Website as Storefronts

A customer walks into the store, browses through products and shelves, picks up items, inspects, considers the prices, chooses a product and takes it to the cash register to pay. Now if you want to sell your products online, then your site must be enabled for e-commerce, where you must have the following features:

 

• You need to provide plenty of content and product description like sizes, dimensions, colors and comparisons with other similar products. It must allow the customer to choose a product, get a clear pricing and shipping costs on the product, complete the transaction and get an order number, and/or invoice confirmation via email. Allow your customer to choose a shipping method.

• You must tell the customer if the item is in stock or delivered against order. Ideally, you should have an email contact or live help if the customer has a question. Most importantly you must respond immediately! If you want to provide your own live chat and help desk services on your website, specialized software are available for purchase. 

• Be sure your customer service links are large and clearly marked, so your client does not have to dig around to find information.

• Provide an ‘about us’ section or a section about your policies. If you have privacy statements and customer satisfaction policies, your customer will feel better about shopping in your store.

• You probably want to have customer quotes and references on the storefront page, as well, to let your prospective client know that others are happy with your service.

• Provide an FAQ with information about your return-back policies, guarantees, shipping prices and insurance charges if any.

• If you are so inclined, you can offer a print catalogue if the customer prefers to order one from your storefront and shop in the privacy of their homes.

• Do not annoy your customers by presenting products that are marked ‘sold’ or pages that say ‘under construction’ or ‘coming soon’.

• Do add new content frequently, so your returning customers will not be bored by seeing the same products they saw four months ago.

• If your site has got a date tag or has current references, be careful to change these references frequently so you don’t give the perception that nobody is attending or reading your site.

 

What Is Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization is a process of choosing the most appropriate targeted keyword phrases related to your site and ensuring that this ranks your site highly in search engines so that when someone searches for specific phrases it returns your site on tops. It basically involves fine tuning the content of your site along with the HTML and Meta tags and also involves appropriate link building process. 

The most popular search engines are Google and Bing. Search engines keep their methods and ranking algorithms secret, to get credit for finding the most valuable search-results and to deter spam pages from clogging those results. A search engine may use hundreds of factors while ranking the listings where the factors themselves and the weight each carry may change continually. Algorithms can differ so widely that a webpage that ranks #1 in a particular search engine could rank #200 in another search engine. 

New sites need not be "submitted" to search engines to be listed. A simple link from a well-established site will get the search engines to visit the new site and begin to spider its contents. It can take a few days to even weeks from the referring of a link from such an established site for all the main search engine spiders to commence visiting and indexing the new site.

 

If you are unable to research and choose keywords and work on your own search engine ranking, you may want to hire someone to work with you on these issues.

 

Search engine marketing and promotion companies, will look at the plan for your site and make recommendations to increase your search engine ranking and website traffic. If you wish, they will also provide ongoing consultation and reporting to monitor your website and make recommendations for editing and improvements to keep your site traffic flow and your search engine ranking high. Normally your search engine optimization experts work with your web designer to build an integrated plan right away so that all aspects of design are considered at the same time.

Getting Started With Persuasive Copywriting: The First 3 Pieces of Content to Give A Makeover

When you’re ready to create some persuasive copywriting, you may be overwhelmed and wonder where to start. There are three places where your copywriting skills really matter and this is where you should start. Once you’ve mastered these three elements of your website, you can go on to tackle other areas of your site. 

 

1. Your ‘About’ Page

 

The ‘about’ page on any website is usually the most visited one. That’s why it should be clearly labeled. Don’t use a cutesy name in the hopes that more people will click on it. You’ll just confuse your website visitors. 

 

Your ‘about’ page should share your journey and cover why you’re qualified to help potential clients. Spin your journey into a story format that readers can relate to. For example, if you’re a business coach, you might share how you struggled to get your own business started for several years before finding success. By sharing your story, you’ll make it easy for your potential clients to relate to you and show them that you’re qualified to help.

 

2. Your ‘Services’ Page 

 

Your ‘services’ page is your chance to stand out from other solopreneurs that offer similar services. But don’t cram every single service you offer on the same page. That will overwhelm visitors and they may leave your website before reading through all of the services you perform. That’s why it’s smart to have each service listed on a separate page of your website.

