Loneliness and Working Online

Being a successful blogger, digital marketer or other form of internet entrepreneur is an amazing achievement and in many ways it can improve your life to a huge extent. Not only does becoming a successful marketer/blogger grant you financial independence and the ability to set your own wage, but it also gives you creative freedom and theoretically it allows you to accomplish the kind of work/life basis that many of us are missing. 

 

But of course, like anything there is an element of the ‘double edged sword’ here and there are downsides to that independence too. One of the very biggest ones here, that a lot of us don’t anticipate before going into this business, is loneliness. When you strike out on your own and are able to give up the day job, the commute and the office politics it can feel like a breath of fresh air. But then later when you hear about your friends’ Christmas parties and their office romances, you can start to miss the camaraderie that working with other people provides. 

 

And in fact, as you sit there typing away most days, you can even start to find yourself getting rather bored or going out of your mind for the lack of people to talk to. Here we will look at some ways you can avoid this, and how you can avoid letting your blogging drive you mad... 

 

Go Out 

 

Many people want to blog for a living because they want to ‘work from home’. Do note though, that work from home here is really more of a figure of speech rather than a literal description of where you are going to work – because actually when you’re self-employed you can work anywhere. Why not then go and work in a café in town? This way you will at least get to chat to the staff that work there and maybe some other people sitting in. Or alternatively of course you can sit in a bar or pub, or when it’s sunny relax on the grass in the sun with a glass of juice. This way working for yourself becomes a much more desirable, and at the same time you’ll be likely to encounter more people, have more conversations and possibly even meet attractive members of the opposite sex. Of course, you also need to be open to chatting to people for this to work. 

 

Meet Up With Others 

 

You can also make blogging more sociable by using the opportunity to meet up with people you don’t normally see. For instance, you can meet your friends for lunch on their lunch break, or you can meet them after work if they finish early. You’ve got the time, and you can even do things like design work while you chat. And in fact, this will be a lot more sociable than most people are in the office anyway. Apart from anything else you’ll be chatting to people who are actually your real friends rather than just colleagues. 

 

Network 

 

Networking and interacting with other bloggers, writers and your visitors is very good for your website and a great way to promote your business and make contacts. At the same time, it can make your business less unsociable, so try attending networking events, working face to face with designers and marketers, and responding to your fan mail rather than locking yourself away. It’s good for your site, and it’s even better for your mental health...

 

Power User Tips for Internet Marketers

Being a 'power user' is a term that sounds much cooler than it is. Actually of course this just means being able to 'work even quicker on the computer' which when you think about it isn't something you'd probably have bragged about back in the playground. 

 

Nevertheless, being a power user means that you can get more done, be more efficient and ultimately earn more and create more in a shorter timeframe - which is pretty cool. 

If you’re a digital marketer, then this is especially important. So read on and learn these power user tips that can help you work faster and smarter.

 

Use Google Keep 

 

Google Keep is a web app that Google designed with similar note-taking features to Evernote but a less steep learning curve. The concept is great - allowing you to quickly take a note in your browser then access it from your phone, and in practice it really is very convenient for accessing your ideas and photos from wherever you are in an intuitive, minimal and quick way. 

 

Use Your Bookmarks 

 

If you aren't using your bookmarks properly then you are missing out as they can help you to work a lot more quickly online. Bookmarks can let you navigate instantly to the pages you use regularly, and that can include your work e-mail or the collaborative site you use at work. If you want to prevent yourself from procrastinating so much in the morning, then just make the page you need for work your homepage - that way this will be the first thing you see, and you won't be tempted to browse Facebook before getting down to it. 

 

Better yet, consider using the Google Chrome app ‘join’ which can be used to send tabs, bookmarks and more directly from a phone to a PC and back again.

 

Get a Headset 

 

Having a headset for your computer can liberate your hands while you're talking on the phone or taking notes, and this can be incredibly useful for multitasking. Use a headset and you can chat to clients while answering e-mails, or dictate notes with voice recognition software. 

