Continuous Professional Development

What does CPD mean?

CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development. It refers to the process of tracking and documenting the skills, knowledge and experience that you gain both formally and informally as you work, beyond any initial training. It's a record of what you experience, learn and then apply. The term is generally used to mean a physical folder or portfolio documenting your development as a professional. Some organisations use it to mean a training or development plan, which I would argue is not strictly accurate. This article is about CPD as a process of recording and reflecting on learning and development.

What is it for?

The CPD process helps you manage your own development on an ongoing basis. It's function is to help you record, review and reflect on what you learn. It's not a tick-box document recording the training you have completed. It's broader than that.

Training and development - what's the difference?

These terms are often used interchangeably, though there is a distinction. As a rule of thumb, training is formal and linear. It's to do with learning how to do something specific, relating to skill and competence. Training can be as simple as using a PC application and as complex as learning how to be a pilot. Development is often informal and has a wider application, giving you the tools to do a range of things and relating to capability and competency. It involves progression from basic know-how to more advanced, mature or complex understanding.  Alternatively it can be about widening your range of transferable skills like leadership, managing projects or organising information.

The key features of the CPD process

To justify the name, a CPD needs to:

• be a documented process
• be self-directed: driven by you, not your employer
• focus on learning from experience, reflective learning and review
• help you set development goals and objectives
• include both formal and informal learning.

What will it do for you?

A CPD may be a requirement of membership of a professional body. It can help you to reflect, review and document your learning and to develop and update your professional knowledge and skills. It is also very useful to:

• provides an overview of your professional development to date
• reminds you of your achievements and how far you've progressed
• directs your career and helps you keep your eye on your goals
• uncovers gaps in your skills and capabilities
• Opens up further development needs
• provides examples and scenarios for a CV or interview
• demonstrates your professional standing to clients and employers
• helps you with your career development or a possible career change. 

How do I start?

Keep a learning log and record your thoughts in whatever way suits you best. You may find it helpful to write things down in detail, for example, or to make notes on insights and learning points. The process of writing makes you think about your experiences at the time, and makes planning and reflection much easier. You can't review your experiences without recording them, however good your memory is.

Answering the following questions may help you to get started:

Where am I now?

Review and reflect on any learning experiences over the previous year or over the past three months. Write your thoughts down about what you learned, what insights it gave you and what you might have done differently. Include both formal training events and informal learning, such as:

• learning from colleagues or shared learning from networking
• reading about new technologies, new methods of working, legislative changes
• shadowing or assisting an experienced colleague
• insights and learning points from coaching and mentoring
• reflections, insights and learning points from taking on a new responsibility
• organisational or role change
• temporary job swaps within the department/organisation
• deputising or covering for colleagues
• insights and lessons learned from mistakes
• lessons learned from critical incidents or events

Make a note of any outcomes of each learning experience and what difference it has made to you, your colleagues, your students (if relevant) or your employer.

Where do I want to be?

Write down your overall career goals - where you want to be in two, five and 10 years' time. Then write down no more than three specific and achievable shorter term objectives, including the dates by which you want to achieve them.

What do I have to do to get there?

Looking at your overall career goals, make a note of what you need to do to achieve them. This could include further training, job or role progression or changes in direction.

For shorter term objectives, include the first step - what you can do today or tomorrow. For example, having a chat with your manager about a new responsibility or finding out about new technology from a colleague who has experience of it.

When should I review progress?

This step is essential! You'll need to set a date in advance for review of the objectives you've set yourself. You can either do this from one review to the next or decide to review regularly - once every three, six or 12 months. Put it in your diary and do it! The cycle of continuing professional development has begun

Blog ideas

https://optinmonster.com/73-type-of-blog-posts-that-are-proven-to-work/

73 Types of Blog Posts That Are Proven to Work

by Kevin Gates on April 2, 2018

Are you running out of blog post ideas? Not sure what type of blog posts you should write? Don’t worry. In this article, we will cover 73 different types of blog posts that are proven to work, so you will never run out of blog post ideas again.

1. Tutorials and How-to Guides

Tutorials and How-to guides are probably the simplest type of blog post you can work on. They are easy because they involve you talking about things you are already familiar with such as your product or service.

The most important thing when it comes to how-to guides is to break down your tutorial into the smallest steps and into the simplest terms. Don’t assume your readers know what they’re doing — this is a tutorial, remember?

Think about your recent work, and you can probably find some great ideas for you to write a tutorial on. Our co-founder built the largest WordPress resource, WPBeginner, by following this exact same principle.

2. Latest Industry News

You have your morning routine, just like I do. You skim the online news and find the latest trends in your industry. Why not make your morning routine into a blog post?

Find few of the most recent events in your industry and blog about them. You can even link to news articles if you feel it is appropriate.

The important thing is that you add your “flavor” to it (thoughts, criticism, etc). You will have a new blog post in minutes! (Here’s a good example).

3. Current Events

Similar to the point above, this one is even more generic. What do you enjoy reading about? What catches your eye? What will you talk to your friends about? Write about THAT!

News is always happening, from the latest Marvel movie to Russia’s latest antics. The brilliance of writing a post on current events is that people are already looking for more information and thoughts about these subjects. Your opinion post on current events could become the next viral sensation!

It’s even better if you can tie the current events with your product or service.

4. Controversial Subjects

This type of blog post can be really fun to write, but remember to be wise. Controversy is always newsworthy — just look at the local news, they’re always reporting on different controversies!

You just need to figure out which controversy interests you, and how you can add to the conversation. Be sure to use the keywords around the controversy too. Mac vs. PC, MailChimp vs AWeber, Gun Control, etc. are just some basic ideas.

Since controversies are highly emotional, you want to be careful and choose your words wisely.

5. Checklists: Do you have all that you need to ____?

Checklists are one of the most simple types of content to make. You probably make lists all the time such as your grocery list, supplies lists, to-do lists, etc.

All you have to do is take that same concept and apply it to your industry or blog.

If you are in real estate, come up with a checklist for an open house.

If you are in photography, write down your engagement session checklist to make sure you have all that you need for the perfect engagement session.

