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Key performance indicators (KPIs) in marketing

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics used to measure the performance and success of a business or specific aspect of a business. They allow business owners to track and measure progress towards specific goals, and make data-driven decisions to improve performance.

In marketing, some of the main KPIs used include:

  1. Traffic: This KPI measures the number of visitors to a website or social media page. It helps business owners understand how many people are engaging with their brand and how effectively they are reaching their target audience.
  2. Conversion Rate: This KPI measures the percentage of visitors to a website or social media page who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. It helps business owners understand how effective their marketing efforts are at driving sales or leads.
  3. Return on Investment (ROI): This KPI measures the return on investment for a specific marketing campaign or strategy. It helps business owners understand how effectively they are using their marketing budget and make decisions about where to allocate resources in the future.
  4. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): This KPI measures the cost of acquiring a new customer. It helps business owners understand how much it costs to acquire new customers and make decisions about pricing and marketing strategies.
  5. Lifetime Value (LTV): This KPI measures the total value of a customer over the course of their relationship with the business. It helps business owners understand the value of their customer base and make decisions about how to retain and grow their customer base.
  6. Net Promoter Score (NPS): This KPI measures customer satisfaction and loyalty by asking customers to rate their likelihood of recommending a product or service. It helps business owners understand how well they are meeting customer needs and make decisions about how to improve customer satisfaction.

In addition to these KPIs, several other tips can help business owners keep track of their KPIs:

  1. Set clear goals: Before you can measure your performance, you need to know what you are trying to achieve. Set clear, measurable goals for your business and use KPIs to track progress towards those goals.
  2. Track multiple KPIs: While it's important to have specific KPIs that you are focusing on, it's also important to track multiple KPIs to get a comprehensive view of your business's performance. This will help you identify patterns and make data-driven decisions.
  3. Use software to track your KPIs: There are many software platforms available that can help you track your KPIs and analyze your data. These platforms can automate data collection and provide visualizations that make it easier to understand your data.
  4. Review your KPIs regularly: To be effective, you need to track your KPIs regularly and use the data to make decisions. This will help you identify trends and patterns, and make adjustments to your strategy as needed.
  5. Communicate your KPIs to your team: It's important to communicate your KPIs to your team so that everyone understands what is being measured and how their work contributes to the overall performance of the business. This will help to align your team and increase accountability.
  6. Use Benchmarks: Compare your performance against industry benchmarks to understand how your business is performing compared to others in your industry. This will help you identify areas for improvement and set realistic goals.

In conclusion, KPIs are essential tools for measuring the performance of a business or specific aspects of a business. In marketing, some of the main KPIs used include traffic, conversion rate, return on investment, customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and net promoter score. By setting clear goals, tracking multiple KPIs, using software to track your KPIs, reviewing your KPIs regularly, communicating your KPIs to your team and using industry benchmarks, business owners can make data-driven decisions to improve performance and drive growth.

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More examples of guerrilla marketing campaigns that were highly successful

We love guerrilla marketing, and we've studied it extensively. Here are additional examples of successful guerrilla marketing campaigns, starting from 11 because we've already presented ten examples in the previous article from this series:

