like my personal Advice To You if you’re a small artist with a modest amount of success selling your designs on RedBubble, like maybe you make a couple hundred dollars... You’ll make so much more money just buying some sticker paper, self-adhesive laminate sheets, stamps and envelopes and just starting a little Etsy shop. 

Hi, when you say that you understand completely the reasons why people don't like the better binder project you're being very presumptuous. It's not the same as well-meaning but ignorant abled people attempting to solve highly complex and expensive problems of access for disabled people. And furthermore, the way you talk about this is really condescending and frankly just...you make assumptions that you understand the intimacies of how people think and feel that are just not true or analogous.

Like I mean this in the nicest possible way, but cisgender people’s relation to trans people is just not the same, and it would be a lot less patronizing and transphobic of you to *not* characterize every possible negative and/or critical reaction to this blog as being a reflexive anger and automatic rejection instead of being a justified and/or reasonable wariness. Like I absolutely hope this project succeeds, but there’s no reason to think that you’re qualified to make it succeed.

I’m going to use this also as a way to respond to your post, which didn’t show up on my Acitivity, so I’m glad someone pointed me to it.

1. My ability to listen to criticism

For the last couple weeks, I’ve been monitoring the activity of my posts, especially looking for people saying things like, “This will never work”, “this is a bad idea”, “won’t work for me” and so forth. Then a lot of the time I’ve messaged them to say, “Hi, I want to hear about your thoughts and experiences, do you have time to talk?”. I’m in a little bit of a backlog with this because some really smart and informed people have been commenting on it but I’ve been busy. For example, if I got the chance to listen to @the-scottish-costume-guy at greater length and in greater detail in the next couple days, I’d be really happy.

So while some criticisms have been reflexive rage or despair, others have been completely on point and I’ve already integrated them into my design (for example, recommendations to slope the boning diagonally down and to the outside). And others have been logical on the surface, but don’t apply to the specific thing I am trying to do (eg. “corsets are expensive”)

2. My credentials

I’ve been sewing seriously for the last 20 years. In some of that time, I’ve been paid for my work. For much of it, I’ve both been reading academic sources on the topic, and sewing in the workshops of vastly more experienced sewists. Over and above all my other sewing experience, I’ve made and worn numerous corsets. There is no set certification for a “professional tailor” but yes, if I wanted to do that as a job, I do have the resume and portfolio for it.

Tailoring isn’t actually the field you want here, though. Since beginning this project, I’ve located and contacted several researchers in the fields of human ecology, mechanical engineering, and biomedical engineering, who have relevant expertise. None have yet gotten back to me, probably partly because it’s summer. If someone more qualified than me wants to work on this project, I am 100% willing to collaborate with them, or hand the project off to them.

3. My profiting from this project

I’ve already made some very particular and pointed decisions about this. If I wanted to significantly profit from this project, I would:

Keep my R&D process secret

Patent and license the design

Sell patterns of the design I made for individuals wanting to make their own, individual, copy

Sell binders I myself made, or possibly outsource their production and then sell the result

Send cease&desist letters threatening to sue anyone selling copies of my binder, or any other binder on similar design principles, or any pattern for such a binder

Demand that anyone wanting to profit from the use of my design principles pay me a licensing fee.

Meanwhile, my plan right now includes:

Publicizing my concepts and progress in a way freely accessible to anyone with an Internet connection

Maintaining a record of my progress to keep anyone else from claiming to be its inventor and licensing it in exploitative ways

Encouraging feedback from as many people as possible and seeking out trans, nb, and genderqueer perspectives 

Coming soon: Creating a survey about wearer experiences and health outcomes, asking anyone involved in this project to report back so the data can be disseminated and analyzed. If this project and my design are a failure, I will say so.

Making design concepts, and in the future, patterns and tutorials, freely available to anyone with an internet connection, and agreeing to their republication to reach other audiences

Only receiving donations from people who understand that this is an experimental venture, posed as the question, “What if I tried this thing,” and only profiting from items that I have ensured people could get for themselves some other way. (eg “Here’s a free tutorial on making this binder using items from the dollar store. However, if you want to buy a $20 kit of high-quality items pre-cut for your convenience, here’s my Etsy”)

Providing prototypes to their intended wearers for free in return for feedback about the wearers’ experiences, instead of selling half-baked designs for a profit

Openly encouraging other sewists to suggest design improvements, make their own versions, or make binders for other people without paying me

In the future, I’m very open to stepping back in my own role in this project, and handing it off to trans people who have taken the idea and run with it.

From a legal perspective, I have probably already ruined my chances of making big bucks from this project, and I did that on purpose. From the beginning, I realized that it is very possible for me to be exploitative in how I handle this project. 

I honestly asked for money because I can’t pay for medications, groceries and utilities right now. I got about $300, which was enough to cover most of my monthly medical expenses. Most of the clients I see as a psychotherapist are disabled, living on extremely limited incomes, and cannot pay me much more than the cost I pay to rent the room we meet in. I’m trying to survive and find a better job. If I had a full-time job and made a decent income, I would be funding this project out of my own pocket. I know how to market and monetize a project like this, and have, from the first, deliberately chosen not to, in large part because I’m cis and this isn’t my issue.

4. Binders over top surgery

This project has largely been inspired by a trans person with whom I have worked, whose parents were involved in a custody dispute beginning when they were 14. At 14 they realized they were trans, but they required the consent of both parents for medical procedures until the age of 18. One parent was extremely transphobic and would not consent to top surgery, although they didn’t see their child on a regular basis and didn’t know how they dressed and presented. During those 4 years, they used a binder as a way of dealing with the dysphoria that made them suicidal. Despite its negative physical health effects (pain, trouble breathing, rashes, etc) the binder was an essential aid to their mental health.

Yes, binding is a “stopgap” method compared to top surgery. However, one of my major areas of work is as a mental health therapist with LGBTQ people, especially teenagers. Not everyone can get top surgery, and not always as quickly as it is needed. Sometimes there is a gap you need to stop.