 

Learn Keyboard Shortcuts 

 

Learning keyboard shortcuts can save you a great deal of time when it comes to getting through large workloads. A few taps of your keys and you can have opened new documents replaced elements and saved and once you get used to doing this it will become almost like breathing. 

 

Have Multiple Monitors 

 

Working with multiple monitors is something that almost every power-user swears by. This way you have more screen real estate for running multiple applications and you won't find your workspace so crowded. If you don't have space for two monitors, then bear in mind you can use a television or even an Android tablet as your second screen (the latter of which will probably also impress colleagues). 

 

Another option is to get an ultrawide monitor, and studies suggest that this can increase your productivity by as much as 30%.

 

Organize Your Folders 

 

If you want to work as quickly and efficiently as possible then it pays to think ahead and to set everything up to be easy. One way to do this is to organize your folders so that everything you need is right at the top and in a logical place where you can find it quickly. 

 

Step by Step Instructions for Becoming a Digital Nomad

A digital nomad is someone who works entirely online in order to be able to travel freely wherever they want. A digital nomad will normally be found wearing just a single backpack with a small laptop or hybrid slate computer slipped in, and will spend their time moving from WiFi-providing café to WiFi-providing café in all kinds of sunny countries. 

 

The idea is that they get to travel and see the world, while being able to easily fund their movements and not have to worry about getting into major debt. Sounds ideal right? 

Well for the right person it is. As long as you can bear to be away from your creature comforts and you don't need the social stimulation that comes from working in an office, then you can use this as a way to live the kind of life that most people only dream of. 

 

But how do you go about making that leap? Going from an office worker to a digital nomad? Here's the process in a simple step-by-step form. 

 

Speak to Your Loved Ones 

 

What stops most people becoming a digital nomad is not their jobs really, but rather their relationships. If you're in a romantic partnership now, then you'll need to talk seriously with your partner about the prospect of you travelling the world. Hopefully they will be supportive and recognize it as something you need to do. If not? Then you'll have to decide what's most important to you. 

 

Speak to Your Employer 

 

Before you give up your job, you should first ask if there's any way you can set up a remote-work arrangement. Explain your ambition and your manager may help you to make it a reality with no career-change necessary. If not, you'll need to try another tact… 

 

Start Earning 

 

The next thing to do is to start earning some cash off of your own back online. Do this by writing articles for webmasters, by creating web designs or even by providing proof reading services. You can advertise these skills on a webmaster forum or a site like ODesk or even Fiverr. The aim is to start generating just a little work so that you can start to gain confidence and 'wean' yourself off of your 'main job'. Once you're earning enough to be confident you can quit – remember you don't need that much money to do this. 

 

Better yet, consider becoming an internet marketer. By selling affiliate products, PLR products or your own digital products, you can earn money even while you sleep. Or how about becoming a travel blogger and that way turning travel into a financial asset rather than a burden?

 

Speak to Your Mum and Dad

 

You will need a lot of money if you want to pay rent and travel the world at the same time, but if you are willing to throw out a lot of your things and get your Mum to look after the rest then you can free yourself of this financial burden. You might have friends who can do this, but Mum is your best bet seeing as it’s a rather big ask. Otherwise consider storage, but make sure you'll have somewhere to stay when you get back. In general, you’re probably going to have to cut back a little on your possessions!

The Best Places to Work if You Work Online

If you work online, then you have the freedom to be physically located anywhere in the world and to still earn an income. This is an amazing freedom that so few people are afforded, and it’s one of the top reasons that many of us are attracted to the notion of working online in the first place.

 

It’s a minor tragedy then, that so many people who manage to make their income online, will not take full advantage of this. So many people who work online equate this to working ‘from home’ in a very literal sense. That means working out of a home office, or working in bed. Sure, this has its appeal too, but it’s not exactly taking full advantage of this untethered way of working.

 

You can go anywhere if you work online. So where should you go?

 

Working Abroad

 

Of course, the natural conclusion is that working online should mean working abroad. That way, you can see more of the world, experience other cultures and truly live a kind of life that wouldn’t be possible any other way.

 

I have done this a fair bit myself. One of my favorite memories was finding a friend who also worked online and travelling to Croatia. There we explored and saw the sites during the day (and had some great adventures!) but in the evenings we would work in cafes and bars.