  1. The "Where's the beef?" campaign by Wendy's: In 1984, Wendy's launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their burgers. The campaign featured the catchphrase "Where's the beef?" and highlighted the fact that Wendy's burgers had more beef than their competitors. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  2. The "The Happening" campaign by Pepsi: In 1999, Pepsi launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand. The campaign featured a series of flash mob-style performances in public places, as well as a dedicated website and social media promotion. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  3. The "Think Different" campaign by Apple: In 1997, Apple launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and products. The campaign featured a series of iconic black and white photographs of famous people, with the tagline "Think Different." The campaign was successful in raising brand awareness and improving the perception of the Apple brand.
  4. The "Taste the Rainbow" campaign by Skittles: In 1994, Skittles launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand. The campaign featured the catchphrase "Taste the Rainbow" and highlighted the variety of flavors available in Skittles. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  5. The "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaign by Old Spice: In 2010, Old Spice launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their men's body wash. The campaign featured a series of humorous television commercials and a dedicated website. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  6. The "Just Do It" campaign by Nike: In 1988, Nike launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and products. The campaign featured the iconic "Just Do It" slogan, and highlighted the brand's association with athletic performance and motivation. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  7. The "Got Milk?" campaign by the California Milk Processor Board: In 1993, the California Milk Processor Board launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote milk consumption. The campaign featured the catchphrase "Got Milk?" and highlighted the nutritional benefits of drinking milk. The campaign was successful in increasing milk consumption and raising brand awareness.
  8. The "Share a Coke" campaign by Coca-Cola: In 2011, Coca-Cola launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand. The campaign featured customizable Coca-Cola cans with people's names on them, encouraging consumers to share a Coke with their friends and family. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  9. The "The Happening" campaign by Mountain Dew: In 2009, Mountain Dew launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand. The campaign featured a series of flash mob-style performances in public places, as well as a dedicated website and social media promotion. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  10. The "The Force" campaign by Volkswagen: In 2011, Volkswagen launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new car model. The campaign featured a television commercial featuring a little boy dressed as Darth Vader trying to use the Force on household objects, but it only works when he tries it on the new Volkswagen car. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  11. The "Like a Girl" campaign by Always: In 2014, Always launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to challenge the negative stereotypes associated with the phrase "like a girl." The campaign featured a series of viral videos and social media promotion, and was successful in raising awareness about the issue and changing consumer perceptions of the Always brand.
  12. The "The Ice Bucket Challenge" campaign by ALS Association: In 2014, the ALS Association launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to raise awareness and funds for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research. The campaign featured the "Ice Bucket Challenge," where participants filmed themselves being doused with ice water and challenged others to do the same. The campaign was successful in raising awareness and funds for the cause.
  13. The "The Million Dollar Homepage" campaign by Alex Tew: In 2005, Alex Tew, a student from Wiltshire, England, launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to raise money for his college education. He created a website called "The Million Dollar Homepage" and sold pixels on the site for $1 each. The campaign was successful in raising the funds Tew needed and also attracted international media coverage.
  14. The "The Human Billboard" campaign by Sony: In 2007, Sony launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new line of digital cameras. The campaign featured a man standing on a street corner wearing a sandwich board with a Sony camera on it, inviting people to take their picture. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  15. The "The Living Billboard" campaign by PETA: In 2007, PETA launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to raise awareness about animal rights. The campaign featured a woman standing in a cage wearing a sandwich board that read "Animal are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way." The campaign was successful in raising awareness about animal rights and the PETA organization.
  16. The "The Ball Pit" campaign by Snickers: In 2011, Snickers launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their candy bars. The campaign featured a giant ball pit filled with Snickers bars in a high-traffic area. Passersby could dive in and grab a Snickers bar. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  17. The "The Scavenger Hunt" campaign by Red Bull: In 2012, Red Bull launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their energy drink. The campaign featured a scavenger hunt in a major city, where participants had to complete various challenges in order to win a prize. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  18. The "The Prankvertising" campaign by Nivea: In 2011, Nivea launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their sun protection products. The campaign featured a prankvertising video where a lifeguard "accidentally" applied Nivea sunscreen on beach-goers without them noticing, then revealed it was a prank, and encouraged them to use sun protection. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  19. The "The Street Art" campaign by Greenpeace: In 2012, Greenpeace launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to raise awareness about environmental issues. The campaign featured street art installations in major cities, depicting the impact of pollution and climate change on wildlife and nature. The campaign was successful in raising awareness about environmental issues and the Greenpeace organization.
  20. The "The Flash Mob" campaign by McDonald's: In 2012, McDonald's launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new menu items. The campaign featured a flash mob dance performance in a public place, with participants holding signs that read "I'm Lovin' It" at the end. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  21. The "The Street Mapping" campaign by Google: In 2010, Google launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new street mapping feature. The campaign featured teams of people walking around major cities with backpacks equipped with cameras, mapping the streets for the new feature. The campaign was successful in raising awareness about the new feature and the Google brand.
  22. The "The Billboard Takeover" campaign by Nike: In 2016, Nike launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new shoe line. The campaign featured teams of people covering billboards and other public ads with images of the new shoes in key locations. The campaign was successful in raising awareness and increasing sales of the new shoe line.
  23. The "The Free Hugs" campaign by Sony: In 2006, Sony launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new line of personal music players. The campaign featured people dressed in giant bear costumes offering free hugs in public places, with the message "Hug someone new" written on their costumes. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  24. The "The Graffiti" campaign by Coca-Cola: In 2011, Coca-Cola launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand. The campaign featured graffiti-style artwork of the Coca-Cola logo in key locations in major cities, creating a buzz around the brand. The campaign was successful in raising brand awareness and driving sales.
  25. The "The Scavenger Hunt" campaign by Xbox: In 2015, Xbox launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new gaming console. The campaign featured a scavenger hunt in major cities, where participants had to complete various challenges to win a prize, such as the new gaming console. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  26. The "The Ambush Marketing" campaign by Pepsi: In 2007, Pepsi launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand during the Super Bowl. The campaign featured teams of people handing out free Pepsi products outside the stadium, with the message "Pepsi inside" written on the products. The campaign was successful in raising brand awareness and driving sales.
  27. The "The Mobile Billboard" campaign by Audi: In 2013, Audi launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new car model. The campaign featured a mobile billboard attached to a truck, driving through major cities and creating a buzz around the brand. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  28. The "The QR Code" campaign by Pepsi: In 2010, Pepsi launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured QR codes on Pepsi products that consumers could scan with their smartphones to access exclusive content and discounts. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  29. The "The Social Media Challenge" campaign by Red Bull: In 2016, Red Bull launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured a social media challenge where participants had to upload a creative photo or video with the hashtag #RedBullChallenge. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  30. The "The Street Performers" campaign by H&M: In 2013, H&M launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured street performers wearing H&M clothing in key locations in major cities, drawing attention to the brand and creating a buzz. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  31. The "The Flash Sale" campaign by Groupon: In 2010, Groupon launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured flash sales on the Groupon website, offering deep discounts on products and services for a limited time. The campaign was successful in driving sales and raising brand awareness.
  32. The "The Pop-Up Store" campaign by Nike: In 2018, Nike launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured a pop-up store in key locations in major cities, offering exclusive products and experiences for a limited time. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  33. The "The Street Art" campaign by Adidas: In 2019, Adidas launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured street art installations in key locations in major cities, depicting iconic Adidas products and creating a buzz around the brand. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  34. The "The Scavenger Hunt" campaign by Samsung: In 2020, Samsung launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new line of smartphones. The campaign featured a scavenger hunt in key locations in major cities, where participants had to complete various challenges to win a prize, such as the new smartphone. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  35. The "The Pop-Up Cafe" campaign by Starbucks: In 2021, Starbucks launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new line of coffee blends. The campaign featured pop-up cafes in key locations in major cities, offering free samples of the new blends and creating a buzz around the brand. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  36. The "The Street Performers" campaign by Zara: In 2022, Zara launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured street performers wearing Zara clothing in key locations in major cities, drawing attention to the brand and creating a buzz. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  37. The "The Social Media Challenge" campaign by Gucci: In 2023, Gucci launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured a social media challenge where participants had to upload a creative photo or video with the hashtag #GucciChallenge. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  38. The "The Flash Sale" campaign by ASOS: In 2024, ASOS launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured flash sales on the ASOS website, offering deep discounts on products and services for a limited time. The campaign was successful in driving sales and raising brand awareness.
  39. The "The Pop-Up Store" campaign by Louis Vuitton: In 2025, Louis Vuitton launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and drive sales. The campaign featured a pop-up store in key locations in major cities, offering exclusive products and experiences for a limited time. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness. The pop-up store concept was a unique way to create a sense of exclusivity and urgency around their products, and the use of high-end, exclusive products and experiences helped to further strengthen the luxury image of the brand.

We're ending the list at 49 to make it a bit unexpected for those who would have expected a whole number. These examples demonstrate how companies have used guerrilla marketing to create unique and unexpected experiences for consumers, leverage humour, surprise, social media and online platforms, create a sense of urgency, focus on a specific message, and successfully increase sales and raise brand awareness. Do note that you have the option of choosing our marketing agency for your own guerrilla marketing campaign.

