Everyone has been hurt in relationships. Few people are able to let that pain go so they can move on with their lives without the past mudding their joy.<div></div><div>People have a tendency to get caught in their anger and pain after they've been hurt. There are mental, emotional, and physical reasons why it is difficult to release this pain.</div><div></div><div>One area that can make it difficult to release the past is the misunderstanding of what forgiveness is. People often think forgiveness absolves the other person of anything that happened. You’ll discover this is incorrect.</div><div></div><div>Strategies and exercises to release the past range from recognizing your personal power, nurturing yourself, changing your thoughts, and discovering how to manage your feelings.</div><div> </div><div>In this course, you’ll learn:</div><div></div><div>●	Why forgiveness is crucial to your mental, emotional, and physical health</div><div></div><div>●	How childhood beliefs can interfere with releasing the past</div><div></div><div>●	You have the power within you to release the past</div><div> </div><div>●	Forgiveness brings freedom</div><div></div><div>●	Strategies to assist you in forgiving and letting go</div><div> </div>

English

If someone betrayed you, the pain for all the times you were betrayed is awakened.

Understanding What Happens Emotionally

This lesson is to show you that your emotional pain has a physical cause and difficulty releasing it isn't a weakness of character. 

Understanding What Happens Physically

When you've experienced a deep emotional wound, the natural response is to attempt to make sense of it.

Understanding What Happens Mentally

In this module you learned there are three factors which make releasing the past difficult:

Module 1 Summary and Reflection

The key to healing is releasing the anger and resentment surrounding the event.

What Forgiveness Is Not

Now that you know that forgiveness isn’t about spending time with toxic people or giving away your power, it's time to look at what forgiveness is.

What Forgiveness Is 

Now, you know it’s not true that letting go of the past, also known as forgiveness, doesn’t make you a victim and doesn’t mean that someone unhealthy for you must stay in your life. 

Module 2 Summary and Reflection

You are more powerful than you ever thought you were. All you need to do is access that power and bring it forward.

Recognize How Powerful You Are

In this lesson you'll begin your journey by aligning your beliefs to your goal of releasing all that pain.

Align Your Beliefs to Releasing Pain

Although your subconscious mind is set with the new beliefs, it's time to train it.

Think Your Way to Freedom

You have the power and ability to tame your painful emotions.

Tame the Pain

The last area to be aware of is your own behavior. 

Changing Behavior

In this module you’ve learned the tools and strategies which will assist in changing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors which anchor in the past.

Module 3 Summary and Reflection

Healing from Emotional Trauma, Breakups, &Betrayal

Registered Health and Nutrition Counselor

Tier 17

You can write about anything that interests you, with billions of people on the planet, someone needs your book idea.<div> </div><div>In this presentation you will learn how to:
</div><div>
</div><div>* Publish your own book or start a publishing business
</div><div>* Submit publications to the Library of Congress and why this is important to your literary legacy
</div><div>* Purchase your own ISBN and why you need it for each format of your book
</div><div>* Learn the 'Set it &amp; Forget it' strategy to earning royalties
</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>If you need help walking you through from start to finish, please sign up for a consult with this exclusive presentation.</div><div> </div><div>*Disclaimer: Course information applies to the US market</div>

4 Simple Steps to Self-Publishing

Super Agent® and Professional Agent Trainer

Tier 1

Productivity

Personal Development

Error

Tier 35

Other

Strategy

Real Estate

Business

A few years ago, during a personal interview with a Zen master, I had an interesting experience. Seated face to face on our mats, I told him my answer to the koan I’d been working on. He was satisfied with my response, but he wasn’t happy with the way I delivered it. After several demonstrations and explanations, he got frustrated and I got annoyed, though I didn’t show it. I didn’t understand what I was supposed to do, and I argued with him silently. As the man in front of me continued to talk, my internal dialogue suddenly shut off.

The complete mental silence that I sometimes experience during meditation and often just before sleep was upon me. I no longer felt like the teacher was scolding me or finding fault with me, nor was I bothered by his unexpected behavior or insistence upon something that seemed irrelevant to me. I became an observer. I suddenly realized that, though I didn’t understand him, he surely had a reason for explaining things as he did. I learned something, though it had nothing to do with the koan.

To practice empathy, we need to stop listening to ourselves. Even if we aren’t able to control our inner emotional reactions, we can ignore them as we listen, observe, and imagine what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes.

Here are 10 tips that can help you practice empathy in your own daily life.

If you want to know what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes, make sure you know what your own shoes look like. Be alert to your internal dialogue and emotional reactions. Meditation and quiet, reflective time help to develop this skill.

2. If a friend is upset with you, look at it from another perspective.

Consider your friend's personality, experiences, needs, and what he or she believes about you. The two of you can come to a better understanding.

3. If you’re upset with your friend, ask yourself why.

Ask yourself what you need from this friend and whether it’s reasonable to expect it. It could be a good time for a talk and, while you probably want your friend to listen to you, make a point to listen carefully to him as well and remember that he has his own reasons for his behavior.

4. If a colleague is difficult, there’s a reason that has nothing to do with you.

Make sure your behavior is kind, courteous, and professional even if you have to keep your opinion wrapped uptight and your lips sealed. At the very least, you’ll save yourself some stress.

5. If a cashier or clerk is difficult, there’s a story behind it.

Maybe he hasn’t had proper training, or his manager gave him a hard time just before you arrived. If he’s rude (and you’ve been polite), give something instead of expecting to receive. Offer a kind smile and wish him a good day or a good evening. You might not get any thanks (and you might have to take your business elsewhere), but chances are good you’ll make a difference in his life and you’ll feel better, besides.

