Tag: business

In the past, advertising and affiliate marketing were the best ways to monetize a website. However, these tactics can be time-consuming and disrupt the user experience (UX). As an alternative, you may want to create a membership site to earn income online. Still, you might now know where to begin.

Fortunately, it’s easy to create a paid membership site with the right tools. Then, you can configure memberships in WordPress, restrict access to specific pages, and sell subscriptions.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at membership websites and how they work. Then, we’ll discuss what you need to get started and explore two ways you can do this. Let’s dive in!

An Introduction to Membership Websites

Typically, a membership website is an online space that provides exclusive content for its members. Alternatively, some membership sites are accessible to everyone, but feature gated content and additional resources that require a membership.

Most of the time, memberships are granted in exchange for payment (usually a subscription). However, sometimes users can become members by simply handing over their email address:

Once users gain membership status, they can log into the site to view exclusive pages/posts, download files, or receive emails and newsletters. 

There are many benefits to creating a paid membership site. For instance, you’ll get access to a more engaged audience since users have already expressed interest in your content. In turn, you can enjoy higher retention rates and earn recurring revenue.

What You Need to Create a Membership Site on WordPress

To create your membership site, you’ll need a place where you can publish and manage content. One of the best options is WordPress since it’s open-source, free, and easy to use. After you’ve selected a domain name, signed up with a web hosting provider, and installed WordPress, you can add membership functionality to your site.

When creating a paid membership site, make sure you can carry out the following tasks:

• Create memberships. You’ll need a tool that enables you to create multiple memberships with clear prices and benefits. 
• Design a signup page. Users need a way to access your membership plans. Generally, visitors can sign up on your web page with an email address. 
• Add pricing. It’s a good idea to create a pricing page where users can view all your plans. You might prefer to display this information in a pricing table so that visitors can easily compare plans. 
• Integrate your website with your sales funnel. For instance, you might want to pull your members’ email addresses to your CRM. Or, you could connect your membership site to an email marketing platform.
• Set up a payment gateway. If you’re accepting fees in exchange for memberships, you’ll need a payment gateway to authorize transactions.

Carefully considering the above elements at the outset can help streamline your workflow down the line.

How to Create a Paid Membership Site with WordPress (2 Ways)

Now that you know the benefits of creating a membership site, let’s take a look at two ways to get started.

1. With a WordPress Membership Plugin like ProfilePress

When you use a plugin like ProfilePress, you can easily set up and configure your membership site. Plus, it allows you to continue creating and managing WordPress content as you normally would.

Before we get started, you’ll need to enable user registration in WordPress. To do this, navigate to Settings > General in your WordPress dashboard. Then, check the box next to Anyone can register:

Now, you can install and activate the plugin. ProfilePress is an excellent option since you can use it to create custom forms for signup and login pages. 

To do this, head to ProfilePress > Settings > Pages:

Here, you can choose the default form options, or select an existing page. Alternatively, you can create a new signup page to gain greater control over your form fields and settings.

To create your own form, click on ProfilePress > Forms & Profiles. Select your preferred form type, such as LOGIN or REGISTRATION. Then, hit Add New:

Additionally, you can create membership plans by going to ProfilePress > Membership Plans > Add New:

You’re able to adjust your plan details, configure subscription settings, and add any digital products.

To accept payments on your website, navigate to the ProfilePress dashboard and select Integrate a Payment Method:

You can either choose Stripe, PayPal, or Mollie. ProfilePress also supports the Stripe hosted checkout page and on-site payment form. You’ll need to connect to your account. 

Then, it’s a good idea to test the payment method by activating Test Mode:

Lastly, you can restrict access to your content by setting up rule conditions. To do this, head to ProfilePress > Content Protection > Add Protection Rule:

Here, you can select the specific pages you want to restrict access to using the + AND/+ OR buttons. Under Access Condition, you’re able to choose who the rule applies to. For example, you can make certain posts accessible only to your subscribers. 

2. With a Learning Management System like MemberPress

MemberPress is an all-in-one solution that’s ideal for creating and selling courses. It’s not strictly a learning management system (LMS) though. The plugin also provides general membership features:

After installation, head to MemberPress > Courses > Add New to begin:

Then, switch to the Curriculum tab to add materials like infographics, video content, and quizzes:

Next, you can set up multiple membership options and implement your tiered pricing structure. This is advisable since it gives you greater control over the way users interact with your content.