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What it means to do guerrilla marketing, and a few epic examples from recent history

Guerrilla marketing is a form of unconventional marketing that uses unconventional and unexpected tactics to achieve a specific marketing goal. The focus is on creating a unique and memorable experience for the consumer rather than on traditional advertising methods such as television, radio, or print ads. Here are ten examples of how guerrilla marketing has been used successfully in the past:

  1. The "I am a PC" campaign by Microsoft: In 2008, Microsoft launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their Windows operating system. The campaign featured everyday people holding signs that read "I am a PC" in public places, as well as a series of television commercials that featured the same message. The campaign was successful in changing consumer perception of Windows and increasing market share.
  2. The "Subway is better than a gym" campaign by Subway: In 2010, Subway launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their healthier menu options. The campaign featured actors dressed as personal trainers encouraging people to eat at Subway instead of going to the gym. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and changing consumer perception of the Subway brand.
  3. The "Gorilla" campaign by Cadbury: In 2007, Cadbury launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their Dairy Milk chocolate bar. The campaign featured a gorilla playing the drums to the Phil Collins song "In the Air Tonight" in a television commercial. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  4. The "Epic Split" campaign by Volvo Trucks: In 2013, Volvo Trucks launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new truck model. The campaign featured Jean-Claude Van Damme performing a split between two moving trucks. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  5. The "Small Business Saturday" campaign by American Express: In 2010, American Express launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote small businesses. The campaign encouraged consumers to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The campaign was successful in increasing sales for small businesses and raising awareness of the importance of supporting small businesses.
  6. The "Find the Next" campaign by Pepsi: In 2009, Pepsi launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their brand and find the next big music star. The campaign featured a nationwide talent search and included a series of television commercials and a dedicated website. The campaign was successful in finding new talent and raising brand awareness.
  7. The "Make a Move" campaign by Nike: In 2013, Nike launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their new line of athletic shoes. The campaign featured a series of flash mob-style performances in public places, as well as a dedicated website and social media promotion. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  8. The "Be the Ball" campaign by Titleist: In 2016, Titleist launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their golf balls. The campaign featured a series of hidden camera videos of golfers reacting to the performance of Titleist golf balls. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  9. The "Can you hear me now?" campaign by Verizon: In 2002, Verizon launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their wireless service. The campaign featured a man walking around in public places asking "Can you hear me now?" The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.
  10. The "Will it Blend?" campaign by Blendtec: In 2006, Blendtec launched a guerrilla marketing campaign to promote their blenders. The campaign featured a series of videos of the company's founder blending various unusual items, such as a hockey puck, in the blender. The campaign was successful in increasing sales and raising brand awareness.

In conclusion, guerrilla marketing is a unique and unconventional approach to marketing that can be a very effective approach It's not always the right fit for every business or marketing campaign. As with any marketing strategy, it's essential to consider your target audience, goals, and resources before committing to a guerrilla marketing campaign.

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How to research the team behind an investing opportunity

When considering an investment opportunity, it's essential to research the team behind it. The team's experience, track record, and leadership capabilities can have a significant impact on the success of the investment. Here are some tips on how to research the team behind an investing opportunity:

  1. Look at the team's experience: The team's experience in their respective industry, as well as their experience working together, can be a good indicator of their ability to execute on the investment opportunity. Look for team members who have a proven track record of success in the industry and check their LinkedIn profiles to learn more about their background and experience.
  2. Research the leadership: The leadership of the team, particularly the CEO or founder, can have a significant impact on the success of the investment. Look for leaders who have a clear vision for the company, possess strong communication and management skills, and have a history of successfully leading teams and organizations.
  3. Check for diverse backgrounds and skill sets: A diverse team with different backgrounds and skill sets can bring different perspectives and approaches to problem-solving, which can lead to better decision-making and increased chances of success.
  4. Check for any red flags: It's also important to check for any red flags when researching the team. This can include a history of legal or financial problems, a lack of transparency, or a history of unethical behaviour. Use online resources like news articles, SEC filings, and social media to gather information about the team.
  5. Analyze the team's past performance: Look at the team's past performance, both individually and as a group. This can include their past successes and failures, as well as their ability to execute on their plans and achieve their goals. This information can provide valuable insight into their ability to execute on the investment opportunity.
  6. Look for alignment of interest: It is also important to look for the alignment of interest between the team and the investors. This can be done by reviewing the terms of the investment and understanding the incentives of the team members. A strong alignment of interest can increase the chances of success for the investment.
  7. Talk to other stakeholders: If possible, talk to other stakeholders in the company, such as customers, suppliers, or industry experts. Their perspectives can provide valuable insights into the team's capabilities and the investment opportunity.
  8. Network and ask for referrals: Network with other investors, and if possible, ask for referrals from people who have worked with the team in the past. This can provide valuable insights into the team's capabilities and reputation.

In conclusion, researching the team behind an investment opportunity is crucial in assessing the potential success of the investment. By looking at the team's experience, researching the leadership, checking for diverse backgrounds and skill sets, looking for red flags, analyzing the team's past performance, looking for alignment of interest, talking to other stakeholders, and networking and asking for referrals, you can gain a better understanding of the team's capabilities and increase your chances of success with the investment.

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How to be convincing when introducing a new product or service on the market

Introducing a new product or service to the market can be a daunting task. The key to success is to be able to convince potential customers that your offering is valuable, unique, and worth their investment. Here are some tips on how to be convincing when introducing a new product or service:

  1. Understand your target market: Before you can convince anyone to buy your product or service, you need to understand who your target market is and what their needs are. Conduct market research and gather data on your target audience, such as their demographics, pain points, and buying habits. This information will help you tailor your message and approach to better appeal to your target market.
  2. Communicate the value proposition: Your value proposition is the unique benefit that your product or service offers to your customers. It's important to clearly communicate this value proposition to your potential customers in a way that resonates with them. Use simple and easy-to-understand language to explain how your product or service solves their problems or meets their needs.
  3. Build trust and credibility: Trust and credibility are essential when introducing a new product or service. Use customer testimonials, case studies, and social proof to demonstrate that your product or service is trustworthy and has been successful for others. Additionally, ensure that your branding and marketing materials are professional and polished.
  4. Create a sense of urgency: Creating a sense of urgency can help to motivate potential customers to take action and buy your product or service. This can be done by highlighting a limited-time offer, a special promotion, or by emphasizing the benefits of taking action now rather than later.
  5. Follow-up and follow-through: Following up with potential customers after your initial introduction is crucial. It's important to keep the conversation going and to continue to build a relationship with them. Additionally, it's important to follow through on any promises or commitments made during the introduction process.
  6. Be prepared for objections: It's important to anticipate and be prepared for objections that potential customers may have about your product or service. Anticipating these objections and having a response ready will help to address any concerns and keep the conversation moving forward.
  7. Use storytelling: People are naturally drawn to stories, and they can be a powerful tool in introducing a new product or service. Use storytelling to illustrate the value and benefits of your product or service, and to connect with potential customers on an emotional level.
  8. Be confident and enthusiastic: Confidence and enthusiasm are contagious, and they can help to build excitement and interest in your new product or service. Be confident in the value and benefits of your offering, and let that enthusiasm shine through in your communication and presentation.

In conclusion, introducing a new product or service to the market can be a challenging task. But by understanding your target market, communicating your value proposition, building trust and credibility, creating a sense of urgency, following up, handling objections, using storytelling, and being confident and enthusiastic, you can increase your chances of success and convince potential customers to invest in your offering.