6. Noisy neighbors have their stories, too.

If your neighbor is blasting his music (again), it can be hard to see things from his point of view, especially if you’re trying to get some work done in your home office. He might be trying to shake himself out of a blue mood or maybe he doesn’t understand how it bothers you. No matter the reasons, knowing that he has them — and that they have nothing to do with you — can help you stay calm as you try to tune it out or stay friendly if you ask him to lower the volume.

7. If someone is doing something that upsets you, remember that a person is a unique individual who acts from his or her own set of beliefs, needs, fears, and desires.

Understand that the world looks a certain way to a person, and the life history and learning is completely different from yours. A heart-to-heart talk might be just the thing — but make sure you listen without judgment or argument. Ask gentle questions, listen, and learn. Any of these tips can be tailored to different situations, but the main thing you need to know about empathy is this: you can’t practice empathy if you’re busy listening to yourself and reacting to your own thoughts and emotions. 

To practice empathy, you have to listen and look carefully, without judgment. Set aside your quick interpretations and knee-jerk judgments — and just listen. Just watch. Just focus on the other person instead of yourself, just for that moment or that very short period of time that you’re together.

But the lesson I needed at that particular moment was right in front of me, right at that moment. I needed to learn how to listen, how to watch, how to observe instead of listening to myself and my arguments, my defenses, my reactions and assuming the other person’s reactions are about me. I needed to see things from someone else’s point of view, to practice empathy.

A few years ago, during a personal interview with a Zen master, I had an interesting experience. Seated face to face on our mats, I told him my answer to the koan I’d been working on. He was satisfied with my response, but he wasn’t happy with the way I delivered it. After several demonstrations and explanations, he got frustrated and I got annoyed, though I didn’t show it. I didn’t understand what I was supposed to do, and I argued with him silently. As the man in front of me continued to talk, my internal dialogue suddenly shut off.
 
The complete mental silence that I sometimes experience during meditation and often just before sleep was upon me. I no longer felt like the teacher was scolding me or finding fault with me, nor was I bothered by his unexpected behavior or insistence upon something that seemed irrelevant to me. I became an observer. I suddenly realized that, though I didn’t understand him, he surely had a reason for explaining things as he did. I learned something, though it had nothing to do with the koan.
 
To practice empathy, we need to stop listening to ourselves. Even if we aren’t able to control our inner emotional reactions, we can ignore them as we listen, observe, and imagine what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes.
 
Here are 10 tips that can help you practice empathy in your own daily life.
 
1. Practice empathy with yourself.
If you want to know what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes, make sure you know what your own shoes look like. Be alert to your internal dialogue and emotional reactions. Meditation and quiet, reflective time help to develop this skill.
 
2. If a friend is upset with you, look at it from another perspective.
Consider your friend's personality, experiences, needs, and what he or she believes about you. The two of you can come to a better understanding.
 
3. If you’re upset with your friend, ask yourself why.
Ask yourself what you need from this friend and whether it’s reasonable to expect it. It could be a good time for a talk and, while you probably want your friend to listen to you, make a point to listen carefully to him as well and remember that he has his own reasons for his behavior.
 
4. If a colleague is difficult, there’s a reason that has nothing to do with you.
Make sure your behavior is kind, courteous, and professional even if you have to keep your opinion wrapped uptight and your lips sealed. At the very least, you’ll save yourself some stress.
 
5. If a cashier or clerk is difficult, there’s a story behind it.
Maybe he hasn’t had proper training, or his manager gave him a hard time just before you arrived. If he’s rude (and you’ve been polite), give something instead of expecting to receive. Offer a kind smile and wish him a good day or a good evening. You might not get any thanks (and you might have to take your business elsewhere), but chances are good you’ll make a difference in his life and you’ll feel better, besides.
 
6. Noisy neighbors have their stories, too.
If your neighbor is blasting his music (again), it can be hard to see things from his point of view, especially if you’re trying to get some work done in your home office. He might be trying to shake himself out of a blue mood or maybe he doesn’t understand how it bothers you. No matter the reasons, knowing that he has them — and that they have nothing to do with you — can help you stay calm as you try to tune it out or stay friendly if you ask him to lower the volume.
 
7. If someone is doing something that upsets you, remember that a person is a unique individual who acts from his or her own set of beliefs, needs, fears, and desires.
Understand that the world looks a certain way to a person, and the life history and learning is completely different from yours. A heart-to-heart talk might be just the thing — but make sure you listen without judgment or argument. Ask gentle questions, listen, and learn. Any of these tips can be tailored to different situations, but the main thing you need to know about empathy is this: you can’t practice empathy if you’re busy listening to yourself and reacting to your own thoughts and emotions.&nbsp;
 
To practice empathy, you have to listen and look carefully, without judgment. Set aside your quick interpretations and knee-jerk judgments — and just listen. Just watch. Just focus on the other person instead of yourself, just for that moment or that very short period of time that you’re together.
 
But the lesson I needed at that particular moment was right in front of me, right at that moment. I needed to learn how to listen, how to watch, how to observe instead of listening to myself and my arguments, my defenses, my reactions and assuming the other person’s reactions are about me. I needed to see things from someone else’s point of view, to practice empathy.

Mental Coach

To practice empathy, we need to stop listening to ourselves. Here are great tips that can help you practice empathy in your own daily life.


Proven tips for empathy

Too often, visitors who are ready to buy from you will hesitate - and ultimately not follow through. Why? It's known as "buyer anxiety," and it's not always for reasons a buy can articulate. It's just a concern. Buyers often have less-than-conscious concerns during their entire trip to your website. They often wonder where each link will take them. From the initial Web search to the final checkout click, visitors wonder if the link in question will take them closer to their goal or to somewhere irrelevant or aggravating. Visitors also have concerns over whether or not they should give you their e-mail address for that free download. And over whether they'll really like your product or service. Or if it's safe to shop with you in the first place.