 

You want your service pages to show that you understand your ideal client and can deliver what they need. Then you should explain how you work and what end result your ideal client can expect. For example, if you’re a social media strategist, don’t tell potential clients that you can handle their Facebook advertisements. That’s vague and doesn’t describe what you can do. Instead, you might tell potential clients that you can increase Facebook ad conversions by 20%. 

 

Now, include an easy next step, like joining your mailing list. Direct your visitors to your freebie sign up page with a helpful link, like this one: 

 

===> Add Your Download Link to Your Free Report <===

 

By doing this, you stay connected to potential clients that are interested in working with you but aren’t ready to hire you quite yet. 

 

3. Your ‘Home’ Page

 

When it comes to your home page, you have less than seven seconds to make your first impression. You want that impression to be a good one. 

 

When someone visits your home page, they should be able to tell immediately if they’re your ideal client or not from your copy. If you’re a social media strategist that works only with small businesses, then your copy shouldn’t be aimed at large corporations. It should be focused on small businesses and how you can help them. 

 

Your home page is also your chance to state why you’re uniquely qualified to help. Don’t use the same wording you did on your about page. Instead, keep your qualifications to one or two sentences on your home page. If a visitor is interested in knowing more, they’ll click on your ‘about’ page for the full story. 

 

Next, offer social proof on your home page. If you’ve guest posted on several popular blogs, share their logos. If you have testimonials from prominent clients, post those on your home page, too. If you’ve been interviewed in a magazine or podcast, be sure to add this information to your home page as well.

 

Before you post your new copy on your website, be sure to have a professional editor or proofreader look at it. An extra set of eyes can help you avoid embarrassing typos and make sure that your copy shines.

 

5 Steps to Reach Your Readers on an Emotional Level

When it comes selling yourself and your brand, it’s essential that you understand that your potential customers want to do business with people that they know, like, and trust. This is even more important if you’re a coach or service provider. Your potential clients may wonder if they’ll enjoy working with you, how you can help them, and if they’ll get their desired results. 

 

This is where persuasive copywriting can help you. Copywriting will allow your ideal client the chance to know, like, and trust you. It also gives you an easy way to answer their questions before they even ask them. But before you start writing your copy, there are a few steps you’ll need to take. 

 

Step #1: Identify Your Client

 

Describe your ideal client as detailed as you can. You need to be specific about their fears, frustrations, and feelings. Use forums and social media groups to see what words your ideal client uses to talk about their situation. Knowing how your potential clients describe what they’re dealing with will allow you to create copy that connects with them. You also need to think about what your potential client’s desired end result would look and feel like. For example, if you help overwhelmed working moms find time to prepare nutritious food to feed their families, then the end result might be less dinner time stress, more family time, and healthier bodies.

 

Step #2: Focus on your qualifications

 

Next, think about how you’re uniquely qualified to help your potential clients. Describe why you’re qualified as a professional (education) and/or as a person (experience). You’ll want to offer proof of your qualifications in the form of diplomas, testimonials, and endorsements. These qualifications can be placed on the ‘home’ or ‘about’ page or a dedicated ‘testimonials’ page on your website and blog.

 

Step #3: Describe the milestones

 

When you have a clear picture of what results your clients can expect from you, then you’ll want to think about the journey they’ll take. Try to describe the milestones your ideal client typically encounters during their journey. For example, if you’re a weight loss coach, one milestone might be losing the first ten pounds. 

 

Don’t focus on just the good milestones. You’ll also want to consider the setbacks clients may face as well as the emotional aspects of their journey. For example, a setback might be gaining three pounds one week. 

 

Step #4: Think about your clients’ objections

 

Once you’re confident that you understand your potential clients’ journey, you need to take a moment to consider their objections. What hesitations might your client bring up when they’re ready to hire you? What are they afraid of if they take that first step? For example, if you’re a fitness coach that helps obese patients lose weight, you might find that potential clients are worried about visiting a gym for the first time. 

 

When you understand these objections, you can offer solutions. Keep in mind that solutions don’t always have to be complex. You might simply tell clients that the first gym session is all about coming in and getting comfortable with the equipment, no workout required. Now, you’ve subtly eased a potential client’s objections to taking that first step toward fitness.

