management services to your portfolio of client solutions

Digital marketers: You can personally connect with your clients across the world with a custom video proposal and contract for you to add their e-signature

Freelancers: Gain the security of a clear, legal, signed contract for the services you are providing to your clients.

Click Here to Get Instant Access Now

Why should you Buy this?

VidProposals is established with a focus on serving you grow your business. If you’re tired of being ignored by your prospects once you’ve sent them a proposal. You need to seriously start upgrading your sales process. The best way to start doing that is by creating interactive video proposals using the incredible features inside. Like as inserting a video with a clear call-to-action, images, e-signature etc.

This product will support you to create video proposals to grow your business. This is built specially for newbies & business owners. Also full training is included to help you get started. You require no technical skills or prior experience to make profits with this wonderful profitable software.

VidProposals is a must have tool for every business that offers any sort of service. You know not only do images add to the overall good design of your proposal, having images in your sales docs can increase deal close rates by up to 26%.

Also, it includes full 14 days money-back guarantee. It means you get 14 full days to make sure that VidProposals is perfect for you to send a few proposals. Close a few clients for yourself and for your clients and make some profit. And in the highly unlikely event, you’re not pleased; contact them within 14 days of purchase for a refund.

Moreover, you can even use VidProposals to grow your business.

VidProposals Review – Pros and Cons

Pros:

100% beginner friendly. Fully cloud based

Create professional video proposals that your prospects can e-sign

Built-in video creator lets you record using camera, screen or both

Host all your proposals on the cloud to grow your business

Insert your call-to-action inside your videos with point-n-click simplicity

Ready-made, done for you proposal templates included.

Get notified when the client views the contract

Create custom thank you pages to celebrate the new deal to grow your business

Commercial license: sell video proposals as a service & profit

Cons:

Up to now, not found anything.

White Label Studio Review – Build Your Own Software Agency Without Any Skill

Find Out the Best Email Marketing Software

Animated Video Maker Software – Video Freedom Review

Click Here to Get Instant Access Now

Pricing & Upgrades – Grow Your Business

VidProposals Basic – $37

Click Here to Get Now

Create up to 5 proposals/month.

Includes 6 dfy templates (categorized in different niches).

Storage for up to 10 videos to grow your business.

Generate 100 leads per day with dedicated leadgen app.

Add ctas to proposals to grow your business.

Integrated e-signature technology.

Collect client signatures on the proposal page.

Notification emails sent to both parties after signing.

Wysiwyg text editor.

Upload a video created anywhere to grow your business.

Chrome extension for recording your videos (camera, screen, camera & screen).

Notification when the proposal is viewed.

Captures name, time, date, ip address and location.

Download signed contracts as pdf.

Vidproposal Elite – $47

Click Here to Get Now

Create up to 30 proposals/month.

Includes 24 dfy templates (categorized in different niches).

Storage for up to 100 videos.

Generate 1000 leads per day with dedicated leadgen app.

Add ctas to proposals to grow your business.

Integrated e-signature technology.

Collect client signatures on the proposal page.

Notification emails sent to both parties after signing.

Wysiwyg text editor.

Upload a video created anywhere to grow your business.

Chrome extension for recording your videos (camera, screen, camera & screen).

Notification when the proposal is viewed.

Captures name, time, date, ip address and location.

Download signed contracts as pdf.

Oto1 – Vidproposal Unlimited ($97 per year/$197 one-time)

Click Here to Get Now

Unlimited proposals.

Unlimited video hosting.

Generate unlimited leads every day with dedicated Leadgen app.

Add up to 4 videos per proposal to grow your business.

Password protect your proposals.

Create unlimited video channels.

All future updates included.

24/7 support.

Oto2 – Vidproposal Deluxe ($69 one-time)

Click Here to Get Now

100 more video templates.

More proposal templates.

Oto3 – VidProposals Business ($59 one-time)

Click Here to Get Now

Reseller license.

Dfy lead magnets.

Business clients access feature.

Business commercials – 6 stunning & compelling videos.

Dfy business website to grow your business.

Custom paypal checkout integration.

Allow business clients to schedule appointments.

All website pages created with content.

Add featured samples of business services offered.

Add business clients testimonial to grow your business.

Team member accounts.

Oto4 – VidProposals Whitelabel Agency ($197 one-time)

Click Here to Get Now

Re-Branding (Personalization).

You can change thumbnail of the video.

Also, can change logo on the proposal landing page to grow your business.

You can change favicon.

Change background image on the proposal landing page.

Create custom sub-domain.

200 sub-accounts.

Bonuses – Grow Your Business

Check out some of the Exclusive Bonuses Free to grow your business.

Click Here to Get Instant Access Now

1. Making 6-figures with VidProposals Valued at $497

When you purchase VidProposals today, you also unlock access to 3-part bonus session series. In each session, we will go deeper into VidProposals. Also sharing with you effective ways in which you can monetize your video marketing to grow your business. So, this alone is worth 5x what you will pay today, and it’s yours for free!

2. Local Upsell Valued at $297

Ever wondered how much effort you need to put in to get your foot through the door, with a local business? Or how you can upsell them to another service? Also, In this to-the-point training, they answer all these questions. So, it helps you chart a successful path to grow your business.

3. Facebook Training on Finding Local Clients Valued at $247

This Exclusive Facebook training will teach how to find clients in any city with ease. So, You will be able to sell to thousands of business owners to grow your business.

Click Here to Get Instant Access Now

Frequently asked questions

Q. Does VidProposals work on windows & mac?

Yes, it’s 100% cloud-based and works on any operating platform. Also works on any internet-connected device.

Q. Do i need experience or tech skills?

We designed VidProposals to be 100% newbie-friendly. You require no technical skills or prior experience to make massive profits with VidProposals.

Q. Support & software updates?

Free & automated. Get support in just 1-click if you need anything. So, Ongoing updates are automatically pushed to the software. Also, you’ll always have the most updated version to grow your business.

Q. Is training included?

Yes, full training is included to help you get started. So, make insane profits with VidProposals to grow your business.