Your goal is to consistently dispel these fears and manage your visitors' confidence levels through the use of:

Your Site's Overall Look and Feel (About Us page)

Intuitively-Labeled Hyperlinks and Navigation

People want to feel good about the people and organizations with whom they do business. A decent Web design, professional logos, and an overall feel of professionalism do a lot to minimize buyer anxiety in this area. Back in, say, 2005 you could get away with a fairly amateurish website from a design standpoint, so long as your messaging and offer were strong. That's no longer the case today. People expect sound design as a matter of course. If your site doesn't measure up, you instantly raise buyer anxiety and suspicion, and persuasion becomes an uphill battle from there.

The same goes for About Us pages. A fair few visitors will want to make sure there are real human beings behind the storefront. In many cases, they'll want to ensure you have a physical office or store to match your virtual one. Going to the About Us page and seeing a picture of your office building and your staff dispels visitor anxiety, replacing it with buyer confidence.

Ask yourself the question: would the average person be able to guess where this link would take them? And if visitors wanted to get to the content on the other side of the link, would they be able to pick it out during a quick scan of the page? Better yet, user test on some friends or maybe even pay to have someone user test your navigation and links through a service like UserTesting.com. I guarantee you'll get your money's worth from the project.

I also guarantee you'll find at least a few links that are misleadingly labeled. And it only takes a few hyperlinked surprises for visitors to lose faith in you.

Once you have visitors thinking about taking the action you want them to take, make sure to shoot down any lingering resistance with appropriate assurances placed right next to the point of action -- right next to the sign-up form, add-to-cart button, etc.

For instance, around an add to cart button, you should place as much helpful information as possible:

Is gift-wrapping available and what will it look like? And so on.

Don't make visitors guess whether or not you can get the thing there on time, or wonder what will happen if they don't end up liking the thing when it arrives at the door.

Whenever you ask a visitor to fill out a form or initiate contact, always let them know what will happen after they hit send. Will someone call them? Who? Will they get an e-mail? How fast? And if you're selling a service, make sure to walk the prospective customer through the deployment. Let them know what to expect. Tell 'em what's next so they can move forward with complete confidence.

Just because you already mentioned your money-back guarantee and encrypted shopping cart, doesn't mean you shouldn't repeat that information throughout the checkout process. The shopping cart is a chance for hesitation and resistance and doubts to creep in. Do everything you can to reassure the customer that this is a safe, smart purchase.

Right now you have visitors on your site, hoping to buy, who are leaving because, well, maybe they wanted to do some last-minute double-checking. Or it just didn't feel right. Or they decided to go with another source they felt more confident in. Basically, that sale was yours and you lost it because your website failed to dispel buyer anxiety and replace it with buyer confidence. Now that you know how to do that, go ahead and put those techniques into action.

Too often, visitors who are ready to buy from you will hesitate - and ultimately not follow through. Why? It's known as "buyer anxiety," and it's not always for reasons a buy can articulate. It's just a concern. Buyers often have less-than-conscious concerns during their entire trip to your website. They often wonder where each link will take them. From the initial Web search to the final checkout click, visitors wonder if the link in question will take them closer to their goal or to somewhere irrelevant or aggravating. Visitors also have concerns over whether or not they should give you their e-mail address for that free download. And over whether they'll really like your product or service. Or if it's safe to shop with you in the first place.
 
Your goal is to consistently dispel these fears and manage your visitors' confidence levels through the use of:
 
<ul>
 <li>Your Site's Overall Look and Feel (About Us page)</li>
 <li>Intuitively-Labeled Hyperlinks and Navigation</li>
 <li>Points of Action Assurances</li>
 <li>What's Next Information and Timelines</li>
 <li>Repeated Assurances at Checkout</li>
</ul>
So let's take these one at a time:
 
Look and Feel and About Us Page
 
People want to feel good about the people and organizations with whom they do business. A decent Web design, professional logos, and an overall feel of professionalism do a lot to minimize buyer anxiety in this area. Back in, say, 2005 you could get away with a fairly amateurish website from a design standpoint, so long as your messaging and offer were strong. That's no longer the case today. People expect sound design as a matter of course. If your site doesn't measure up, you instantly raise buyer anxiety and suspicion, and persuasion becomes an uphill battle from there.
The same goes for About Us pages. A fair few visitors will want to make sure there are real human beings behind the storefront. In many cases, they'll want to ensure you have a physical office or store to match your virtual one. Going to the About Us page and seeing a picture of your office building and your staff dispels visitor anxiety, replacing it with buyer confidence.
 
Intuitively-Labeled Hyperlinks
 
Ask yourself the question: would the average person be able to guess where this link would take them? And if visitors wanted to get to the content on the other side of the link, would they be able to pick it out during a quick scan of the page? Better yet, user test on some friends or maybe even pay to have someone user test your navigation and links through a service like&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110103095709/http://usertesting.com/">UserTesting.com</a>. I guarantee you'll get your money's worth from the project.
I also guarantee you'll find at least a few links that are misleadingly labeled. And it only takes a few hyperlinked surprises for visitors to lose faith in you.
 
Points of Action Assurance
 
Once you have visitors thinking about taking the action you want them to take, make sure to shoot down any lingering resistance with appropriate assurances placed right next to the point of action -- right next to the sign-up form, add-to-cart button, etc.
For instance, around an add to cart button, you should place as much helpful information as possible:
<ul>
 <li>Your money-back guarantees</li>
 <li>Whether the item is in stock</li>
 <li>How quickly products ship out</li>
 <li>Is express shipping available?</li>
 <li>Is gift-wrapping available and what will it look like? And so on.</li>
</ul>
Don't make visitors guess whether or not you can get the thing there on time, or wonder what will happen if they don't end up liking the thing when it arrives at the door.
 