5. Why do we need better binders at all?

I didn’t go into this because I, frankly, had considered the need for improvements in binder technology so well-documented as to be completely obvious. Just today someone tagged this blog talking about how much they want it to work because “binding gives me rashes, makes my already shitty lungs hurt, makes my back hurt, and doesn’t actually work for me“ Would you like me to curate the research and accounts of people who have problems with the current models of binder available? Is that proof you in fact need?

7. Corsets are unsuitable/super gendered

Yep! That’s why I’m not making corsets. I’m trying to use the engineering elements from corsetry that would make the binder better, and make everything else as un-corset-like as possible. 

How possible this is is an open question right now. For example, corsets need to be fitted so precisely because they go from the bust to the hips, and therefore need the correct bust, waist, and hip measurement, and the correct height, and the correct ratio of all things to each other, and to have the correct vertical profile. My current hypothesis is that by making a binder that covers only the bust, I can eliminate many of these complexities. However, many informed observers of the project have told me that they think I’m wrong, and that the binder will need to extend to the waist to more evenly distribute the load of compression, and a garment that only goes around the chest will cause too much back pain over the long term. This is a question I think can honestly only be answered when I ship my prototypes to my genderqueer friend in Georgia, who shares my measurements and is eager to try each model out for hours/days/weeks and report back.

At present, I am experimenting with adaptations to sports bras, which I also know can be too gendered and induce dysphoria. I’m using them because my current project is aimed at people who have very little experience sewing, and therefore would benefit from only having to add a few elements to an already-constructed garment. After this, I want to see if I can transition those adaptations to something less gendered, like a tank top. After that, I can begin work on drafting a binder entirely from scratch, which, one hopes, I can make as ungendered as possible.

My askbox is open!

Valentine’s Day

So today is Valentine’s Day.

This means a lot to some, and not much to others. It brings about great joy... and great sadness. 

I have friends who have found love and are acting cute. Friends who have found love and are treating it like every other day. Friends who have just found love and are still in that giggly phase where even hearing the other’s name makes them blush. And friends who have yet to find love. Those who don’t care... and those who care very much. 

It makes me think about Valentine’s Day and what it means in general. Who is this holiday for? And what does this holiday mean to those who do or don’t celebrate it.

Children - When you’re a child and in school this can go a few ways. In general, you won’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend because you’ll be too young to appreciate what that means. You get to make cute crafts and fill out your chosen Valentines for the whole class. It’s a fun distraction from schoolwork and it’s supposed to encourage inclusivity. You bring Valentines for EVERYONE. Unlike what that classic episode of The Simpsons will have you believe... no one is Ralph. Even people who are bullied gets one day where they get cute cards and maybe a lollipop. I was bullied in Elementary school and that would be one day they layed off. I had one day of peace where I got to feel normal. I felt like maybe everyone didn’t hate me. As we get older, I almost think we need to bring back the process of giving our friends small cards to remind them that... maybe the whole world doesn’t hate them. Just a cute reminder that their friends love them.

Pre-teens - In Middle school, we love the old tradition of giving cards to everyone. People become “too cool” for friendship and the pressure to become couples starts to hurt those who aren’t ready or aren’t able to be in one. This is where the initial sadness comes in for most people. I remember seeing a few flowers and stuffed bears... but thinking back, there wasn’t a whole lot. A majority of people didn’t get anything or do anything for someone else. But those who did always seemed to want to rub it in others faces... causing the rest of us to feel somehow... left out. 

Teens - High School can be brutal... but is also where I met some great people who were all pretty about letting their friends know they are loved. Some of the clubs would do Valentines deliveries of Carnations and of Crush soda as a fundraiser. It’s generally so you can show off that you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend... but... it ended up being mostly friends who wanted their friends to know they were loved. I was generally unlucky in love and my depression made me sad in general... but I had a friend send me a Carnation just to make me smile one year. It was unexpected, and required nothing in return. It’s neat to see traditions that generally make single people feel left out twisted to help those same single people. This is why I think Galentines day is such a neat concept. It’s a much more positive spin on the old “Singles Awareness Day” that a lot of people hold onto. The only problem I have with it is that it seems unnecessarily gendered. I know Male identified people who may want to do friendship things as a distraction from all the “couple” things that are being thrown in their faces but they don’t have a name for theirs. 

Adults (Single) - When I was a young adult Valentine’s day became not so bad. I decided that I wouldn’t wallow. I had to work, but with the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, I would make cute sweets and share them with my friends. I would meet up with my friends at the arcade and we’d gorge on junk food and play games together. We would all be single together and even if someone was in a relationship, since our friends meet-up was never on the day of, they would still come hang with us. I understand that as you get older.... this becomes less viable. I haven’t had that meet up in a long time. People moving farther apart from each other... the arcade closing down... people having kids... we’re farther from each other before and it hurts. I miss that old tradition. If everyone wasn’t so far from each other... I’d try to get it together. But it also means I’d have to find another meeting place. I miss the old arcade.

Adults (in a relationship - new) - So this is where Valentine’s Day gets interesting. Different for everyone, I’ve noticed a few things. For new loves, everything around you just reinforces your feelings. You’re feeling that all the time anyway... why not join in on the fun? It’s new. My first Valentine’s Day with my husband when we first started dating, he bought me a large teddy bear with a heart that said “LOVE”. I still have that bear and that heart pillow. The bear watches over my plush pile and we gave the heart to the cats. I had never had a Valentine’s Day like that before and it was new and exciting. I did not expect it and I never expect anything for any Valentine’s Day. It shouldn’t be about expecting someone to show how they love you... it should be about showing someone else you love them. 