 

Step #5: Describe the action steps your reader would like to take

 

Now that you know the journey your clients are on, it’s time to guide them to your product or services. You can do this by thinking about the action steps readers need to take when interacting with your content. For example, you might have a call to action at the bottom of your blog posts for joining your email list.

 

When you send emails to potential clients on your list, you might have a call to action at the bottom of each email that invites your subscribers to set up a free consultation with you. You want to continually invite your community to keep taking action. By doing this, you’ll have a list filled with valuable leads.

 

Understanding your client is the first step toward creating more persuasive copy. When you genuinely care about your clients’ journey, it will shine through in your copywriting efforts. 

 

Copywriting Essentials: 4 Myths That Keep You from Writing Compelling Copy

You’re stuck. You’re not seeing the leads you want for your business. You’re offering quality products and great services but only a few people are buying from you. 

 

You might be tempted to believe that the problem is that your platform isn’t big enough or that your website isn’t interactive enough. But for many small business owners and solopreneurs, these problems are usually the result of poor copywriting.

 

The good news is that persuasive copywriting is an essential skill that can be learned. But first, you have to understand that some things you might believe about copywriting are actually myths that are harming your business.

 

Myth #1: Copywriting is all about selling

 

Some small business owners believe that copywriting is the equivalent of going to a cocktail party and screaming “Buy my product!” to every person you meet. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Copywriting is about so much more than selling your product or program.

 

Copywriting is about serving your audience. You can use persuasive copy to address your customers’ concerns, help them make smart buying decisions, and offer solutions to their needs. 

 

Myth #2: Copywriting is all about action

 

Many small business owners and solopreneurs think that every piece of content they create has to have a call to action, but that’s not true. Most of the time, you’ll be creating content to increase your customers’ awareness of your business. This can be called the “know, like, trust” factor.

 

The ‘know, like, trust’ factor is about guiding your potential customers through the buying stages. In the first stage, the know stage, you’ll give potential customers content that informs them. In the second stage, you’ll share content that makes your brand likeable. The third and final stage is known as trust. It’s the point where your customers will decide whether they should purchase your productive or service.

 

Myth #3: Copywriting is all about you and your business

 

Copywriting isn’t focused solely on you or even your customer. The best copywriting strikes a balance between “about you” and “about your reader”. 

 

You want your copy to show your understanding of and compassion for your ideal clients’ situation. Your copy should highlight that your business cares and why your brand is the best one to choose.

 

Myth #4: Copywriting is all about making your brand look perfect

 

Persuasive copywriting isn’t about positioning your brand as perfect. It’s about connecting with your reader on both an intellectual and emotional level. Your potential customers want to know about your expertise, but they also need to know that you understand them. One simple way to do this is to share stories about your brand. Don’t be afraid to include stories about your business’s failures.

 

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your copywriting is set in stone. Even expert copywriters create several drafts before they find a version that truly connects with their readers. The important thing is to keep testing your copy until you find what works best for your business.

 

Misconceptions About Negotiating

The pervasive perception of negotiation in the West is more negative than it is in most other places in the world. We imagine men screaming at each other across a boardroom table, spittle flying. But that’s not what negotiation really looks like if you are doing it right. The goal of negotiation is for both parties to get what they want. The aim is to reach a win-win. There are several misconceptions about negotiating that we would like to straighten out here and now.

 

It’s too combative - As mentioned above, negotiation shouldn’t be aggressive or nasty. You don’t need to view it as a competition or confrontation because it’s not. Instead, bargaining is simply an exchange of points and offers. 

 

It’s only for cheapskates - More people are watching their pennies nowadays, and one way to improve your wealth is to negotiate, especially on high ticket items. Why pay more than you need to? How do you think people with a lot of money in the bank got there? No doubt, part of their strategy was to negotiate the price of things when appropriate.

 

It’s improper - Especially in the case of high ticket items, sales people expect you to try to negotiate price. If you own a house, for example, did you settle on the asking price or did you offer less? Same with a car. Most car dealerships state their highest price, knowing that people will ask for something lower. If they get their asking price, all the better. But they don’t expect it. It’s not improper to save money.