Q. Okay. I am in. Let’s do this!

Awesome. So, Get started instantly to grow your business..

Click Here to Get Instant Access Now

Conclusion

Finally, thank you for reading my VidProposals Review from the beginning to its end. Moreover, I really hope it did help you with your buying decision to grow your business.

This new futuristic technology helps you skyrocket sales & profits. Also you can run it without any skills or experience. So here I highly recommend you to buy VidProposals.

Best of luck.

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lakelandseo · 4 years ago

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8 Local Communication Bridges and 4 Experts to Help You Build Them

“They weave a web of reciprocity, of giving and taking. In this way, the trees all act as one because the fungi have connected them. Through unity, survival. All flourishing is mutual...all are the beneficiaries of reciprocity.” — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants

Local business communications options are rapidly expanding, and customers are trying to reach out to your business for help in many ways. Simultaneously, any local business you're marketing has multiple options for initiating welcome outreach. Where can we look for inspiring models and methodologies to help us build communications bridges with the communities we serve?

The model of nature relies on abundance and connectivity. Instead of standing alone, one tree is connected to all the others in its forest via fungal bridges, through which trees provide carbohydrates to mushrooms, and they return the favor with water and minerals. Reciprocity in our digital marketing scenario consists of a business offering something people need while throwing open as many doors of communication as possible. Meanwhile, the consumer contributes their money, time, feedback, loyalty, WOM referrals, and even user-generated content.

It’s a very different model than artificial scarcity, which underpins monopoly, arbitrarily limiting things humans need and creating hardship instead of sharing. Think of agonizing automated phone trees vs. well-trained live customer service representatives, and you’ll feel the difference in your gut.

Do you find nature’s model to be the more inspirational of the two? Let’s apply it! Google says searches for “local” and “business” grew by an astounding 80% last year as communities earnestly sought reconnection in changed circumstances. Customers truly want a relationship with your business.

Let’s look at technological bridges for facilitating relationships with people you want to serve. We’ll chat with respected experts including David Mihm, Aaron Weiche, Claire Carlile, and Ellen Dunne and equip you with tips for becoming the most connected local business in town.

8 ways to connect with modern local business customers

Evaluate each of these local business communications bridges to find the best fit for each local business you're marketing.

1. Texting & messaging: winning right now

91% of consumers are interested in texting with you. To learn more about this mode of customer communication, I caught up with my friend Aaron Weiche, whose new business texting and messaging app Leadferno could lead the way in making this technology accessible and simple for local brands at every level.

When I asked Aaron to describe the goal of his startup, he emphasized that “win right now” is a key objective for brands considering SMS, and summarized three basic concepts:

“Conversion: Our goal is to make having conversations easy and fast. Having an always visible CTA during your web experience attracts more conversations. By offering text messaging to website visitors, they gain a known and trusted channel to ask questions, gain confidence and convert to a customer.

Efficiency: Leadferno lets you manage your SMS and Facebook Messenger conversations in one place (GMB messages by fall 2021), giving the business one interface for multiple channels. We’ve layered on time-saving tools like shortcuts to saved replies, scheduled messages, and conversation reminders to shave minutes from conversations for both the business and the consumer.

Organization: Businesses miss so many leads in their email or voicemails by not being able to organize them, track their status, assign them, or ensure it’s tied off. Leadferno brings a set of tools and cues so that you stop missing leads and opportunities to help your customers.”

Aaron added:

“Today’s consumer has growing expectations in timing as they have many options at their fingertips (or search results). If you want to win that business, you better have tools to win right now…or your competitor will.”

I concur that now is the right time to start messaging with local customers, and Aaron offered these stats, which underscore this interesting moment of opportunity:

78% of consumers wish they could text businesses

66% of consumers would actually pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel

69.4% of consumers are extremely likely or likely to interact with a business for customer service via text. Another 24.4% were a maybe with just 6.2% being unlikely.

Finally, Aaron offered some tips for brands to be successful with this communications bridge:

“Embrace text messaging as a two-way channel, not another blast or campaign. While these might have their place, consumers really want quick answers on a channel they already use more than any other (phone or email). Texting is where the customer is…go to them! SMS offers a quicker conversation for both sides. Text messages are quickly seen and read, allowing for short cycles of responses. Use SMS to help prospects and customers faster.

Market that you offer text messaging as a channel. While I feel we will arrive at SMS as an expectation when we see any phone number, you want to use it as a benefit to working with you now. Placing 'you can text us' on your website, landing pages, and traditional marketing lets customers know you have an easy channel to access you.”

Considering the statistics surrounding texting, I’d say that nearly every local business should simply be saying “sign me up!” at this point.

2. Google My Business Messaging: built-in visibility

Aaron mentioned that Leadferno will start supporting Google My Business Messaging later this year, and it’s an option you should be carefully considering now.

With Google’s dominance of local search, anything they develop has built-in visibility, so I reached out to my friend Claire Carlile to see how early adoption of this function is working out for local business clients of Claire Carlile Marketing. I was eager to hear whether the clients she’s implemented this for were actually getting leads from it, and what the volume of messages looked like. She explained:

“Yes, they are getting leads! I have stores, attractions, therapists, campsites, and event providers with messaging currently turned on. Volume of messages is very variable. One client, a wine store, can have a few a day, and the others maybe only a couple a week.”

This sounds both intriguing and manageable for almost any business, but I asked Claire to share some field notes with me based on her early experience with this feature, and from client opinions while using it, because it might not be right for every local brand. She mentioned:

“Ultimately, if the client is keen and has the resources to manage messaging, we've found that it's worthwhile to turn it on. I'd be reticent to turn it on for a customer who was consistently struggling to manage communication channels, as it's a poor customer experience to message a business and not get a reply. All clients have personalized the message that is seen when you click through to message a business — something like 'please do message us here and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. If your enquiry is urgent please call on...Thanks!'”