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How to do marketing through Twitter.com

Twitter is a popular microblogging platform that can be a great way to do marketing. Here are some tips for using Twitter to market your business:

  1. Create a Twitter account for your business: The first step in using Twitter for marketing is to create a Twitter account for your business. This will give you a dedicated space on the platform where you can share updates and offers, and connect with potential customers.
  2. Share useful and valuable content: One of the key things to remember when using Twitter for marketing is to focus on sharing useful and valuable content. This means posting updates and offers that are relevant and interesting to your audience, and providing information that will be helpful and useful to them.
  3. Be consistent: Consistency is important in any marketing strategy, and this is especially true on Twitter. To be effective on the platform, you need to be active and engaged, regularly posting updates and offers. This will help to build trust and credibility with your audience, and make them more likely to consider your products or services.
  4. Use hashtags: Hashtags are an important part of Twitter marketing. They help to organize and categorize your content, and make it easier for people to discover your tweets. When using hashtags, it's important to use relevant and popular ones that are relevant to your business or industry. This will increase the visibility of your tweets, and make them more likely to be seen by potential customers.
  5. Engage with your audience: Finally, remember to engage with your audience on Twitter. This means responding to comments and questions, and thanking people for their feedback or insights. This will help to build relationships with potential customers, and make them more likely to remember your business when they need the products or services you offer.

Overall, Twitter can be a powerful tool for marketing your business. By sharing useful and valuable content, being consistent, using hashtags, and engaging with your audience, you can use Twitter to reach a wider audience and promote your business effectively.

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How to do marketing through Instagram.com

Instagram is a popular photo and video-sharing platform that can be a great marketing tool. Here are some tips for using Instagram to market your business:

  1. Create an Instagram account for your business: The first step in using Instagram for marketing is to create an Instagram account for your business. This will give you a dedicated space on the platform where you can share photos and videos that showcase your products or services, and connect with potential customers.
  2. Share beautiful and engaging content: One of the key things to remember when using Instagram for marketing is to focus on sharing beautiful and engaging content. This means posting high-quality photos and videos that are visually appealing and will grab people's attention. You should also use hashtags and location tags to help people discover your content and increase its visibility.
  3. Be consistent: Consistency is important in any marketing strategy, and this is especially true on Instagram. To be effective on the platform, you need to be active and engaged, regularly posting updates and offers. This will help to build trust and credibility with your audience, and make them more likely to consider your products or services.
  4. Use Instagram ads: In addition to organic posts on your Instagram account, you can also use Instagram ads to reach a wider audience and promote your business. Instagram ads allow you to target specific groups of people based on their interests, demographics, and other factors, and can be a highly effective way to get your message in front of the right people.
  5. Engage with your audience: Finally, remember to engage with your audience on Instagram. This means responding to comments and messages, and thanking people for their feedback or insights. This will help to build relationships with potential customers, and make them more likely to remember your business when they need the products or services you offer.

Overall, Instagram can be a powerful tool for marketing your business. By sharing beautiful and engaging content, being consistent, using Instagram ads, and engaging with your audience, you can use Instagram to reach a wider audience and promote your business effectively.

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How to do marketing through Facebook.com

Facebook is a popular social networking platform that can be a great way to do marketing. Here are some tips for using Facebook to market your business:

  1. Create a Facebook page for your business: The first step in using Facebook for marketing is to create a Facebook page for your business. This will give you a dedicated space on the platform where you can share information about your business, post updates and offers, and connect with potential customers.
  2. Share useful and valuable content: One of the key things to remember when using Facebook for marketing is to focus on sharing useful and valuable content. This means posting updates and offers that are relevant and interesting to your audience, and providing information that will be helpful and useful to them.
  3. Be consistent: Consistency is important in any marketing strategy, and this is especially true on Facebook. To be effective on the platform, you need to be active and engaged, regularly posting updates and offers. This will help to build trust and credibility with your audience, and make them more likely to consider your products or services.
  4. Use Facebook ads: In addition to organic posts on your Facebook page, you can also use Facebook ads to reach a wider audience and promote your business. Facebook ads allow you to target specific groups of people based on their interests, demographics, and other factors, and can be a highly effective way to get your message in front of the right people.
  5. Engage with your audience: Finally, remember to engage with your audience on Facebook. This means responding to comments and messages, and thanking people for their feedback or insights. This will help to build relationships with potential customers, and make them more likely to remember your business when they need the products or services you offer.

Overall, Facebook can be a powerful tool for marketing your business. By sharing useful and valuable content, being consistent, using Facebook ads, and engaging with your audience, you can use Facebook to reach a wider audience and promote your business effectively.

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How to do marketing through Reddit.com

Reddit is a popular social news and discussion platform that can be a great way to do marketing. Here are some tips for using Reddit to market your business:

  1. Identify relevant subreddits: Before you start using Reddit for marketing, it's important to find subreddits that are related to your business or industry. This will help you reach the right audience and increase the chances that your posts will be useful and relevant to potential customers.
  2. Provide useful and valuable information: One of the key things to remember when using Reddit for marketing is to focus on providing useful and valuable information. This means going beyond just promoting your own products or services, and instead offering genuine, helpful advice and information that will be useful to the Reddit community.
  3. Be consistent: Consistency is important in any marketing strategy, and this is especially true on Reddit. To be effective on the platform, you need to be active and engaged, regularly posting useful and valuable information. This will help to build trust and credibility with your audience, and make them more likely to consider your products or services.
  4. Use keywords and tags: Just like with other forms of content marketing, it's important to use keywords and tags on Reddit to help people find your posts. This will make it easier for people to discover your content, and increase the chances that your posts will be seen by potential customers.
  5. Engage with your audience: Finally, remember to engage with your audience on Reddit. This means responding to comments and questions, and thanking people for their feedback or insights. This will help to build relationships with potential customers, and make them more likely to remember your business when they need the products or services you offer.

Overall, Reddit can be a powerful tool for marketing your business. By providing useful and valuable information, being consistent, using keywords and tags, and engaging with your audience, you can use Reddit to reach a wider audience and promote your business effectively.

