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Apple issues iOS 10 beta 4 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Apple has released iOS 10 beta 4 for developers to test on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. iOS 10 brings a refreshed look to Apple Music and News plus loads of new features to the platform. The software update will be ready for everyone later this fall, and we’ll dig through the fourth developer version of the iOS 10 beta below.

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Filed under: Apple

9to5Toys Lunch Break: 13″ 256GB Retina MacBook Pro $1,200, Apple TV 64GB (refurb) $110, Computer Speakers $12

Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

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Take nearly $300 off Apple’s 13-inch 256GB Retina MacBook Pro: $1,200 shipped (Reg. $1,499)

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Jump into the world of tvOS apps with a 64GB Apple TV (refurb) for $110 shipped (Orig. $199)

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These best-selling AmazonBasics Computer Speakers are available in AC or USB-powered models for $12 Prime shipped

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App Store Free App of the Week: Power Hover goes free for the very first time (Reg. $4)

Carmageddon iOS death racer goes free for the first time in over a year (Reg. $1)

The original Angry Birds game for iOS gets updated with new content and goes free for the first time in years (Reg. up to $3)

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The best headphone stands & hangers to keep your desk/office nice and tidy

Here are our top-picks for your backpack this school year to stay organized and powered up

How-To: Quickly (and safely!) clean your HDTV using only a few basic items

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

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Parrot’s stylish Zik 2.0 Bluetooth Noise Cancelling Headphones are on sale in multiple colors: $199 shipped (Reg. $250)

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Smartphone Accessories: Gooloo 2-in-1 Bluetooth Transmitter/Receiver Adapter $23 Prime shipped (Reg. $30), more

MORE DEALS STILL LIVE:

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Logitech’s awesome MX Master Wireless Mouse for Mac/PC has never been cheaper at Amazon: $68 shipped (Reg. $80)

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Filed under: Apple

Judge throws out $625 million verdict in VirnetX’s patent case against Apple … for now

Back in February an East Texas court ruled that Apple must pay more than $625 million in damages to VirnetX over patent infringement related to iMessage and FaceTime. The patent case was especially notable for being one of the highest amounts rewarded in history, but the plaintiff in the case wasn’t satisfied and asked for $190 million more in damages four months later. But for now it’s back to the step one for Apple and VirnetX in this case as a federal judge has decided the case must be revisited…

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Filed under: Apple

Sales And Support: Why Everyone On Your Team Should Have A Role In Both

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There are 15 people on our team at Drift.

Like most businesses, we all have different roles and responsibilities — there are frontend engineers, backend engineers, designers, marketers, a product manager, a customer success manager, and a sales rep.

And while each one of our roles is very clearly defined, there are two things that we all have in common regardless of what our job descriptions say on paper: we all do sales, and we all do customer support.

The Power Of 1:1 Conversations With Prospects And Customers

This might seem counterintuitive, right? An engineer probably isn’t going to be great at sales and a marketer won’t make the best support rep. But here’s why we do it anyway:

In order to really understand what our customers want, we need to hear their pain, see their frustrations, and understand their challenges first-hand.

An internal wiki post with notes from a product manager who just spent all week talking to customers is great. But reading that feedback can’t compare to having a real-time, 1:1 conversation with someone on our website who can’t figure out our pricing. Or talking to a new customer that’s lost inside of our app — while they’re lost inside of our app.

Getting this 1:1 feedback outweighs any lack of sales or support experience that any one of us might have.

And because this feedback is so powerful, we don’t want to relegate talking to customers to one person or one department. Talking to customers should be part of everyone’s job today.

This is especially important in today’s world. There’s a fundamental shift happening in business right now: helping is the new selling, and customer experience is the new marketing. As a result, whoever understands the customer best will be the one that wins their business and earns their money. At Drift, we call it the customer driven revolution. All of the power in business has shifted into the hands of the buyer.

Still not convinced that everyone on your team should have a sales role and a support shift? Here are three reasons why this can have a huge impact on your company’s growth.