To create your memberships, go to MemberPress > Memberships > Add New:

Choose a unique name and set a price for each of your plans. 

If you head to Membership Options further down the page, you can customize your signup form and enable welcome emails:

Then, switch to Permissions to establish which user roles can sign up for your memberships:

You can use MemberPress to restrict access to your paid content such as blog posts, courses, and landing pages. Although, first, you’ll need to create membership rules. 

You can do this by heading to Memberpress > Rules > Add New. Then, select Single Course from the dropdown menu and choose the course that you want to configure. Next, pick the membership(s) that your users will need in order to access the course:

Lastly, you’re ready to add a payment gateway to your website. Head to MemberPress > Settings > Payments and specify which payment gateways members can use:

Currently, MemberPress supports PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. Click on the plus icon (+) to add your payment method. Then, connect to your account.

MemberPress is a useful plugin, but if you’re simply seeking a way to create a simple membership site, it may be a bit excessive. You could end up paying for a ton of features you don’t need. Plus, it comes with a steep learning curve which makes it less beginner-friendly than the previous option. 

Conclusion

Creating a membership website is a great way to nurture a community while monetizing your website. However, it can be difficult to get started. Luckily, with the help of some useful tools, it’s easy to create membership options, accept payments, and restrict access to paid content.

To recap, here are two ways to create a paid membership site with WordPress:.

1. With a WordPress membership plugin like ProfilePress.
2. With a learning management system like MemberPress.

Do you have any questions about creating a paid membership site? Ask in the comments section below!

The post How to Create a Paid Membership Site with WordPress (2 Ways) appeared first on Torque.

If you sell or create premium content on your WordPress website, you might be searching for different ways to make it more enticing for your audience. It can be challenging to come up with innovative methods to improve user experience (UX) and keep visitors coming back. 

Fortunately, you can increase user engagement by implementing drip content on your website. When you use this strategy, you release your material little by little instead of all at once. That way, your members will be drawn to return in order to access the next piece of content you make available. 

In this article, we’ll introduce drip content and discuss how it can benefit your WordPress site. Then, we’ll walk you through how to implement this method on your website using a plugin. Let’s dive in! 

An Introduction to Drip Content

Drip content refers to the process of releasing portions of premium content at a time, instead of all at once. This can be for your followers, a broader online audience, or even exclusive members.  

It can look like dispersing a single chapter of an ebook, a course module from an online class, or one podcast episode at a time. With this method, users receive material little by little over a period of time until they have the entire library.

If you’ve ever used the language-learning app Duolingo, you might understand the concept of drip content. In order to unlock the next category level, you have to get a certain amount of answers correct in the module you are currently learning:

This model incentivizes users to continue working on their current lesson in order to access the next one. You can use the same concept for your website.

Many different websites can benefit from this model. However, drip content is particularly well-suited to membership sites. That’s because this kind of website has larger amounts of material that is usually broken up into various segments.

Why Drip Content Could Benefit Your WordPress Site

There are many different reasons why you might want to use the drip method for your website. Your motivations will depend on what kind of site you run as well as your ultimate goals.

For example, let’s say you run a membership website that sells French classes online. By issuing material in small portions, you can help users pace themselves instead of pushing them to get through all of the content at once.

This can help make the finishing task less daunting, boosting engagement and encouraging participation. Furthermore, some of the advantages of implementing drip content on your site include:

• Helps users stay committed. Releasing your material on a periodical basis gives visitors a reason to stay devoted to whatever content you are offering them.
• Boosts site views. If users are consistently being enticed to come back to your website, you’ll grow your page views. This has the added benefit of improving SEO.
• Keeps attention for the longterm. If you give all your content at once, users might lose interest or tell themselves they’ll come back later. Issuing installments means that there’s a reason for them to come back on a consistent basis.

As you can see, dispensing your content little by little can bring many benefits to your website. Most importantly, high quality drip content can increase user engagement and interest. This can help grow your blog, program, or business.

How to Create Drip Content in WordPress (In 3 Steps)

Now that you know what drip content is and how it can benefit your website, let’s look at how you can implement it on your WordPress site. Keep in mind that this strategy is best used for pages that require users to pay for their content.