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A few online marketing tips that can help you improve your online presence and reach more customers

Here are a few online marketing tips that can help you improve your online presence and reach more customers:

  1. Define your target audience: Knowing who your ideal customer is will help you create marketing messages that resonate with them and attract their attention.
  2. Create a website: Having a website is essential for any business in today's digital world. It's the central hub of your online presence and a place where customers can learn more about your products or services and get in touch with you.
  3. Use search engine optimization (SEO): SEO is the practice of improving the ranking of your website on search engines like Google. By optimizing your website for relevant keywords, you can increase the visibility of your site and attract more organic traffic.
  4. Use social media: Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are a great way to connect with potential customers and build your brand. Regularly posting engaging content and responding to customer inquiries can help you build a loyal following and drive more traffic to your website.
  5. Consider paid advertising: Paid advertising, such as Google AdWords or Facebook Ads, can be a highly effective way to reach a targeted audience and drive traffic to your website. However, it's important to carefully track the results of your campaigns and make adjustments as needed to maximize your return on investment.
  6. Use email marketing: Email marketing can be a great way to stay in touch with your customers and keep them informed about your latest products or promotions. Be sure to get permission from customers before adding them to your email list, and always include an option for them to opt out if they no longer want to receive your emails.
  7. Focus on providing excellent customer service: Providing excellent customer service is essential for building trust and loyalty with your customers. Respond to customer inquiries and complaints quickly and professionally, and make sure that your products or services consistently meet or exceed customer expectations.
Read more...

How to do marketing through Quora.com

Quora is a popular question-and-answer platform that can be a great way to do marketing. Here are some tips for using Quora to market your business:

  1. Identify relevant topics and questions: Before you start using Quora for marketing, it's important to find topics and questions that are related to your business or industry. This will help you reach the right audience and increase the chances that your answers will be useful and relevant to potential customers.
  2. Provide useful and valuable answers: One of the key things to remember when using Quora for marketing is to focus on providing useful and valuable answers to people's questions. This means going beyond just promoting your own products or services and instead offering genuine, helpful advice and information that will be useful to the person asking the question.
  3. Be consistent: Consistency is important in any marketing strategy, and this is especially true on Quora. To be effective on the platform, you must be active and engaged, regularly answering questions and providing valuable information. This will help to build trust and credibility with your audience and make them more likely to consider your products or services.
  4. Use keywords and tags: Just like with other forms of content marketing, it's important to use keywords and tags on Quora to help people find your answers. This will make it easier for people to discover your content and increase the chances that your answers will be seen by potential customers.
  5. Engage with your audience: Finally, remember to engage with your audience on Quora. This means responding to comments and questions and thanking people for their feedback or insights. This will help build relationships with potential customers and make them more likely to remember your business when they need your products or services.

Overall, Quora can be a powerful tool for marketing your business. By providing useful and valuable answers, being consistent, using keywords and tags, and engaging with your audience, you can use Quora to reach a wider audience and promote your business effectively.

Read more...

Even more ways to optimize your website

In a recent post, we discussed how you shouldn't fixate on just doing marketing, but you should also constantly optimize your website. In this article, we'll give you a few more methods to apply when assessing your web code in various respects.

The first big tools to consider are the HTML and the CSS validators maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C):

Some other less important tools that they offer:

Their tools could probably keep your web developer busy for two months fixing things. That's if you're running your website on a WordPress CMS with a custom theme that you've purchased. If your website is built from the ground up, repairing issues will probably take a lot less time - a matter of days.

Here are some more tools that you could use:

Less useful tools (usually because what they're doing is done better by one of the above):

We'll stop here because we fear that we might have given you too many interesting activities to do, and because of it, you'll end up using our own website less. Hopefully, one year from now this article ends up buried on our blog under content with more interesting titles. They'll probably help you less, but at least you won't leave our website. You might even end up bookmarking it, for when you need marketing services in the future. Thank you for reading!

Read more...

Pandemics affect marketing companies negatively

Well... duh! During the recession that started in the U.S. on December 2007 and lasted until June 2009, the marketing and - especially - the advertising sector went to crap faster than many other sectors. For example, even though the global spending was down 9% in 2009, the ad spending was down an extra 3% on top of that. Pandemics affect marketing companies negatively, and since marketers aren't likely to prevent the incoming recession by finding a cure for Coronavirus, we're slashing the prices of some of our services:

Subreddit Subscriber - new price $0.99, down from $1.09. We've also added one more bonus at the end of the the service description:

[...] We'll also create activity with some of the new subscribers, like a few upvotes or a comment to a post.

We were actually already doing that, it just wasn't specified clearly.

Quora Upvote - new price $0.99, down from $1

This might not seem like much, but we have some clients with huge volume on Quora for which it will matter. There's also the next discount for them:

Quora Question Follow - new price $0.89, down from $1

And to some of our lower volume services:

Indie Hackers Upvote (max 5/post) - new price $1.39, down from $1.49

GrowthHackers Comment and Indie Hackers Comment - new price $3.95, down from $4.5

GrowthHackers Post and Indie Hackers Post - new price $13.5, down from $15

That's it, nothing else will get a discount. We're hoping that these will suffice in order for us to maintain a similar work volume throughout the next months of chaos.

If it's ends up not being enough, we'll begin studying molecular biology in order to defeat COVID-19 ourselves.

Read more...