How All Hands Sales And Support Will Help You Grow Faster

It keeps everyone close to customers. Everyone says they are customer-driven. Everyone knows the importance of talking to customers. But here’s the standard line you hear from most companies when it comes to actually doing it: “I know. I know. I need to make the time to get out there and talk to more customers. I’ve just been so busy.” This will always be the case until you make it part of everyone’s job. When you give everyone on your team a dedicated shift, this guarantees that people are spending time that week talking to customers. We set up a shared Google Calendar and the whole team gets reminders in Slack about their support shift each day to help hold everyone accountable:

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Problems get solved faster. Problems. Bugs. Unclear copy. Whatever it is, it gets fixed faster when the people with the power to fix those problems are the ones talking to customers. A few months ago, we launched a new integration with Slack on Product Hunt. As a result of being on Product Hunt, hundreds of people signed up within the first few hours. But shortly after launch we kept getting the same question: “Hey, where do I connect Drift to Slack?” Even though we had a step in the onboarding flow to hook up Slack, it wasn’t obvious to most people. One of our UX designers was working her support shift during this launch, and instead of generating a support ticket, creating a new Trello card, or adding something to a future roadmap, she just grabbed one of our engineers and within two minutes, shipped a quick fix — a link to take people directly to Slack. Giving everyone on your team a support shift will help make UX, design, product, messaging, and pricing issues painfully obvious — and that’s a good thing.

You create real relationships with people. Putting everyone on the front lines ensures that your team is always having one to one conversations and connecting with people — from people who are thinking about buying from you, to people who are already paying customers, to people who just wanted to write in and say that they enjoyed that blog post you wrote.

How You Can Make 1:1 Work For Your Company

Now that we’ve talked a little about the value of 1:1 conversations, here is the ultimate question: how can you make it work at your company?

There’s one question that comes up anytime someone talks about the topic of 1:1 conversations with prospects and customers, and it goes something like this:

“I like the idea. And I get the value and the power of having 1:1 conversations, but it doesn’t really scale.”

And I totally hear you.

Smaller companies or early stage startups like Drift can make 1:1 work because we need to talk to everyone at this stage. But traditionally, 1:1 conversations have been designated for support.

Sales and marketing don’t want to waste time dealing with support questions and talking to leads who aren’t qualified. That’s why marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and sales qualified leads (SQLs) were created in the first place.

But here’s the truth about 1:1 conversations with prospects and customers: this approach doesn’t require as much change as you might think. You don’t have to completely overhaul the way you do sales and marketing today or give everyone a support shift like we do at Drift. Here are a few small changes you can make right now to start having more 1:1 conversations with your prospects and customers.

Just ask. This one is the most obvious and the most effective. Sometimes, you just have to ask. One of my favorite examples of “just ask” comes from Groove CEO Alex Turnbull. In 2014, his team started to notice a spike in customer churn, and they weren’t really able to figure out why by just looking at the data. So Alex got right to the point — he sent a personal email to every single customer and asked for 10 minutes of their time to talk. And here’s what happened:

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As a result, he spent more than 100 hours talking to 500 Groove customers and ended up with feedback that helped him right the ship and fix their churn problem.

100 hours to change the course of your business? Seems worth it to me.

Now in Alex’s case, he decided to reach out to everyone at once — and that produced hundreds of responses. If you don’t think you’ll be able to block off the time to address that many responses, then it’s easy to approach this differently. You could simply create an on-going campaign that is designed to get customer feedback one by one so you don’t have to find the time to manage it in huge chunks. Sending an email blast to every customer is certainly one way to get feedback, but you can also use your customer data to create relevant segments.

And often times, talking to just 15-20 customers will give you the majority of the feedback you need (venture  capitalist Jason Lemkin has something called the 20 interview rule that is similar to this). You’ll notice that after you start talking to five, six, seven customers, the same issues keep popping up. Alex chose to talk to everyone because it had been a while since he went in-depth on customer feedback.

Switch up your welcome email. While every business might not be having 1:1 conversations with prospects and customers right now, there is one thing I’m confident that everyone business does have: a welcome email. Whether it’s an email that gets triggered after someone signs up for your newsletter, requests a demo, or starts using your product, you’re probably already sending a welcome email. But there’s a huge mistake that most people make with those welcome emails — they don’t send them with a purpose.

Too many people treat their welcome email as a throw away, or something that gets written at the last minute as a finishing touch to onboarding. And the reason that’s a huge mistake is because your welcome email is the single most important email that you will send to your customers and subscribers.

These people are brand new. They just signed up. This is when they are the most engaged. It’s rare that you’re ever going to get this level of attention and engagement from someone again without putting in a ton of effort, so make sure to write your welcome email with a purpose.

Yes, it should be smart, funny, and welcoming – but it should also be designed to get a response. Ask new users why they signed up, what they are looking to accomplish, what they’re struggling with, or what brought them to use your product or service. This is the best opportunity you will have to strike up a conversation with a new customer or subscriber. We recently switched up our welcome email at Drift to this:

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And the result has been nothing short of game changing: over the course of 12 days after making the change, we received 75 direct replies from real people telling us how they found Drift, why they signed up, and what they’re working on.