Claire offered some additional words to the wise:

“One client had messaging turned off by Google because they did not respond within a 24-hour timeframe. The UI is potentially confusing for both business and people using messaging — it's easier for a business now that they can turn messaging on and off via the GMB app AND the GMB dashboard on a desktop. I've found that if you enable notifications in messaging in the GMB dashboard on a desktop, there don't appear to be any notifications.”

So, we’ve learned that Google hasn’t perfected the UX of this feature, but that it can deliver leads for the right businesses with adequate resources for responsiveness. Now is a good time for brands you’re marketing to weigh whether inviting Google into conversations with customers will be a win.

3. Live chat: recreating in-store assistance experiences

Like many of you, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the intriguing rise of Shopify, and I was thrilled when Senior Product Lead Ellen Dunne made time to talk with me about trends and tactics surrounding Shopify’s live chat feature.

I started by asking her for some basic statistics about the benefits of implementing website-based live chat, and was fascinated by what Ellen shared:

“During the COVID period, we saw chat volume increase 85%. As a result, merchant sales revenue attributed to chat increased 200%. A great example of this comes from London homeware brand Earl of East when they had to close the doors of their retail store. They learned a new approach to foot traffic: thinking digitally. They realized that if customers would leave their website because they didn’t get a question answered, it was the same as a customer walking out of their shop. They added chat to their online store, and saw the value of having knowledgeable staff chat with customers to make sales and turn a one time shopper into a loyal customer.

There is a strong consumer trend to shop local. When customers can reach a merchant in a chat and connect with a human, an authentic connection is made. The customer is 70% more likely to make a purchase, then to refer friends, come back for subsequent purchases, and so on. The customer relationship is so essential for small/local businesses and we have really seen chat as an invaluable tool for accelerating those relationships and driving sales.”

As for top tips for maximizing the potential of live chat, Ellen noted:

“It’s not surprising that there is a direct correlation between response time and sales. 10% of customers who initiate a chat from the online store will make a purchase, which is already an impressive conversion rate. That number goes up to 17% when the merchant responds within five minutes. Timeliness is key. Next, understanding that chat is a really effective sales tool is important! Ask the customer the right questions to get a better understanding of what they are looking for so that you can make specific product recommendations and share products right in the conversation. Don’t be afraid to offer a discount if the customer has a high cart value or you feel like it might nudge them to make the purchase now. If merchants can recreate the in-store shopping experience for customers through chat, it works really well.”

Finally, I wanted to take the time to ask what it is about Shopify’s offerings that are contributing to the popularity of the company and of features like its live chat. Our search industry can be very choosy about praising software, and it stands out to me that I’m continuously hearing praise for Shopify from so many colleagues. Ellen mentioned these benefits and strategies winning favor with their customers:

“1. Chat where people shop. We believe that chat is a tool to help merchants convert more of their hard-earned traffic into sales. Shopify Chat is free, and can be set up on a merchants’ online store in just a few clicks. It also pulls in all chats from channels like Facebook and Apple business chat so all your conversations are in one place.

2. Focus on conversations that lead to sales. Make it easy for you and your team to focus on conversations that lead to sales by using frequently asked questions and reply templates to speed up response time. Automated order lookup through our chat bot can handle conversation volume, which frees up a merchant’s time to focus on pre-purchase conversations that have a high likelihood to result in an order.

3. Give visitors a personalized shopping experience. You can see what customers have in their online shopping cart while chatting with you, and the total cart value. You can use this context to help you prioritize a fast response, anticipate a customer’s questions, or give them additional guidance that you know might be helpful on sizing, materials, etc.”

If the local brands you’re marketing have made the O2O leap as a result of the pandemic, don’t overlook live chat as part and parcel of e-commerce. Holding customers’ hands, even at a distance, is a generous and smart strategic choice.

4. Email & email newsletters: consistency is key

Email was invented in the 1970s, and I’ll take it as a given that any local business owner or marketer reading this knows that responding to customers’ support request emails in a timely manner is basic to customer service at this point. But what we hear less about is the power of communications initiated by the brand, namely newsletters.

I know I’m not alone in having read more brand emails during the pandemic just to understand what was happening with businesses I support, and I wanted to sit down with Tidings founder David Mihm to ask my good friend for the latest happenings, stats, and tips for seeing success with newsletters. David said:

“I highlighted a number of (I think) interesting stats in my Whitespark Summit presentation last year — probably the most interesting was Mailchimp’s analysis of the impact of send frequency on open rates:

To me that suggests at LEAST through the end of the COVID pandemic, and possibly beyond, that businesses should be staying in touch with their customers on a once-a-week basis for maximum impact. That finding is validated by a much older Marketing Sherpa consumer survey."

He added:

"My top tip is to be consistent with your sending routine. Per the Mailchimp stats, the most effective businesses send emails to their customers at least monthly, and in many cases weekly. Email is most effective when it keeps you top of mind with your customers (in addition to being a direct transactional channel). Search for the 'mere presence effect' in psychology. Simply sending a once-a-year birthday email, and maybe a Black Friday discount, doesn’t really keep you top of mind. Beyond that, I’d say make sure you’re sending engaging content. What that content is varies by industry, but for many the 80-20 rule of thumb holds. That is, 80% of your emails should be educational/informational, and 20% of them should be promotional. There are a number of studies that back this up. Promotions might be the primary reason your subscribers sign up to hear from you, but if all you do is bombard them with discounts (which might also impact your bottom line), you could see a drop-off in engagement.”

While I had David with me, I also asked what has made Tidings successful, and he explained its customer-centric benefits:

“Our goal is to make it as easy as possible to share great content with your subscribers via email. For those local businesses who are active on social media, we pull in your existing social content by default, but even if you’re not active, you can just drop in bookmarked articles as you come across them and build a really engaging newsletter in seconds. We integrate with the major small business email Service Providers (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign), so you can just send to your customer segment(s) directly from Tidings — you don’t need to migrate your lists or set up new forms on your website.”

I’d sum up by recommending that if you’re considering starting a newsletter, be sure any tool you consider offers the types of conveniences David just described, and that you build a bridge readers love crossing to get to you!