Adults (Relationship - ongoing) - This brings me to couples that have been around longer than a year. Society seems to have some ideas on what you’re SUPPOSED to do on Valentine’s Day. The standard seems to be buy flowers, chocolate, a card, and maybe some jewelry. Then dress up real nice and go to somewhere “nice”. Breaking this down, you end up spending a lot of money going to crowded places where the service is probably not great (because of how many people are there) for what is essentially a formality. Roses are crazy expensive. If you must buy a bouquet, consider one of the many options you could go with instead. 1 - If you must do roses, consider other colours. There are usually many to choose from, and the other colours are usually less expensive. If your partner likes the colour yellow, why not yellow roses? I know yellow roses are for friendship, but if that’s what they like, do it! 2 - Why not a different flower? There are hundreds of flowers available in just about every colour you could imagine. It will make you seem more like an individual than the standard. They will stand out. 3 - Go to a craft store and buy fake flowers. Make your own bouquet out of whatever flowers you like and it won’t die. Your partner will get to enjoy them for however long they like, and knowing you made it yourself would be a lot more meaningful. 4 - Get an “Alternative” bouquet. I’ve seen bouquets of small plushes, fruit, candy... just about anything you could think of. With stuff like fruit (edible arrangement style) than you get the joy of a bouquet but instead of it dying, you just eat it! It’s a healthier choice than the candy bouquets but those have the same effect. Look a bouquet! But then you get to eat it. And hopefully share it. The plush bouquets are adorable and interesting. Imagine delivering a bouquet of small plush unicorns to your love at their work. If your partner likes something like Pokemon, Yokai Watch, or anything that has small plushes available, you can just buy a bunch of small plushes/toys and attatch them to sticks, wrapped in tissue paper and ribbon. Then after it’s done being a bouquet, you have a bunch of cute toys! Enough with bouquets... not everyone wants them. Chocolates... well... everyone loves a good chocolate right? Nope. Some people don’t like chocolates, or just don’t like certain kinds. A variety box can be nice if you know they like just about everything... but I have heard many women complain about those heart shaped variety boxes. They only like a few in the box and feel wasteful for not eating the rest. If you must buy candy for your partner... just buy them their favorite. Even if giving them a bag of Rolos may not feel romantic... if they like Rolos than they’ll be happy as a clam! Buy Gummy worms if it’s what they like. Are they hiding Reeses cups because you’re always eating their Reeses? Buy them Reeses and promise not to eat them. It’ll mean something. I also think it’s silly to need to buy candy for your partner specifically on Valentine’s day though. I buy my husband candies throughout the year. If I find some caramels in a Clearance rack... I get them for him and leave them on his nightstand so he finds them when he wakes up. Candy is something you can do year round. Surprise your partner with a candy sometimes. it’s extra special when it’s not for any particular reason. A card... I mentioned earlier in this post that I think friendship cards should become a thing again. But when you’re in a relationship? Not as much. Especially if you live together. I find sending cards if you’re far away from each other is powerful... but face to face? I don’t see the point as much. Why spend 5-12 dollars (depending on the card) on something you read once and then have to decide on what to do with it. If you keep it, where do you put it? Won’t they pile up over the years? If you throw it away... isn’t that a waste of the money spent when you could have written a heartfelt note on regular paper instead? Jewelry... This is really dependent on the person. Some people wear a lot of jewelry and some people don’t wear any at all. Jewelry is hard to shop for in the wild... it’s completely overpriced. If your partner likes jewelry... my recommendation is to support small artists. Etsy is a great place to look for jewelry a lot cheaper than at jewelry stores. Many great pieces with many designs and colors. Many interesting stones you don’t even see in jewelry stores. Plus... if your partner is a nerd... there are many pieces that incorporate designs from your favorite properties. Custom work is available too. You don’t need real gems when man-made looks just as good most of the time. If they care about how “real” the stone is... there may be a different problem at work here. Finally... the nice meal out. This one is interesting... When you think about a nice romantic dinner... you think of a nice quiet restaurant with your partner... where you order quickly, have your food without too much fuss and just enjoy each other’s company. Unfortunately... that’s not gonna happen. All the nice restaurants are gonna be full to the brim with lines out the door waiting to be seated. People getting in bad moods and being served by waiters and waitresses who are forced to be there. You’re not going to have a nice night. No one is. If you have plans for something, everything will go wrong. And for those who work in food service or retail... you’re gonna have to put any romantic plans on hold because you have to help everyone else try to have a magical night. Who cares how you feel right? People who work food service and retail aren’t real people... Or at least that’s how I think everyone feels about it. They don’t stop to think that maybe we want to have a cute night with those we love. No one thinks about us at all. (The tips don’t even get any better) If you’re thinking about a nice dinner... don’t. You’re MUCH better off doing what I do. Just treat yourselves sometimes throughout the year. Maybe you go for Sushi on a random Saturday in June. Maybe you find a really cute Chinese place and sneak away there on a Tuesday evening. If it’s a random day... it’ll be much more magical. You’ll get much better service... you’ll have your quiet restaurant moment with quick service. Everything you think of with your romantic evening? Possible just about any day BUT Valentine’s Day.

Spread out your love people. Doing it all on one day is exhausting. And expensive. Remember your friends on Valentine’s Day. Fight the idea that it’s only for couples. Couples should do cute things for each other all year long. Friends sometimes need that extra reminder.

Reevaluating the DMCA 22 Years Later: Let’s Think of the Users

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is one of the most important laws affecting the Internet and technology. Without the DMCA’s safe harbors from crippling copyright liability, many of the services on which we rely, big and small, commercial and noncommercial, would not exist. That means Youtube, but also Wikipedia, Etsy, and your neighborhood blog.  At the same time, the DMCA has encouraged private censorship and hampered privacy, security, and competition.

The DMCA is 22 years old this year and the Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property is marking that occasion with a series of hearings reviewing the law and inviting ideas for “reform.” It launched this week with a hearing on “The Digital Millennium Copyright Act at 22: What is it, why was it enacted, and where are we now,” which laid out the broad strokes of the DMCA’s history and current status. In EFF’s letter to the Committee, we explained that Section 1201 of the DMCA has no redeeming value. It has caused a lot of damage to speech, competition, innovation, and fair use. However, the safe harbors of Section 512 of the DMCA have allowed the Internet to be an open and free platform for lawful speech. 