But does it scale? The truth is, I can’t think of a better way to spend the first hour of every day than having conversations with real people who are interested in our business — and that’s now how I start my day off every single morning.

Start showing your face. On our quest to automate everything we can in marketing and sales over the last five years, we’ve started to forget about the most important aspect of doing business in the first place: people. And because the majority of businesses operate this way, there’s a huge opportunity to stand out by showing your prospects and customers that you’re a real person. One of the easiest ways to do this is by giving everyone that comes in touch with your business a way to say hello (think of it like showing your customers that you’re always open for business) — and putting that person’s real face out in public.

One of my favorite examples of this is what Jon Westenberg does with the articles he writes on Medium — he shows his face and gives his email address to every single reader:

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This can also be as simple as showing your face on your website’s live chat. Go to any business’ website, and there’s a good chance you’ll be able to chat with them — but are you talking to a real person? Putting your face on live chat is one of the easiest ways to show you’re a real person — and as a result — start having better conversations:

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You’d be surprised at how many deals you can win and customers you can delight just by saying hello, making small talk, and proving you’re a real person. It works in real life right? So why wouldn’t you take advantage of that for your business on your website.

At the end of the day, having more 1:1 conversations starts with a change in philosophy and a commitment to being more human. And from Slack to Trello to Buffer to Shopify, this is something that the best modern businesses all have in common today.

And while this change might not happen for you overnight, there are a few small changes that you can make right now to start having more conversations with your customers and people who are interested in your business.

If your company can make this work in one form or another — even if it’s only for a few hours a week manning live chat — the impact being this close to your customers can have is one of the best things you can do for your team, regardless of what stage your company is at.

This is what we’re focused on at Drift — helping your business have 1:1 conversations with prospects and customers at scale.

Learn more about leveraging sales and support tactics from Drift.

Using WordPress: Ways To Smoothen The Project Information Management System

wordpress plugin imageLike discipline is to the schools, similarly project management is to an organization. No wonder, establishing a long-running business requires proper management and systematic approach which can be ecstatically met through a defined project management system. This technological advancement has given rise to many new online businesses and websites. During all these times, WordPress has never failed to impress the web world for its versatility, ingenuity, and functionality.

WordPress was introduced as a simple blogging platform for bloggers but it is now reckoned as a leading content management system across the world. This amazing CMS comes with advanced functions that allow users to turn their brick and mortar store in an online store with a global presence. You can easily advertise your work, leverage your brand identity, and expand your business presence using this platform. And, the rising number of businesses and non-commercial websites based on WordPress clearly exhibits its rising popularity in the web world. From selling products to informing about services, content management or even blogging, WordPress can seamlessly do it all.

Scope Of WordPress Project Management

Running an effective blogging site requires consistent efforts of developers, site owners, programmers, writers, and even publishers. Imagine if you are left to do this all alone; though it is not impossible but is quite tedious and error-prone. A project management system works the same way as these writers, developers, programmers, etc. work on your site. It primarily simplifies and smoothens the processing of your site by assisting in organizing topics, scheduling their release, publishing, etc.

Owing to its flexibility for add-ons and other software, WordPress beats any of the platforms in its league. Here are some popular project management plugins widely used by the developers these days.

Top WordPress Project Management Plugins

Here is a list of top WordPress Project Management Plugins beneficial for the smooth functioning of your site.

OrbisWORDPRES

Orbis is a free WordPress plugin that can easily materialize the project management tasks with the help of its inbuilt advanced functionality. This plugin is made with an objective to simplify the project management and make it much more accessible to the users. You easily extend the functionality of this plugin to allow seamless integration of various elements into the site.

Highlighted Features of this plugin:

  • Easily translatable
  • Inbuilt feedback and communication system
  • Specific comments section
  • Add-on compatibility with Orbis Tasks, Orbis Keychains, and Orbis Timesheets

SP Project & Document ManagementWORDPRESS_1

This exquisite WordPress plugin is the best for saving all your data meticulously so that it can be used later. It efficiently manages files, documents, videos, images, etc. It can be easily customized to get the desirable changes done.

Highlighted Features of this plugin:

  • Offers complete control
  • Device-agnostic
  • Available custom forms
  • Can easily upload multiple files
  • File search option

TaskFreakTASKFREAK

TaskFreak is another free plugin running on WordPress for conferring project management processes. You can easily create, edit, and delete projects using this add-on in few simple steps. Moreover, the interface calls option provided within the plugin makes the communication among the individuals seamless that further helps in sharing data easily. You can easily switch between back-end and front-end of your project that helps in managing projects easily.