For this walkthrough, we’ll be using the MemberPress plugin. This tool will allow you to create paid subscriptions for your website and make rules about who can access your material. Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Install MemberPress and Create a Membership

To get started, download the MemberPress plugin on your WordPress site:

Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, you’ll need to set up a payment gateway. This will provide users with a way to pay for your material. To do this, navigate to MemberPress > Settings > Payments:

Here, you can set up your preferred payment gateway. MemberPress offers numerous popular options, such as Stripe and PayPal.

To add one or more options, click the Add Payment Option at the bottom left of the page:

Once you’ve added a payment method, don’t forget to click the Update Options button.

Now, let’s create a membership. This will provide a place for your users to subscribe to your content. To do so, go to MemberPress > Memberships and click on Add New:

From here, you’re able to edit your membership. You can add a title, choose a price, and add content:

In the Membership Terms editing box, you’ll find the field labeled Billing Type:

This will allow you to choose either a one-time or recurring payment option. Click Recurring, which will activate an ongoing payment model.

Once you’ve chosen this option, you can select how often you want users to pay for your content under the Interval field:

After you’ve selected your interval, you’re able to decide whether you want to create a trial period or limit your payment cycles.

These will have additional configuration options depending on your choice. Once you’ve made all your edits, go ahead and click on Publish at the top of the page.

Step 2: Add a Rule

Now that you’ve created a membership for your content, it’s time to configure rules. The rules you put in place will determine who has access to your site.

To do this, go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to MemberPress > Rules:

Then, click on Add New. This will take you to a page where you can control who has access to your website material.

Under Protected Content, you’ll find a dropdown menu that allows you to block different pages of your website:

Here, you can choose which areas of your website to protect. For example, if you want to protect only a particular group on your site, you can choose the A Single Group option:

Then, type in the group you want to protect.

You can also choose the conditions under which users will have access to your content. The dropdown menu under Access Conditions allows you to set them:

If a user is logged in and matches the conditions you established, they’ll be able to access your protected material. When you’re done making edits, click on Save Rule.

Step 3: Enable the Drip Feature

Once you’ve set up your rules, it’s time to enable the drip function. Stay on the Rules page and scroll down until you see the Drip / Expiration section:

Check the Enable Drip box:

This will trigger additional settings that you can customize. For example, you’re able to choose the amount of time you want users to wait before they can access the next piece of content:

You’ll also be able to choose the action that will trigger the “drip.” Just under this section, you can decide whether or not you want the content to expire.

If you choose this option, you can configure when the content will expire and after what action the user takes:

When you scroll down, you can also choose a message that visitors will see if they try to access your content without proper authorization.

You can customize this in the Unauthorized Access section:

From here, you can create a message that notifies visitors that they are not authorized to access certain content. You can also provide them with a login page that allows them to sign up for your membership.

After you’re done, scroll back up to the top of your page and click on Save Rule:

This will automatically apply all of the criteria that you configured to the front end of your website. That’s it! You have now set up drip content for your WordPress website.

Conclusion

Thinking up new ways to increase user engagement isn’t easy. Drip content is a method you can implement on your WordPress site to encourage people to stay interested in your material. This in turn can boost page views and help you grow your program. 

To recap, here’s how to create drip content in WordPress using MemberPress:

1. Install the MemberPress plugin and create a new membership for your website.
2. Create a rule so that only registered users will be able to access your material.
3. Enable the drip feature for your rule and publish your changes.

Do you have any questions about how to create drip content in WordPress? Let us know in the comments section below!

The post How to Create Drip Content in WordPress (In 3 Steps) appeared first on Torque.

Why would you need social media scheduling tools? Well, think of any business out there – it can be from any industry or of any size. What are the odds that the business has active social media profiles? Pretty high, right?

Social media has long become a crucial part of digital marketing. Back in 2015, 43% of businesses were already spending six hours per week on their social media efforts. A couple of years and a pandemic later, this number has likely increased by leaps and bounds.

But, isn’t there a way to lighten the load a little?

The answer to that question is social media scheduling tools. They allow you to automate many aspects of social media marketing, from scheduling posts to providing analytics and maintaining a database. In short, social media scheduling tools can make your life much easier and below, you find some of the best that 2022 has to offer.

Social Media Scheduling Tools You Should Definitely Try Out

Finding the right tool for yourself can be difficult. That’s why we are taking an in-depth look at some of the best options below.

1. SproutSocial

First up on the list is SproutSocial. It stands out with a number of advanced features, complex functionality, and smooth UI. The software also supports all major social media platforms out there, including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, and even WhatsApp!