To perfect the checklist, take a common task and break it down into short, actionable items.

Next you can share that checklist to help others get started. Take a look at our content upgrade checklist.

6. Listicles

Who doesn’t love lists right? List articles are always among the most shared on the internet. You can create a list of just about anything.

Perhaps it is a list of your favorite places to eat or your summer reading list, or your favorite web applications. The possibilities are endless.

The best part is, you decide!

This article is a good example of a listicle. Another example is our 27 clever lead generation ideas article.

7. Infographics

From charts to lists to myths vs. facts, everything you can think of can be made into an infographic. That’s why everyone loves them!

OptinMonster monitoring provides actionable insights

Admittedly, the more professional the graphic, the better it is, but you can still make an incredible post by producing a chart you made in PowerPoint. The key is to win people over with a chart or graph that helps explain things.

Tools like Canva, Piktochart, and Visage are perfect for creating beautiful charts online.

8. Case Studies

People love hearing success stories and learning about what goes on behind the scenes. Case studies are fairly easy to write and are great for social proof.

Look through your customer list and determine which one has been successful in using your product.

Email your best customers, talk through how they have used your product or service to improve their business, and then share the case study on your blog. You’ll be amazed how a single case study can inspire and attract tons of new customers.

Here’s an example OptinMonster case study of how a Swedish website increased conversions by 800% using OptinMonster.

Want your site featured on OptinMonster case study? Simply send us an email (we love highlighting our customers).

9. Profiles

Much like a case study, you can write a profile post about anybody. You can write a profile post about an industry leader, your customers, or someone who’s up and coming in your industry.

The profile post should give some biographical information about the person and links where users can find more about them.

You can probably guess that you should put information on why you chose to write an article on this person, but also consider adding some facts that aren’t well known so that your post can stand apart from any other resource.

10. Interviews

You can perform an interview in a matter of minutes. Who is an important person in your area of interest that you believe would spark the interest of your readers?

Discuss with this person current events or get their ideas of what’s coming next in your industry. The goal here isn’t just to have an interview, but to talk about things that your readers want to know about.

It could be business insights, lessons they’ve learnt, sharing their expertise, etc.

One of OptinMonster user, John Dumas, has an entire site where all he does is interviews with successful entrepreneurs.

11. Advice from the Experts

This one is similar to interviews, but it’s a lot easier to compile and are a lot likely to go viral. Why?

Because it’s a combination of Listicles and Interviews. You can message multiple experts with your question (via email, twitter, or another social network).

Since it’s a single question, it’s a lot easier for these busy individuals to answer.

Then you can compile all of the advice into one posts.

Looking for an example of experts list? Here’s an example from RazorSocial and another one from Social Media Examiner.

12. Reviews

We all look for reviews before purchasing. It is what everyone does nowadays. So why not write a review for the latest gadget or service you’ve bought?

Spend a few minutes of your day, write down the pros and cons of your product, and give your recommendation. While it may not seem like a lot of work for you, it can bring in a lot of traffic.

Here’s an example of a good review article.

13. Comparisons

After you do the review post, you can follow it up with a comparison post. Think through a few alternatives that one can work through and present the ideas altogether.

In a similar style to a review, a comparison is like a group review. While you are not going as in-depth as a review, you are able to be more widespread with your thoughts and opinions.

You can combine a comparison and infographic like this article

14. Video Blogs

Video blogs, or “vlogging”, is becoming more and more popular these days. Video blogs give you the luxury of discussing a lot of content with relatively little effort.

Instead of spending time writing out a blog post, using special formatting, adding images, etc, you can just set up a webcam and speak your mind.

Gary Vaynerchuk does a great job of this in his helpful AskGaryVee Show.

15. MP3s

If you want to post more on your website, but don’t like doing videos, then you should consider podcasting. While you can definitely build your podcasting into a full show, you can begin with simple MP3s where you share your thoughts.

Just remember, as you build out your audio presence, you need to make it easier for your subscribers to tune in to your show. They may read your blog and check out your occasional MP3s, but you will likely want to eventually have a page on iTunes, Sticher, etc.

One of OptinMonster’s users, Michael Hyatt has an awesome podcast that I recommend you check out.

Want to start your own podcast? Here’s an awesome guide on how to start a podcast.

16. Resources

Everyone likes to figure out the best way to do something. Your readers are no different, so help them out.

Whether it is toolsets, books, websites, whatever, compile a list of resources and share them with your readers.

Just be sure to give them more than just the name of the resource. It’s important to explain why you are recommending it.

You can even turn your resources page into a call-to-action like our co-founder Thomas Griffin has done on his website.

17. Problem and Solutions

Have you ever wondered why news stations always talk about something going wrong? Conflicts and problems draw crowds. But in this instance, you can highlight a problem where you have a solution.

Let’s say you are running a great blog with well over 1,000 subscribers. Consider writing a blog post on how you improved your SEO to build more traffic.

Here’s an example of how we combined problem / solution with a list article: 5 Ways You Ruin Your Lead Generation…and How To Fix Them

18. Share What Others are Saying

Often times people get stuck trying to write brand new content when you can instead write a posts that acts as a collection of recent discussions.

Scour a few blogs and listen to a few podcasts. Then write all your favorite quotes, ideas, and topics into a blog post and share your post of quotes for your readers to enjoy.

19. A Glance “Behind the Curtain”

Beginners in any industry or field want to be just like their heroes. If you’re a fan of basketball, you want to be like Michael Jordan or Kobe. If you are in tech, you want to be the next Steve Jobs. We all want to know how they accomplish the great things they did.

For this post, share your daily or weekly routine with people. Let them see “behind the curtain” into the real life of your business. You don’t have to share corporate secrets or anything. The idea is to let people job shadow you via a blog post.

Syed Balkhi’s blog is full of behind the scenes like this one and this one.

20. Inspirational Stories

Although controversy sells, so does inspiration. Share some good news. Share about a major breakthrough your company had that really put you on the map. Talk about how your grandfather inspired you to start your craft.

Inspirational and hopeful stories go viral because it is something people want to experience themselves. So share your story of hope and watch it inspire others to do the same. Your success is a story that needs to be told.