 

Sure, many people would rather be out partying during the evening, but my friend and I are introverts. And we love what we do. So, the idea of being able to sip a beer and watch the world go by, immersed in the atmosphere of the nightlife… it was incredible. One evening in particular, we worked in a bar listening to some Euro music while watching rain hit the cobbled streets outside and watching people pass by on their holidays. It was a great feeling and really made us grateful that we had the opportunity to work this way. On another occasion we hired a small log cabin from AirBnB in the mountains of Switzerland. There we worked while sipping tea and enjoying a view of the mountains from our wooden balcony.

 

For the Non-Digital Nomads

 

I’d like to point out at this junction that I am not a digital nomad. That is to say that I do come home in between trips and you can do the same. You don’t have to give up all your creature comforts or your relationships in order to enjoy travelling as you work. Working online means you can just travel more.

 

And even in your local area, there are no doubt more exotic and exciting places you can work. Anywhere with an internet connection where you won’t get kicked out can make a great place to get work done.

 

Working in a coffee shop is the most popular and sensible option. As long as you spend a little on coffee, you should be able to stay there as long as you like and most will have free wifi and power. Plus, you can enjoy people watching and listening to the background chatter, all while avoiding the many distractions and temptations that come from working at home. Libraries are great too!

 

The Most Useful Tech for Online Entrepreneurs

Are you interested in working online? Thinking of becoming a full-time entrepreneur? Then what you need to realize is that your lifestyle is going to change in some big ways. Simple things like no longer having an office and no longer having colleagues will make a huge difference to the way that you spend your days and your workflow.

 

And with those changes will come new requirements for your tech. In order to get the most work done, you will need specific hardware to help you get there. You will no longer be able to rely on an office desk being there every morning when you get into work. So what tech should you invest in? Here are some important and useful considerations.

 

A Laptop

 

Firstly, you will likely want a powerful computer for handling some of the more demanding parts of your work. If all you do is basic SEO, then you can get by with something simple, but if you intend on doing any video editing etc., then you’ll need something with some more impressive specifications.

 

Getting a laptop is also a good idea, because that way you’ll be able to work from anywhere. The only problem is that getting a computer that is at once highly powerful and highly mobile is not so easily done. 

 

Good options include: the Surface Pro, the Macbook, the Surface Book, the Razer Blade and the Dell XPS 13 and 15. My pick of the bunch has to be the XPS 15. This device comes with a Kaby Lake i7 processor, a GTX 1050 GPU, a 512TB SSD harddrive and 16 GB of RAM and is considerably less expensive than a Macbook.

 

A More Mobile Device

 

Something I highly recommend to any digital entrepreneur though, is that they also invest in an even more mobile device to work on. One of the great things about working online is having the freedom to be able to work from anywhere. Use something like the GPD pocket – a tiny 7” laptop – and you can slip it in your pocket when you’re done. Another option is to get a folding keyboard for your phone, such as the Microsoft Universal Folding Keyboard.

 

A Great Phone

 

You’ll find that you can also actually end up doing an awful lot of work on your phone. Whether you’re chatting with clients and business partners over Slack, or you’re managing your content via the WordPress app – there’s a surprising amount of work that can be done from a phone these days. Invest in a good one and consider the requirements of a power user: such as a large battery, lots of screen real estate for multitasking etc.

 

Kit Bag

 

You’ll also need the right bag for carrying your stuff around. If you’re going to stay productive, then you’ll need to be able to carry a lot with you and you’ll need to have all of this to hand when you need it.

 

Some things to keep in your bag should include:

 

·      Powerbank for getting extra charge

·      Portable harddrive for extra storage

·      Noise cancelling headphones for working on planes and trains

 

Why You Should be a Content Creator and Not a Marketer

Labels are important. Most important are the ones that we give ourselves. How you define yourself will color the way you see yourself, and this in turn is going to influence the way that you interact with others, your happiness, your confidence and much more about you.