Highlighted Features of this plugin:

  • Can be easily installed
  • Extensive compatibility with WordPress
  • Simplified options to attach files/documents
  • Mobile-friendly
  • Seamless integration with other WordPress-powered components
  • Fully translatable

Project PanoramaWORDPRESS_5 

Powered by visual approach for project management, this plugin comprises of advanced features capable of visual communication. This WordPress plugin comprises amazing inbuilt features that set it apart from other plugins of its category. It not only saves time but also derives desired results as per the project requirements.

Highlighted Features of this plugin:

  • Responsive
  • Multiple color schemes
  • Eye-catching data visuals
  • Can be easily translated
  • Simplified file management

WP Project ManagerWORDPRES_6

Primarily built to work with WordPress, this exquisite plugin helps in creating new projects, uploading & sharing of documents, sending messages, etc.

Highlighted Features of this plugin:

  • Options to add numerous “to-do-lists”
  • Can easily assign tasks, schedule project publishing dates,etc.
  • Multi-purpose
  • Specified bars for exhibiting project status
  • Responsive

The premium version of this plugin offers advanced functions like drag and drop feature, tracking project status, one-click access to the files, improved security and much more.

Key Benefits of Using WordPress Project Management System
There are numerous benefits of using project management system with WordPress. A major of them are mentioned below:

Responsive: This open-source web development platform comprises functionality that allows it to be viewed over multiple devices and changing screens. Thus using a project management system based on this platform can help in leveraging the visibility of your site across multiple devices. There are many remarkable tools available online that can be used to check the responsiveness of a design. Responsive checker tool is one such tool available free to use for all.

Desired Solutions: This easy-to-use framework of WordPress allows easy customization to get the desired results. Further integrating this system with advanced plugins helps in getting the best solutions.

Intuitive: Since WordPress itself is a simplified platform which is used for creating dynamic web solutions which are widely utilized in project managements systems.

Cost-effective: Since WordPress is an open-source platform and utilizing it for added functions doesn’t cost much.

Wrapping Up!

Above all this, there is a point to remember that a project management system cannot do it all. Despite an exquisite project management system, you always need an adept organization consisting of dedicated and knowledgeable individuals who can pro-actively confer the task of managing the site.

Now that you have got an idea how these project management tools work, you can easily start working with them in your next venture.

The post Using WordPress: Ways To Smoothen The Project Information Management System appeared first on Project-Management.com.

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Amid amusing tales, Apple Store Genius explains how to score a free replacement product

I’ve always imagined that working in an Apple Store is one of those jobs where you see it all, and a Thrillist interview with three anonymous staff members confirms that – rather literally.

The stuff that would pop up on people’s computers when we would do a data migration… when the photos imported into iPhoto, it would flash each photo on the screen as it was importing. So. Many. ****. Pics. Some things just can’t be unseen.

Not all of the stories they tell sound quite as credible, but one of them did have a great tip if you’re looking to get a free replacement for a damaged product without AppleCare Plus …

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Filed under: Apple

How to Be Creative When You’re Not Naturally Creative

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“Everything’s already been thought of.”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

“I’m just not a creative person.”

We’ve all had those frustrating moments when when we’re expected to come up with a brilliant new idea, but no matter how much we squint at our computer screens, we just can’t seem to think of anything good.

That’s when we tend to look over at our peers who are “creative types” and wonder why we didn’t inherit any creative genes ourselves.

But it may be that were looking at it wrong. In fact, many psychologists argue that creativity isn’t something people are born with; it’s actually a skill that can be learned. And, as with any other skill, you can only get better at it with practice. The brain is like muscle that needs to be developed — in this case, using cognitive exercises.

So what can we do to exercise that creative muscle when we’re struggling to come up with new ideas? Everyone has their own ways they like to get “in shape.” To get you started, here are 11 different ways to jog your creative thinking.

11 Ways to Jumpstart Your Creativity

1) Start with a morning freewrite. 

We all have days when walk in to the office in the morning and all we can think about is all the stuff we have to get done. But this can stress us out and cause us to lose perspective on our own thinking.

On days like this, one way to refocus is by doing a morning freewrite. According to a study from Harvard Business School Professor Teresa Amabile, regular workplace journaling allows you to rediscover your perspective and become more productive.

So instead of jumping right into your projects when you get into the office, block off ten minutes for a digital detox and grab a notebook and paper to just write. Unlike a blog or some other public-facing piece of content, a physical journal is your own personal compilation of thoughts that don’t need to make sense to anyone but you. Writing in a more freeform style will allow your creative juices to flow, while also forcing you to put your thoughts into written words.