Main Features

With SproutSocial, you can schedule multiple types of posts across different platforms, profiles, and campaigns ahead of time. Simply choose the posting time you desire or let the tool decide the ideal time through its send time optimization feature.

In addition, all your scheduled posts are organized across one simple, intuitive calendar that gives you a weekly and monthly view of upcoming publications. Besides that, whether you want to assign tags and sort through posts, add team members to collaborate, or handle your audience interactions in one place — with SproutSocial, you can do it all.

In addition, it’s real-time in-depth analytics help you keep check on where your marketing efforts are headed. Track your progress by setting up custom reports, scheduling periodic updates, and much more.

Another feature that makes SproutSocial stand out is social media listening. With it, the tool provides vital data on the latest industry trends and audience sentiments. You can stack your data against competitor insights to run comparisons too!

While SproutSocial has many wonderful features, it does come with a drawback. It’s not only one of the most expensive tools on the market, but also only offers paid subscriptions. This means that this tool might not be the best option for smaller businesses and agencies (though there is a free trial).

Pricing

Plan	Price
Standard	$89/user/month
Professional	$149/user/month
Advanced	$249/user/month

2. Hootsuite

One of the oldest players in the market, Hootsuite offers some of the most advanced features out there. In fact, what makes this tool unique is that it offers more than just social media scheduling. Instead, Hootsuite acts as an overall content assistant. It not only supports the usual suspects (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.) but also WordPress and email marketing tools.

Main Features

With its account-specific social media analytics, Hootsuite allows you to seamlessly track your results by time frame. Its ability to connect with tools like Brandwatch and Talkwalker also gives you access to essential industry insights right from your dashboard.

In fact, what makes Hootsuite truly stand out is its vast repository of app integrations. With a directory of 150+ apps, exchanging data across tools couldn’t be easier.

For example, Hootsuite integrates with CRMs like Salesforce and Zendesk, which makes customer data readily accessible for your social media marketing. You can even use the tool’s ReviewTrackers integration to keep tabs on your brand’s popularity. This integration captures reviews across 85 websites and compiles them all in one place so that you can understand your customers’ demands and complaints.

Unfortunately, Hootsuite does not come without drawbacks. Users have voiced complaints about the tool’s cluttered interface. Moreover, with its high-cost plans, this is also not the tool for businesses with small budgets.

Pricing

Plan	Price
Professional	$49/month
Team	$249/month
Business	$739/month
Enterprise	Custom

3. CoSchedule

Following Hootsuite is CoSchedule with its straightforward features, efficient functionality, intuitive interface, and affordable prices. Its marketing calendar lets you schedule updates on networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr!

Main Features

The best part about CoSchedule is its fantastic free plan. It allows you to publish posts on up to two social media profiles ahead of time at no cost. However, if you want to access some of the more advanced features of the tool or schedule more posts in advance, you may want to check out the paid plans.

The biggest advantage with CoSchedule is how much it facilitates content repurposing and recycling. It allows you to pull content directly from blog posts and repurpose them into social media posts. You can also use its reports to find your best performing social media content and recycle them using the “requeue” feature.

Apart from features and functionalities, what makes CoSchedule stand out is its kanban project dashboard.

In case you are not aware, a kanban board is an agile interface layout. It’s often used in project management to make organization and workflow easier. Here, you get a broad view of all your ongoing projects, can organize and collaborate with teammates on these projects, and monitor your entire workflow to prevent bottlenecks.

Clearly, CoSchedule is a wonderful tool. However, compared to other tools, its functionalities can be a bit basic. Marketing teams that want to double down on social media might find it limiting.

Pricing

Plan	Price
Marketing Calendar Free	$0/user/month
Marketing Calendar Pro	$29/user/month
Marketing Suite	Custom

4. Buffer

Next on the list is Buffer. It comes with a straightforward, minimalist interface and inexpensive plans. The networks covered by Buffer are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Google Business profiles, Shopify, and Instagram.

Main Features

This is definitely the most beginner friendly option and suitable for those who might get overwhelmed by advanced features. In fact, Buffer is a social media scheduling tool in the truest sense. Its primary functionality is solely to line up posts for the future, with some simple add-on features included in the paid plans.

With Buffer, you can only access some fundamental analytics and insights, even with the paid plans. This includes individual post analytics such as impressions and shares, as well as audience demographic insights such as audience age and location.