 

This is particularly true for people like internet marketers. If you’re someone who works online, then you will work a job that isn’t easily defined and that many people won’t really understand. What is it you do again? How do you make money without leaving the house??

 

And it also changes the way you feel about the work you do and the work that you will end up pursuing. I recommend considering shifting the way you describe yourself from ‘internet marketer’ to ‘content creator’. And here is why…

 

The Same Thing Really…

 

You might be wondering how you can just go ahead and change your label if you’re still doing the same job. Isn’t a content creator something entirely different from a digital marketer?

 

Well, not really!

 

These days, content marketing is the most effective option for any brand wanting to increase its visibility and status online. Content marketing is necessary for SEO (because SEO is predicated on having content for Google to crawl) and it is synonymous with social media marketing (because one of the most important aspects of social media marketing is sharing content through your various channels). 

 

And if you’re a content marketer who creates articles and videos for a blog, then chances are that you have the precise same goals as the marketers: getting your content seen.

 

The only difference is that a content marketer is someone who puts the ends first, whereas the content creator puts the quality content first. They put the value first. The content creator builds a brand and then promotes that brand with great multimedia content. The marketer on the other hand looks at the market and asks how they can make money…

 

Why the Content Creator is the Better Outlook

 

But the content creator – ironically – actually often makes more money. That’s because they have a brand they believe in and they are putting more work into their content. 

Both these things are not lost on readers who will end up wanting to spend more money as a result. And thanks to Google’s more recent changes, they’re not lost on the search algorithms either…

 

Then there’s the fact that content creators are happier. Why? Because they are working on something they love. Success doesn’t come online quite as quickly as some marketers will have you believe. It takes a lot of time and even more work. If you’re going to avoid letting this crush you and make you miserable, then you better ensure that you are doing it for the love and not because you have to!

 

Think about all the most wealthy and famous people online. How did they get there? From pedalling ‘make money’ ebooks? Or by creating an amazing YouTube channel and sharing a vibrant personality and talent for writing and production?

 

Choosing The Right NFT Marketplace

It is really important that you list your NFTs for sale on the right marketplace. Some marketplaces appeal to a different audience than others so you need to know who your target audience is and where they hang out to look for new NFTs.

 

Two Types of NFT Marketplace

 

There are actually two different types of NFT marketplace that you can choose from. The self-service NFT marketplace allows anyone to create any kind of NFT. This means that you can create image based NFTs, video based NFTs, audio NFTs and more. Most self-service marketplaces will permit you to associate royalties to your NFTs as well.

 

A curated NFT marketplace is the other type. Here you will need approval from the management of the marketplace to create and list your NFTs. The reason that curated marketplaces exist is to ensure that only NFTs of the highest quality are listed on them.

 

You will always need a Crypto Wallet

 

No matter which of the NFT marketplaces you choose to use, you will always need a crypto wallet for the storage of your NFT information and also to hold the necessary cryptocurrency to pay for any gas and listing fees.

 

Check the Blockchain Networks the Marketplace uses

 

Although the Ethereum blockchain network is the most popular for creating NFTs it is certainly not the only one available. A lot of NFT marketplaces will have support for the Ethereum network but this may not always be the case.

 

There are a number of different blockchain networks that can be used to create NFTs. Some of these networks are closed such as “Flow” and are not interoperable with other blockchain networks. Always check that the NFT marketplace supports the blockchain network that you intend to use for your NFT creation.

 

Most Popular NFT Marketplaces

 

OpenSea is by far the most popular of the NFT marketplaces. It gets millions of visitors each month and there are always millions of NFTs available. Almost anything goes with OpenSea and it is a self-service marketplace.

 

Rarible is another popular NFT network that is self-service. It is owned by the community and members can be awarded the ERC-20 RARI token. If a user is active on the marketplace with NFT creation and trading then they are likely to receive the token. While you can mint different kinds of NFTs on Rarible, the main focus is on digital art.

 

Mintable is a good choice of NFT marketplace if you are looking for self-service and a variety of auction options for your NFTs. The minting of NFTs with Mintable is “gasless” which makes it unique.