This hearing had two panels. The first featured four panelists who were involved in the creation of the DMCA 22 years ago. The second panel featured four law professors talking about the current state of the law. A theme emerged early in the first panel and continued in the second: the conversation about the DMCA should not focus on whether it is and is not working for companies, be they Internet platforms, major labels and studios, or even, say, car manufacturers. Users—be they artists, musicians, satirists, parents who want to share videos of their kids, nonprofits trying to make change, repair shops or researchers—need a place and a voice. 

The intent of the DMCA 22 years ago was to discourage copyright infringement but create space for innovation and expression, for individuals as well as Hollywood and service providers. Over the course of the last two decades, however,  many have forgotten who is supposed to occupy that space. As we revisit this law over the course of many hearings this year, we need to remember that this is not “Big Content v Big Tech” and ensure that users take center stage. Thankfully, at least at this hearing, there were people reminding Congress of this fact.

Section 512: Enabling Online Creativity and Expression

The DMCA has two main sections. The first is Section 512, which lays out the "safe harbor" provisions that protect service providers who meet certain conditions from monetary damages for the infringing activities of their users and other third parties on the net. Those conditions include a notice and takedown process that gives copyright holders an easy way to get content taken offline and, in theory, gives users redress if their content is wrongfully targeted. Without the safe harbor, the risk of potential copyright liability would prevent many services from doing things like hosting and transmitting user-generated content. Thus the safe harbors, while imperfect, have been essential to the growth of the Internet as an engine for innovation and free expression.

In the second part of the hearing, Professor Rebecca Tushnet, a Harvard law professor and former board member of the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), stressed how much that the safe harbor has done for creativity online. Tushnet pointed out that OTW runs the Archive of Our Own, home to over four million works from over one million users and which receives over one billion page views a month. And yet, the number of DMCA notices averages to less than one per month. Most notices they receive are invalid, but the volunteer lawyers for OTW must still spend time and expense to investigate and respond. This process—small numbers of notices and individual responses—is how most services experience the DMCA. A few players—the biggest players—however, rely on automated systems to parse large numbers of complaints. “It’s important,” said Tushnet, “not to treat YouTube like it was the Internet. If we do that, the only service to survive will be YouTube.”

We agree. Almost everything you use online relies in some way on the safe harbor provided by section 512 of the DMCA. Restructuring the DMCA around the experiences of the largest players like YouTube and Facebook will hurt users, many of which would like more options rather than fewer.

“The system is by no means perfect, there remain persistent problems with invalid takedown notices used to extort real creators or suppress political speech, but like democracy, it’s better than most of the alternatives that have been tried,” said Tushnet. “The numbers of independent creators and the amount of money spent on content is growing every year. Changes to 512 are likely to make things even worse.”

Section 1201: Copyright Protection Gone Horribly Wrong

On the other hand, the DMCA also includes Section 1201, the "anti-circumvention" provisions that bar circumvention of access controls and technical protection measures, i.e. digital locks on software. It was supposed to prevent copyright "pirates" from defeating things like digital rights management (DRM is a form of access control) or building devices that would allow others to do so. In practice, the DMCA anti-circumvention provisions have done little to stop "Internet piracy.” Instead, they’ve been a major roadblock to security research, fair use, and repair and tinkering.

Users don’t experience Section 1201 as a copyright protection. They experience it as the reason they can’t fix their tractor, repair their car, or even buy cheaper printer ink. And attempts to get exemptions to this law for these purposes—which, again, are unrelated to copyright infringement and create absurd conditions for users trying to use things they own—are always met with resistance. 

Professor Jessica Litman, of University of Michigan Law School, laid out the problem of 1201 clearly:

The business that make products with embedded software have used the anti-circumvention provisions to discourage the marketing of compatible after-market parts or hobble independent repair and maintenance businesses. Customers who would prefer to repair their broken products rather than discard and replace them face legal obstacles they should not. It’s unreasonable to tell the owner of a tractor that if her tractor needs repairs, she ought to petition the Librarian of Congress for permission to make those repairs. 

1201 covers pretty much anything that has a computer in it. In 1998, that meant a DVD; in 2020, it means the Internet of Things, from TVs to refrigerators to e-books to tractors.  Which is why farmers trying to repair, modify or test those things—farmers, independent mechanics, security researchers, people making ebooks accessible to those with print disabilities, and so on—either have to abandon their work, risk being in violation of the law (including criminal liability), or ask the Library of Congress for an exemption to the law every three years. 

Put simply, the existing scheme doesn’t discourage piracy. Instead, it prevents people from truly owning their own devices; and, as Litman put it, “prevents licensed users from making licensed uses.”

The DMCA is a mixed bag. Section 512’s safe harbor makes expression online possible, but the specific particulars of the system have failures. And section 1201 has strayed far away from whatever its original purpose was and hurts users far more than it helps rightsholders. To see why, the DMCA hearings must include testimony focused needs and experiences of all kinds of users and services. 

from Deeplinks https://ift.tt/3bD7u6j

Are Twitter Lead Gen Cards Worthwhile? Here`s My Case Study

I lately bought Twitter ads and also used their new list building 'cards,' a type of advertisement where Twitter customers could subscribe to your newsletter without leaving Twitter. Here's what my experience was like.

Background: Twitter List building Cards Sponsored Tweets

These ads have actually drawn a great deal of focus, because obtaining customers is always an obstacle for e-newsletter authors and also these cards assure in order to help them do it easily and at range. Offered you can monetize the customers, who would not desire to acquire these ads?

I personally was rather excited by the possibility, because I had actually made use of ad.ly in the past to acquire tweets for The Advanced SEO Book, as part of my listing building for that. And they worked really darn well. Similar to other advertisements, they required optimization, however I saw out of eviction that I obtained leads - great deals of them. (I quit utilizing ad.ly when they pivoted from being a mass market for advertisements to being a star endorsement system. I don't have $25,000 for a tweet, thanks.)