The primary reason Buffer stands out is its focus on Shopify. It gives you access to analytics for your Shopify store for unique insights on your sales patterns. This is a very handy feature for small business owners and eCommerce stores who want to optimize their socials for sales success.

Another reason why Buffer stands out is its ability to build simple landing pages in a matter of minutes. Moreover, the feature also allows you to track metrics such as the clicks and impressions of your page.

With its simplistic structure, Buffer is a dream come true for beginners. Unfortunately though, the tool might not be ideal for many businesses that want to be more strategic with their social media marketing plan.

Pricing

Plan	Price
Free	$0/month
Essentials	$5/month/channel
Team	$10/month/channel
Agency	$100/month/channel

5. MeetEdgar

Last but not least there is MeetEdgar. Offering all the features needed in social media scheduling toola, this one stands out because of its content repurposing features. You can use MeetEdgar to manage your updates on Instagram,TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google Business Profile.

Main Features

With MeetEdgar, you can do it all: schedule posts, access analytics, and automate your workflow with integrations. But where the tool wins hearts is its advanced content repurposing and recycling features.

Every piece of content you post through MeetEdgar is saved in a limitless content library. You can sort through it based on content performance and analyze patterns in your posts and the audience’s response. Even better, you can also recycle your best performing posts quickly and easily.

With MeetEdgar, repurposing content becomes a breeze too. The tool’s machine learning technology pulls relevant information straight from your long-form content so you can translate it into new social updates.

Overall, MeetEdgar is a great tool to reap the long-term benefits of reusing successful content. However, where it falls short as a tool is its inability to reorganize your queue. This means you cannot reschedule a post to a later date unless you delete and create it all over again.

Pricing

Plan	Price
Eddie Annual Plan	$24.91/month (paid annually)
Edgar Annual Plan	$41.58/month (paid annually)

Bonus! 3 Additional Tools That Almost Made It to the Top

Didn’t find the right fit among these five tools? As a bonus, here are three additional contenders.

• SocialPilot — The team behind SocialPilot calls it “everything you need to hit your social media marketing goals at an AMAZING price”. They certainly deliver. It supports the usual supects and provides seamless scheduling, in-depth analytics, and smooth collaboration features. Standout features include the ability to schedule the first comment on Instagram posts, add ALT text to images, and track traffic on your socials. Pricing starts at $25.50/month.
• Sendible — Sendible acts as your complete content companion. It covers the expected social platforms plus Google My Business, YouTube, Tumblr, WordPress, and even Medium. If numbers excite you, Sendible is the perfect tool with its in-depth real times analytics functionality. In addition, the tool’s sentiment analysis and automation feature provides you with multifaceted insights for your campaign performance to keep improving. Pricing begins at $29/month.
• Agorapulse — Agorapulse is one of the most unique social media scheduling tools on the market. The best part about this tool is how it makes sorting your scheduled posts so much easier. All the client data you collect is automatically stored in an in-built CRM. This lets you sort and organize your posts based on labels to locate and retrieve them easily. There is a free plan, paid plans are at least $79/month.

Social Media Scheduling Tools to the Rescue!

The importance of social media in marketing should not be understimated. It’s also is only bound to increase in the upcoming years.

In such a situation, having the right automation tools to assist your efforts can save you a lot of time and effort. It can also help you collect feedback and fine tune your marketing strategy.

The above social media scheduling tools are among the best in the market. Use this collection to further research your preferred candidates so you end up with exactly the features you are looking for.

Do you use a social media scheduling tool in your business? Which tool would you recommend? Drop your answers in the comments below!

The post 8 Best Social Media Scheduling Tools (Free & Paid) appeared first on Torque.

If you’re a freelance WordPress developer, you may not know how to price your services. It’s hard to strike a balance between making a substantial profit and not overcharging your customers. If you can’t find a happy medium, potential clients might leave you for the competition. 

Fortunately, there are various ways to determine a fair price for both you and your clients. Identifying costs and evaluating competitor rates can give you a good benchmark for your services. That way, you’ll be able to set an attractive price while making the money you deserve. 

In this post, we’ll look at why it’s essential to set up the right pricing system for your development services. Next, we’ll dive into some tips on determining your development service pricing. Let’s get to work!