5. Phone: pain points and pet peeves you can solve with people

You know what automatically raises my hackles like the spines on a disgruntled hedgehog? Robots, phone trees, and automated messaging blocking my access to human beings when I call a business for help. Microsoft found that being trapped by automated phone systems was the #1 cause of customer frustration linked to churn. Unless I’m dialing after hours or the business is one you wouldn’t normally contact by phone, anything other than fast access to a live person signals to me, as a customer, one or more of the following negative sentiments:

This business doesn’t care about me and my experience contacting them.

This business is too big to speak to me and has doomed me to shouting at a senseless robot.

This business is too small/understaffed to answer their own phone.

This business is inaccessible.

This business is hiding from the public.

This business replaced a bunch of their staff with robots, costing my fellow citizens their jobs and me the information and pleasure of learning what it’s like to interact with their team.

In short, I’m not reaching out to do business with a robot, so why am I being greeted and gate-kept by one?

Pet peeves and pain points abound, and the least digestible aspect of this is that it’s a problem brands have created for themselves in defiance of the basic tenets of good customer service (not to mention, good manners). In Why is Customer Service So Bad? Because It’s Profitable, Harvard Business Review found that:

“American consumers spend, on average, 13 hours per year in calling queue...a third of complaining customers must make two or more calls to resolve their complaints and that ignores the portion who simply give up in exasperation after their firstcall.”

This study suggests that by putting as many hassles as possible in the way of customers, companies have to pay out less in redressals, and if they have enough market share, they aren’t worried about resulting reputation damage. Most distressingly, data indicates that women, Black, and Latino customers are treated to the worst customer service hassles.

This may be someone’s idea of how to run a good business, but don’t let it be yours. Local businesses and monopolies are on opposite sides of this equation, and a well-trained phone staff can be an incredible differentiator between a business you’re marketing and its more uncaring corporate peers.

I’d bet my hat (and my hackles) that there isn’t an average American citizen right now who can’t readily empathize with consumer loathing for bureaucracy in phone UX, especially after a year of trying to reach government resources for vaccinations, DMV, unemployment, and a host of other stressful scenarios. Rescue your customers from that awful feeling of being disregarded by employing people to answer your phones — with excellent customer service as their absolute mission.

6. Google Questions & Answers: leads gathering dust

This pie chart capture from my original 2020 survey of US grocery stores tells the sad story of Google’s experimental Q&A feature, located within Google Business Profiles. The 50 top-ranked supermarkets I studied across the country had received 1,145 leads, requests for help, and other timely inquiries in the form of Q&A, but 86% of the markets were simply ignoring this content. My earlier research on restaurants surfaced similar neglect.

Some of my peers are starting to chalk up Q&A as a failed bridge Google tried to build because of lack of brand adoption (not to mention a preponderance of useless non-answers being provided by the public in the absence of any official response). I think there’s still reason to explore use of this overlooked feature for three forms of communication:

To post company FAQs as a means of having answers to common questions visible right on your Google listings. Even if you get zero queries from the public, you can do a one-and-done session of adding and answering your own top FAQs and walk away feeling good.

To capture leads. Walking away from Q&A queries that are clearly leads is as senseless as ignoring someone at your real-world customer service desk.

To demonstrate responsiveness. Google’s bridge may not be ideal here, but if you meet your customers on it with timely replies, you’re building the right kind of reputation.

I think one of the biggest challenges preventing businesses from using Q&A to its full potential is simple lack of awareness that the public is out there asking questions. Need a solution? Moz Local alerts you every time you get a new question on any of your listings, supporting your development of a reputation for superlative accessibility.

7. Google Posts: publication without blogging

Blogging isn’t right for every local business, although sources estimate that there are 600,000,000 blogs on the web and that 85% of B2C marketers utilize this form of publication.

Read Chapter 5 of The Essential Local SEO Strategy Guide to determine whether blogging is right for any local business you’re marketing. If you decide a formal investment in this type of content isn’t a good match for a particular brand and/or its audience, microblogging in the form of Google Posts could still be a win for you.

Google Posts are a communications bridge you initiate on your end — either using the Moz Local dashboard or the GMB dashboard. They’re a form of publication that’s so easy to write, so there’s no reason not to experiment with them. They can do wonders for intent matching when you focus on topics customers are searching for, but to find out whether people are actually crossing the bridge you’re building with Google Posts, don’t miss Joy Hawkins’ tutorial on how to track them in Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

Focus your Google Posts on attention-grabbing topics of interest to your customers, use images (including images with text in them), and be sure they feature strong calls-to-action.

8. Telesupport: next best thing to in person, or, sometimes, even better

Check out Crate & Barrel’s virtual customer services and consider whether this type of telesupport is a good fit for a local brand you’re marketing. PCMag ran a good piece recently on the best video conferencing software, and after a year of celebrating family events over Zoom, think of the segments of your consumer base who have now gained a new comfort level with video-based communications.

We’re still in the early stages of this. A recent Biteable survey found that just 19% of businesses are using video as part of their customer service solutions, though 32% are now using filmed media for sales. Local brands looking to differentiate themselves have a limited time window for becoming early adopters of this technology in order to develop a reputation for multimedia accessibility before their competitors do.

Surveys indicate that the shopping public is eager for the return of in-store local business experiences when safer days arrive, but our taste for online convenience will not be soon forgotten. If there are elements of a business model you’re marketing that can be supported by video — like consultation, complaint resolution, or showcasing — there are many customers who would like to catch up with you online rather than fighting traffic to get to you. Even in more normal times, all of us have sick days, busy weeks, and downtime when we’d just prefer to stay comfy at home. Telesupport makes consumer-to-brand connection possible when it wouldn’t be otherwise, making it an opportunity worthy of exploration.

Customer service = conversation

Image credit: Mike Goad

Customer service — that make-or-break foundation of all local brands — really boils down to how good you are at sparking, facilitating, managing, and resolving conversations. If you can think like a glorious tree and span your neck of the woods with accessible communications bridges, you can go far towards resolving one of the oldest challenges in commerce.