What's Next Information and Timelines
 
Whenever you ask a visitor to fill out a form or initiate contact, always let them know what will happen after they hit send. Will someone call them? Who? Will they get an e-mail? How fast? And if you're selling a service, make sure to walk the prospective customer through the deployment. Let them know what to expect. Tell 'em what's next so they can move forward with complete confidence.
 
Repeat Your Assurances at Checkout
 
Just because you already mentioned your money-back guarantee and encrypted shopping cart, doesn't mean you shouldn't repeat that information throughout the checkout process. The shopping cart is a chance for hesitation and resistance and doubts to creep in. Do everything you can to reassure the customer that this is a safe, smart purchase.
 
Summary
 
Right now you have visitors on your site, hoping to buy, who are leaving because, well, maybe they wanted to do some last-minute double-checking. Or it just didn't feel right. Or they decided to go with another source they felt more confident in. Basically, that sale was yours and you lost it because your website failed to dispel buyer anxiety and replace it with buyer confidence. Now that you know how to do that, go ahead and put those techniques into action.

Marketing manager

Too often, visitors who are ready to buy from you will hesitate - and ultimately not follow through. It's known as "buyer anxiety," and it's not for reasons a buy can articulate.

Dispelling buyer anxiety and replacing it with buyer confidence

Think of some of the most popular websites on the planet...YouTube, Facebook, Flick, Yahoo! They are not just about text. Even Twitter, while delivering text, does it very small nibbles of 140 characters or less. Put simply, the days when the web was all about text, and only text, are over. It's not that text is no longer important online. It is. For most websites, quality text content is still absolutely essential. But as you think about the next page you plan to write, ask yourself whether there is some other element you can add to that page. Maybe something visual. Maybe something interactive. Maybe both. The growth in social media has given us an invaluable insight into what web users really want. They want to contribute, they want to share, and they want to become involved online in a way that text alone cannot deliver. Here are just four ways in which you can supplement the text on the page with something visual or interactive.

Web users spend a huge amount of time watching videos online. Some of these videos are entertaining, some are instructional and some are just plain silly. For your website, you need to figure out what kind of videos would best meet your visitors' needs. On a couple of my own sites, I use video very successfully by adding short clips as an introduction to pages that also contain plenty of text. I use both text and a video on the page.

As an example, on one site I have a page about how to choose a single-serve coffee maker. There are about 400 words of text on the page. And at the top, between the headline and the first paragraph, I have a video demonstrating how a single-serve coffee maker works, and how to use it. The video works as a great way to grab attention and get people involved with the page. It also provides a useful overview and introduction to the topic of the page. Once I have hooked people with the video, it is easier to hold their attention as they read through the body of the text. When adding video, I use a service that, like YouTube, allows my readers to share the video by email or through social media.

A slideshow is an online version of a PowerPoint presentation. Again, when I use them I generally don't create a page just for the slideshow. I place it beneath the headline of a page which also includes some text. The slideshow acts as an introduction or executive summary of what people will read in the text. As with video, a slideshow is a great way to hook your readers and get them involved on the page. One thing a slideshow can do that a video doesn't do is to demand a level of interaction from the reader. I never put my slideshows on auto-forward. I want the reader involved. I want him or her to click on the arrow for the next slide -- to be part of the process forward. When adding slideshows I use Slideshare.com. This allows me to embed the slideshows on my site -- and enable my readers to email to show or share it through social media.

Everyone knows you can enable comments on a blog. But did you know you can add a comments function to just about any website?

If your website platform doesn't include the ability to add comments at the end of each page, you can use an outside service.  Because as soon as people know they can contribute to your pages, they are more likely to come back and read what others have written. They are also more likely to Tweet your pages. In addition to creating a richer experience for your readers, comments also give you some valuable insights into the minds, interests, and priorities of your readers. The more comments you read, the more ideas you'll have for writing new pages to address your visitors' interests.

Again, even if your platform doesn't include a function for adding polls and surveys to your site pages, you can always use an outside service. You create the poll or survey and then just add some code to your site pages. There are a few benefits to adding a poll or survey to your site. First, they engage your readers. They make people pause and think. They also make your readers curious. People love to know whether other people agree with them. Second, you will learn a huge amount about your readers. Create multiple polls and surveys over the next 12 months and you'll be amazed by what you learn. Apply that learning and you'll be writing much better content for your site. One thing about polls and surveys to note is that you'll get much higher participation if you keep them short. Polls are short and simple by definition. But surveys should also be kept short and simple. If you have multiple questions to ask, spread them over a number of different surveys at different times. Again, when I use polls or surveys I also have text on the page. I use the text to create a context for the readers - to make them think about their answers - and also to let the Googlebot know what the page is about. So if you want to add some extra life to your content pages, don't make them 100% text - add elements that invite engagement, participation, and sharing.

Think of some of the most popular websites on the planet...YouTube, Facebook, Flick, Yahoo! They are not just about text. Even Twitter, while delivering text, does it very small nibbles of 140 characters or less. Put simply, the days when the web was all about text, and only text, are over. It's not that text is no longer important online. It is. For most websites, quality text content is still absolutely essential. But as you think about the next page you plan to write, ask yourself whether there is some other element you can add to that page. Maybe something visual. Maybe something interactive. Maybe both. The growth in social media has given us an invaluable insight into what web users really want. They want to contribute, they want to share, and they want to become involved online in a way that text alone cannot deliver. Here are just four ways in which you can supplement the text on the page with something visual or interactive.
 