Internet marketing services

An article that we started in 2016 in order to rank for the keywords "internet marketing services", which at the time had approximately the traffic and competition noted below:
1K – 10K
Low
We haven't finished it, and we actually forgot about it, but in the interest of content generation, we'll just publish it like it was. Internet marketing services, for whoever might care: Colours map: PURPLE - it means that the task can be extremely time-consuming PAID - this costs money, you might want to leave it last
  1. Upvotes Club, by far the best option in this list. We're the only ones concentrating on marketing services that actually work, and we don't waste time with pretend-marketing.
  2. Start your own blog for your company/startup. Make it really interesting. Be candid. Show off new features. Show off stuff you're working on. Show off your team or your technology. Build up your own tribe of followers. They will make all the difference when it comes to saving you on del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, and so forth. Do marketing for each post with the help of https://traction.pw
  3. Present your creation on Hacker News in the Show HN section. Read the rules first.
  4. Post content from your blog on Hacker News.
  5. Find out where users of competing businesses gather (forums, Facebook groups, Google groups) and work your way into their attention zone.
  6. Create a digest with your content on http://www.cubecamp.com
  7. Present your startup on http://www.thestartuppitch.com
  8. Add your business on https://startupbuffer.com (add it even if it's not a startup; the same goes for all startup directories)
  9. Add your business on https://betalist.com
  10. Add your business on https://www.f6s.com
  11. Browse the offers from https://www.f6s.com and see if there's anything you can take advantage of.
  12. Add your business on https://angel.co
  13. Add your business on platforms similar to the now-defunct startupli.st
  14. Add your business on platforms similar to the now-defunct justgonelive.com
  15. Add your business on http://www.kickoffboost.com
  16. Add your business on http://geekopedia.me/startupsubmit
  17. Add your business on http://killerstartups.com
  18. Add your business on http://www.startupbird.com
  19. Add your business on http://ratemystartup.com
  20. Add your business on http://www.new-startups.com
  21. Add your business on http://www.nextbigwhat.com
  22. Add your business on http://www.launchingnext.com
  23. Add your business on http://www.startupproject.org
  24. Add your business on http://startuplift.com
  25. Add your business on http://www.paggu.com
  26. Even if it's not European, add your business on http://www.eu-startups.com/directory
  27. Add your website on http://101bestwebsites.com
  28. Add your business on http://vator.tv
  29. Add your business on http://www.springwise.com
  30. Add your business on http://www.techpluto.com
  31. Add your business on https://gust.com
  32. Send an email with your business pitch to http://netted.net/contact-us
  33. Send an email with your business pitch to TechCrunch http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/14/please-dont-spam-us
  34. Pitch your business and a giveaway to http://www.makeuseof.com/contact
  35. Add your business on platforms similar to the now-defunct breakpoint.io
  36. Add your business on http://sideprojects.in
  37. Add your product on https://beta.techendo.com
  38. Present your business on http://firespotting.com
  39. Add your business on https://startupbuffer.com
  40. Add your business on platforms similar to the now-defunct startuptabs.com
  41. Add your business on http://www.startupranking.com
  42. Add your business on http://www.randomstartup.org
  43. Add your business on http://betapage.co
  44. Add your business as a maker and add your product here: https://makerbase.co
  45. Add your business on http://wibblewaggle.com
  46. Add your business on https://www.sideprojectors.com
  47. Add your product on https://www.producthunt.com
  48. Add your company on https://www.crunchbase.com
  49. Add your products on https://www.crunchbase.com
  50. Add an event on https://www.crunchbase.com
  51. Add your company on LinkedIn
  52. Reach out to people from your industry on LinkedIn
  53. Track what's being talked about your company/products and reply when needed: use both Google Alerts and mention.com
  54. Create an event and try to find sponsors for it with http://eventie.io
  55. Cross-promote on social media through specialized platforms (in the past, this was done with AdHipster; you might want to start with finding current alternatives for it)
  56. After you know for sure what customer acquisition cost you can afford, start using Google AdWords.
  57. Same as above with Bing Ads.
  58. [...] Facebook Ads.
  59. [...] Twitter Ads
  60. [...] LinkedIn Ads.
  61. [...] StumbleUpon Ads
  62. Find as many blogs in your niche as possible. Pitch them properly. DON'T JUST GO FOR THE BIG ONES! The smaller blogs are more likely to link to you if you're friendly to them and develop rapport (they want to see you are friendly and genuine).
  63. Find journalists to write about your startup through http://submit.co
  64. Find journalists to write about your startup through http://www.pressfriendly.com
  65. Find journalists to write about your startup through https://press.farm
  66. Promote your product to this community: http://erlibird.com/app-promotion (others similar: http://www.centercode.com | https://www.usertesting.com
  67. Notify tech blogs about your app: http://pitchpigeon.com (even though it's just helping you a bit with the message and sending emails, this costs $50 or more)
  68. Have your startup submitted automatically to directories, review websites and communities https://startuplister.com or http://promotehour.com
  69. If you're selling a B2B app, add it on https://crozdesk.com
  70. If you're selling a smartphone app, add it on https://feedmyapp.com
  71. If you have a web application or service, add it on http://appuseful.com
  72. If you have a web application/service or smartphone app, add it on http://webdevtwopointzero.com
  73. If you have a web app or smartphone app, add it on http://devpost.com/software
  74. If you have a web application, email http://www.appvita.com about it
  75. If you have a brand that fits in any of their categories, list all the stores that carry it on http://www.thelabelfinder.com
  76. If it fits in any category, add your product on http://stackshare.io
  77. If you're Romanian, add your startup on http://www.romanianstartups.com
  78. If you have a European startup, apply to the "EU ROADSHOW + SV STARTUP SCHOOL" on https://www.f6s.com/euroadshowsvstartupschool/about
  79. Submit your startup story for a feature on http://www.snapmunk.com/submit-your-startup/
  80. Submit your startup story on http://www.newbiggie.com/submit/
  81. Pitch your startup to http://startup88.com/pitch-your-startup-trying-to-raise-capital-or-get-publicity
  82. Find ancillary reasons to get your service mentioned in blog posts and tutorials. For example, if your startup is an RSS mashup generator of some sort, you need to have tutorials out there that recommend your service. Get those tutorials and posts on to Reddit, Hacker News, Digg, etc.
  83. If people write about your site, write tutorials that mention you, etc, PROMOTE THAT CONTENT EVEN IF IT'S NOT YOURS! Get people reading stuff that's about you - not by you!
  84. Remember that bigger sites like TechCrunch and ReadWriteWeb (if applicable to your sector) love exclusives. Don't bother mass pitching those - focus on one, whichever you can get the best rapport with, and offer an exclusive. Your product needs to be AWESOME for this to work though.
  85. Follow a search.twitter.com search on terms related to your service (and even the name of your service)... get in touch with people who might be interested, respond to all comments about your service.
  86. Try to submit as many press releases as possible. Use prlog.org if you can't afford to pay for this or prnewswire.com if you're a boss.
  87. Build ancillary "fun" services that tie into your main web app. Something fun, free, perhaps something that you can relate to sites people find interesting, such as Twitter. Let's say your main service is an online graphics editor. Perhaps you could create a separate site where people can create avatars for Twitter / Facebook from a small set of templates.. separate project but promoting the first.
  88. Use both mention.com and google.com/alerts in order to stay on top with mentions of your company, your competitors and subjects on which you could comment about your product.
  89. Comment on other blogs and online news outlets in order to try to get your link out there in a non-spammy way.
  90. (To extend this with the actual links; search terms "CSS design show-case", "CSS design submit website", etc.) Does your design rock? Get on to the "CSS design", and "Web design" showcase type sites. There are hundreds of them around. Not amazing exposure, but the more links the better and any one of your visitors might turn in to a serious contact.
  91. Find your way into interviews (you can't just read something like this and keep reading; you have to actually do it)
  92. Find your way into podcasts
  93. Twitter follow/unfollow marketing (it's easy to find with Google what's it about); To do it, use this free tool: http://unfollowerstats.com or this freemium: https://manageflitter.com; You'll also need an auto-clicking AHK script (use F8 to toggle auto-clicking).
  94. Interact daily with the people that you've followed on Twitter, fav many of their posts and retweet the best ones.
  95. Set up a message that everybody receives when they follow you. Use https://plugg.io for this, from settings -> new followers.
  96. Implement as many of these methods as possible in order to gain more followers on Twitter: http://twittertoolsbook.com/how-to-get-more-twitter-followers/(except tip #21)
  97. Find accounts (from the same field of interest as you) which engage a lot with their followers and send them offers to cross-promote, even if you have more followers than they do.
  98. Create a viral contest by offering a prize to whoever sends the most traffic to your contest page. Make entrants use a contest hashtag and a bit.ly link so you can track who sends the most traffic. You can track bit.ly link clicks by adding a + to the end of any bit.ly link.
  99. Increase sales using Twitter by giving special offers and coupons to your followers. The best way to do this is to give access to those offers only to those that RT one of your tweets.
  100. Post a lot of non-promotional content as well (retweeting others might be enough). Use a scheduling tool (ManageFlitter) to space out the tweets. Promotional content can also mean pictures of your products with no text (or text on image); these get retweeted easier.
  101. Add the location of your business to Google Maps (Google Places). If you're a perfectionist you can add it with searchable text, coupons, hours of operation, brands carried, maps, photos, video and reviews. https://www.google.com/business/
  102. [...] Bing Maps (Bing Places) https://www.bingplaces.com/
  103. [...] Yahoo Maps (Yahoo Local) http://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/2016/01/29/now-you-can-fix-your-yahoo-local-listing-without-paying-for-yext/
  104. [...] Yellow Pages platforms similar to the now-defunct adsolutions.yp.com/listings/basic  or yellowpages.com
  105. [...] Yelp https://biz.yelp.com (they are a bit scammy)
  106. [...] MerchantCircle https://www.merchantcircle.com
  107. [...] AllPages http://www.allpages.com
  108. [...] YellowBot http://www.yellowbot.com
  109. [...] Manta http://www.manta.com
  110. [...] CitySearch (http://www.citysearch.com) https://signup.citygrid.com/cyb/find_business
  111. [...] MapQuest (http://www.mapquest.com) https://listings.mapquest.com/pl/mapquest-claims/preview.html
  112. [...] Local (http://www.local.com) http://www.local.com/claim-your-listing/default.aspx
  113. [...] FOURSQUARE (https://foursquare.com) http://business.foursquare.com/claim
  114. [...] The Business Journals http://businessdirectory.bizjournals.com
  115. [...] Angies List (https://www.angieslist.com) https://business.angieslist.com/Registration/SimpleRegistration.aspx
  116. [...] Hotfrog http://www.hotfrog.com
  117. Add the contact info of your business on White Pages (at the moment not possible) http://www.whitepages.com    
  118. Add your website in all the directories for SEO purposes (especially if you're running a blog on it as well) http://www.clambr.com/49-free-web-directories-for-building-backlinks/ 
  119. If you're selling through Amazon, read this article http://www.ripenecommerce.com/amazon-seo-insights
  120. Find more ideas on http://pronthego.com
  121. Find more ideas in other articles of ours
We have even more internet marketing tips on this website, in another article that was actually published at its time. No internet marketing service looks as if it could beat Reddit marketing anytime soon though.
Read more...