Don’t know where to start with freewriting? Check out Twords‘ prompt library, or subscribe to Daily Page to get a writing prompt emailed to you every morning, which you can share or keep private. Here are some more prompt ideas from my colleague Megan Conley:

  • Recently, I’m struggling with …
  • If I had more time in the day, I’d use it to …
  • Today, I’ll relieve stress by …
  • I feel out of my comfort zone when …
  • My work is motivated by …
  • This week, I’m thankful for …
  • Today, I should avoid …
  • I feel fulfilled at work when …
  • From my team, I’m proud of …
  • I work best when …

2) Take a creative course.

If you’re the kind of person who prefers more instruction, taking a creative course could be the right way to guide your creativity.

Creative courses could be anything from creative writing to photo and video to music, art, or design. Regardless which course you take, you’ll be exposed to different ways of thinking and approaches to working that you can apply to your own work. Plus, it may help you uncover some of your strengths and work on your weaknesses.

It’ll also surround you with other people who have a similar goal of developing their creative skills. You can learn from your peers and have the chance to review each other’s work to get a fresh perspective on your own ideas. And if you’re someone who is too nervous to ask for help in the office, a classroom setting could give you the opportunity to open up to others in workshop style critiques. By sharing your ideas with others, you’ll be forced to find ways to formulate your thoughts into words and visuals, while learning to handle critique from others.

A few free online courses to start with include Creative Live, MIT OpenCourseWare, Creative Writing Now, and Stanford OpenEdEx.

Courses may not be for everyone — especially if you feel like structure is a hinder to your creative flow. But if you feel like you’re lacking direction in your thinking, it may be worth a try.

3) Brainstorm while you exercise.

If you feel like you’re working your brain hard and coming out empty-handed, try pushing yourself physically for thirty minutes or so. Research shows that exercise can be linked to more creative thinking. One study that focused on how moderate exercise influences participants’ performance on different thinking tasks found that exercising regularly may train your cognitive thinking and creativity in a healthy way.

“Much more of the brain is devoted to movement than to language. Language is only a little thing sitting on top of this huge ocean of movement,” says Neurologist Oliver Sacks.

So take 30 minutes out of your day to go for a run, do an energizing yoga flow, or practice some deskercises. It’ll benefit both your body and mind.

4) Travel to other places.

Since your creativity is related to how your brain is wired, it’s important to keep your mind stimulated by new sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and experiences. Keeping your sense sharp allows the synapses in your brain to think in new ways. Expose yourself to an entirely different point of view through a new cultural experience.

“Foreign experiences increase both cognitive flexibility and depth and integrativeness of thought, the ability to make deep connections between disparate forms,” says Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School, whose research focuses on the cognitive connection between international travel and creativity.

He emphasizes the importance of not just going to different places, but also immersing yourself into their culture. By engaging with the local art, cuisine, and people, you allow yourself to really learn new ways of thinking that you can apply to your own ideas.

5) Channel your inner child.

Children are considered “naturally creative” only because they know no limits to their creativity. Since children are willing to go in any direction with their creative, they don’t hold back. Channel this mentality, especially when it comes to taking a completely different direction with your work. Instead of being concerned or self-conscious that your work isn’t good enough, be willing to take risks to push your creative limits.

Most importantly, have fun with your work. A child sees everything as an adventure and makes the most of every moment. Instead of being concern about all your responsibilities at once, focus all your energy into one project at a time so you can put your best foot forward. 

6) Join a coworking space.

A study at University of Michigan found two key ways coworking spaces create unique opportunities for creativity: flexibility and autonomy. A lot of it has to do with the physical setup of the space: The flexibility to control your space to suit your personal preference encourages creativity. Some studies have shown that have the ability to customize your workspace leads to higher levels of productivity. Your creative funk may be because you’re not in an environment that is conducive to your personal style of work.

Plus, the proximity to others means ample opportunity for collaboration. Collaboration can be a catalyst for innovation, and coworking spaces are great ways to throw yourself into a new environment with like-minded, innovative people.

Not sure where to find coworking space near you? Start by entering your city into DeskSurfing.net to do a local search.

7) Incorporate breaks into every work day.

Ever noticed that some of your best ideas come to you at the most random times, like the car or the shower? There’s a reason for that: These breaks allow your mind to continue to work on these ideas without getting stuck in a funk where you can’t organize your thoughts.

Adrian Furnman, Ph.D describes in a Psychology Today article, Adrian Furnman, Ph.D says it’s important to give your thinking “incubation time” once you’ve been actively working on an idea for some time.