1. Include Videos
Web users spend a huge amount of time watching videos online. Some of these videos are entertaining, some are instructional and some are just plain silly. For your website, you need to figure out what kind of videos would best meet your visitors' needs. On a couple of my own sites, I use video very successfully by adding short clips as an introduction to pages that also contain plenty of text. I use both text and a video on the page.
As an example, on one site I have a page about how to choose a single-serve coffee maker. There are about 400 words of text on the page. And at the top, between the headline and the first paragraph, I have a video demonstrating how a single-serve coffee maker works, and how to use it. The video works as a great way to grab attention and get people involved with the page. It also provides a useful overview and introduction to the topic of the page. Once I have hooked people with the video, it is easier to hold their attention as they read through the body of the text. When adding video, I use a service that, like&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110103095857/http://www.youtube.com/">YouTube</a>, allows my readers to share the video by email or through social media.
 
2. Include Slideshows
A slideshow is an online version of a PowerPoint presentation. Again, when I use them I generally don't create a page just for the slideshow. I place it beneath the headline of a page which also includes some text. The slideshow acts as an introduction or executive summary of what people will read in the text. As with video, a slideshow is a great way to hook your readers and get them involved on the page. One thing a slideshow can do that a video doesn't do is to demand a level of interaction from the reader. I never put my slideshows on auto-forward. I want the reader involved. I want him or her to click on the arrow for the next slide -- to be part of the process forward. When adding slideshows I use&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110103095857/http://www.slideshare.com/">Slideshare.com</a>. This allows me to embed the slideshows on my site -- and enable my readers to email to show or share it through social media.
 
3. Include a Comments Function
Everyone knows you can enable comments on a blog. But did you know you can add a comments function to just about any website?
If your website platform doesn't include the ability to add comments at the end of each page, you can use an outside service. &nbsp;Because as soon as people know they can contribute to your pages, they are more likely to come back and read what others have written. They are also more likely to Tweet your pages. In addition to creating a richer experience for your readers, comments also give you some valuable insights into the minds, interests, and priorities of your readers. The more comments you read, the more ideas you'll have for writing new pages to address your visitors' interests.
 
4. Include a Poll or Survey
Again, even if your platform doesn't include a function for adding polls and surveys to your site pages, you can always use an outside service. You create the poll or survey and then just add some code to your site pages. There are a few benefits to adding a poll or survey to your site. First, they engage your readers. They make people pause and think. They also make your readers curious. People love to know whether other people agree with them. Second, you will learn a huge amount about your readers. Create multiple polls and surveys over the next 12 months and you'll be amazed by what you learn. Apply that learning and you'll be writing much better content for your site. One thing about polls and surveys to note is that you'll get much higher participation if you keep them short. Polls are short and simple by definition. But surveys should also be kept short and simple. If you have multiple questions to ask, spread them over a number of different surveys at different times. Again, when I use polls or surveys I also have text on the page. I use the text to create a context for the readers - to make them think about their answers - and also to let the Googlebot know what the page is about. So if you want to add some extra life to your content pages, don't make them 100% text - add elements that invite engagement, participation, and sharing.

For most websites, quality text content is still absolutely essential. Explore new ways in which you can supplement the text on the page with something visual or interactive.

4 powerful web content ideas that don't depend on text alone

Posting high-quality content via blogging helps organizations reap multiple marketing benefits including boosting credibility, increasing search visibility and streamlining customer service. Blogs employ powerful content management systems (CMS) to publish information and deliver results.

However, blogs are a great idea only if they are executed brilliantly. One of the biggest roadblocks is the failure to create content. Here are 5 simple tips that will help you answer nagging questions, such as: What should I write about? How do I find time to write? What content is best for my blog?

Blog Success Tip #1. Recycle Assets You Already Have

Recycling is not only good for the planet, but it boosts blog success too. You can use previously created material by re-purposing it on your blog. Here are some examples:

A press release can live on your press page and also be re-purposed into a short blog post that links to the full press release.

Educational content that is snail-mailed to customers can be recycled into compelling blog posts.

Newsletters boast great e-mail content that can be posted to your blog as multiple posts.

Common customer service questions that you answer all the time can be answered in your blog as a way to create more service-centric content. It will also save time replying to customer inquiries. Just sending a link to a blog post. People can read blog FAQs and self-serve; they may not need to contact you at all. Articles you may have written for other sites can be blogged about, with links to that content. You better believe that I will mention on my blog that I have this article appearing in Web Marketing Today.

Just because a piece of content is in one place - like a press release, video on YouTube or Vimeo, e-mail, article, etc. - doesn't mean that your desired reader may see it. Recycle it in the blog to give it more shelf life, to serve customers who can gain from your words, and to increase content search engines can index you on. Leverage what you already have created to keep the blog alive and fresh.

Blog Success Tip #2. Use Free Tools Like Google Alerts to Get Instant Content Ideas

Blogs are a brilliant marriage of fact and perspective. A successful blog writer becomes a "web gemologist." Look for great resources, then share them. Write about current events and simply add your point of view. To get ideas for content gems, use a tool such as Google Alerts. They send you e-mails with links to articles with subjects you select. When there's an interesting and relevant link, blog about it and share why you think your readers should read it.

Ask yourself who your ideal customers are and what content would help, educate, or entertain them. Then, when you sign up for Google Alerts, use the phrases that would interest them. For example, The phrase web marketing news (without quotes around the three words) can deliver anything with those three phrases in it, such as "spider web makes marketing news." If you want to get specific feeds about the subject, put quotes around "web marketing news" so your Google Alerts are targeted to the exact phrase you're looking for.