21. Parody Posts

Parody posts are similar to general funny posts but are focused more on taking something that is common place in your industry and making to comedic.

Whether it is Michael Moore’s Guide to Being a Conservative, to a support group for Introverts who love to give speeches, your readers are ready for a post to lighten them up.

22. Funny Posts

Just the other day I read a post about 20 reasons to stay away from North Carolina. Do you know what it contained? 20 reasons, written as negatives, that actually highlighted the beauties of North Carolina. This funny post doesn’t need to be related to your normal blog. This one is purely for fun.

Whether your post is ironic, or filled with sarcasm, consider writing a parody post and give people a smile. Who knows, your “20 Reasons Why I Want a Pet Platypus” may just be a hit 😉

23. Quizzes

We all enjoy quizzes, especially if we can compare our results to everyone else. It makes us feel smart. So why don’t you create a fun quiz for your readers?

Don’t forget to add a social share to the bottom of your quiz results for others to see and join in.

24. Surveys and Polls

Surveys and polls are like quizzes, but more for your benefit rather than testing your reader’s knowledge. You can survey and poll your readerships to figure out new features for your products, to get ideas for your blog, and more.

There are a variety of survey tools and forms that you can use to embed your form on your page.

25. Local News (Non-Business)

Another fun post you should consider writing about is a post about the local news in your area.

This type of post can be especially helpful if you run a business that works in that community. Even if you run a recipe blog, the post can show your readership that you are well-rounded and involved with your community, which can help people relate more to you.

26. Presentations and SlideShare

Like the infographic post, you can create a PowerPoint presentation or a SlideShare about whatever peaks your interest.

If you are looking for inspiration, head over to SlideShare and see what others have already done. Remember, you don’t have to share the best presentation. Just focus on providing good content to your readers.

27. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Frequently Asked Questions are fantastic posts because it is likely that your readers have already googled these terms in hopes of an answer. OptinMonster has written posts that answer these common questions and they have performed well.

You can do a couple things. You could write one long post answering all the frequently asked questions. But it may be more beneficial to create a blog series.

You don’t have to tell your readers it is a series. Just answer a common question once a week, and you will have great content that is likely beneficial for SEO as well.

28. Questions You Should be Asking

The “Should Ask Questions” (SAQs) is also a great avenue of inspiration. Where FAQs are questions that your visitors are usually asking, your SAQs are the questions that an informed visitor knows to ask.

Much like new drivers who may be ignorant to the basics of car maintenance (i.e.: average annual maintenance costs), your post can help educate your readers on questions they should be asking and why it is important to ask those questions.

29. Twitter Posts

Scour the Twittersphere and see what’s popular. You can embed popular tweets and provide your commentary on them.

Whether you are embedding tweets from your favorite people, most loyal followers, or random people posting on a certain Twitter campaign, you can develop a blog post in a matter of minutes.

30. Contests

Running a contest doesn’t have to be hard work. Just think of a need for your company or blog and offer a prize for the most favored contestant.

The trick for a successful contest is not spending lots of money, but to know both your needs and what is desirable from your readers.

31. Screencasts

The beauty of screencasts is that they are a 2-for-1 gain for you. A screencast can be a simple recording where you walkthrough a feature or you show a cool and new way to use your product.

You can create a screencast in a matter of minutes, through in maybe 30 minutes of editorial work, and you can use a platform like YouTube to host the video. With the benefit of YouTube, you can even begin to build our your YouTube audience while entertaining and informing your blog readers.

32. Time-Saving Posts (how to)

No one likes to waste time. “Time is money”. As a result, many people are searching for the next big thing in time management.

If you need inspiration, check out Syed Balkhi’s post about saving time by becoming more efficient with planning your meetings. You can follow his lead by finding one area (like he did with meetings), and show how you improved your time management.

33. Find Funny Videos for Blog Posts

We posted about humorous posts, but to take a different spin on it, consider creating a series of posts. Whether you offer a Monday Morning Humor or another day, the point is to find something that you find humorous and to share content regularly.

The best part is that you are not a creator of content, but merely a content curator. You don’t have to worry about writing anything if you don’t want to. And the best part is that funny posts are often shared, which means your website can gain lots of exposure simply because of a comedic YouTube video.

34. Conference Posts

Whenever you attend a conference, consider posting about the major speeches, seminars, etc. Usually there will be keynote speakers. So write about those people. Give summaries of their speeches and highlight the main points or the questions that were left in your mind after they spoke.

Other people may tweet about the conference, so you can even embed any relevant tweets that you mind find while researching and writing.

35. Event Summaries

Along the same lines as giving updates while at a conference, you can write a post that is a concise summary of the conference.

What were the major takeaways? What did you think about the conference overall? What would you change? Will you go again next year? These are the questions people want to know when they think about attending conferences — is it worth it.

36. Top Take-Aways From Whatever

Have you recently finished a book? Maybe took a online course? Write a post about your top 10 take-aways from that resource.

This is like a review, but will be a lot shorter and probably in a list format. Strive to make your take-aways easily readable and shareable.

37. Think Out Loud Posts

If you’re anything like me, you are an extroverted thinker. Instead of trying to figure everything out before you post, just write a post with your unfinished thoughts — think out loud!

Granted, it will help if you have your thoughts at least organized, but don’t feel like you have to have a perfect solution to problem or the finished plan for an idea. Just write freely and post.

38. Rants

Yes! Go on a rant about something! Speak your mind! Be free to share your frustrations! Just remember that whatever is posted on the internet stays on the internet, and you have the potential to start a firestorm.

So go ahead and rant, but for your own sake, I’d encourage you to do ample research and to have someone else read your post before you publicize it. While rants can easily become viral content, they do have the potential to burn relationships.

39. Pop-Culture Commentary

Share your thoughts on the latest pop-culture news and events. Is there a recent movie that has been released? A new television series that you are hooked on? Talk about it.

Pop-culture events are popular by definition. Your blog post can ride the wave of popularity while at the same time provide you a fun distraction from your normal posts.

40. Beginner’s Guides

Beginner guides are popular because beginners in any hobby or industry anxious to learn more and more. You can mentor from a distance by creating a beginner guide that helps meet their needs and provides great content for your website.