My Experience

I run RockThePitch.com, a football training newsletter.

There was a bug starting, at which point their assistance kindly helped me.

Here's the very first funded tweet I made:

And here's the second ad:

Note that in people's timelines, they do not see the web link but rather see the lead gen card as shown listed below:

Seems pretty straightforward:

Attractive offer? Check

Clear language? Check

Call to action? Check

The towns where it's a bit weak are that:

the shoes don't comparison with the telephone call to activity but instead mix in, and

there's a slight disconnect in between the heading, which simply asks if individuals desire the cleats at a discount rate, and the telephone call to activity which claims get the coupon by email.

Here's just how the very first tweet done together with the above lead gen card. (I made use of the very same lead gen card for both tweets. though one was a duplicate of the other with different backend monitoring. This altered absolutely nothing to the user encounter though, so does not impact conversion.)

The problem as you could see is that I'm paying a lot for engagement - right here just clicks - yet the significance of these clicks consists of every little thing from clicks on my username to clicks on the image it appears. Did they a minimum of pay off in new fans? Nope. Those were truly worthless clicks.

Some turned up on my website, yet Google Analytics reveals considerably less (12-20 max, far from the 75 listed total amount for this and also the other card I'll receive a minute.)

For now, Twitter is enhancing to increase involvement (e.g. revealing the ad to those most likely to engage), without respect for conversions. It makes good sense from their viewpoint, yet I kept racking up involvement yet there weren't small e-mail signups. That does not make me wish to acquire even more, obviously.

This isn't really brand-new certainly. Facebook offers the exact same nonsense to its advertisers, telling them to buy involvement. You obtained a like, 3 shares as well as a clappy rabbit! Woohooo!

The fact that do something does not make it right, nonetheless. I hope that Twitter permits its advertisers to buy exactly what they want, as well as not bundle together brand (' interaction') with straight feedback (' clicks to my web site or leads'). It would make wise company sense too, bring about higher quotes on the part of its marketers, that can demonstrate to better ROI.

My 2nd sponsored tweet with the above card style was a little bit much more particular, as I mentioned. I called out Robin van Persie followers, since I was targeting users comparable to his followers. (You cannot target an individual account's followers, just those comparable to them.) I also particularly mentioned emails in the call to action of the tweet, 'Get soccer deal emails.'

What targeting did I make use of for the cards?

I'm old enough to know that you require clear targeting. For every tweet, I targeted desktop computer users only, man, in the UNITED STATE. Then each tweet targeted Tweeters like a particular individual's fans, Robin van Persie in the one case and the United States Male's National Group + US Football for the other.

In knowledge, I made 2 mistakes here.

The first is that Twitter itself tells you that their keyword targeting is better for purchase intent. So I didn't see that and went with users- mistake number one. Error second was that I targeted the entire USA.

I believe it's fair to claim that some areas are more probable to play a lot - and probably acquire cleats accordingly - family member to other places. E.g. If you're shoveling snow 4 months a year (hi NY), you most likely play much less football. It's the same if you remain in a city forest like Manhattan. If you're in the south, however ... Twitter's user interface made it appear like I needed to target individual nations as well as considering that my associate offers were only great for the US, I targeted the US solely. I might attempt looking at Google Trends data for geographies to target following time ...

Let's speak about bidding on Sponsored Tweets, while we're at it.

I proposal max $1.01 each 'involvement' (really hoping naively that they would treat me perfectly and offer me leads for around this cost) for both tweets. Twitter was encouraging me to bid more, something like $1.30 - $1.80 if memory serves, and even higher. The suggested proposals run out whack with just what you should bid to obtain your ad shown. They say that you'll get to a greater portion of your potential audience that manner in which, however I do not know if that makes any kind of functional difference in ad serving.

For example, you could think of that somebody that overlooked one advertisement revealed in the direction of the top of their feed is most likely to disregard succeeding ones lower down. Does quote impact placement in Twitter timelines? I think that's what meant by them claiming you'll be revealed to a wider audience, but I do not believe their documents defines exactly just what happens with the bidding.

For a subsequent click focused project, I bid max $1.85, regarding mid array when they were recommending $1.50 - $2.20. Unsurprisingly, the typical expense per engagement was greater, by 18 cents, from $0.51 to $0.69. Not that I in fact respect 'engagements,' yet instead clicks. Here once more my analytics revealed a much reduced variety of clicks compared to reported by Twitter. It's quite strange since I do not see why it would certainly be so compelling to click my username ... But I swerve. Much more on that in a future post.

Twitter's documents for funded tweets as well as straight response

If you look at the study for advertisers planning to make sales, lots of mention non-sales metrics. They read like 'interaction this,' 'fans that.' There's a location for that - at the top of the funnel. If you wish to target all-time low of the channel, these instance studes are quite outlining the problem of carrying out direct reaction marketing when it's bundled with brand advertising and marketing. I discovered that squandered my time.

Here are a few of the much more pertinent situation researches for direct reaction: Bonobos pants, Financial Times, HowAboutWe, DoubleDutch B2b application. Much less beneficial were Asda, Dominos (begun! you men remain in the most direct feedback group ever before!!), Cirque du Soleil, CustomMade, Etsy as well as others.

They likewise do not discuss these marketers' bidding process at all.

Conclusion about Twitter Sponsored Tweets and Lead Generation Cards

In overall, the above examination simply set you back $25, so I'll be the first to admit that you can't draw clear-cut conclusions from this about whether the list building cards deserve it. I could think of maximizing the projects to obtain a cost each lead (CPL) below $1, and hopefully listed below $0.50 ... however the inquiry is whether it will inevitably be successful when I compare purchase and emailing prices to revenue. Currently paying $3 - $13 each email is not profitable.

For what it deserves, when I began advertising on Reddit, my CPL was additionally concerning $10/lead, and also I obtained it to $0.66. (They because elevated their costs considerably.)

