Quill & Ink Enterprise

20 Great Websites Where You Can Learn Something New Every Day

element5-digital-OyCl7Y4y0Bk-unsplash (1) Learning something new daily is one of the top ways to keep the mind sharp. The brain is a muscle that you must frequently exercise to stay in tip-top shape. Discovering a new skill, language, craft, or instrument is a great way to put your mind to work. The problem most people run into is feeling like you have too much going on to start thinking about signing up for a class. You can no longer use that excuse in this digital age! There are many different websites and apps where you can learn something new while enjoying a quick coffee break at work.

Take a look at the sites below where you’ll be able to learn something new every day.

Course offering sites

If you never took a philosophy class and have always wanted to, you can now do so from the comfort of your own home. You will find more than video lectures online. These websites will assign you homework, and you’ll have access to the instructor via email. All of these sites are a great resource if you are looking to advance in your career or looking to change careers altogether.

Coursera: Affordable online courses from the world’s top universities. Get a degree in data science, computer science, business, and more.

Udemy: Similar to Coursera, but less formal and is not associated with any university in particular. You can learn topics to excel in your career taught by top experts in the field.

Linkedin Learning: LinkedIn Learning teaches business topics like career development, leadership, marketing, and tools to help you become a better employee or boss.

Codecademy: Learn to code for web development, computer programming, or data science. Practice and submit your work to their community of coaches and learn how to code in no time.

OpenLearn: Brush up on your skills and take a course with OpenLearn. They have courses on every topic you can think of, and best of all, you have access to everything for free.

Learn a new language

Whether it is to expand your business, or get ready for a trip to another country, learning a language has never been more accessible. You can hop online for ten minutes a day and learn a new phrase in Portuguese and then the next day learn the same sentence in French.

Babbel: Babbel is an interactive platform that teaches you new languages in relatable contexts so you can remember words easier.

Busuu: Join a community of those learning a new language! Get feedback and personalized plans to help you become a fluent speaker of another language.

Memrise: Expand your vocabulary with Memrise, a language teaching app where you can learn on the go.

Duolingo: Duolingo is free and makes learning a new language fun. The platform is less formal and uses games versus flashcards to teach you.

HelloTalk: Learn a language by chatting with native speakers around the world.

Learn a new craft or hobby

Even the busiest people have time to enjoy something completely unrelated to their careers. Learn how to draw, sew, or even become a rockstar with these websites.

Drawspace: All the fundamentals for learning how to draw beautiful and intricate images.

Cooksmarts: Get the basic cooking skills everyone needs to be an excellent chef.

Blueprint: Previously Craftsy, Blueprint has project kits and instructors to teach you how to sew, quilt, dance, and more!

Yousician: Learn how to play guitar, bass, piano, the ukulele, or even how to sing. You can get real-time feedback and teacher-crafted lessons to get you to become the musician you’ve always dreamed of being.

DoYogaWithMe: Take a 5-minute break in your workday and get a good stretch in!

Learn to learn

General info sites are also a great resource to keep in your back pocket. Rather than browsing social media while in line at the grocery store, head on over to these sites. They have everything from topics like “the secret to giving day-old french fries a second life” to “how to remove screws with stripped heads.” Take a look for yourself!

Wikihow: Learn from others how to do anything! Wikihow is a worldwide collaboration site with articles written by users explaining step-by-step ways about how to go about a task.

Big Think: Big Think is another site that has articles, videos, and podcasts that teaches lessons by experts in the field.

Zidbits: Learn something new daily and explore the fascinating articles Zidbits offers. Their articles answer questions you never thought to ask!

TedTalks: TED’s website has videos from leading experts that are motivational, interesting, and worth spending 10 to 20 minutes a day watching.

Wonder How To: Learn lifehacks you can use in your everyday life with Wonder How To.

Challenge yourself to find time to learn something new each day! With all of these websites available, you’ll be sure to find your next favorite activity or skill that will help you excel in your career.

Enjoy your time learning without having to worry about website development. I am more than excited to create website content for motivated entrepreneurs who value the importance of continuous learning. Learn more about my web content here or email me at quillandinkenterprise@gmail.com Talk soon!

I’ve Rebranded

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Hi Friends!

I’m excited to announce that I’ve rebranded. After taking some time to reflect (and handle a toddler who is constantly on the move), I recognized my strengths and weaknesses in my business. I titled my original adventure as being a digital marketer, an umbrella term I defined as offering social media and advertising services in addition to blog management.

All the success that came with me, stemmed from the writing required to do those tasks. I will now only offer writing services and no longer manage social media accounts or ad accounts. Honestly, I am no longer passionate about either and rather put time and energy into something that I enjoy.

The services I now offer under the name Quill and Ink Enterprise are blog management, email newsletters, copy, and website content. My copy service includes product descriptions and advertisements. With regards to advertisements, I originally offered to create audiences and monitor ad success. However, that is no longer a part of that service although I can offer what guidance I can as far as creating audiences and budget use.

The current social media trends disgust me (again, if I’m being honest) and Quill and Ink will no longer offer copy for social media posts. Again, I can offer advice. My first piece of advice, pay for the ads if you can or contact influencers who can promote your business. I suggest looking into ShareASale for affiliate marketing services.