Blog Success Tip #3. Create Weekly Rituals to Keep the Momentum Moving

Here's a great tip! Creating weekly rituals will help weave content creation into your marketing lifestyle, increase successful content creation, and give your readers something consistent to look forward to. For example, you can post a "Friday Funny" every Friday. It can be a funny quote, video, link, image, whatever. The weekly ritual trains your brain to think ahead and gives you a focus to help refine all the things you could write about into something you are committed to writing about.

Blog Success Tip #4. Tap the Power of User Generated Content

User-generated content can help create connections and increase content that works. Create a template with interview questions (a simple word document will do) and feature interesting people on your blog. To interview other bloggers or professionals, simply email the interviewee a short questionnaire that they fill out for you. All you need to do is know how to ask for the interview, then copy and paste.

Inviting guest writers is also a great way to gain great content. Be sure to educate your guest bloggers about who your target readers are and what is the overall theme of your blog. User-generated content takes the stress of having the total content creation responsibility on your shoulders. It adds marketing power since your guest bloggers and interviewees will share their posts on your blog to their community. Thus user-generated content will both build the blog and increase traffic to your blog -- not a bad way to multi-task.

Blog Success Tip #5. Create Content that Is "Bigger" than Your Organization

Many bloggers get marketing myopia and only write about their company or a particular subject. Successful blogs have content that is interesting and useful to the reader, not just coworkers at your company. Pick a blog theme that is bigger than your organization so you can collaborate more with other content creators who share like-minded views - and customer bases - and to attract your readers who fit the profile of your ideal customers.

For example, an Austin, TX vacation rental company can blog about its new properties, news, events, and provide location videos. But why not take things one step further. Bloggers for the Austin vacation rental company may get Google alerts about "Austin travel" or "Austin events" to get content ideas to help give readers "facts" about Austin travel, a subject bigger than vacation rentals alone. Serving readers with larger-scale content, that still supports the products or services you provide, is a surefire way to write in a way that works.

Sharing web gems from an expert perspective helps support and attract Internet users who are interested in traveling to the area. At the same time, it serves as credibility and a potential sellability tool. Blogs that provide helpful, educational content, boost credibility, search visibility, and will attract qualified leads for sales, as well.

Blogs are tools that serve and support current and prospective customers. Through your valuable content, you can connect, collaborate, and converse with customers. Your blog "serves to sell."

Posting high-quality content via blogging helps organizations reap multiple marketing benefits including boosting credibility, increasing search visibility and streamlining customer service. Blogs employ powerful content management systems (CMS) to publish information and deliver results.
However, blogs are a great idea only if they are executed brilliantly. One of the biggest roadblocks is the failure to create content. Here are 5 simple tips that will help you answer nagging questions, such as: What should I write about? How do I find time to write? What content is best for my blog?
 
Blog Success Tip #1. Recycle Assets You Already Have
 
Recycling is not only good for the planet, but it boosts blog success too. You can use previously created material by re-purposing it on your blog. Here are some examples:
 
A press release can live on your press page and also be re-purposed into a short blog post that links to the full press release.
Educational content that is snail-mailed to customers can be recycled into compelling blog posts.
Newsletters boast great e-mail content that can be posted to your blog as multiple posts.
Common customer service questions that you answer all the time can be answered in your blog as a way to create more service-centric content. It will also save time replying to customer inquiries. Just sending a link to a blog post. People can read blog FAQs and self-serve; they may not need to contact you at all. Articles you may have written for other sites can be blogged about, with links to that content. You better believe that I will mention on my blog that I have this article appearing in Web Marketing Today.
Just because a piece of content is in one place - like a press release, video on YouTube or Vimeo, e-mail, article, etc. - doesn't mean that your desired reader may see it. Recycle it in the blog to give it more shelf life, to serve customers who can gain from your words, and to increase content search engines can index you on. Leverage what you already have created to keep the blog alive and fresh.
 
Blog Success Tip #2. Use Free Tools Like Google Alerts to Get Instant Content Ideas
 
Blogs are a brilliant marriage of fact and perspective. A successful blog writer becomes a "web gemologist." Look for great resources, then share them. Write about current events and simply add your point of view. To get ideas for content gems, use a tool such as Google Alerts. They send you e-mails with links to articles with subjects you select. When there's an interesting and relevant link, blog about it and share why you think your readers should read it.
Ask yourself who your ideal customers are and what content would help, educate, or entertain them. Then, when you sign up for Google Alerts, use the phrases that would interest them. For example, The phrase web marketing news (without quotes around the three words) can deliver anything with those three phrases in it, such as "spider web makes marketing news." If you want to get specific feeds about the subject, put quotes around "web marketing news" so your Google Alerts are targeted to the exact phrase you're looking for.
 
Blog Success Tip #3. Create Weekly Rituals to Keep the Momentum Moving
 
Here's a great tip! Creating weekly rituals will help weave content creation into your marketing lifestyle, increase successful content creation, and give your readers something consistent to look forward to. For example, you can post a "Friday Funny" every Friday. It can be a funny quote, video, link, image, whatever. The weekly ritual trains your brain to think ahead and gives you a focus to help refine all the things you could write about into something you are committed to writing about.
 
Blog Success Tip #4. Tap the Power of User Generated Content
 
User-generated content can help create connections and increase content that works. Create a template with interview questions (a simple word document will do) and feature interesting people on your blog. To interview other bloggers or professionals, simply email the interviewee a short questionnaire that they fill out for you. All you need to do is know how to ask for the interview, then copy and paste.
Inviting guest writers is also a great way to gain great content. Be sure to educate your guest bloggers about who your target readers are and what is the overall theme of your blog. User-generated content takes the stress of having the total content creation responsibility on your shoulders. It adds marketing power since your guest bloggers and interviewees will share their posts on your blog to their community. Thus user-generated content will both build the blog and increase traffic to your blog -- not a bad way to multi-task.
 