As a local SEO, I read more consumer reviews than most people do, and an ever-present theme is that many customers fear businesses are in some way trying to rip them off. I see all kinds of anxiety and anger, often groundless, emerging in the way unhappy customers review businesses. I picture these reviewers sitting remote from the business, alone with their device and their unresolved complaints. Somehow, they’ve been left to brood on dissatisfactions, rather than encouraged to trust that if they speak up, they’ll be helped.

Let’s bring some photosynthesis into this age-old, stale situation. Imagine this same customer welcomed across many bridges: texting, messaging, live chat, newsletters, microblogging, humans on phones, humans on film, and all questions answered. It’s all as simple as talking + tech, and if you get it right, reciprocal benefits will follow.

Earn customers’ trust by showing that you’re always ready to talk, and they’ll grow your business for you.

0 notes

bfxenon · 4 years ago

Text

8 Local Communication Bridges and 4 Experts to Help You Build Them

8 ways to connect with modern local business customers

Evaluate each of these local business communications bridges to find the best fit for each local business you're marketing.

1. Texting & messaging: winning right now

When I asked Aaron to describe the goal of his startup, he emphasized that “win right now” is a key objective for brands considering SMS, and summarized three basic concepts:

Aaron added:

I concur that now is the right time to start messaging with local customers, and Aaron offered these stats, which underscore this interesting moment of opportunity:

78% of consumers wish they could text businesses

66% of consumers would actually pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel

69.4% of consumers are extremely likely or likely to interact with a business for customer service via text. Another 24.4% were a maybe with just 6.2% being unlikely.

Finally, Aaron offered some tips for brands to be successful with this communications bridge:

Considering the statistics surrounding texting, I’d say that nearly every local business should simply be saying “sign me up!” at this point.

2. Google My Business Messaging: built-in visibility

Aaron mentioned that Leadferno will start supporting Google My Business Messaging later this year, and it’s an option you should be carefully considering now.

Claire offered some additional words to the wise:

3. Live chat: recreating in-store assistance experiences

I started by asking her for some basic statistics about the benefits of implementing website-based live chat, and was fascinated by what Ellen shared:

As for top tips for maximizing the potential of live chat, Ellen noted:

4. Email & email newsletters: consistency is key

He added:

While I had David with me, I also asked what has made Tidings successful, and he explained its customer-centric benefits:

5. Phone: pain points and pet peeves you can solve with people

This business doesn’t care about me and my experience contacting them.

This business is too big to speak to me and has doomed me to shouting at a senseless robot.

This business is too small/understaffed to answer their own phone.

This business is inaccessible.

This business is hiding from the public.

This business replaced a bunch of their staff with robots, costing my fellow citizens their jobs and me the information and pleasure of learning what it’s like to interact with their team.

In short, I’m not reaching out to do business with a robot, so why am I being greeted and gate-kept by one?

6. Google Questions & Answers: leads gathering dust

To capture leads. Walking away from Q&A queries that are clearly leads is as senseless as ignoring someone at your real-world customer service desk.

To demonstrate responsiveness. Google’s bridge may not be ideal here, but if you meet your customers on it with timely replies, you’re building the right kind of reputation.

7. Google Posts: publication without blogging

Blogging isn’t right for every local business, although sources estimate that there are 600,000,000 blogs on the web and that 85% of B2C marketers utilize this form of publication.

Focus your Google Posts on attention-grabbing topics of interest to your customers, use images (including images with text in them), and be sure they feature strong calls-to-action.

8. Telesupport: next best thing to in person, or, sometimes, even better

Customer service = conversation

Image credit: Mike Goad

Earn customers’ trust by showing that you’re always ready to talk, and they’ll grow your business for you.

0 notes

nutrifami · 4 years ago

Text

8 Local Communication Bridges and 4 Experts to Help You Build Them

8 ways to connect with modern local business customers

Evaluate each of these local business communications bridges to find the best fit for each local business you're marketing.

1. Texting & messaging: winning right now

When I asked Aaron to describe the goal of his startup, he emphasized that “win right now” is a key objective for brands considering SMS, and summarized three basic concepts:

Aaron added:

I concur that now is the right time to start messaging with local customers, and Aaron offered these stats, which underscore this interesting moment of opportunity:

78% of consumers wish they could text businesses

66% of consumers would actually pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel

69.4% of consumers are extremely likely or likely to interact with a business for customer service via text. Another 24.4% were a maybe with just 6.2% being unlikely.

Finally, Aaron offered some tips for brands to be successful with this communications bridge:

Considering the statistics surrounding texting, I’d say that nearly every local business should simply be saying “sign me up!” at this point.

2. Google My Business Messaging: built-in visibility

Aaron mentioned that Leadferno will start supporting Google My Business Messaging later this year, and it’s an option you should be carefully considering now.

Claire offered some additional words to the wise:

3. Live chat: recreating in-store assistance experiences

I started by asking her for some basic statistics about the benefits of implementing website-based live chat, and was fascinated by what Ellen shared:

As for top tips for maximizing the potential of live chat, Ellen noted:

4. Email & email newsletters: consistency is key

He added:

While I had David with me, I also asked what has made Tidings successful, and he explained its customer-centric benefits:

5. Phone: pain points and pet peeves you can solve with people

This business doesn’t care about me and my experience contacting them.

This business is too big to speak to me and has doomed me to shouting at a senseless robot.

This business is too small/understaffed to answer their own phone.

This business is inaccessible.

This business is hiding from the public.

This business replaced a bunch of their staff with robots, costing my fellow citizens their jobs and me the information and pleasure of learning what it’s like to interact with their team.

In short, I’m not reaching out to do business with a robot, so why am I being greeted and gate-kept by one?

6. Google Questions & Answers: leads gathering dust

To capture leads. Walking away from Q&A queries that are clearly leads is as senseless as ignoring someone at your real-world customer service desk.