 

It takes a certain type of personality - This misconception goes back to believing that negotiating is aggressive. Though it may feel less than comfortable in the beginning, some practice can take care of that. Even shy people can learn to negotiate. It’s a skill that can be learned, not necessarily something you are born with.

 

It’s not worth the time or money - Again, in the case of expensive purchases, it can be well worth your time to negotiate price. Many people who are selling something, whether a company or an individual on Craig’s List set their price high, expecting to bargain. Is it worth your time to shave a few car payments off the life of your car loan? If not, it should be.

 

It’s embarrassing - This misconception is rooted in the fact that most people are uncomfortable negotiating. But all it takes is some practice. You also won’t negotiate on everything you buy. The kid checking you out at a fast food place or movie theater isn’t going to knock down the price. But the salesman trying to sell you a dishwasher probably would. Knowing when to bargain and then practicing it is all that is needed to end the embarrassment.

 

Why It’s Important to Be Able to Debate

When you think of the word debate, you probably think of a somewhat nerdy after-school activity offered in some high schools. But debating isn't just for sport, as it is also known as "arguing." And clearly, arguments have a place in our everyday lives. No matter what you call it, though, it is an important life skill to have for several different reasons. 

 

Debating Helps You Form Your Own Opinion

 

If you've never debated a topic, chances are your feelings about the topic aren't fully formed. When you debate something, it challenges you to think about the topic at a deeper level. And when you think about the topic at a deeper level, it helps you solidify your emotions about the topic. 

 

Debate Helps You Learn

 

Besides just solidifying your emotions about a particular topic, the debate also allows you to learn more about a topic you may be passionate about. Your opponent may make a point that you had never heard of before. However, for this to hold true, you need to make sure you listen when the other person(s) are speaking instead of just preparing your answer while they speak. 

 

Debate Activates Your Brain

 

While debate isn't the only way to activate your brain, it activates a part of your brain that you don't often use. This part of the brain deals with problem-solving and the art of persuasion. When you debate with someone, you exercise both of these skills, crucial to survival as an adult. Even most schools recognize this, so several colleges such as Oxford recommend debate classes for all of their students. 

 

Debate Solves Problems

 

If you have an opinion and never share it with anyone in your life, problems could arise because you haven't made your opinions clear. Debating a topic helps bring everyone's opinions to the forefront in an environment where they are respected. Just make sure you never attack someone else for their beliefs. Only attack the topic at hand so that it doesn’t become personal.

 

These are just a few of the many reasons that it's important to learn to debate. Without knowing how to debate, it's likely an individual will go through life being misunderstood by others and even by themselves, as they may not understand their stance on certain issues. So, if you think this describes you, it’s time to learn how to debate today!

 

Why You Should Start a Business Rather than Have a Job

 

For most of us, there are two ways in which we can earn a living. We can either take up a job at some company where we get paid a regular salary with perks and incentives, or we can start a business of our own and earn the profits of whatever we sell. The former option is considered to be the more stable option, the more traditional one. That is why when most people think about what they would want to do in their lives, they think of nice cushy jobs that could pay them a large amount of money.

 

However, you should not completely denounce the second option either—starting a business of your own. Today, most of the people who are highly successful are those who have control over their lives in a professional manner of speaking. And this is only possible if you have a business. If you have your own company, however small, then you are your own boss. That even gives you more satisfaction from what you do.

 

It might have been true that businesses were difficult to start and manage once upon a time, but that is definitely not applicable in today’s world. Today, a lot of people are carrying out their business pursuits from the comforts of their home. The Internet has made it possible for all of us to be able to pursue our profession from our home itself—several people are managing entire virtual offices with dozens of employees from all over the world, just through their laptops.

 

But, the benefits of even these Internet based businesses are the same. You still get to be your own boss, you control your life, you have the option to work as much or as little as you want, which means you can decide on the size of the paycheck you get.

 

There is actually no point being in a job if you don’t want to. Why would you work for someone else when you could work for yourself so easily? If you have entrepreneurial skills, then it is certainly not a good idea to get into a job and work for mere wages.

