If you are interested in content related to entrepreneurship, business finance and other intricate matters then I would suggest checking out Starting Business.
You can find an array of insightful and interesting articles.
So far, I have published two articles:
“The Main Benefits of Online Banking”
“The Advantage of Prepaid Cards”
Another article of mine about private placement life insurance will be published this weekend.
My life consists of just this: reading and writing.
I spend my entire day writing with classical or jazz music resting in the background. I spend my entire evening reading with classical or jazz music resting in the background.
As the years have gone by, many clients and acquaintances have asked me which authors have influenced my life, my career and my writing. What I love about this question is the fact that my influences and my favourites continually change as I keep discovering new writers, or the fact that my tastes have changed. (Despite my love of film noir, I likely wouldn’t be caught perusing 1920s or 1930s crime noir when I was 20.)
If you asked me who my all-time favourite author was during my teen years then I would without hesitation respond with Fyodor Dostoevsky or Francois Voltaire. Although I still admire these compelling and talented writers, I have turned to others for pleasure, entertainment, motivation and learning.
For those who have often wondered who my favourite authors are, here you go. These are my 10 favourite writers (in no particular order; I do not care about their personal lives):
Honourable mentions:
Perhaps this list will change in the next five, 10 or 15 years. Until then, these are the fictional writers that I admire, look up to and strive to be like. Without them, I don’t know where I’d be.
Over at Economic Collapse News, I have provided my opinion on how the mainstream media have covered the 2016 United States presidential election. So far, I give them a D-, but I go into more detail.
Here is an excerpt:
The 2016 United States presidential election has probably been the most interesting election cycle since the 1980s when Ronald Reagan was making plenty of hilarious jokes. The 2016 presidential election is pitting one corrupt, lying, crony statist (Hillary Clinton) against a constant, hour-by-hour flip flopper (Donald Trump). You also have potentially a third-party candidate making the debate stage this month.
It has indeed been an interesting election year. But perhaps the most compelling part of the 2016 campaign are the mainstream and alternative media outlets. The paucity of consistency, the blatant hypocrisy and obvious partisanship are taking over the campaign trails. Ostensibly, television networks and journalists favor Clinton, while the mainstream media admonish Trump because of supposed racism and bigotry rather than his inane policies.
The media’s lack of objectivity has never been so prevalent than this year.
You can read more here.
It’s official: millennials have outnumbered Baby Boomers. In April of this year, the millennials – those born between 1980 and 2000 – became the largest demographic in North America. This means the millennial demographic is dominating the workplace and the marketplace.
Over the next several years, the greatest transfer of wealth in human history will unfold.
Reports estimate that more than $30 trillion is currently being passed on from Baby Boomers to Generations Y and Z. If millennial consumers today are already wealthy as they buy Starbucks coffees, the latest iPhones and disposable clothing then brands can only imagine how much more they’ll consume with that enormous sum of money in their hands.
Brands, retailers and ecommerce websites want a piece of that lucrative pie. This will take a lot of digital marketing campaigns to attract younger consumers to their products and services.
For millennial graduates who are unsure what to do with their lives upon leaving college or university this spells out a tremendous employment opportunity. Brands want millennial marketers who know what the average millennial consumer demands from companies today.
The numbers show that the job outlook for digital marketers are on the rise. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment outlook until 2014 for digital marketers is on the rise by nine percent, which is higher than average. The pay is also incredible: the median pay is about $60 per hour, or $125,000 annually.
Everything from a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist to a content manager, the digital marketing industry is rapidly growing and evolving. In today’s global economy and fast-paced environment, the opportunities are out there for millennials, particularly if they wish to work for themselves and to work from home, coffee shop or the park. It’s quite remarkable and exciting.
So, what exactly do millennials need to completely entrench themselves in the digital marketing industry?
Well, here are five tips for millennials who want to become digital marketers:
Stay Updated on the Trends
The Internet is always changing. This means that digital marketing has to adapt and change with the online world, too. The trends in the digital marketing realm are regularly being updated, modified, added or even erased. What worked yesterday may not work today. On the other hand, if it didn’t work yesterday then it may work today with a little bit of a facelift.