What cryptocurrency needs in order to succeed

Legal tender. It needs to become legal tender. That's all folks! Until that happens, we're all forced to sell valuable assets like ETH for hyper-inflationary poorly-backed crap like USD or EUR. And we don't want that. We'd rather use trustless money that actually belongs to us, and which is also a gateway to modern financial tools like dY/dX, Uniswap, Compound and Dharma. The old monetary systems and the old financial system need an upgrade.

Here's the definition of legal tender:

Legal tender is a medium of payment recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Paper currency and coins are common forms of legal tender in many countries. Legal tender is variously defined in different jurisdictions. Formally, it is anything which when offered in payment extinguishes the debt. Thus, personal cheques, credit cards, and similar non-cash methods of payment are not usually legal tender. The law does not relieve the debt obligation until payment is tendered. Coins and banknotes are usually defined as legal tender. Some jurisdictions may forbid or restrict payment made other than by legal tender. For example, such a law might outlaw the use of foreign coins and bank notes or require a license to perform financial transactions in a foreign currency.

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_tender

While Bitcoin can be used to buy anything from huge shopping chains like BIC CAMERA, it is not legal tender in Japan, even though /r/cryptocurrency or /r/bitcoin propaganda might have convinced you otherwise (source). Realistically, we will probably not see it happen in enough countries until a cryptocurrency actually wins, meaning that because of its properties and its fair distribution, it has wide support from the young generations. Sadly, even Ethereum has had bad initial distribution: more than 40% of the ETH sold went to the top 100 purchasers (source - page 59). The years of mining that followed ensured that the distribution fairness improved, but it's still far from optimal. New projects like Cosmos and DFINITY have such bad initial distributions that it's not even worth considering that they might win. Projects like Ripple or Bitcoin Gold make the entire space look bad, even though their holders will turn a blind eye in the hope that they're somehow going to get rich for just holding onto them and making others buy (I wonder how we should name this strategy, maybe "inverse pyramid" or something like that, I don't know).

Centralized exchanges have been hacked time and time again, and their morality is also deplorable. Binance is slowly becoming as hated as Bitfinex (and Tether) because of their multiple bad decisions (like putting ETH pairs in the "ALTS MARKET" category). While decentralized exchanges will keep growing, they still won't replace fully their centralized counterparts because people still need to buy USD/EUR in order to pay for food, utilities and rent. And decentralized exchanges that use fiat gateways are not fully trustless, and don't get rid of the KYC/AML abuse.

There are many other issues, and the good news is that all of them are slowly getting solved. Many of the most difficult issues have already been solved. Cryptocurrencies and smart contracts platforms are slowly and surely winning. There are more brilliant minds operating in this industry than in many others. The people that are in will not turn back their mentalities. You won't see a Monero holder respecting USD more than XMR. This just won't happen. The enhancement is spreading, and for this reason, maybe the initial premise is actually wrong. What cryptocurrencies need is just more time, because there's no turning back.

Read more...

How we are helping the cryptocurrency ecosystem

We've been taking payments through cryptocurrency for more than two years, and not only through this website. Most of the time we've accepted more than 60 different cryptocurrencies as a method of payment. Lately, we've only been accepting the ones that are actually getting used, plus two exceptions:
  • DASH, because of how much they work towards adoption in countries that need a stable currency
  • Zcash, because of all their work in expanding the science and the possibilities from this field
Since NANO seems to be the front runner for a deflationary trustless cryptocurrency on which centralization forces do not act, we're trying to help it more than we help others:

[1] At Checkout, we're accepting payment with NANO through BrainBlocks, with no transaction fees and no payment processor fees.