 

Nifty Gateway is an NFT self-service marketplace that accepts fiat currency through the use of credit cards. If you want a curated marketplace then one of the best is SuperRare. They are very choosy about the kind of NFTs they will accept because they want to ensure they only list NFTs of the highest quality.

 

Niche NFT Marketplaces

 

NFTs are not just about digital art. There are niche NFT marketplaces available for the creation and listing of things such as in-game items and fantasy sports cards. You will find some of these marketplaces tied directly to games such as Axie Infinity and Decentraland.

 

If your NFTs are focused on sports, you can check out the NBA Top Shot marketplace and others such as SoRare which specialize in collectible cards.

 

Different Ways To Promote Your NFTs

You know how important it is to promote your NFTs so that you can attract the most attention and sell your tokens for the highest prices. There are other ways of promoting your NFTs other than social media and we will explore this in the article.

 

Find Communities on Discord Forums

 

Discord is a great platform which allows the creation of different communities and chat rooms. There are a lot of people interested in buying NFTs on Discord forums so this is something that you definitely want to take a look at. 

 

The Discord platform offers more than just chat rooms and posting. It is possible for you to store and share images on this platform as well as documents. This is good news when you want to showcase your NFTs. 

 

There are public and private communities on Discord. Some of the larger communities of NFT and crypto art require that you are invited to join. It should not be too difficult for you to obtain an invitation to these communities if you are genuine and honest. 

 

Forget about blatantly trying to sell your NFTs on Discord forums. This will not go down well at all and you will probably end up getting banned if you do this too much. Instead, you need to demonstrate your expertise in the market and tell people what your NFT projects are about to build up anticipation.

 

Make an application to NFT Hunters

 

NFT Hunters is a very popular newsletter for collectors and others that are interested in purchasing NFTs. People that subscribe to NFT Hunters receive weekly emails or Telegram messages about what’s new and what’s hot in the NFT world.

 

Often, the people at NFT Hunters will send out a “breaking news” email or message about some hot NFTs that are generating a buzz. You can use this to showcase your NFT offerings to potential buyers. Send the NFT Hunters team an email stating the reasons why they should take a look at your NFT creations.

 

Reddit is a good place for NFTs

 

There are many different communities on Reddit and these are known as subreddits. Reddit has an upvoting feature where users can vote on their favorite content in the communities. The content that has the most votes will appear at the top of the listings. This can get a lot of eyeballs on your content.

 

You will find a number of subreddits already existing for crypto art. The largest of these has around 8 million users. A lot of these will actively scan the subreddit for new content. It is in your interest to join these subreddits and use them as a way to gently introduce the users to your NFTs.

 

When you are using Discord or subreddits to promote your NFTs, have a back story prepared that you can share with the various communities. People on these platforms are interested to know why you got involved in NFTs and how passionate you are about them.

 

Get on Clubhouse

 

Clubhouse is a fairly new platform that only accepts audio content. There are clubs within Clubhouse dedicated to NFTs etc. You can join in on audios from other members of the communities and request to speak.

 

There are also general communities on Clubhouse called rooms. These are around many different subjects and crypto art and NFTs feature fairly regularly. Get yourself in these rooms and request to speak so that you can share your NFT expertise.

 

The Benefits Of NFTs

As you venture into the world of NFTs it is essential that you understand the benefits that they provide. This will provide you with the inspiration and motivation to continue with your NFT projects so that you can make a profit with them. 

 

NFTs operate in a Decentralized Market

 

Creating and selling your own NFTs means that there is no requirement for a middleman. If you think about the art world, creators need to secure the services of galleries or agents to showcase and sell their work. This is not the case with NFTs.

 

When you create an NFT on a marketplace you will be able to interact directly with potential buyers. If people are interested in your NFTs you will be able to directly answer any questions that they may have. If a buyer is ready to purchase your NFTs then they can do this easily using the secure decentralized network.

 

Another advantage of the decentralized market is that NFT creators can build in royalties. A lot of NFTs will change hands from the original owner to a new owner and the creator can set a percentage commission that they will receive on the sale price.