Beginner Guides can be great for SEO purposes too because you should be explaining and defining new terms, while also providing synonyms for common terms. In this regard, you can pack a lot of keywords in a post in a way that is helpful and informative.

41. “Metrics to Measure” Guides

You’re an experienced writer. You know how to run a successful website. But many people just starting out don’t know where to start. What metrics are important? How do you improve those metrics?

A brief post about the important numbers and metrics to watch can be very helpful, and maybe a great recommended post at the end of your beginner’s guide.

42. Recent Tools You Use

Have you tested out and tried any new tools recently to help your business or blog? Are you still figuring out how you like the tool and how effective it is? Talk about it!

This is not a full review, of course, but a glance at what you’re doing to improve your business. Maybe you are trying out a new social media tool, maybe you’ve changed your workflow, maybe you finally came over to using a Mac instead of a PC (About time! Welcome! 🙂 ) Whatever you decide, I encourage you to use some screenshots because images or screenshots are always helpful.

43. Free Giveaways

Maybe this post is related to a contest but it doesn’t have to be. Offer a free giveaway, maybe an e-book, and see how many downloads you can get. If you want this to generate some possibly new subscribers for you, then offer this giveaway in exchange for a name and email.

If you need some ideas, combine some blog posts into a nice ebook or maybe make some photographs you’ve taken and let them be public domain. Everyone wants to make money, but sometimes you can make money by occasionally give a few items away.

44. Guest Bloggers

So you’re frustrated at coming up with ideas? Are you going on vacation and you don’t want to write extra blog posts? Consider having a guest blogger.

Make this invitation only — reach out to bloggers your like and ask if they would be willing to guest blog for you.

45. Debates

Macs are better than PCs! Some of you probably hate me for saying that, and a few are crying out “Linux!” So let’s argue our points!

Create a debate post, maybe with the help of a guest writer, and dialogue from different sides of controversial topic. Many times this is done as a blog series. The fun part is that you can play devil’s advocate and even argue for the side you disagree with.

46. Transcript Posts

Have you able to speak at a conference? Have you spoken on a podcast recently? If so, you can share your meeting notes as a blog post.

What’s even better is that you can use some transcribing software to take an audio recording (from your speech or podcast), and have it make you post for you. Just be sure to read through it after it is transcribed to make sure everything translated correctly.

47. Myth vs. Fact

Myth vs. Facts are really fun to make. Have you ever gotten frustrated correcting a newbie in your field of interest? And they fall over, and over, and over again for the same false beliefs.

You can do something about it! Create a fun post of the most common myths you hear and correct them with the facts. If you are good with graphics, this can be a great time to combine your expertise.

48. Monthly Updates and Stats

Are you working on new things? Talk about them!! Feel free to share any recent additions to your company, or new office moves, or recollect your recent product updates.

Monthly updates can also be updates with numbers. These statistics can serve to give confidence in your blog or in your product. Have 337 people bought your product this month? Share it! Have you gained 20 subscribers this week? Talk about it!

49. Preview Posts

Give your readership a glimpse of what you are working on. Whether you are releasing a new feature this week, or 6 months from now, give some insight to your subscriber base.

Preview posts actually can help your readers feel more loyal to you because you are trusting them with knowledge that hasn’t materialized yet. You are opening the door for them to question and keep you honest on future releases. The bright side is that you will likely follow through on those previewed items, so this is especially helpful for those who get distracted easily.

50. Answer “Why?”

So many tech questions answer the “how” question. “How do I do ____?” But you’re smart. You understand your focus area and you can answer more than a “how” question. You can answer the “why?”

Why should someone back up their site regularly? Why is it important to add something to your espresso in less than 8 seconds? How questions give knowledge. Why questions help give wisdom. Share your wisdom and answer the why questions.

51. Search Twitter for Inspiration

We spoke earlier about using Twitter posts for inspiration, but you can also do advanced searches with Twitter.

Look for the questions people are asking on Twitter. Or see what people are frustrated about. Then write a post answering their post. After you publish, you can then tweet at them with your posts — you’re bound to get at least one read!

52. Cheatsheets

I remember in college that one of my professors would let us have a notecard size cheatsheet to keep key information that would help us in our exam. The goal of the cheatsheet wasn’t to have every answer, but to give guidance and help in the hard parts.

We need cheatsheets for life! So write one! If you have a food blog, give a cheatsheet with conversions for common measurements. Unlike a checklist, this isn’t meant to be exhaustive but a post about knowing the main things or the easily overlooked things.

53. Criticisms and Open Letters

You may think this is like the rant, but you would be wrong 🙂 In this situation, you are ranting against a person or organization. Maybe you are against their policies or perhaps they just did something really dumb. Either way, you have some words for them.

You can write a open letter of critique that addresses your concerns. Much like the rant, I would have one or two trusted friends or family read your post before you officially publicize it.

54. Share Recent Travel Experiences

You don’t need a travel blog to talk about your travels! Use your current blog as a random plug for your favorite destination spot. Let others live vicariously through you!

Just remember that no travel blog post is complete without at least one picture!

55. Gallery / Album Posts

Have you been on vacation lately? Do you have any new products to sell? You can create a gallery or even an album of galleries and share them in a blog post.

You don’t have to worry about coming up with a great story, just give them a summary of what the photos are.

56. Talk About Your Successes and Your Failures

Vulnerability is a tricky thing. It is not easy for me or anyone to be honest with failures. But ironically, the vulnerability that is so hard to share can be some of the most helpful and popular content.

Think about writing a post. Where you succeeded. Where you failed. Share it with your readers and you will see just how popular your content can be.

57. Auto-Biographical Post

Everyone loves to talk about themselves, right? And when you’re looking for content to post on your blog, what better content than to talk about yourself?!

You can talk about your education, favorite hobbies, funny stories with your dogs, whatever you want. When you share experiences, you’ll be amazed to find that some people love the same things you do — and you may just get some more subscribers!

58. Share Recipes

There is a reason why recipe posts are so viral — people need to eat! Therefore your post can help attract attention from all across the world.