Brian Halligan, HubSpot’s own CEO and co-founder, is a big advocate for naps at the workplace. He actually finds his best ideas come to him when he just falling asleep or just waking up. In an interview with the New York Times, he said he pushes to make the office into an environment where employees can “work less and think more” by providing nap rooms to encourage folks to take a break. This, he says, will help spark creativity.

Make sure to allow yourself to block off designated break sessions in your calendar so you don’t lose that time after being scheduled for endless, back-to-back meetings.

8) Connect with creative people.

When you’ve hit a wall with your own ideas, it may be time to tap into the creativity of others. Surrounding yourself with people with whom you can share and get feedback on your ideas and opinions is not only good for your creativity, it’s good for your career. These different points of view can act as fresh perspective on a project you’ve been staring at for too long.

Not only can creative people give you feedback on your projects, their own drive will keep you motivated to do your best work. A healthy dose of competition could be just what the doctor ordered when you need to force yourself to really channel your inner creative spirit.

This rings especially true when these connection challenge your way of thinking. If you surround yourself with like-minded people, you could fall into the trap of confirmation bias where you never see the faults in your own work because everyone already agrees with you. Although it could be hard to take this critique, it’ll force you to think in ways you never thought of before.

To start networking with other creative minds, you can explore people’s work in platforms like Behance or Instagram. If you’re looking to connect with people in person, attend conferences and networking events related to both your industry and your interests.

9) Keep a doodle journal at your desk.

Are you a visual thinker? If so, you might find it hard to find a direction with your ideas when you’re limited to the four corners of your screen. Change your routine and grab a pencil and paper to let your ideas free form in a more physical outlet. A blank sheet of paper or whiteboard may just be the best outlet to allow you to organize your thought process into one space.

According to Sunni Brown, author of The Doodle Revolution, “Even if you’re just scribbling in the margins, you’re lighting up different networks in your brain and when you do that, you’re engaging different information.”

Creating visual maps of all your different thoughts allows you to see the relationship between your ideas. Physically writing it down takes your ideas a step further and forces you to put them into words and physical shapes. If you can see your thought process, it will be easier to understand the direction you’ll want to go in.

10) Unwind by watching funny content.

Have you hit the point in your creativity block that you’re spending hours watching cat videos? Good news: This may actually be a good thing. Research shows there’s a strong correlation between humor and creativity. A laugh can actually bring you closer to those moments of inspiration. Humor also puts you in a better mood, allowing you to think more freely and better solve creative problems.

If you look at your project from a more lighthearted perspective, you’ll allow yourself to have a fresh perspective on the problem at hand. Start with this list of funny tweets and social media posts that real brands have posted for inspiration.

11) Listen to music while you work.

Need a way to hone in on your work without zoning out? Although there’s been a lot of debate over whether listening to music will actually increase your intelligence over time (a theory often called the Mozart Effect), there are still productivity benefits to tuning in. Listening to music can help you focus on whatever task you’re currently doing. It can also put you in a better mood, and even calm your nerves if you’re feeling anxious.

Certain forms of music can help channel your creativity better than others and tune out the noises of the office. While music with extreme changes of pace or lyrics can be distracting, ambient music can help increase processing levels and and promote creative thinking.

Everyone has their own taste in music, but some of the most work conducive genres include classical, electronic, and even video game soundtracks. Be sure to check out HubSpot’s own list list of recommended productive playlists.

One new practice can work for you differently over time if you start to get bored of it. If you ever start to feel a practice has become too routine for you, revisit this post to try out another idea.

What else do you do to channel your inner creativity? Share with us in the comments.

Marketing Ideas to Generate Business

How to Win More Proposals by Interviewing Your Prospects

I’ve been writing proposals for over a decade, and it’s probably fair to say that I loathed the entire process for the longest time. I worried that I was just “making it all up.” I’d second guess every word I wrote, and of course, I was petrified of the inevitable rejection. Unfortunately, many creative folks feel the same: “If I’m not a veritable Shakespeare with the quill and ink, then I don’t stand a chance”.

Fortunately, this simply isn’t true.

Over time I came to realize that my writing prowess wasn’t the deciding factor in winning projects. Actually, 90% of my proposals were accepted because of something much simpler: prospect interviews. 

Proposals Start Way Before You Propose

I still remember getting those “dear designer” emails. You know the type: The ones where the sender swaps out your name before sending to another 20 agencies. Upon receiving one of these, I’d get over-excited and jump straight into proposal mode. After all, I had all the information I needed in their initial email: They needed a website!

Of course, this is a poor way to find great clients and an even worse way to win meaningful work.

To consistently win projects, you need to invest time in learning about your clients and their problems. But this creates a dilemma: Should you invest time upfront before writing a project proposal? That all depends on if the payoff will be worth it.