Some various other monitorings are that:

these tests took a LOOOT of time to establish. Hrs as well as hours. It's not just composing the tweets or lead gen card duplicate - that's the simple part, certainly. There was a whole lot of backend job to do because if browsers do not sustain lead gen card capability, you need a back-up LINK that Twitter could send people to. That indicates producing a touchdown page, establishing e-mail purchase tracking etc. Furthermore, being an associate, I needed to discover proper offers to promote as well as so forth. A minimum of Twitter doesn't exist to you like Google does as well as claim that it takes simply 5 minutes to start.

I disapproval strongly bidding for engagement, and also think Twitter would certainly have an even more engaging product if I might bid on clicks to my website or leads directly. Twitter could still guard users as well as the customer encounter from bad top quality advertisements, just by making use of better tools such as ad rates as well as distribution caps. E.g. If you're doing badly with individuals, your expense per impression goes way up, as well as if you do super severely, your advertisements reveal much less and less.

There are a great deal of various targeting settings to explore. Besides for the different geographies (states, cities) I could target, there are also opportunities with mobile, targeting females and so on. Component of this is that I'm attempting to target individuals just like myself, as well as cut corners on research.

If I wish to do this seriously, I have to spend a few hundred dollars, procedure and also maximize carefully. If you have an interest in reviewing such material, remark listed below and/or send this article to Inbound or Growth Cyberpunks, as well as I'll write a followup.

The New Frugality.

Online Shopping Information is designed to become your one-stop shop for all your purchasing necessities. He has hidden bullet spots in the wall along with posters marketing beer, and filled in a large gap the militants made responsible for the kitchen space sink, which enabled them to removal undiscovered right into the outlet adjacent. Artemisia Botanicals is actually Salem's greatest buy handmade mops, sticks, and clothing. All that you need to provide to shop online is your house address and also your bank card or even your debit card variety. Even with being electronic know-how, nevertheless, Generation Z would really instead outlet forthcoming than on the web, baseding upon a latest questionnaire by the National Retail Alliance (NRF) and IBM. Episode variety 2 from the set locates the crew managing extensive metallic work troubles certain to a vehicle produced off the junkyard for rebirth into a stock car. If you wish to go a bit even more excessive, discover sound different colors in exotic tones from vivid orange, fantastic lime eco-friendly and very hot pink to include a touch of the abundant fruit products you find in the isles.

kauf-Wert.De It stands up to factor SUPERVALU will definitely remain to sign over market reveal to competitors that use more prominent items, at reduced rates. Professional Mecânico, em produtos e serviços para Hot Rod, preparação de motores e afins. Gilbert's Gun Shop in Frankfort, Kentucky, expects to sell less high-capacity journals over the holidays since consumers no more anxiety they will definitely be actually prohibited. One of the perks of opening up a drive thru coffee shop is actually that the expenses operating costs are actually less than those from a higher road coffee bar. I have actually offered typically vintage clothing & fashion jewelry on Ebay for several years (I never have or are going to have an Ebay shop) & back in February of this year, I opened up an Etsy store. This resulted in some uncommon clothing types for some youngsters, however most people impersonated preferred personalities of the time, just like individuals carry out today. Along with the power of the net you may purchase twenty-four hrs a time, seven days a full week. Many guys carry out not definitely want to purchase however they discover when this relates to a birthday celebration, anniversary or even vacation like Christmas time or Valentines Time ... shop they must. For parents which are dealing with obtaining a few educational playthings to make use of in your home, the tips of an instructor or even instructional store salesman might end up being a vital resource. Repair Shop Uses: Superb for the bike or auto garage, these coupons encourage replay upkeep and also sweeten the manage special deals. Shops like, Top Store plus all perform a substantial volume from organisation online as well as in some cases, only do business online. Remove the seeds from the cardamom capsule and if you don't wish a scorching mix, the seeds off the dried chilli. There are tons of places you could possibly go. Homebase and also Bandamp; Q, among others, are actually perhaps the most popular spots to get living room lights in the UK. The motion pictures, comics, and animations have made these personalities preferred along with any age teams.

Second Phone Number App for Online Sellers

The following post Second Phone Number App for Online Sellers was originally published to: Bonnie Lasley

A Free Phone Number for Home-Based Business Owners

Are you a small-time handcrafted Etsy seller? Do you resell some stuff on Amazon? Have you recently launched an online business of your own? If you are a business owner working at the comfort of your home, I have some information to share concerning phone number for business that may pique your interest.

A personal phone is obviously for yourself, family and friends. On the other hand, a business phone is exclusively for clients, investors and the like. But here’s my question: would you want to have two phones or rather use one?

Most people would surely want to keep their personal contacts separate from work or business. That suggests having two phones, right? But the downside of having more than one mobile phone is the hassle of carrying or holding and using them. It can also cost you extra money.

Dollar Digits is offering a second phone number without the purchase of another mobile device. This phone number is disposable and changeable, which users may find it very easy, convenient and flexible to use. You can modify the options of this app as many times as you want depending on your needs from deleting to adding a new number, selecting plans to canceling subscription.

Speaking which, it is only useful if you pay for the minimum one month plan. There’s no required long term subscription, unlike some applications and programs that force users to pay for the whole 6 months to a year. To know about the dollardigits app, read more below.

First seen on http://ift.tt/2xtIfPG

Second phone number app offer free number online. Dollar Digits, a newly launched second phone number app, is currently offering free phone numbers. While the app has not been out long, it is already one of the fastest growing second phone number apps. The current offer of free numbers is bound to increase the app’s popularity even more. This is not the first free service Dollar Digits has launched.

Downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play is already free. As are Dollar Digits to Dollar Digits calls. The Dollar Digits free phone number also comes with a free 3-day trial plan. As Dollar Digits does not rely on contracts, it is easy for users to pick the best plan for them.

Dollar Digits’ free phone numbers allow users to send or receive calls anonymously. While privacy is a major concern many Dollar Digits customers, they are also excited about the affordable rates on minutes and the free phone number.