 

So, plan your professional life well. Maybe you could consider a job if you are sure of growth and if the job is really good and from a very well-established company that pays handsomely, but if that is not the case, then a business is also not out of the realms of possibility either.

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Use Low-Ticket Offers to Boost Your Profits

A low-ticket offer, as a general guideline, is a product with a price tag of $50 or less. These low-cost items are usually digital products, like an eBook, video course, or resource guide. A low-ticket offer, if chosen wisely, is a powerful way to qualify leads and drive sales. 

 

As your prospects progress through your sales funnel, various offers direct them towards the ultimate destination: your core offer, a higher-priced item at the end of the funnel. 

 

By presenting prospects with a low-ticket item up top, you can gauge whether they have true customer potential or if they’re just freebie seekers. If they purchase your inexpensive offer, you can start building a relationship with them and priming them for purchase. 

 

Why Use Low-Ticket Offers?

 

There are several benefits to pitching low-ticket offers. 

 

Low-ticket offers provide you with another way to earn income. They are usually digital products, so they cost very little to produce and have no delivery or storage fees. It’s just an electronic file, so your margin is high, even if you’re only charging few dollars. Although the primary focus is your core offer, these small products can generate some money and offset any expenses associated with your higher-ticket items. 

 

The reason low-ticket offers work well near the beginning of a sales funnel is that they help to qualify leads. Many people who sign up for your lead magnet are only after the freebies. They’ll consume your content in exchange for their email address, but they have no intention of paying even a few dollars for a premium product. A low-ticket offer helps you identify these people right away. 

 

Low-ticket offers also help build relationships with new leads. By providing your target audience with an instant solution at a reasonable price, you establish trust and these customers will want to learn more. 

 

This inexpensive offer also provides an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise. Use your low-ticket offer to showcase your knowledge and the results you can deliver, and your customers will be more likely to purchase future offers with higher price tags. 

 

Low-ticket offers move prospects closer to your core offer and weed out those who won’t buy. It’s a low-risk and valuable lead qualification tool that costs very little to produce and distribute. 

 

The Key to Success: Know Your Audience

 

How do you maximize the effectiveness of your low-ticket offer? Get to know your audience. If you understand the issues they face, you can develop a low-ticket offer that will solve a particular problem for them and increase the likelihood of future purchases.

 

The best way to get a clear picture of your audience is to create an ideal customer profile. This process involves imagining your target audience as an individual – the one person who would most benefit from your core offer. Get to know their likes and dislikes, problems, and passions. This description will be a valuable tool when developing all of the offers in your funnel. 

 

One low-ticket offer isn’t going to completely transform the customer’s life, but it should offer a “quick win” and a concrete improvement, no matter how small. 

 

Creating Your Low-Ticket Offer Content

 

It’s not necessary to invest a lot of money into the production of a low-ticket offer. But what it can cost you is time and energy. Content creation can easily become a burden and a drain on your resources. 

 

Since the key to generating income with a low-priced product is to cut overhead, look for shortcuts to content creation. A few ideas include:

 

• Creating a smaller version of a bigger product. Extract a section of your core offer and transform it into a low-ticket item. 

• Offering a bundle of products. You can take several small pieces of existing content and put them together into a high-value bundle.

• Providing more content to help with your lead magnet. Make a resource guide, template, or tool that the customer can use to get more out of the free lead magnet they received from you.

• Repurposing existing content. Take content you’ve already created and alter it in some way, so it offers unique value.

 

The Right Timing for Your Low-Ticket Offer

 

The standard practice is to present prospects with a low-ticket offer at the beginning of the sales funnel, so you can start qualifying leads right away. But sometimes, it may be beneficial to engage with the prospect a bit more before pitching paid products. Think about your ideal customer and what they would prefer. For some people, and particular types of products, a low-ticket offer may be more appropriate later in the funnel. 

 

Or, conversely, you can offer a low-ticket item as a lead magnet, at the front of your funnel. To do this, you would create a dedicated landing page and drive traffic to it. Once they purchase it, customers are added to your email list, where you can then start communicating with them. 

 

There is no perfect place or time to present your low-ticket offer. Map out the customer journey through your sales funnel and experiment to see what works best for your target audience. 