 

Proving Ownership and Authenticity is easy with NFTs

 

It is easy to prove ownership of an NFT. This is due to their association with blockchain technology. You cannot have an NFT with multiple owners because they are indivisible. Both creators and owners of NFTs can rely on the technology to prove ownership.

 

All NFTs are unique on a blockchain network. This makes it easy for authenticity of a token to be established. Even of the NFT creator decides to create a limited edition of the same item, each one will have unique characteristics which prove their authenticity.

 

You cannot change NFT Records

 

Once an NFT is created it immediately becomes immutable. This means that all of the data pertaining to the NFT cannot be changed. You cannot remove or delete an NFT from a blockchain network. After an NFT is created on a blockchain then it will stay there for good.

 

Trading NFTs is Simple

 

You can easily trade an NFT on the same blockchain network. This means that free trade of NFTs is available which is another great advantage. NFT creators and owners can list them for sale on NFT marketplaces. Usually, an auction takes place and the NFT goes to the highest bidder. There can also be a fixed price set with an NFT trade.

 

NFT Owners can retain Copyright

 

This is a really significant benefit for NFT creators. If you create an NFT you are able to retain full copyright in it. It does not matter who currently owns the NFT, as the creator the copyright will belong to you. Copyright retention allows NFT creators to claim royalties when a token changes ownership.

 

The New NFT Economic Opportunity

 

With other methods of showcasing and selling items, the creator has to forego some of their profits to the platform or person that is doing the selling for them. This is not the case with NFTs and a lot of creators see this as an excellent way to maximize their profits.

 

There is now a new digital economy with NFTs. Creators can sell their work directly to collectors and other buyers and not have to share their revenue with anyone else.

 

You Must Avoid These NFT Mistakes

Although the world of NFTs is fairly new, people have already made lots of mistakes when they are creating and selling their tokens. In this article, you will learn about 5 common mistakes that people make with NFTs. You need to avoid these at all costs.

 

1. Trying to Make Money too quickly

 

People see that some NFTs have sold for millions of dollars and they think that it is a good way to make money quickly. This is short-term thinking and has been the undoing of a number of NFT creators and sellers.

 

If you want to succeed with NFTs then you always need to provide value first. Focusing on making money fast with NFTs is a recipe for disaster. You need to trade NFTs that people want to buy and be consistent with your promotional efforts.

 

2. Not Promoting Listed NFTs

 

This is the “build it and they will come” syndrome. You create an NFT or a series and list on OpenSea. Because OpenSea gets millions of visitors each month you think that your NFTs will sell like hot cakes. What you need to take into account is that there are millions of NFTs available on OpenSea all the time so yours can just get lost in all of this.

 

You need to do more than just create and list your NFTs on a marketplace. Determine who your target audience is and then promote your NFT drops to them. Use social media platforms and find communities that are dedicated to your NFT niche.

 

When you are promoting your NFTs you need to avoid outright sales tactics. Nobody likes to be sold to and this is particularly true in the NFT world. You need to showcase your NFTs and let people know what is special about them to generate interest. 

 

3. Listing your NFTs on the wrong Marketplace

 

This is something that happens a lot. A lot of NFT creators are not prepared to spend a little time researching which marketplace is best for the creation and listing of their NFTs. Many beginners will use the OpenSea platform for their NFTs because it is the largest. But this can be a big mistake as your target audience might not hang out there.

You need to do your homework here and find out which NFT marketplace your target audience is the most likely to use. Find out what the community is like with the different marketplaces and see how responsive they are. 

 

4. Not Investing in your NFTs

 

It is usually not free to list your NFTs for sale on a marketplace. If you are going to use the Ethereum blockchain network for your NFTs then you will need to pay a “gas” fee. A lot of people think that they can create and list NFTs for free but this is not the case.

 

If you are creating NFTs that have high value then you need to invest in them. We are not just talking about paying the different fees here. You need to invest in marketing to spread the word about your NFTs.

 

5. Not Understanding NFTs properly

 

This mistake is so easy to avoid but there are many people that make errors with their NFTs because they do not have a good overview of how they work. You need to know the basics about crypto and blockchain and there are many resources online available to help you with this.