If you’re going to spend the time writing the proposal, then you should commit to spending the time to discover what your clients really want. 

Why You’re Not Winning Enough Proposals

So let’s take a quick look at some of the reasons a project proposal might fail in the first place:

  • You were one on a list of many, and the client was just looking for the best price. (This is not a good client anyway.)
  • You only spoke about your skills and all the great things you’ve done with them. You failed to mention how you can specifically help the client. This can loosely be seen in many proposals as: web design = $15,000. Where’s the value?
  • You sent off a veritable novel of a proposal. No one is ever going to read your 50-page masterpiece. Ever. During the past two and a half years of growing Nusii, we’ve seen that more than 80% of accepted proposals contain between 5 and 8 sections or pages. That’s a quick read in anyone’s book.
  • You wrote a shoddy proposal. It happens; you’ll get better.
  • You didn’t relate to the client’s business. To them, your services just seemed like “total costs,” not added value.

Anyone with a decent command of language and the desire to work with better clients can write a winning proposal. 

Why You Should Interview Your Prospects

Instead of jumping at the next email from a random prospect, take the time to build a relationship — even just a minor one — before even thinking about a writing a proposal.

Some say you should never do anything for free. But you’re not going to work for free, and you’re not going to tell your client how to move ahead without you. You are going to find out as much about their business as possible to see whether you can actually help. Why? The more you know, the more value you can provide, and the more value you can provide, the greater your chances of winning that project.

But before you set up an interview with a potential client, you should do your due diligence by qualifying them as a lead. You don’t want to jump on a call with any Tom, Dick, or Harry. You want to talk to someone at the company with the power to make decisions.

Once you’re convinced that your potential client would be a good fit for your services, ask them if they would like to set up a time to chat — either in-person or using a product such as Skype. If they’re not keen or they downright refuse, then your decision on whether to move forward with a proposal has just been made for you.

So what questions should you ask your prospect to determine if they’re a good fit? Here are a few suggestions based on a typical website redesign, which you can adapt to suit other project types as well.

1) Why do you need your website redesigned?

Fail to ask this question, and you will most likely fail to write a compelling proposal. You should dig deeper, and get to the root of the website redesign request. Personal insecurities — such as the launch of a trendy new competitor — are not the same as deeper operational issues, e.g., “We’re losing sales to a poor checkout system that was designed 10 years ago.” 

Best case scenario? You win the project, but leave the client disappointed because all they got was a sharp looking website. This is not a long-term win if you want to build a name for yourself. None of your client’s personal or business goals can be reached if you don’t know what they are.

2) How will not working with us affect your business?

This is kind of a presumptuous question, but let’s put it another way: If your client was to leave their website as it is, what would it mean for their business? The answer will give you an idea of how much value you can potentially provide.

Many clients will be a little vague with their answers: “We’ll continue to lose money,” or “Sign-ups will continue to drop.” That’s OK. Once they give you the glossed-over version, dig deeper. If sign-ups are an issue, ask where they’re dropping and by what amount. Do they have any thoughts on why this is happening?

You can be sure that very few agencies will be as thorough. Asking this question can set you up as a serious contender for the contract.

 

3) How will you know if working with us has been a success?

More ego-inflating questions, right? Wrong. One way or another, everything you do for your client needs to be quantifiable. Why? Because you both need to know whether you were a cost or investment. Let’s face it: Sometimes creative services are seen as a risk.

Ask about their goals for the project. What will a home run look like? An increase in trial sign-ups? More time spent on page? A reduction in email bounce rate? The more specific the better since you can focus on their specific goals in your proposal.

Knowing what a win looks like will give you something clear to aim for in your proposal, and at the risk of sounding icky, it will also give you something to sell.

4) What do you like about your current website design?

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Designers like to leave their mark (I’m allowed to say this). This is normal. However, sometimes in our desire to tear everything down and make it pretty, we fail to take into account that sometimes certain stuff already works. You may be here to fix a poor checkout experience, but that doesn’t mean that everything else is garbage.

Ask your potential client if there’s anything about their current website that works well. If they can give you an example, ask why it works.

I’m sure you can see a pattern emerging with these questions — what initially seems like a broad question can lead to another more focused one (and another, and another).

It’s very hard to do this sort of thing via a written questionnaire or a form. You’ll miss out on facial expressions, specific language used to describe a problem (that you can later use in your proposal), and of course, the hope of any kind of relationship. Email isn’t the best place to make friends.

5) If your website could only do one thing, what would it be?