To demonstrate responsiveness. Google’s bridge may not be ideal here, but if you meet your customers on it with timely replies, you’re building the right kind of reputation.

7. Google Posts: publication without blogging

Blogging isn’t right for every local business, although sources estimate that there are 600,000,000 blogs on the web and that 85% of B2C marketers utilize this form of publication.

Focus your Google Posts on attention-grabbing topics of interest to your customers, use images (including images with text in them), and be sure they feature strong calls-to-action.

8. Telesupport: next best thing to in person, or, sometimes, even better

Customer service = conversation

Image credit: Mike Goad

Earn customers’ trust by showing that you’re always ready to talk, and they’ll grow your business for you.

0 notes

xaydungtruonggia · 4 years ago

Text

8 Local Communication Bridges and 4 Experts to Help You Build Them

8 ways to connect with modern local business customers

Evaluate each of these local business communications bridges to find the best fit for each local business you're marketing.

1. Texting & messaging: winning right now

When I asked Aaron to describe the goal of his startup, he emphasized that “win right now” is a key objective for brands considering SMS, and summarized three basic concepts:

Aaron added:

I concur that now is the right time to start messaging with local customers, and Aaron offered these stats, which underscore this interesting moment of opportunity:

78% of consumers wish they could text businesses

66% of consumers would actually pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel

69.4% of consumers are extremely likely or likely to interact with a business for customer service via text. Another 24.4% were a maybe with just 6.2% being unlikely.

Finally, Aaron offered some tips for brands to be successful with this communications bridge:

Considering the statistics surrounding texting, I’d say that nearly every local business should simply be saying “sign me up!” at this point.

2. Google My Business Messaging: built-in visibility

Aaron mentioned that Leadferno will start supporting Google My Business Messaging later this year, and it’s an option you should be carefully considering now.

Claire offered some additional words to the wise:

3. Live chat: recreating in-store assistance experiences

I started by asking her for some basic statistics about the benefits of implementing website-based live chat, and was fascinated by what Ellen shared:

As for top tips for maximizing the potential of live chat, Ellen noted:

4. Email & email newsletters: consistency is key

He added:

While I had David with me, I also asked what has made Tidings successful, and he explained its customer-centric benefits:

5. Phone: pain points and pet peeves you can solve with people

This business doesn’t care about me and my experience contacting them.

This business is too big to speak to me and has doomed me to shouting at a senseless robot.

This business is too small/understaffed to answer their own phone.

This business is inaccessible.

This business is hiding from the public.

This business replaced a bunch of their staff with robots, costing my fellow citizens their jobs and me the information and pleasure of learning what it’s like to interact with their team.

In short, I’m not reaching out to do business with a robot, so why am I being greeted and gate-kept by one?

6. Google Questions & Answers: leads gathering dust

To capture leads. Walking away from Q&A queries that are clearly leads is as senseless as ignoring someone at your real-world customer service desk.

To demonstrate responsiveness. Google’s bridge may not be ideal here, but if you meet your customers on it with timely replies, you’re building the right kind of reputation.

7. Google Posts: publication without blogging

Blogging isn’t right for every local business, although sources estimate that there are 600,000,000 blogs on the web and that 85% of B2C marketers utilize this form of publication.

Focus your Google Posts on attention-grabbing topics of interest to your customers, use images (including images with text in them), and be sure they feature strong calls-to-action.

8. Telesupport: next best thing to in person, or, sometimes, even better

Customer service = conversation

Image credit: Mike Goad

Earn customers’ trust by showing that you’re always ready to talk, and they’ll grow your business for you.

0 notes

camerasieunhovn · 4 years ago

Text

8 Local Communication Bridges and 4 Experts to Help You Build Them

8 ways to connect with modern local business customers

Evaluate each of these local business communications bridges to find the best fit for each local business you're marketing.

1. Texting & messaging: winning right now

When I asked Aaron to describe the goal of his startup, he emphasized that “win right now” is a key objective for brands considering SMS, and summarized three basic concepts:

Aaron added:

I concur that now is the right time to start messaging with local customers, and Aaron offered these stats, which underscore this interesting moment of opportunity:

78% of consumers wish they could text businesses

66% of consumers would actually pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel

69.4% of consumers are extremely likely or likely to interact with a business for customer service via text. Another 24.4% were a maybe with just 6.2% being unlikely.

Finally, Aaron offered some tips for brands to be successful with this communications bridge:

Considering the statistics surrounding texting, I’d say that nearly every local business should simply be saying “sign me up!” at this point.

2. Google My Business Messaging: built-in visibility

Aaron mentioned that Leadferno will start supporting Google My Business Messaging later this year, and it’s an option you should be carefully considering now.

Claire offered some additional words to the wise:

3. Live chat: recreating in-store assistance experiences

I started by asking her for some basic statistics about the benefits of implementing website-based live chat, and was fascinated by what Ellen shared:

As for top tips for maximizing the potential of live chat, Ellen noted:

4. Email & email newsletters: consistency is key

He added:

While I had David with me, I also asked what has made Tidings successful, and he explained its customer-centric benefits:

5. Phone: pain points and pet peeves you can solve with people

This business doesn’t care about me and my experience contacting them.

This business is too big to speak to me and has doomed me to shouting at a senseless robot.

This business is too small/understaffed to answer their own phone.

This business is inaccessible.

This business is hiding from the public.

This business replaced a bunch of their staff with robots, costing my fellow citizens their jobs and me the information and pleasure of learning what it’s like to interact with their team.

In short, I’m not reaching out to do business with a robot, so why am I being greeted and gate-kept by one?

6. Google Questions & Answers: leads gathering dust

To capture leads. Walking away from Q&A queries that are clearly leads is as senseless as ignoring someone at your real-world customer service desk.

To demonstrate responsiveness. Google’s bridge may not be ideal here, but if you meet your customers on it with timely replies, you’re building the right kind of reputation.

7. Google Posts: publication without blogging

Blogging isn’t right for every local business, although sources estimate that there are 600,000,000 blogs on the web and that 85% of B2C marketers utilize this form of publication.