 

Monitor Your Results and Make It Perfect

 

Track your results, check conversions, and then make the necessary adjustments. It will take some trial and error to perfect your low-ticket offer strategy, but once you do, it will be worth the effort. 

 

Are you ready to learn, step-by-step, how to create a low-ticket offer that will earn you more and qualify prospects for your core offer?

 

Bitcoin 101 – What It Is And Why You Should Care

You may have heard about Bitcoin and wondered what it really was. There is always a lot of news about this digital currency and especially how it rises and falls in price dramatically at times. Well, here we will give you the complete 101 on Bitcoin.

 

As we already mentioned, Bitcoin is a digital currency. You may think that there are actual coins available but there are not. These are just fabrications. The original intention of Bitcoin was to send payments anonymously and securely online. This is still true to a certain extent today.

 

A Decentralized Currency

 

A number of countries around the world are scared of Bitcoin. It is a totally decentralized currency not controlled by any governments or centralized banks. Some countries have actually banned Bitcoin.

 

A major advantage that Bitcoin has over conventional fiat currencies is that it is not affected by any inflationary of deflationary measures imposed by countries. There is a limited supply of Bitcoin which increases its value – similar to gold.

 

The Technology behind Bitcoin

 

Blockchain is the technology behind Bitcoin. This is a public ledger system which adds to a large chain of confirmed transactions which is where the name blockchain originated from. Anyone can see the entire blockchain for Bitcoin since it began in 2009. This is a lot of data and will grow even larger in the future.

 

With blockchain technology after verifying a financial transaction you cannot change it. It creates immutable records. This is excellent for security but not so good if you make a mistake with a Bitcoin transaction. There is no turning back after verification and confirmation.

 

Thousands of computers (nodes) in the blockchain network for Bitcoin validate it all of the time. This means that it is virtually impossible to hack a blockchain network as you would require more processing power than all of the computers that make up the network.

 

Bitcoin Mining

 

The process of verifying Bitcoin transactions falls to Bitcoin miners. These are individuals, groups or companies that use high powered computer equipment to solve the complex cryptographic codes needed to verify each transaction.

 

Bitcoin miners receive rewards for this work in the form of Bitcoins. With Bitcoins being very valuable these days, mining can be a very rewarding task. The problem is that with the creation of new Bitcoins the number of new ones available falls. 

 

You need a great deal of computer processing power to participate in Bitcoin mining now. A powerful desktop computer is nowhere near good enough. So, if you want o be a Bitcoin miner you need to invest in high spec computer equipment (and lots of it), and be prepared to run them 24/7 with the electrical costs that that brings.

 

Where can you get Bitcoins?

 

You can purchase Bitcoins in your native fiat currency e.g., US Dollar by using a cryptocurrency exchange such as Coinbase.com. There are fees involved for buying and selling as you can imagine. 

 

A cryptocurrency wallet stores your purchased Bitcoins. The cryptocurrency exchange will provide you with an online wallet and there are other forms of Bitcoin wallet such as a desktop wallet, a paper wallet and a hardware wallet.

 

The hardware wallet is the most secure because you do not leave it plugged into your computer or mobile device. An online wallet is the least secure because if you can access it online then so can hackers.

Should You Invest In Bitcoin Or Trade Bitcoin?

There are a number of stories about Bitcoin traders that have made a great deal of money on the back of the volatility of the digital currency. Some traders are able to make consistent profits most days with Bitcoin. So, if you are just starting out with Bitcoin should you trade or go for longer term investment?

 

Bitcoin Trading

 

If you are new to Bitcoin then it is not impossible for you to make trades to make regular profits. But this is not an easy thing to do. It takes a good deal of experience and you need to be mentally and financially ready. To make consistent profits from trading you need to buy low and sell high.

 

When you first start to trade Bitcoin it is natural for you to panic when prices change. Bitcoin is now very valuable and there can literally be thousands of dollars at stake. The more money that you are using the more likely you are to panic.

 

Learn how to Trade Bitcoin

 

We would never recommend that you just jump into Bitcoin trading. You need to learn everything that you can about it first. A number of the exchanges will provide you with a dummy account where you can practice. These accounts have real time prices like the real ones and if you make a mistake then you can learn from them.