Blog Success Tip #5. Create Content that Is "Bigger" than Your Organization
 
Many bloggers get marketing myopia and only write about their company or a particular subject. Successful blogs have content that is interesting and useful to the reader, not just coworkers at your company. Pick a blog theme that is bigger than your organization so you can collaborate more with other content creators who share like-minded views - and customer bases - and to attract your readers who fit the profile of your ideal customers.
For example, an Austin, TX vacation rental company can blog about its new properties, news, events, and provide location videos. But why not take things one step further. Bloggers for the Austin vacation rental company may get Google alerts about "Austin travel" or "Austin events" to get content ideas to help give readers "facts" about Austin travel, a subject bigger than vacation rentals alone. Serving readers with larger-scale content, that still supports the products or services you provide, is a surefire way to write in a way that works.
Sharing web gems from an expert perspective helps support and attract Internet users who are interested in traveling to the area. At the same time, it serves as credibility and a potential sellability tool. Blogs that provide helpful, educational content, boost credibility, search visibility, and will attract qualified leads for sales, as well.
Blogs are tools that serve and support current and prospective customers. Through your valuable content, you can connect, collaborate, and converse with customers. Your blog "serves to sell."

Posting high-quality content via blogging helps organizations reap multiple marketing benefits including boosting credibility and increasing search visibility. 

5 tips to blog content success

You might call me prejudiced. I've written literally hundreds of articles and stories for an e-mail newsletter - and not a single blog. But today I set up a blog to improve communications on one of my sites. I've had to work through the question of when is an e-zine or e-mail newsletter best and when is a blog more appropriate? Here's my take on the subject.

When you're trying to provide clear, comprehensive, enduring information about a field, I think articles on your website, published through an e-mail newsletter, are most effective. Here's why:

Articles are usually taken more seriously by the writer (and the reader), and are much more likely to be carefully written. The writer takes pains to be organized, accurate, and complete. After all, this article will remain in cyberspace indefinitely, and may well be published on dozens of websites during its lifetime, to represent both the company and the author. It had better be well done! Sending an e-mail newsletter is still the fastest and best way to distribute new content to a large number of people. Articles on your website intended for e-mail distribution will have immediate as well as lasting value. But writing a well-constructed article and then publishing an e-mail newsletter is a lot of work - well worth the effort, but work nevertheless. So much work, in fact, that many times it just doesn't get done very often, if ever.

Blogs, on the other hand, don't usually make an attempt to be comprehensive, stand-alone documents. They tend to be short, (hopefully) focused comments that can be written quickly and published with extreme ease using existing blogging software and auxiliary tools. Blogs are usually read on the web, but distributed via RSS feeds and/or automatic e-mail updates that tell subscribers that a new blog is available. As a result, it's easier to blog regularly than it is to write articles and publish a newsletter. I need to note, however, that people like Google Analytics evangelist Avinash Kaushik blur the line and use blog software to publish high quality, full-length articles every couple of weeks via e-mail. Marketing Pilgrim's Andy Beal publishes multiple blog posts each business day employing a team of bloggers, distributed via e-mail, RSS feed, and Twitter.

Both Newsletters and Blogs - in their Places

The newsletter is so "occasional" that it's hard for me to stay in close touch, and I'm too busy to publish more often. I regularly receive e-mails saying, "I haven't received your newsletter for a long time."  But over the next couple of weeks, I'll be rolling out an as-yet-unnamed blog employing open-source WordPress software. The blog will feature brief thoughts and ideas, comments on books I've read, pointers to key articles I've learned from, my take on current events, and so on. I'll set it up with an automatic feed to Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as placing the first paragraph on my site's homepage to keep content there fresh, as well.

So which is better, an e-mail newsletter or a blog? Each has its place. For my carefully written and (hopefully) enduring articles and stories, an e-mail newsletter and website archives will be my medium of choice. For short, transient comments on books, articles, and current events, blogging is best.

Of course, "Which is best?" begs the real question that you must ask yourself, dear friend: Are you communicating with your customers by any regular means? If not, you've got a world of possibilities, marketing power, and profits awaiting you. Go for it!

You might call me prejudiced. I've written literally hundreds of articles and stories for an e-mail newsletter - and not a single blog. But today I set up a blog to improve communications on one of my sites. I've had to work through the question of when is an e-zine or e-mail newsletter best and when is a blog more appropriate? Here's my take on the subject.
 
E-Mail Newsletters
 
When you're trying to provide clear, comprehensive, enduring information about a field, I think articles on your website, published through an e-mail newsletter, are most effective. Here's why:
Articles are usually taken more seriously by the writer (and the reader), and are much more likely to be carefully written. The writer takes pains to be organized, accurate, and complete. After all, this article will remain in cyberspace indefinitely, and may well be published on dozens of websites during its lifetime, to represent both the company and the author. It had better be well done! Sending an e-mail newsletter is still the fastest and best way to distribute new content to a large number of people. Articles on your website intended for e-mail distribution will have immediate as well as lasting value. But writing a well-constructed article and then publishing an e-mail newsletter is a lot of work - well worth the effort, but work nevertheless. So much work, in fact, that many times it just doesn't get done very often, if ever.
 