Focus your Google Posts on attention-grabbing topics of interest to your customers, use images (including images with text in them), and be sure they feature strong calls-to-action.

8. Telesupport: next best thing to in person, or, sometimes, even better

Customer service = conversation

Image credit: Mike Goad

Earn customers’ trust by showing that you’re always ready to talk, and they’ll grow your business for you.

0 notes

ductrungnguyen87 · 4 years ago

Text

8 Local Communication Bridges and 4 Experts to Help You Build Them

8 ways to connect with modern local business customers

Evaluate each of these local business communications bridges to find the best fit for each local business you're marketing.

1. Texting & messaging: winning right now

When I asked Aaron to describe the goal of his startup, he emphasized that “win right now” is a key objective for brands considering SMS, and summarized three basic concepts:

Aaron added:

I concur that now is the right time to start messaging with local customers, and Aaron offered these stats, which underscore this interesting moment of opportunity:

78% of consumers wish they could text businesses

66% of consumers would actually pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel

69.4% of consumers are extremely likely or likely to interact with a business for customer service via text. Another 24.4% were a maybe with just 6.2% being unlikely.

Finally, Aaron offered some tips for brands to be successful with this communications bridge:

Considering the statistics surrounding texting, I’d say that nearly every local business should simply be saying “sign me up!” at this point.

2. Google My Business Messaging: built-in visibility

Aaron mentioned that Leadferno will start supporting Google My Business Messaging later this year, and it’s an option you should be carefully considering now.

Claire offered some additional words to the wise:

3. Live chat: recreating in-store assistance experiences

I started by asking her for some basic statistics about the benefits of implementing website-based live chat, and was fascinated by what Ellen shared:

As for top tips for maximizing the potential of live chat, Ellen noted:

4. Email & email newsletters: consistency is key

He added:

While I had David with me, I also asked what has made Tidings successful, and he explained its customer-centric benefits:

5. Phone: pain points and pet peeves you can solve with people

This business doesn’t care about me and my experience contacting them.

This business is too big to speak to me and has doomed me to shouting at a senseless robot.

This business is too small/understaffed to answer their own phone.

This business is inaccessible.

This business is hiding from the public.

This business replaced a bunch of their staff with robots, costing my fellow citizens their jobs and me the information and pleasure of learning what it’s like to interact with their team.

In short, I’m not reaching out to do business with a robot, so why am I being greeted and gate-kept by one?

6. Google Questions & Answers: leads gathering dust

To capture leads. Walking away from Q&A queries that are clearly leads is as senseless as ignoring someone at your real-world customer service desk.

To demonstrate responsiveness. Google’s bridge may not be ideal here, but if you meet your customers on it with timely replies, you’re building the right kind of reputation.

7. Google Posts: publication without blogging

Blogging isn’t right for every local business, although sources estimate that there are 600,000,000 blogs on the web and that 85% of B2C marketers utilize this form of publication.

Focus your Google Posts on attention-grabbing topics of interest to your customers, use images (including images with text in them), and be sure they feature strong calls-to-action.

8. Telesupport: next best thing to in person, or, sometimes, even better

Customer service = conversation

Image credit: Mike Goad

Earn customers’ trust by showing that you’re always ready to talk, and they’ll grow your business for you.

0 notes

gamebazu · 4 years ago

Text

8 Local Communication Bridges and 4 Experts to Help You Build Them

8 ways to connect with modern local business customers

Evaluate each of these local business communications bridges to find the best fit for each local business you're marketing.

1. Texting & messaging: winning right now

When I asked Aaron to describe the goal of his startup, he emphasized that “win right now” is a key objective for brands considering SMS, and summarized three basic concepts:

Aaron added:

I concur that now is the right time to start messaging with local customers, and Aaron offered these stats, which underscore this interesting moment of opportunity:

78% of consumers wish they could text businesses

66% of consumers would actually pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel

69.4% of consumers are extremely likely or likely to interact with a business for customer service via text. Another 24.4% were a maybe with just 6.2% being unlikely.

Finally, Aaron offered some tips for brands to be successful with this communications bridge:

Considering the statistics surrounding texting, I’d say that nearly every local business should simply be saying “sign me up!” at this point.

2. Google My Business Messaging: built-in visibility

Aaron mentioned that Leadferno will start supporting Google My Business Messaging later this year, and it’s an option you should be carefully considering now.

Claire offered some additional words to the wise:

3. Live chat: recreating in-store assistance experiences

I started by asking her for some basic statistics about the benefits of implementing website-based live chat, and was fascinated by what Ellen shared:

As for top tips for maximizing the potential of live chat, Ellen noted:

4. Email & email newsletters: consistency is key

He added:

While I had David with me, I also asked what has made Tidings successful, and he explained its customer-centric benefits:

5. Phone: pain points and pet peeves you can solve with people

This business doesn’t care about me and my experience contacting them.

This business is too big to speak to me and has doomed me to shouting at a senseless robot.

This business is too small/understaffed to answer their own phone.

This business is inaccessible.

This business is hiding from the public.

This business replaced a bunch of their staff with robots, costing my fellow citizens their jobs and me the information and pleasure of learning what it’s like to interact with their team.

In short, I’m not reaching out to do business with a robot, so why am I being greeted and gate-kept by one?

6. Google Questions & Answers: leads gathering dust

To capture leads. Walking away from Q&A queries that are clearly leads is as senseless as ignoring someone at your real-world customer service desk.

To demonstrate responsiveness. Google’s bridge may not be ideal here, but if you meet your customers on it with timely replies, you’re building the right kind of reputation.

7. Google Posts: publication without blogging

Blogging isn’t right for every local business, although sources estimate that there are 600,000,000 blogs on the web and that 85% of B2C marketers utilize this form of publication.

Focus your Google Posts on attention-grabbing topics of interest to your customers, use images (including images with text in them), and be sure they feature strong calls-to-action.