For SEO purposes, be sure to include any alternate names for your dish or drink, as well as giving very precise measurements and cooking instructions. I love apple desserts, so feel free to share those!

59. Curate or Summarize Someone Else’s Work.

There is a saying that there is no such thing as original work anymore — we all copy ideas from someone else. The difference however is when you present information, are you doing so in a new and helpful manner.

So am I telling you the copy someone’s post, word for word? No! Research, compile the information, and make a new post. If you use someone else’s work, then be sure to give your sources at the bottom of your post.

60. Holidays

Holidays are always popular and people always google them, whether to find the date of the holiday, to find recipes, game ideas, you name it.

When you write your post, talk about any special sales you’ll be having, share fun holiday traditions, or share pictures from your holiday party. Make your holiday post the viral post of the holiday among your readers!

61. Thankful Posts

Showing gratitude is a simple way to write a blog post. The trick is to be specific. Obviously, be specific of who you are thankful for. But also be specific on what you’re thankful for.

When in doubt, you can always write a post of gratitude for your readers and subscribers. Explain how they’ve motivated you to keep working hard and how they’ve given you inspiration.

62. Show Your Response to an Interesting Customer Question

Have you had any interesting or intriguing customer questions recently? Make a post about it, where you also include your response to the customer. Tell people why you’re sharing it and how you think it can help future readers.

Unless you have expressed permission, be sure to change the names so that you can let them keep their anonymity.

63. Create a Glossary

Glossary posts are incredibly helpful and are fantastic for SEO purposes. And they’re really helpful for users of all levels — beginner’s to learn new things, and advanced users to refresh their memory on less common terms.

Research current glossaries and figure out the top-searched terms in your industry. Then make your glossary and what it get shared!

Here’s an example of WPBeginner’s WordPress Glossary.

64. Share Who is Important to Follow

You’ve written for a while and you’re great at what you do. But there are other major players that are important to follow. So help your readers stay informed.

Consider writing a post on “Who’s who” in your industry. You can link to their Twitter handles, their websites, etc. Be sure to message those industry leaders as they very well may share your post too.

65. Best Sources of Inspiration

What is your muse? What gives you inspiration for writing, creating new things, developing new products, reaching new markets?

Do you have a favorite playlist? Visit a favorite park bench with a great view? Share what inspires you to create and ask your readers to submit their own sources. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a new way to be inspired.

66. Recount the History of Your Blog or Business

How did you make it this far? How has your business grown over the years? Share the story of your business’ history. Let your readers know how your blog has developed over the years.

The cool thing of writing about your history is that you can relive your failures and success and be inspired with new directions for the future.

67. Aspirations for Your Blog / Business

Speaking of looking forward to the future, consider posting about your aspirations for your blog or business. Where would you like to be in 2 years relative to the market as a whole? Is there a niche you desire to break into?

Now, to be clear, I’m not asking you to divulge secrets that would compromise the success of your business. But there is a difference between speaking of reaching out to new markets and sharing the specifics of corporate strategy.

68. Best Mobile Apps for your Industry

Since the world is increasingly going mobile, developers are building better and faster apps for phones. Some of those apps make both your life and mine a whole lot easier.

What apps do you use to stay ahead of the game? Traveling apps? Wall Street Journal subscription? Share what mobile apps help your perform better and why you would recommend others download them as well.

69. Roundups

Weekly roundups are becoming more commonplace. You can share your updates from the week, any frustrations you’ve run across, and any hopes for tomorrow.

I personally enjoy weekly roundups as a way of clearing one’s head. You can write what has been going on and get focus for the next week.

70. Get thoughts from Newbies

Consider a post where you purposely reach out to the newbies of your industry. Not the thought leaders but the newcomers to the field. Now, before you say I’m stupid for suggesting such a thing, consider the idea of “group think”. Group think is when you are around the same people for so long that you all think of the same pros and cons for things.

Newcomers do not enter in the arena with those habitual bias and therefore can provide creative solutions to historical problems. They can give ideas for new ways of doing things that may even help your business.

71. Memes

Everyone loves s good meme. At least I do 🙂 . Create a meme post from the meme’s you’ve enjoy the most or even created yourself.

There are a ton of meme generators out there. Find the inside jokes of your field and pump out some new memes.

72. Charity / Awareness posts

Public service is popular these days. Why not write a post about a cause you believe it. Whether you are bringing awareness to new cancer research or you’re encouraging women to get into the tech industry, find something that you believe in and talk about it.

The cool thing about charity and cause posts is that they serve multiple purposes. They aid the cause while also proving a good opportunity to improve the reputation of your brand.

73. Recycle Old Posts

Last but certainly not least, you can make updates to popular posts with latest and greatest information.

Use Google Analytics and see which posts have been the most successful. Next, see if there is anyway to update it. Maybe there are better resources available, new stats, better images, etc. Since the post already has great success, you are bound to only increase its popularity with your new information.

I hope you enjoyed these 73 types of blog posts that are proven to work. Please consider sharing it with your friends on social media, and don’t forget to follow OptinMonster on Twitter and Facebook.

How can SMART objectives help set realistic targets?

From SMART to SMARTER marketing objectives

When identifying specific marketing objectives to support your long-term goals, it is common practice to apply the widely used SMART mnemonic. You will know that SMART is used to assess the suitability of objectives set to drive different strategies or the improvement of the full range of business processes.
One of the main reasons that we called our site and service SMART Insights is because we wanted to help marketers succeed through using a more structured approach to planning to give more realistic targets they could be more confident of achieving. Using SMART objectives and then measuring them through properly customised analytics reports is a big part of how we hope to help too.
With SMART objectives documented in Plans linking objectives to strategies and KPIs everyone is sure exactly what the target is, progress towards it can be quickly and regularly reviewed, for example through an Ecommerce dashboard and, if necessary, action can be taken to put the plan back on target.

How can SMART objectives help set realistic targets?