My cost of services will stay the same. All quotes are made when we meet with a free initial consultation. Please send me an email to quillandinkenterprise@gmail.com for more information or to schedule a consultation.

Talk soon!

The Benefits Of Guest Blogging

Since working as a digital marketing specialist I have seen a lot of different takes on what is the best way to market a business. Is it ads? Email campaigns? Social media posts? It all sort of depends on who your audience is. You have to remember that not everyone is on social media so you need some sort of plan B to execute on.

Guest blogging is one marketing tactic to consider. It gives you an opportunity to network with those in your industry that aren’t direct competitors. Back when I started my own blog, Bus Fair, I reached out to a whole network of people who would be interested in my stories. I found a lot of those in the community were coming together to bring attention to epilepsy awareness. There were blog relays, interviews, and social networks all looking for people to share their stories.

Still not convinced there is a way guest blogging can help out your website? Keep reading why you should give it a go to see how things play out.

Backlinks

This is by far the number one reason people guest blog. Moz explains, “Backlinks also called ‘inbound links’ or ‘incoming links,’ are created when one website links to another. The link to an external website is called a backlink.” The more sites you have links on, the better. Search engines will recognize you for being a credible source and rank you higher in search engines.

Increase brand visibility

One way to become the person or company who knows what they are doing is to reiterate that message all over the web. If you post on a site that sees over 20,000 people and of that number 5,000 people views your post. You may not get all 5,000 people to your site, but you will get a good chunk of people. The more times you guest post, the more times people will see your name and become curious about what you have to offer.

Develop your authority

My most recent opportunity for guest blogging was for Jane Dope where I wrote a personal essay, How CBD Helps Me Manage My Epilepsy. I shared my experience using CBD to control my seizures. After writing on the topic for several years now, I knew what people want to read regarding CBD and epilepsy. I had people not only coming to Bus Fair, but they also emailed me to find out more about seizures, surgeries, and alternative medicines.

Build your subscriber base

What’s the first thing that people see when they come to your site? Most likely it is a popup asking them to subscribe to your email list. Once you have established your authority on a topic, people will click on the backlink to go visit your site. If you’ve done your job right, they’ll be interested in learning more and sign up for an email newsletter.

If blogging isn’t your thing, I get that. That’s why I’m here to handle it all for you with my blog management service. Click below to contact me with the details of your project and I’ll put together a proposal that will work for you!

5 Laws Of Content Marketing That Results In Success

I recently had a conversation with a new client about how content marketing could help her business. She said that it takes up too much of her day and she doesn’t have the time to create a website, write blog articles, and manage email blasts. “I need to focus on my business! I don’t understand why some of my posts reach a large audience, while others don’t.”

“You’re not alone in wondering why that is,” I told her.

There’s no denying that creating content for your business is time-consuming and if you don’t know the right formula, you won’t see the results that other businesses brag about. Keep reading to learn what you need to know before creating content that connects with your customers.

5 Laws Of Content Marketing That Results In Success

Define your goals. What is it that you want to be the result of creating content? Is it for more followers on social media? Or perhaps you want to rank hire in Google searches. Whatever it may be, defining your goals provides the foundation for your marketing campaigns.
Define your audience. You may already know who they are, but go further than age and gender. Look at interests, organizations your customers belong to, careers, job titles, etc.
Identify keywords. Research your competitors and see what keywords they are using that makes them appear on the first few pages of a search. You can also go to websites that have a keyword bank ready to go.
Create a schedule. Are you going to post an article once a week? Twice a week? All of this matters. Posting frequently doesn’t necessarily mean you will rank hire or have more people opening your emails. What matters is the quality of content. That will draw visitors to your site, and turn them into customers.
Track your analytics. It is tedious to keep track of how many people visit your site or open your emails, but those numbers will direct you as to what content they want to see more of.

Do you still need some guidance?

That’s why I’m here! Please contact me for your FREE demo to see how my services can help increase engagement, gain followers, and free up your time. It takes less than five minutes to fill out. All I need to know is a little bit about your business and what you hope to get out of it.

I look forward to chatting with you soon!

The Secret to Exceptional Self-Discipline Isn’t What You Think Via Inc. Magazine

I follow Inc. Magazine on Facebook and while scrolling through my newsfeed I saw an article about self-discipline by Jessica Stillman. I love reading articles and books about how to become a better person. Or how to become a more productive person. Here’s the catch. I don’t relate to everything on those listicles posted on every social media platform there is.

I’m not a morning person. I can’t stand running. For the life of me I couldn’t accept the Keto diet (I love pasta too much). AND I am an introvert that is scared off by large groups of people.

The thing is, if you force yourself to do those things you don’t like, you are actually being counterproductive. I noticed that with my most recent adventure with trying out the Keto diet. Every meal I made was bland and tasteless despite following recipe after recipe.

It all makes sense. The diet was something I felt forced to do and thus I failed at it. Now that I am back on my usual diet and regime, I am happier and I can see that effect on other aspects of my life. Including the work I produce.

Interesting stuff to think about. I encourage you to check out Stillman’s article here.

While you’re practicing discipline and focusing on your business, I can help by keeping your blog and social media accounts running. Check out all of my services and contact me for your free demo.