8. Telesupport: next best thing to in person, or, sometimes, even better

Customer service = conversation

Image credit: Mike Goad

Earn customers’ trust by showing that you’re always ready to talk, and they’ll grow your business for you.

https://ift.tt/3zF5VR7

0 notes

kjt-lawyers · 4 years ago

Text

8 Local Communication Bridges and 4 Experts to Help You Build Them

8 ways to connect with modern local business customers

Evaluate each of these local business communications bridges to find the best fit for each local business you're marketing.

1. Texting & messaging: winning right now

When I asked Aaron to describe the goal of his startup, he emphasized that “win right now” is a key objective for brands considering SMS, and summarized three basic concepts:

Aaron added:

I concur that now is the right time to start messaging with local customers, and Aaron offered these stats, which underscore this interesting moment of opportunity:

78% of consumers wish they could text businesses

66% of consumers would actually pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel

69.4% of consumers are extremely likely or likely to interact with a business for customer service via text. Another 24.4% were a maybe with just 6.2% being unlikely.

Finally, Aaron offered some tips for brands to be successful with this communications bridge:

Considering the statistics surrounding texting, I’d say that nearly every local business should simply be saying “sign me up!” at this point.

2. Google My Business Messaging: built-in visibility

Aaron mentioned that Leadferno will start supporting Google My Business Messaging later this year, and it’s an option you should be carefully considering now.

Claire offered some additional words to the wise:

3. Live chat: recreating in-store assistance experiences

I started by asking her for some basic statistics about the benefits of implementing website-based live chat, and was fascinated by what Ellen shared:

As for top tips for maximizing the potential of live chat, Ellen noted:

4. Email & email newsletters: consistency is key

He added:

While I had David with me, I also asked what has made Tidings successful, and he explained its customer-centric benefits:

5. Phone: pain points and pet peeves you can solve with people

This business doesn’t care about me and my experience contacting them.

This business is too big to speak to me and has doomed me to shouting at a senseless robot.

This business is too small/understaffed to answer their own phone.

This business is inaccessible.

This business is hiding from the public.

This business replaced a bunch of their staff with robots, costing my fellow citizens their jobs and me the information and pleasure of learning what it’s like to interact with their team.

In short, I’m not reaching out to do business with a robot, so why am I being greeted and gate-kept by one?

6. Google Questions & Answers: leads gathering dust

To capture leads. Walking away from Q&A queries that are clearly leads is as senseless as ignoring someone at your real-world customer service desk.

To demonstrate responsiveness. Google’s bridge may not be ideal here, but if you meet your customers on it with timely replies, you’re building the right kind of reputation.

7. Google Posts: publication without blogging

Blogging isn’t right for every local business, although sources estimate that there are 600,000,000 blogs on the web and that 85% of B2C marketers utilize this form of publication.

Focus your Google Posts on attention-grabbing topics of interest to your customers, use images (including images with text in them), and be sure they feature strong calls-to-action.

8. Telesupport: next best thing to in person, or, sometimes, even better

Customer service = conversation

Image credit: Mike Goad

Earn customers’ trust by showing that you’re always ready to talk, and they’ll grow your business for you.

0 notes

noithatotoaz · 4 years ago

Text

8 Local Communication Bridges and 4 Experts to Help You Build Them

8 ways to connect with modern local business customers

Evaluate each of these local business communications bridges to find the best fit for each local business you're marketing.

1. Texting & messaging: winning right now

When I asked Aaron to describe the goal of his startup, he emphasized that “win right now” is a key objective for brands considering SMS, and summarized three basic concepts:

Aaron added:

I concur that now is the right time to start messaging with local customers, and Aaron offered these stats, which underscore this interesting moment of opportunity:

78% of consumers wish they could text businesses

66% of consumers would actually pay more for something if it was supported by a mobile messaging channel

69.4% of consumers are extremely likely or likely to interact with a business for customer service via text. Another 24.4% were a maybe with just 6.2% being unlikely.

Finally, Aaron offered some tips for brands to be successful with this communications bridge:

Considering the statistics surrounding texting, I’d say that nearly every local business should simply be saying “sign me up!” at this point.

2. Google My Business Messaging: built-in visibility

Aaron mentioned that Leadferno will start supporting Google My Business Messaging later this year, and it’s an option you should be carefully considering now.

Claire offered some additional words to the wise:

3. Live chat: recreating in-store assistance experiences

I started by asking her for some basic statistics about the benefits of implementing website-based live chat, and was fascinated by what Ellen shared:

As for top tips for maximizing the potential of live chat, Ellen noted:

4. Email & email newsletters: consistency is key

He added:

While I had David with me, I also asked what has made Tidings successful, and he explained its customer-centric benefits:

5. Phone: pain points and pet peeves you can solve with people

This business doesn’t care about me and my experience contacting them.

This business is too big to speak to me and has doomed me to shouting at a senseless robot.

This business is too small/understaffed to answer their own phone.

This business is inaccessible.

This business is hiding from the public.

This business replaced a bunch of their staff with robots, costing my fellow citizens their jobs and me the information and pleasure of learning what it’s like to interact with their team.

In short, I’m not reaching out to do business with a robot, so why am I being greeted and gate-kept by one?

6. Google Questions & Answers: leads gathering dust

To capture leads. Walking away from Q&A queries that are clearly leads is as senseless as ignoring someone at your real-world customer service desk.

To demonstrate responsiveness. Google’s bridge may not be ideal here, but if you meet your customers on it with timely replies, you’re building the right kind of reputation.

7. Google Posts: publication without blogging

Blogging isn’t right for every local business, although sources estimate that there are 600,000,000 blogs on the web and that 85% of B2C marketers utilize this form of publication.

Focus your Google Posts on attention-grabbing topics of interest to your customers, use images (including images with text in them), and be sure they feature strong calls-to-action.

8. Telesupport: next best thing to in person, or, sometimes, even better

Customer service = conversation

Image credit: Mike Goad

Earn customers’ trust by showing that you’re always ready to talk, and they’ll grow your business for you.

0 notes