When setting future objectives for marketing such as in a marketing plan it’s useful to look hard at each measure and ask “is it essential?”. The SMART mnemonic helps as a test or filter which you can use to assess the quality of measures. My personal definition of SMART is:

• Specific – Can the detail in the information sufficient to pinpoint problems or opportunities? Is the objective sufficiently detailed to measure real-world problems and opportunities?
• Measurable – Can a quantitative or qualitative attribute be applied to create a metric?
• Actionable – Can the information be used to improve performance? If the objective doesn’t change behaviour in staff to help them improve performance, there is little point in it!
• Relevant – Can the information be applied to the specific problem faced by the marketer?
• Time-bound – Can objectives be set for different time periods as targets to review against?

Of course different people interpret define SMART differently and you can refer to the Wikipedia definition of SMART marketing objectives. We summarized the five different components in this handy graphic:

Examples of SMART objectives

Here are some typical examples of SMART objectives, including those to support objective setting in customer acquisition, conversion and retention categories for digital marketing:

• Digital channel contribution objective. Achieve 10% online revenue contribution within two years.
• Acquisition objective. Acquire 50,000 new online customers this financial year at an average cost per acquisition (CPA) of £30 with an average profitability of £5.
• Conversion objective. Increase the average order value of online sales to £42 per customer.
• Engagement objective. Increase active customers purchasing at least once a quarter to 300,000 in a market (a hurdle rate metric)

Mistakes in setting objectives

It’s worth guarding against the mistake I sometimes see with student assignments where, rather than listing objective examples like those above, the student will create separate objectives under a heading of each of SMART - this doesn’t work… Better is to group objectives in a logical way, sometimes separating out overall business and marketing objectives and digital marketing objectives.
Another mistake to avoid is a big long list of objectives - yes I have seen a whole page of bullets with no structure... Instead group them logically in a way you would present them to colleagues. We recommend structuring them based on the RACE framework as show in this table aligning objectives to strategies and KPIs

The Ten Measures Design Tests

You can add to your tests of choosing the right objectives using these 10 measure design tests developed by performance management specialist Professor Andy Neely. For SMARTER metrics, ask these questions for your KPIs as you develop them.

• 1. The truth test. Are we really measuring what we set out to measure?
• 2. The focus test. Are we only measuring what we set out to measure?
• 3. The relevancy test. Is it the right measure of the performance measure we want to track?
• 4. The consistency test. Will the data always be collected in the same way whoever measures it?
• 5. The access test. Is it easy to locate and capture the data needed to make the measurement?
• 6. The clarity test. Is any ambiguity possible in interpreting the results?
• 7. The so-what test. Can and will the data be acted upon, i.e. is it actionable?
• 8. The timeliness test. Can the data be accessed rapidly and frequently enough for action?
• 9. The cost test. Is the measure worth the cost of measurement?
• 10. The gaming test. Is the measure likely to encourage undesirable or inappropriate behaviours?

These tests show there are additional filters on top of SMART are useful to choose the best measure, I particularly like the "So-what test, another way of explaining relevance and Gaming - a common issue with target setting that isn’t considered by SMART!

Alternative SMART objectives definitions

Finally, some have developed the SMARTER objectives definition that show the need to re-examine the relevance of SMART objectives through time:

Letter	Most Common	Alternative
S	Specific	Significant, Stretching, Simple, Sustainable
M	Measurable	Motivational, Manageable, Meaningful
A	Attainable	Appropriate, Achievable, Agreed, Assignable, Actionable, Adjustable, Ambitious.
R	Relevant	Results Based, Results-Oriented, Resourced, Realistic, Reasonable.
T	Time-Bound	Timed, Time-Framed, Time-Specific, Timetabled, Time limited, Trackable, Tangible.
E	Evaluate	Ethical, Enjoyable, Engaging, Evidenced
R	Reevaluate	Reviewed, Rewarded, Revisit, Recordable, Rewarding, Reaching.

The Right Way to Monitor & Measure Performance Targets

Monitoring and measurement of performance is the longest phase in the performance management cycle. During this phase the manager/ evaluator is supposed to keep an eye on the performance related to the set targets and constantly monitor it in order to be able to keep it on the right track. In that direction the purpose of this phase is not only to measure and evaluate the end results but to control the overall performance throughout the whole period between target setting and evaluation. This gives the true meaning to the performance management system for it is a system for management and not just for evaluation of the performance.

Performance management system is a tool for management not for evaluation of performance

Unfortunately, many organizations neglect this part of the cycle and simply do nothing or very little in the period between the target setting and target evaluation. Excuses vary from not having time to do it, to leaving it to the managers to do it in their own way and time etc. In any case they are just excuses. Not monitoring the evaluation will lose the whole meaning of the performance management since then you are not managing the performance throughout the year but only evaluating the end result.

Reasons for Performance Measurement

Aside of the very obvious reason that it is a part of any performance management system and that without it we cannot evaluate the achievement of the targets, there are also other reasons why we need to measure the performance.
From company side

• The whole performance management system including the monitoring and measurement process is designed to support the company strategy and achievement of corporate goals
• If we don't monitor the performance of the targets we will not be able to see if we will achieve the company strategy
• Monitoring and measurement gives us valuable inputs for any further development and adjustment of the strategy as well as for the targets of the years to follow

From employees and managers side

• If we don't measure the performance we won't be able to show if we are doing a good job
• If we don't measure the performance we won't be able to make difference between successful and unsuccessful execution, between outstanding performance and underachievement
• By not making difference between outstanding performance and underachievement we won't be able to recognize and reward the overachievement, nor to correct and develop the underachievement
• This can lead to rewarding and recognizing the wrong people and not rewarding the ones who really deserve it which will ultimately create dissatisfaction and drop of motivation
• The managers who don't measure the performance cannot see where they should improve the work of their teams etc.

Setting Targets and Making Monitoring and Measurement Plan

Performance measurement starts with the target setting! Although many may think that the monitoring and measurement phase starts after the targets are set, it actually starts with the setting of the targets because this is the phase when the KPIs are set and when the measurement methods and tools are foreseen.
When setting the goals and the specific targets (KPIs) for each goal it is important to foresee how the achievement of the target will be monitored and measured. If a certain target cannot be measured, or is very difficult to measure, then such target shouldn't be set.
The next step in the monitoring and measurement process would be to define a monitoring and measurement plan. But let’s go step by step.