[2] We're running 4 nodes on the beta-net and 2 nodes on the main-net, in different data centres around the world, and we'll keep them up in perpetuity.

[3] Two of the six nodes offer open access to their RPC interface. The ports won't be changing in the future, and they're being kept updated automatically.

For the main-net, this one can be used: http://80.241.211.21

The RPC is open for anybody to use at port 7888 (no GPU, enable_control is true):

curl -d '{ "action" : "version" }' 80.241.211.21:7888

Anybody can play with it, or integrate it with any business/tool/service/whatever.

For the beta-net, this one has RPC open on 55888: http://207.180.231.218

The main-net server is auto-updating on the :latest docker tag, and the beta-net auto-updates on :master.

[4] We'll soon be running a stress test script on the beta network in perpetuity, with low frequency, in order to create a more realistic environment for devs and testers.

[5] We'll choose two of the nodes that we've set up, and make them representatives. Anyone will be able to delegate voting weight to them. We want them up flawlessly for at least 30 days first.

We often donate to free open source projects from the cryptocurrency space. Even with the bear market of this year, there haven't been more than 5 days in a row where we haven't made at least one donation.
Read more...

Questions to ask about a potential cryptocurrency-related ICO investment

You want to know the biggest reason why most ICO's suck? It's because the old system is stifling new technology. If startups would be allowed to offer equity through ICO's, they wouldn't have to invent those stupid reasons for why their tokens must exist. We'd just use Ether to transact on most new platforms, and the tokens bought in the ICO's would provide equity and dividends. If you're planning to invest in a cryptocurrency-related ICO, then make sure you do your due diligence because even though the number of scams is lower than people suspect, many of the projects are still bad enough that the risk is not worth the cost. Just as buying equity in most startups would be like throwing money away, investing in an ICO can be the same. Right now, the best ICO's are those set up in jurisdictions that allow them to sell equity through tokens. When this will be a more global phenomenon, the quality of ICO's will rise dramatically. Right now, just make sure you do more research than usual, and while you're at it... being a bit paranoid is fine. Here's what to ask about each potential cryptocurrency-related investment, before taking part in its ICO:
  1. Does it solve a problem or alleviate friction anywhere?
  2. Does it really need decentralization and other such properties?
  3. What is their current tech? (check repository code from all branches, check Gitter channels, do static code analysis, compile and run code, etc.)
  4. What is their future tech? (check whitepaper, research, milestones, repository pull requests)
  5. How close to ready is it?
  6. How is the dev team? (check their open source contributions, etc.)
  7. Do they have a funding scheme? What kind? (community donation, venture capital, institutional investment/buyouts, ICO etc.) Is it a good fit for what they're doing? (for example, if they're doing a cryptocurrency with low network effects because of a badly chosen funding scheme, it's best to just wait for its first fork)
  8. How are they organized? (dev-lead like Bitcoin, or non-profit like Stellar, or company like Ripple, or cooperative like Rchain etc.)
  9. What is their track record?
  10. Do they have any institutional or prolific backing?
  11. Does it have competition, and where does it stand within that?
  12. Any plans to create, stimulate, and maintain adoption?
  13. Does it have a good media presence? (articles, reviews, feedback on Reddit, etc.)
  14. Does it have a good marketing team? Does it have a solid bounty program that has gathered a large community?
  15. How is the community? (count on Telegram, objectivity, etc.) Are intelligent people interested in the project or just gamblers?
  16. How is the accessibility and liquidity of their tokens?
  17. Growth potential based on current price and supply, and also considering supply that will be coming from inflation, or lockdown? (for example, private sale participants that have their tokens locked for one year will surely take profit when the lockdown is over)
  18. Is it an interactive coin offering? If not, what protections are there that the token distribution will be fair?
  19. Do the investments go into a DAICO? If not, what protections are there that the milestones will be reached?
  20. Can it survive or at least get around the regulatory hammer? (for example, if they're based in the US, but they're selling security tokens or utility tokens that are expected to go up in value, it's too risky)
  21. Has the ICO contract been audited?
  22. Do they have a bug bounty program for their code?
  23. Did they employ any kind of censorship (on Telegram, on Reddit, etc.)? (On Reddit, for posts it can be discovered with https://ceddit.com/r/iota/new, or by opening with the same tool controversial threads and looking for removed comments. )
Other positives:
  • write other positives that you can think of
Other negatives:
  • write other negatives that you can think of
Recommendation: (what's the probability that this is a good buy?)
  • write your final recommendation
If planning a sizeable investment, get a third-party assessment. (from Amazix, Multicoin Capital, etc.) To understand what is a fair ICO structure, read https://github.com/Thetta/GitBook_ICO-Approaches Some of the advice given in this article was copied from here: https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/7n3fxk/im_truly_disappointed/ Good luck! There's money to be made by the people who choose well, but ultimately you'll also need a bit of luck.
Read more...

How to use Reddit (Guide)

How to use Reddit? First, understand how this social media platform is structured:

The focus of Reddit is communities (named "subreddits"), where users make relevant contributions. If you try to make it about yourself, you won't get very far. Search around for topics (subreddits) that interest you and subscribe to them. The subreddit search can help you with that. If you have any specific questions, go for them in our comment section here! If you've just created the account, you will have defaults: subreddits you're automatically subscribed to (the same subreddits that you see when you're not logged in). You probably won't be interested in most of them, therefore consider unsubscribing. You do it from here: https://www.reddit.com/subreddits. These are not e-mail subscriptions, they just determine what shows up on the main site page after you log in.

programming language subreddits by subscribers, an image that helps you understand how to use Reddit

Find a post that interests you and join the discussion!

Don't start by posting a couple of links to your own website on the same subreddit. People might take that as self-promotion, which is frowned upon. As a new user, it may be better to get involved in discussions that are already happening, just to get a feel for how Reddit works.

 

For a longer guide on how to use Reddit,

you might want to check out the Reddit 101: https://www.reddit.com/wiki/reddit_101

It is well written and will teach you all the basics of how to use Reddit. You'll find out about Karma (a point system that lets you know how your submissions or comments are doing), sidebars, moderators, admins, reddiquette and will also answer to a few frequently asked questions (for example the all-important "Help! What happened to my post?", if you're promoting yourself in the wrong way).

After you've used this network for a few days,

read this article to understand what can be done with our help on Reddit and other social media networks (yep, you can actually promote your blog or services/products, it's just not that straightforward): http://upvotes.club/what-can-be-done/

You might also want to read our articles from the Advanced category, which will transform you into a social media guru, who can actually get a lot of traction through these platforms and make money or gather a following. Good luck and work hard!

Thank you for checking out our Reddit guide and we hope you've learned everything that you needed to know about how to use Reddit.

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