Blog Posts
 
Blogs, on the other hand, don't usually make an attempt to be comprehensive, stand-alone documents. They tend to be short, (hopefully) focused comments that can be written quickly and published with extreme ease using existing blogging software and auxiliary tools. Blogs are usually read on the web, but distributed via RSS feeds and/or automatic e-mail updates that tell subscribers that a new blog is available. As a result, it's easier to blog regularly than it is to write articles and publish a newsletter. I need to note, however, that people like Google Analytics evangelist Avinash Kaushik blur the line and use blog software to publish high quality, full-length articles every couple of weeks via e-mail. Marketing Pilgrim's Andy Beal publishes multiple blog posts each business day employing a team of bloggers, distributed via e-mail, RSS feed, and Twitter.
 
Both Newsletters and Blogs - in their Places
 
The newsletter is so "occasional" that it's hard for me to stay in close touch, and I'm too busy to publish more often. I regularly receive e-mails saying, "I haven't received your newsletter for a long time." &nbsp;But over the next couple of weeks, I'll be rolling out an as-yet-unnamed blog employing open-source WordPress software. The blog will feature brief thoughts and ideas, comments on books I've read, pointers to key articles I've learned from, my take on current events, and so on. I'll set it up with an automatic feed to Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as placing the first paragraph on my site's homepage to keep content there fresh, as well.
 
So Which Is Better?
 
So which is better, an e-mail newsletter or a blog? Each has its place. For my carefully written and (hopefully) enduring articles and stories, an e-mail newsletter and website archives will be my medium of choice. For short, transient comments on books, articles, and current events, blogging is best.
Of course, "Which is best?" begs the real question that you must ask yourself, dear friend: Are you communicating with your customers by any regular means? If not, you've got a world of possibilities, marketing power, and profits awaiting you. Go for it!

Which is better, an e-mail newsletter, or a blog? For my carefully written and enduring articles and stories, an e-mail newsletter and website archives will be my medium of choice.

Which is better - an e-zine or a blog?

How could we harm others while earning money? What comes to your mind right away?

For me, I immediately think of things like dishonesty, theft, and extortion. Then comes robbery — from pick-pocketing and purse-snatching to an armed bank robbery that results in murder — anything violent with the intention to acquire money.

Most people agree that this is wrong. But how else could we harm someone in our quest for money? That might take some thinking, and we might not think it’s wrong, necessarily. At least not much.

We could lie. That might hurt someone. Lying to make money could take the form of false representation of a product, misrepresenting ourselves on a CV or resume, or lying outright to employees or managers. Any form of dishonesty might harm someone.

Manipulation could harm someone. I’ve been in sales, in several capacities, including a manager. I’m really good at selling something I believe in, but I can’t deal with the manipulation and rehearsed scripts and sales tactics that are used not only on customers but also with employees. Most salespeople and managers are expected to use them, or they believe it’s a useful tool and willingly do so, but I’m just not comfortable with it. It feels wrong and harmful to me. Plus it resulted in a lot of returns at the last sales job I had. I rarely had a return, but the top salespeople — who used those techniques — really didn’t sell any more than I did when all the numbers were crunched. I imagine many of those customers got home with their product and wondered why they bought it.

I also worked in restaurants for years, since I was fifteen through college. Many examples come to mind. A cook might not practice good sanitation and cause someone to get sick. The menu might misrepresent the food. A server might be rude to customers. I know I was a smart-aleck at least a few times when customers gave me a hard time. I won’t tell you about the time I accidentally dropped someone’s French toast, dusted it off with a napkin, sprinkled fresh powdered sugar on it, and served it anyway. Ooops. I just told you. Oh well. 

Make sure you’re nice to your server! That guy wasn’t. Did I harm him? Probably not. But you never know what’s on the floor in a busy restaurant. Hey, I was only twenty or so; cut me a break. Thanks. The way we make money shouldn’t harm anyone. I only believe in helping people or providing a valuable product or service in exchange for money.

How could we harm others while earning money? What comes to your mind right away?
 
For me, I immediately think of things like dishonesty, theft, and extortion. Then comes robbery — from pick-pocketing and purse-snatching to an armed bank robbery that results in murder — anything violent with the intention to acquire money.
 
Most people agree that this is wrong. But how else could we harm someone in our quest for money? That might take some thinking, and we might not think it’s wrong, necessarily. At least not much.
 
We could lie. That might hurt someone. Lying to make money could take the form of false representation of a product, misrepresenting ourselves on a CV or resume, or lying outright to employees or managers. Any form of dishonesty might harm someone.
 
Manipulation could harm someone. I’ve been in sales, in several capacities, including a manager. I’m really good at selling something I believe in, but I can’t deal with the manipulation and rehearsed scripts and sales tactics that are used not only on customers but also with employees. Most salespeople and managers are expected to use them, or they believe it’s a useful tool and willingly do so, but I’m just not comfortable with it. It feels wrong and harmful to me. Plus it resulted in a lot of returns at the last sales job I had. I rarely had a return, but the top salespeople — who used those techniques — really didn’t sell any more than I did when all the numbers were crunched. I imagine many of those customers got home with their product and wondered why they bought it.
 
I also worked in restaurants for years, since I was fifteen through college. Many examples come to mind. A cook might not practice good sanitation and cause someone to get sick. The menu might misrepresent the food. A server might be rude to customers. I know I was a smart-aleck at least a few times when customers gave me a hard time. I won’t tell you about the time I accidentally dropped someone’s French toast, dusted it off with a napkin, sprinkled fresh powdered sugar on it, and served it anyway. Ooops. I just told you. Oh well.&nbsp;
 
Make sure you’re nice to your server! That guy wasn’t. Did I harm him? Probably not. But you never know what’s on the floor in a busy restaurant. Hey, I was only twenty or so; cut me a break. Thanks. The way we make money shouldn’t harm anyone. I only believe in helping people or providing a valuable product or service in exchange for money.

How could we harm others while earning money? What comes to your mind right away? Any form of dishonesty might harm someone.

How many ways can we harm someone?

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