What is Monitoring?

Technically performance monitoring is systematical gathering and analysis of information in parallel with the accomplishment of the task or job. In other words it means that as the work is being done, someone has the task to gather information and make the necessary analysis from which we can get a clear picture on the actual performance and make necessary decisions. This means that in order to be able to monitor the performance first we need to know what are the goal and the KPI for that goal. Then we need to establish monitoring and measurement tools and methods. At the end we need to foresee the needed resources as well as the people that will be assigned to monitor the performance.
The goal of the monitoring is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance through constantly keeping track on the actual performance. It also helps keep performance on the right track.

Planning the Monitoring and Measurement

It is difficult to go back and establish the monitoring and measurement systems, methods and measures once the achievement of a certain target has started. For example, try to measure and evaluate the achievement of a certain task or project without defining a monitoring and evaluation plan prior to the start of that task or project. What will you measure? What will you evaluate? How will you do it? Based on what?

It is difficult to go back and establish the monitoring and measurement systems, methods and measures once the achievement of a certain target has started

Monitoring and measurement should be part of the performance management system and should be well planned at the time of target setting. This plan should comprise the following:
1. Defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
KPIs are measurable, traceable and visible signs / indicators that something has been achieved or not. They are an important part of any performance management system because they are what you actually monitor and measure. In order to be measured the KPIs are set at the beginning of the process, i.e. during the target setting so that assigned employees can immediately start with gathering information.
A simple guidance on how to set KPIs is to see if the ones that we have set justify the term Key Performance Indicator. This means that it should be a key contributor to the success of the goal. The contributors are key only when they make significant impact on the goal. The indicator should be a performance measure that can be measured, quantified, adjusted and controlled. The measure must be controllable in order to be able to adjust and improve the performance if needed. And finally it should be an indicator, a pointer of what we have defined to be successful accomplishment of the specific goal.
Some examples of KPIs are revenue ($), income ($), market share (%), number of new products on market (number), customer churn (%), employee fluctuation (%), employee satisfaction (index) etc.

2. Defining Tools and Methods for Monitoring, Measuring and Evaluation
Next step after the definition of the KPIs is to define the methods, measures and tools for gathering the necessary information for the analysis. These directly depend on the nature of the goal and the KPI.
For example, information can be gathered from activities reports, meeting notes, financial reports, or by surveys, interviews etc.
3. Defining Activities Plan
Now it's time to define the activities plan and schedule for monitoring. Again it will depend on the nature of the goal and the KPI how often we will need to gather information and make analysis. The achievement of some goals may be measured monthly or quarterly, while other goals may require daily measuring and monitoring.
4. Defining Resources
After the methods and tools have been defined and the activities plan has been set we need to foresee the resources that we'll need to perform the monitoring and measurement. This includes material, financial resources and people.
5. Assigning People
The last step is to assign people who will perform the measurement and monitoring.

Elements of Monitoring

The whole monitoring and measurement process is consisted of the following elements:

1. Setting KPIs
2. Setting up monitoring and measurement systems
3. Collecting and recording data
4. Data analysis
5. Use of information for reporting, improvement and adjustment

5 of the Biggest and Still the Best Online Advertising Methods

5 of the Biggest and Still the Best Online Advertising Methods

Last Year Internet Ad revenue hit $31bn. Q4 saw the best quarterly result ever at $9bn with a 20% increase on spend from the same period in 2010.
Figures from the Internet Advertising Bureau, which is the trade association for online advertising showed:

• 46.5% of the spend was on search advertising on websites such as Google
• About 8.1% was on online classified advertising
• 34.8% was on display advertising which includes banners and digital video commercials.

5 of the Best Online Advertising Methods Today

1. Websites and Blogs

If you want to make the best of online advertising then you need to have a website or blog. Most online advertising is geared to direct people to your website, a central hub if you will. A large percentage of internet users use the internet as their preferred choice to find information about goods and services. Your website or blog is a permanent shop window that is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

Tip: Just having a website or blog does not mean you will get traffic, leads, sales. You need to be 100% clear on the purpose of your blog before starting.

2. Social Media Websites

Social Media websites such as Facebook and YouTube are constantly seeking to increase their advertising revenues. Both provide full details of their advertising possibilities on their websites;

• Facebook

Facebook allows you to select your audience by location, age and interests and to test out simple image and text based ads. It suggests that companies advertising on Facebook can:

• Advertise their own web page
• Create demand for their products by creating relevant adverts
• Publicize an event such as a product launch or anniversary.

Payment is either made by “pay per click” or by “impression” (visitors see the ad whether they click it or not). You can set a daily budget that can be adjusted up or down at any time.

• YouTube

YouTube offers a host of resources such as “how to” Guides and advertisers playbooks that will show you exactly how to set up and run your first successful marketing campaign with it.
Twitter also recently announced that it allows users to place self serve ads. You can find out more about Twitter Advertising here
Tip: Any Advertising on social media networks should only be undertaken as part of a coordinated social media strategy. if you are still unsure read this: 13 Reasons Using Social Media for Business is Non Negotiable

3. Banners and Display Advertising

Display Banners, or Banner ads, were the first major method used for online advertising. By 2009, they had dropped to less than 23% of online advertising spend as pay per click or keyword advertising became the predominant force.
Display banners still have merit and are good for special offers or for reinforcing a brand. Banner ads are small adverts that normally come in various rectangle forms. They appear on websites and serve as a link directly to the advertiser’s website: when you click on a banner your browser instantly redirects you to that site.

Recommended for You Webcast, May 22nd: How to Hit a Home Run Competitive Brand Audit

The popularity of banner ads is partly due to fact that they are simple to produce and publish. They are also highly measurable. Depending on the ad and the producer or service, advertisers can calculate the cost per sale – this is the amount of advertising money that is spent to make one sale.