 

It doesn’t matter if you blow all of the pretend money in a demo account. Just get another demo account and try again. But imagine this was real money you were trading with – it would be devastating to lose everything wouldn’t it?

 

Create a Trading Plan

 

The best Bitcoin traders have a plan. They have minimum buy prices and sell prices. They stick to this plan no matter what and never enter into emotional trades because they “feel right”. When you start trading Bitcoin forget about making a ton of money in a day. If you have this attitude, you are more likely to make a lot of mistakes.

 

Never go all in on a trade. Just use small amounts of money to trade with until you develop the skills and experience that you need. It doesn’t matter how good an opportunity seems to be – just stick with small amounts when you are starting out.

 

Bitcoin Investing

 

The difference between Bitcoin investing and trading is the amount of time involved. With Bitcoin investing you are committing to the longer term which we believe is a smarter decision. When you invest over the longer term you are able to cover off the volatility of Bitcoin and have the best chance of a good return.

 

One of the best methods to use for Bitcoin investment is the dollar cost averaging method. The concept here is to invest smaller amounts regularly so that you can take advantage of price swings. 

 

For example, if you decide you can invest $100 a week then some weeks you will get more Bitcoins for your money and other weeks you will get less. Over a period of time this should always average out so that at the end of the investing period you have still made a reasonable return.

 

Is It Worth Getting Involved With Bitcoin Mining?

Bitcoin mining is essential to keep the Bitcoin network going. The miners verify and confirm all of the Bitcoin transactions and without them the whole thing would grind to a halt. There would be no more transactions and no new Bitcoins created.

 

What is Bitcoin Mining?

 

Bitcoin miners use very powerful computer equipment to update the Bitcoin decentralized ledger. They need to solve very complex cryptographic challenges and the first to do this will update a block and receive a reward in Bitcoins (at the time of writing this is around 12 Bitcoins). 

 

With Bitcoins being worth thousands of dollars these days this seems like a really good idea. But is it really? You cannot perform Bitcoin mining successfully with a powerful desktop computer. You need to invest a ton of money into very high-end computing power and then pay for the running costs of these computers.

 

The Process of Bitcoin Mining

 

Anyone can get involved in Bitcoin mining. There are already thousands of Bitcoin miners that update the Bitcoin blockchain ledger and thousands more want to get involved. With Bitcoin mining you need to guess a number that will solve an equation that the blockchain generates. 

 

You need to use powerful computers to make these guesses. When you have a lot of computing power you can make many guesses per second which increases your chances of being the first to get it right. 

 

When you guess right the mining software on your computers works out which of the currently pending transactions need grouping together in the next block for adding to the blockchain. After this the entire Bitcoin network validates the transaction.

 

Bitcoin Mining is difficult

 

The inventor of Bitcoin and blockchain, Satoshi Nakatomo, created rules for mining where the more mining power in the network the more difficult it is to guess the right random number. As more and more people are becoming Bitcoin miners the difficulty level continues to rise.

 

The reason behind this increasing difficulty is to create a regular flow of Bitcoins. In reality this means that it takes around 10 minutes to create a new transaction block on average. The actual times vary considerably. It is all about mining power these days and the more you have the more likely you are to succeed.

 

Bitcoin Mining Pools

 

To get involved in Bitcoin mining these days is beyond most individuals. The costs of the equipment required and the running costs are just too much. There is increased competition as well with many miners collaborating together.

 

One solution to this problem is the Bitcoin mining pool. This is a simple concept where groups of people create a pool and combine their mining power and share the rewards. Even small players can get involved with Bitcoin mining in a pool.

 

There are a number of large Bitcoin mining pools existing today. They will take a percentage of any success that you have. Usually this is around the 2% mark.

 

So, is Bitcoin Mining worth it?

 

If you are a newcomer then the answer to this is probably not. There are a lot of factors to consider if you really want to get involved in Bitcoin mining. If you want to go it alone then you will have to invest a ton of money into computers that can make very high numbers of guesses every second.

 

Then you have to keep these super computers running which usually means storage costs (they need proper cooling as they run all of the time) and electricity costs. In truth you would be better off using the money that you would need to invest to purchase Bitcoins.