Dollar Digits is quickly gaining in popularity with online daters. People are often reluctant to give out their phone number to new online friends. Using a Dollar Digits disposable phone number is allowing people to feel comfortable giving out their number early in their dating relationship. Now that phone numbers are free, online daters can encourage their significant other to use a

Dollar Digits number as well. This is especially wise as Dollar Digits to Dollar Digits calls are free. Dollar Digits is quickly making dating less stressful and complicated for online daters.

Providing a Dollar Digits number instead of a primary number is also an option for people who meet in bars or in any other location. The fewer people who have access to a primary number, the lower the chance of their being a problem.

Creator and owner Jack Lombardi is excited to offer more options to mobile phone users. The free phone numbers will allow users to try Dollar Digits with no risk and with no expenses.

After their free 3-day trial users can then decide if they would like to buy a plan and continue using their free phone number. The free phone number is not only for phone calls, but can also send and receive texts as well.

About Dollar Digits: Dollardigits.com is one of the leading anonymous phone number apps and provides users with a private phone number. This number is disposable but can be used for as long as a user wants. This phone number has messaging and voicemail and can be used in the same way as a primary number. Dollar Digits is pleased to see that their app is helping to give mobile phone users more options when communicating.

It’s in the nature of any business to receive inquiries by potential clients, customer assistance, and collaborations or offers by other businesses and companies, but also keep in mind that you’re likely to get angry phone calls, prank calls and complaints from time to time. You may avoid such negative ramifications if you are able to quickly and inexpensively change number.

Having a second phone number for business doesn’t affect your personal phone number either. You simply switch the number you use for personal or work reasons in a single button. As already mentioned, the user-interface is simple and easy. You can send text or MMS messages and dial a number or receive a call whenever you want.

A free second phone number through this app by Dollar Digits is a great tool to use for home-based business owners like you. Give it a try and enjoy its perks.

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Amazon is the future of retail, and it is unfolding right before our very eyes.

What started as an online bookstore has now turned into a one-stop shop for consumers.  In addition, people are starting to learn how to make money on Amazon as it turns to 3rd party sellers in various ways.

In 2015, Amazon surpassed retail giant Walmart in size and value.

The trend of online shopping has also affected other traditional retail stores. According to this NASDAQ article, while the war between online versus traditional retail enters a new round, the latter no longer hires as many employees. Also, malls nowadays are much emptier.

The reason for the shift of consumer behavior comes from the power bestowed upon the customers. Back then, they were at the mercy of retail stores as they drive from one store to another, hoping to get the best value. Nowadays, consumers can sit back at their homes while flipping through different online stores.

The convenience of online shopping is evident in this Wall Street Journal article, as sales continue to grow annually since 2014.

More importantly, a 2,000-person survey conducted by BloomReach reveals that 55% of users search on Amazon first for their online shopping needs, 27% more than Google.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “what do these all mean to me?”

The statistics above only prove that there is serious money to be made on Amazon!

As the trend of online shopping continues to become more of a fixture, you need to ride the Amazon wave now before it’s too late.

Today, I’m going to share how you can make money on Amazon…in 6 different ways. In fact, a lot of people have earned thousands of dollars, some of which will be featured below.

1. As an Amazon affiliate

Amazon Associates is its affiliate program that lets you earn up to 10% per commission for every product that you sell.  Now, I’ve shared many examples of Amazon affiliate websites; including all the niche site projects.

Once you sign up for free, you can begin choosing which products to sell. To earn commissions, you need to link to the product using a unique tracking ID when selling it. This way, the sale will be credited to your account.

Selling an Amazon product can be as simple as sharing the link on social media and your blog.

However, becoming a profitable Amazon affiliate takes time, effort, and lots of planning.

In fact, I have covered a lot of articles that prove the possibility of making big bucks with Amazon Associates.

One of those articles covers how I was able to make $3,000 a month a year after launching my Amazon niche site.

Key takeaways

Research your niche – To maximize your Amazon earnings, you need to build a site where you can sell the products. More importantly, you need to determine the niche your site will be about. Some niches will be much more profitable than others. On the other hand, the high-earning niches may not be in line with your hobbies or interests. Therefore, you need to find the perfect balance between profit and passion so you can sustain the site until it makes money.

Find the right keywords – If you want to rank your website on search results, you should be aware that not all search queries are the same. There are those that will be difficult to rank for but will potentially give you the most sales. In this case, I always use Long Tail Pro to help me find profitable keywords that have the least competition.

Develop a link building strategy – To boost your search rankings to the top, you must devise a link building plan using different tactics. Guest posting and influencer marketing are some of the better tactics you can use since both piggyback on the success of others. By guest posting on sites will lots of followers, you can tap into its readership and get them to visit your site in the hopes of converting them. Also, getting positive feedback from influencers in your industry lets you rub some of their authority onto your site.

2. Selling Private Label Products via Amazon FBA

I’ve now been selling private label products via Amazon for a couple of years now.  The potential to make money with the Amazon FBA program is huge (millions of dollars a year potential).

In a nutshell, you actually need to create a product, find a manufacturer, and start selling that product on Amazon.  It’s actually not as complicated as it sounds.

This method is different from “retail arbitrage” in which you purchase cheap products and selling them at a higher price. By selling private label products, you get more control on how your products are sold. If you choose your products correctly, there is also less competition, thus giving you greater profit in the long run.

Once you have the product on hand, you can upload the details on Amazon so users can buy it from there.

Aside from being the biggest online retailer in the world, Amazon will take care of packaging and shipping your products to customers. Fulfillments by Amazon (FBA) lets you worry about growing your business as it does the rest for your clients while also scaling your performance.

By selling private label products and Amazon FBA, I sold over $4,400 worth of product within 30 days.  And as I shared recently, I’ve sold over $750,000 since I started less than 2 years ago.

I actually interviewed Chris Guthrie, another successful seller, about his process which you can listen to here.