4. Pay Per click (PPC) or Keyword Advertising

Search engines and many websites (including social networks sites such as Facebook and YouTube), carry small adverts with embedded URL’s. When someone clicks on these adverts, the company that put them there is charged. This is considered by many to be the best online advertising method by far and has been growing at a remarkable rate. Unlike traditional advertising pay per click is user activated. Users like it, because it costs them nothing and they only use it if there is something that attracts them.
The advantage of pay per click for advertisers is that they only pay for the actual click through to their site. With other methods of advertising, both offline and online, you have no particular idea of how much it will cost you to attract each visitor. A user that clicks through into your site is likely to be interested in what you have to say, because these users are actively looking for information or researching what you have to say, your product service or offering.
The largest Pay per Click advertiser by a long way is Google and they have a large library of information available to walk small business owners through the process of starting a successful PPC campaign. Google
Tip: As promising and as exciting as having instant customers sounds, don’t think PPC is as easy as it sounds! There are many different facets that you have to consider when designing and implementing a successful PPC campaign. Which if you ignore or get slightly wrong could have a significant impact on your investment.

5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

With the huge increase of companies operating online and selling on the internet there has been a dramatic increase in the competition between companies to get visitors to their websites. When carrying out research most people will only look at the first page of search results and quite often only the first two or three.
An article on Search Engine Watch shows that 36.4% of people click on the first result and only 2.2% click on result number ten, the last result on the first page.
Making sure your site gets high up in the search results is important to the success of your website. There are ways to improve your search engine rankings, and search engine optimization is the method of doing this.
Tip: Search Engine Optimization is a long term strategy one that will require constant attention. ( When your website starts to move higher in the rankings, those that you displace will try to recover their ground.)
The best online advertising methods can and will only be the best if you in fact have a sound, well thought out plan for your advertising campaign; whether that is SEO or social media. The simple fact is if you go running ahead online without due care and attention you could end up with a whopping great investment of time and or money for little to no return.

Read more at https://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/5-of-the-biggest-and-still-the-best-online-advertising-methods-0186358

Develop a marketing strategy

Develop a marketing strategy

Effective marketing starts with a considered, well-informed marketing strategy. A good marketing strategy helps you define your vision, mission and business goals, and outlines the steps you need to take to achieve these goals.
Your marketing strategy affects the way you run your entire business, so it should be planned and developed in consultation with your team. It is a wide-reaching and comprehensive strategic planning tool that:

• describes your business and its products and services
• explains the position and role of your products and services in the market
• profiles your customers and your competition
• identifies the marketing tactics you will use
• allows you to build a marketing plan and measure its effectiveness.

A marketing strategy sets the overall direction and goals for your marketing, and is therefore different from a marketing plan, which outlines the specific actions you will take to implement your marketing strategy. Your marketing strategy could be developed for the next few years, while your marketing plan usually describes tactics to be achieved in the current year.

Write a successful marketing strategy

Your well-developed marketing strategy will help you realise your business's goals and build a strong reputation for your products. A good marketing strategy helps you target your products and services to the people most likely to buy them. It usually involves you creating one or two powerful ideas to raise awareness and sell your products.
Developing a marketing strategy that includes the components listed below will help you make the most of your marketing investment, keep your marketing focused, and measure and improve your sales results.

Identify your business goals

To develop your marketing strategy, identify your overarching business goals, so that you can then define a set of marketing goals to support them. Your business goals might include:

• increasing awareness of your products and services
• selling more products from a certain supplier
• reaching a new customer segment.

When setting goals it's critical to be as targeted as possible so you can effectively measure the outcomes against what you set out to achieve. A simple criteria for goal-setting is the SMART method:

• Specific - state clearly what you want to achieve
• Measurable - set tangible measures so you can measure your results
• Achievable - set objectives that are within your capacity and budget
• Relevant - set objectives that will help you improve particular aspects of your business
• Time-bound - set objectives you can achieve within the time you need them.

State your marketing goals

Define a set of specific marketing goals based on the business goals you listed above. These goals will motivate you and your team and help you benchmark your success.
Examples of marketing goals include increased market penetration (selling more existing products to existing customers) or market development (selling existing products to new target markets). These marketing goals could be long-term and might take a few years to successfully achieve. However, they should be clear and measurable and have time frames for achievement.
Make sure your overall strategies are also practical and measurable. A good marketing strategy will not be changed every year, but revised when your strategies have been achieved or your marketing goals have been met. Also, you may need to amend your strategy if your external market changes due to a new competitor or new technology, or if your products substantially change.

Research your market

Research is an essential part of your marketing strategy. You need to gather information about your market, such as its size, growth, social trends and demographics (population statistics such as age, gender and family type). It is important to keep an eye on your market so you are aware of any changes over time, so your strategy remains relevant and targeted.

Profile your potential customers

Use your market research to develop a profile of the customers you are targeting and identify their needs.
The profile will reveal their buying patterns, including how they buy, where they buy and what they buy. Again, regularly review trends so you don't miss out on new opportunities or become irrelevant with your marketing message.
While you try to find new customers, make sure your marketing strategy also allows you to maintain relationships with your existing customers.

Profile your competitors

Similarly, as part of your marketing strategy you should develop a profile of your competitors by identifying their products, supply chains, pricing and marketing tactics.
Use this to identify your competitive advantage - what sets your business apart from your competitors. You may also want to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your own internal processes to help improve your performance compared with your competition.

Develop strategies to support your marketing goals

List your target markets and devise a set of strategies to attract and retain them. An example goal could be to increase young people's awareness of your products. Your corresponding strategies could be to increase your online social media presence by posting regular updates about your product on Twitter and Facebook; advertising in local magazines targeted to young people; and offering discounts for students.

Use the '7 Ps of marketing'

Identify your tactical marketing mix using the 7 Ps of marketing. If you can choose the right combination of marketing across product, price, promotion, place, people, process and physical evidence, your marketing strategy is more likely to be a success.

Test your ideas

In deciding your tactics, do some online research, test some ideas and approaches on your customers and your staff, and review what works. You will need to choose a number of tactics in order to meet your customers' needs, reach the customers within your target market and improve your sales results.

Also consider...

• Learn more about advertising.
• Read about the basics of marketing.
• Find out how to write and implement your marketing plan.
• Watch a recorded webinar to learn about local search marketing.
• Find out about other research resources for business and industry.
• Use our market research kit to conduct online research.