This is all about priorities. No doubt your client will have an idea of how they want their business to improve. But by asking this question, you are asking them to — once again — dig deeper.

If your client doesn’t have a primary goal for their project, this question will help them define what’s important and what’s not. This will help you make informed design decisions down the line.

Interview to Win More New Business

Client interviews are an important but often overlooked part of the proposal process. To make sure you’re winning the maximum number of proposals, go the extra mile and discover what your client really needs to improve their business. Ask questions that others are afraid to ask, and don’t work with people whom you can’t truly help. Discuss design as a vehicle for solving problems, not the solution. And remember to keep your proposals concise and based around how you can provide value to the prospect and increase trust. 

You won’t always get what you need from one conversation with a prospective client. If after reviewing your notes and listening back to your interview, you decide you still need more information, jump on another call. Don’t write or send the proposal until you are confident there’s no better choice than your agency.  

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Following Apple’s $1B investment in Didi Chuxing, company buys out UberChina

Didi Chuxing, the market-leading ride-hailing service in China, has bought out Uber’s operations in the country, reports Bloomberg. The deal gives Uber and its investors a total 20% shareholding in Didi.

Didi will buy Uber’s brand, business and data in the country, the Chinese company said in a statement.

The WSJ notes that Didi will also invest $1B in Uber as part of the deal, the same amount Apple invested in Didi back in May …

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How to Use Facebook Live From Your Desktop Without Costly Software

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Are you looking for new ways to use live video? Have you considered using Facebook Live to host an on-screen walkthrough? Using Facebook Live from your desktop opens up a new world of marketing possibilities. In this article, you’ll discover how to broadcast with Facebook Live using free open-source software. #1: Install OBS Studio OBS is free software […]

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– Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle

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How to Use Social Media at Every Stage of the Funnel [Free Guide]

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Consumers turn to social media when making a purchase — that much we know. They might search for information prior to purchasing and then again, post-purchase, for customer service and company updates.

Knowing this, it’s imperative that your company is there, providing them with the resources they need to choose your product over your competitor’s.

The best way to do this is to break down the customer lifecycle into four stages: Attract, Convert, Close, and Delight. This makes it much easier to create content according to each customer’s mindset. For example, you might focus on shareable, engaging content to attract new customers, or you might try out a loyalty program for delighting your current customers.

No matter what stage your customers are in, social media is a great tool to nurture them through the funnel. That’s why HubSpot and Bitly joined forces to bring you How to Use Social Media at Every Stage of the Funnel.

Download this free guide to receive:

  • A high-level overview of the inbound methodology as a whole.
  • A breakdown of the buyer’s journey and the different lifecycle stages a customer goes through when making a purchase.
  • How to use social media to attract, convert, close, and delight customers.
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Social Media at Every Stage of the Funnel

Social Media Success Summit: Online Development for Busy Marketers

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Wondering where confident, successful marketers get their training? Are time and resources for training on the back burner due to time or travel constraints? Are you constantly juggling the need to execute with the need to learn before you leap? Social media marketing is a constantly evolving industry. The changes make it exciting, but they […]

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iBooks launches official Instagram account, new Harry Potter ‘book’ now available in iBookstore

Apple continues to experiment in the social media space to promote its businesses and products. In this vein, iBooks has launched its own official Instagram account this weekend. Apple is using the photo-centric social network to share book artwork, quotes, min-reviews and more. Interestingly, none of the posts so far feature call-to-action links where users can directly purchase the promoted novels from iBooks itself.

It appears to be using a more subtle marketing approach, raising awareness of books which users can then lookup and buy from the iBookstore if they choose.

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Multiple jailbreakers who used the recent Pangu jailbreak tool report unauthorized access to credit, debit, PayPal and social accounts

There’s been a lot of pent up anticipation for the iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak, and Pangu, the Chinese security researchers behind the latest tool, have answered the call.

Unfortunately, it appears that some jailbreakers have had various accounts compromised after jailbreaking, and several users on the popular subreddit r/jailbreak have corroborated these claims.

To be fair, it’s possible that these reported breaches are just a big coincidence, or that a compromise occurred after the tool left Pangu’s hands for distribution. Whatever the reason, however, it highlights one of the potential risks involved with jailbreaking. more…

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Kanye West says Apple/Tidal ‘beef’ hurting the music industry, calls for meeting with Tim Cook

Over the past year, Kanye West has become known for his bizarre Twitter tirades. Earlier this year, the rapper publicly asked Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and other tech moguls to invest “$1 billion into Kanye West ideas.” This afternoon, Kanye hopped on Twitter to criticize an apparent “beef” between Apple Music and Tidal.

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