Key takeaways

Pick a product that will sell – You need to conduct keyword and market research to see if your private label product will sell or not. WebRetailer provides a general checklist of factors that you need to consider when determining your product.

Sell low at first – To gain traction from the market, sell your product at the lowest possible amount. With a low barrier of entry, not only will more people purchase early, but they will also leave their reviews, which you can leverage for social proof and more sales in the future.

3. Selling Retail Arbitrage products via Amazon FBA

As mentioned earlier, retail arbitrage lets you determine inefficiencies in the market by marking up low-cost products on Amazon.

Some products are more expensive when sold on Amazon due to factors like availability in your region, convenience in buying from Amazon, and others.

Unlike private label products, the product is already in the market. All you need to do is purchase and ship them to be sold on Amazon. You can reap the benefit once users buy them.

There are also disadvantages with retail arbitrage. Users may end up not buying your stock. Not only will you lose money from your initial investment with these products, but their value may lower over time. Also, going from store to store looking for cheaper prices of the same product can be time-consuming and may not be worth the effort.

Nonetheless, retail arbitrage is the perfect side hustle for people who don’t have time to think about creating their own product. This post by Jake Cain goes in depth about retail arbitrage and how it works.

Key takeaways

Use a scanning app – Instead of manually doing your research, tools like Inventory Lab lets you break down the profitability of selling the product on Amazon by scanning its barcode.

Gateway to private label products – Truth be told, you likely won’t earn as much in retail arbitrage as you would selling your own products. At best, this approach is a great way to acquaint yourself with how to sell products on Amazon. Ultimately, you will want to earn more, which will encourage you to move away from this method to a more profitable one.

4. Merch by Amazon

Merch by Amazon is the online retail store’s answer to sites like Etsy and Zazzle. You upload your design on the platform and use its promotional tools to make sales and profit.

While its competition has a larger foothold in the market due to years of existence, Merch by Amazon holds the advantage of millions of Amazon users at its disposal. The designs will be searchable from Amazon, which draws the attention of existing Amazon customers.

At the moment, Merch by Amazon is not open to the public. You can only sign up and request an invitation in the hopes of getting an account soon.

To see how Merch by Amazon works, read this post at Passive Marketing. The author also shows how he was able to earn $150,000 using the platform in 2016. In the end, he leveraged the earnings to flip the site.

Key takeaways

Research for your t-shirt niche -T-shirt research software like Merch Informer will help organize your data and provide metrics so you can identify which t-shirt designs to sell.

Use optimized colors for t-shirts (or other products) – According to the case study, the four most popular t-shirt colors sorted in the display are black, blue, gray, and navy blue. Make your design compatible with these colors to increase the chances of people purchasing your design.

Feature keywords on title and bullet points – Find the most relevant keywords to your design and include them in both sections of your product details page. Also, put yourself in the shoes of your customers to know keywords that you would type that will get you the results you want.

Getting the right designer – Find designers on UpWork to get the biggest bang for your buck. To attract good designers, be as detailed as possible in your project description. Also, promise them steady work over time and give 5-star reviews if you like their work.

5. Self Publishing books via Amazon Kindle

Freelance writers struggle with the problem of clients. They need clients who will supply them with paid work. Without clients, writing will be nothing more than just a hobby to them.

The Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing allows writers to profit from their self-published work without relying on clients for their income. You need to upload your work on Amazon and sell the book from there. Now of course, you need to start marketing your book.  Most books won’t sell unless you promote it and start getting reviews.

If you want to see the steps I recommend for launching a book on Amazon Kindle, read this guide I wrote: how I earned $100 a day by self-publishing a book on Amazon.

Key takeaways

Use your book as a lead generation tool – Create a page on your site that provides buyers of your book access to free resources relevant to the book’s topic. Place the link to the page in the first few pages of your book. To download the resources, they need to enter their name and email first.

Prepare a follow-up book – True profitability as an Amazon Kindle publisher lies in your ability to publish more than one book. The idea is to build a library of books related to each other to increase the chances of your reader to purchase another title from you.

Develop smart pricing strategy – After getting your self-published book listed, introduce it in the market for free in its first few days to gain traction. You can proceed with marking up the price for less than a dollar for a week to drum up interest. Once you feel that the hype has peaked, increase the price again to its normal price.

6. Get paid for tasks on Mechanical Turk

If you fancy yourself as a busy bee, then Mechanical Turk is right up your alley.

The platform is best used by small business owners and entrepreneurs looking for a quick fix for menial tasks. Mechanical Turk provides you access to people who will help you get the job done on the cheap.

However, if you are looking to make money via Mechanical Turk, its easy to sign up and get started working.  You likely won’t make a ton of money doing these simple tasks that often only pay 10 cents or so, but it could be an easy way to save up some money to start a business.  (I discussed saving up to start a business recently as a great way to go).

Michael Naab wrote a post at Side Hustle Nation on how he was able to make a cool $150-300 a week as an MT user.  So, the potential is there to earn some extra spending money for sure.

Key Takeaways

Work more to earn more – Higher paying jobs will only be available to users who have completed lots of jobs using the platform (as low as 100 jobs). Therefore, you need to put in the time and effort first before you reap the benefits of your hard work.

Work more as a supplement to your current job – As mentioned in the link above, Mechanical Turk will pay less than the minimum wage in most cases. If you want to turn this gig into a full-time job, then be prepare to burn the hours answering surveys and doing data entry jobs. However, if you are just looking for productivity ways to spend your extra time, then Mechanical Turk may just be for you.

Wrapping it up

Amazon has proven to be a critical not only for buyers but also for online entrepreneurs and marketers. It has changed the landscape of commerce and has provided a platform for people to get creative and make money using the platform. The ways and examples for each should inspire or give you an idea on how to make the most out your time in Amazon.

Have you tried any of ways to make money on Amazon listed above? What were the results and how do you think you could have done it better? Share with me your answers by commenting below!

The post 6 Ways You Can Make Money Using the Amazon Platform appeared first on Niche Pursuits.

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