For instance, social media marketing is all the rage in today’s market, but email marketing is actually becoming very popular again, and perhaps even more so. Why? Because it was given a slight makeover. Moreover, mobile SEO is the next big thing for brands, while desktop SEO is just in the background for marketing organizations and their efforts.
In order to stay updated on the latest trends, you should regularly keep tabs on these websites:
Construct Your Personal Brand
The sudden realization that every freelancer, digital marketer and solo entrepreneur has made is this: you are your own personal brand. Your online reputation, your customer service, your work and your success are all what matter right now. Every assignment you complete and every email you send are imperative to the growth and awareness of your personal brand.
When you’re just starting out on the Internet, you need to focus on your personal brand, which can be hard to do for millennials today, especially if they have been naughty on social media.
Unsure how to build your personal brand? Here are several tips you can embrace right now:
Realize the Facts Behind Digital Marketing
Studying the digital marketing industry can be extensive and take a long time. Does it have it to be? Nope. Simply put: there are five facts behind digital marketing that you will need to know immediately, at least for the foreseeable future:
Get the Certification
Yes, you’ve been given the rudimentary state of the digital marketing today. And, yes, you may have a strong acumen about digital marketing because you’ve taught yourself everything you need to know. But if you wish to really advance and succeed then certification is crucial.
Once you have digital marketing certification, you begin to present yourself as a serious industry professional. You’re not just some amateur who entered the industry on the whim. You’ve meticulously studied and examined the industry.
This is an asset to take advantage of by highlighting it promoting it to the rest of the world.
Be Trustworthy, Be Reliable & Be Eager
The Internet is a whole other world filled with unscrupulous, unreliable and dishonest individuals and firms. Whether they’re freelance writers or web properties that don’t pay their staff, oftentimes it can be like finding a needle in a haystack when it comes to discovering trustworthy, reliable and eager individuals.
Well, this is where you come in.
If you want to have an excellent reputation and a steady stream of work then this is the person you must be. You have to be the one who is trustworthy, reliable and eager to learn or work.
Once you maintain this professional behavior, you will suddenly find that you’re being recommended by clients, you’re receiving top-notch customer testimonials and you’re becoming a hot commodity and high in demand. These are important traits to have on the Internet.
As Entrepreneur magazine wrote in September 2015:
“As you begin to sharpen your personal brand, the right opportunities will start coming your way. People will begin to see that you’re know what you’re taking about, and they’ll invite you to be a part of their stories or news pieces.
“However, don’t forget how important it is for you to have accomplished something yourself. You can’t talk about what you haven’t done, because that will take away from your personal brand. Be open about your shortcomings and weaknesses. This will make you all the more human and relatable.”
Final Thoughts
Digital marketing is constantly changing. Sometimes it’s really hard to keep track of what works and what doesn’t, what brands/clients want and what they don’t want. It’s always evolving.
There is an entire ocean of brands, and they want to be flooded with ideas that work.
Essentially, they want any concept that will give their sales a shot in the arm, and what will make them seem hip and cool in the eyes of the very important 18-to-35 demographic. This is where you’ll make a significant contribution and perhaps even a major impact.
You’ve studied the industry, you’ve generated ideas, you’ve tried out different technologies. It’s now up to you to employ everything you know and help brands emit their messages to millennials in a fun, unique and energetic way. Something that’s different from what we’ve been accustomed to for all of these years. You, as a millennial, can liven things up!
I have a new book out for Economic Collapse News. It’s called “The War on Cash,” an ebook about how governments, banks and central banks are trying to kill cash.
Here is the description:
“Consumers’ use of cash continues to decline all over the world, while financial minds argue the obliteration of physical money. Governments, banks and economists want to eliminate cash altogether, citing concerns over illicit activities. But what’s the real motive behind the war on cash, and why should you be worried? We dive into why the elite want cash gone, what technologies are replacing it and how you can protect yourself in this global financial war.”
You can get it for $0.99. If you sign up for ECN’s daily newsletter, you can download it for free. It should be available for a physical copy soon.
Andrew Moran 