The Importance of Pricing Your Development Services Fairly

Freelance development can be a lucrative career — data suggests that web developers make an average of $75K per year. However, setting a fair price as a freelancer can be tricky, especially if you’re starting out.

You might be tempted to accept any amount that an agency or client offers you. While this approach can function in the short term, you could end up with less money than you’re worth and get burnt out quickly. On the flip side, charging too much can push customers to seek out a better deal elsewhere.

Knowing what other developers of a similar skill set are charging can give you a good benchmark for your services. By doing research, you can inform yourself of pricing models and gauge how much you’re worth.

How to Price Your Development Services (6 Tips)

Now that you know the importance of pricing your development services fairly, here are a few tips to help you!

1. Determine the Market Rate

Knowing the market rate for development work will help you price your own services. You can research what others are charging through freelance resources or developers’ websites. Online resources such as Glassdoor can help you determine the market rate for your skillset:

You can sign up for a free account and filter information based on criteria such as experience, education, and location.

It’s also helpful to determine other factors, like the size and scope of the projects you’ll be taking on, if you want to charge an hourly or fixed rate. You’ll also need to determine the kinds of businesses you’ll be working with. This information can help you set a fair price within the market range.

2. Check to See What the Competition Is Charging 

While market research is important, it’s also helpful to dive deeper into the individual rates of web developers. Researching your competition to see what they are charging is the best way to measure where you fall within the pricing spectrum.

The best way to do this is to look at freelance websites such as Upwork and Fiverr:

To get accurate data, search for services such as “web design” or “WordPress development” and look at freelancers’ websites. This method will let you see what comes up in search results and dive deeper into what individuals are charging.

3. Evaluate Your Skill Level

How much you charge will also depend on your skills and experience. For example, if you’re starting in the field, you shouldn’t be charging as much as someone who’s been in the business for five years.

Likewise, if you have supplemental certifications, longer experience, or a higher level of education, you can consider charging more.

For instance, a Bachelor’s degree in computer science or web development would put you at the lower end of the pay scale. However, a Master’s degree or Ph.D. would warrant much higher rates for your services.

Something else you might want to consider is maintaining an up-to-date portfolio of all of your work:

It will allow you to present your work professionally to potential clients. You can also consider displaying customer references, which can help if you want to start charging more.

4. Factor in External Fees

Promoting your skills through word-of-mouth might be less expensive in the short term, but you may not reach a broad audience. That’s why you should consider marketing yourself on freelancer websites to expand your reach.

Unfortunately, many third-party freelancer websites charge ongoing fees or take a cut from your earnings. Sites like Upwork will charge a fee on your earnings, so be sure to factor in those charges when coming up with your rate:

If you choose to forgo freelance websites, you should consider creating your own site. Then you’ll need to factor in the extraneous costs involved in creating and running your website. How much you’ll pay will depend on numerous factors, such as what kind of hosting plan you choose.

Other costs to consider include traveling, phone bills, and marketing efforts. It’s worth tracking all your expenses so that you have a better idea of your overhead costs.

5. Select a Pricing Model

Choosing a pricing model will determine when and how you get paid. There are two typical pricing models: one-time and recurring.

One-time pricing means your customer pays a single amount upfront and receives the product when it’s completed.

On the other hand, recurring pricing is when the customer pays regularly, usually on a monthly or annual basis. This setup allows them to continue receiving support and updates for your product.

The right model for your business will depend on the services you provide for your clients. If you want to sell ongoing support for buyers, a subscription option might be a good choice. On the other hand, a one-time payment plan is a good option if you prefer a project with a pre-determined finish date.

Selecting a suitable payment system will help you stay competitive. It can also help ensure that your services are profitable.

6. Create a Contract

After you’ve set up your pricing, it’s important to create a contract. It will help you clarify details with clients and set expectations that you’re comfortable with.

Consider including certain details in your contract, such as:

• Payment information
• How long the project is expected to take
• If you’ll support the project after its completion
• How many revisions the client can receive
• What happens if the client wants to cancel the project

By drawing up a contract and going over it with your clients, you’ll both be aware of the project timeline, payment requirements, and other restrictions. It’s also worth consulting a lawyer to verify everything is legally sound.

Conclusion

Pricing your development services is an essential part of working as a freelancer. By carefully considering factors such as market rates and your experience, you’ll be able to gauge a price that fits the bill. That way, potential clients won’t be turned off by your charges, and you’ll get paid what you deserve.

To recap, here are six tips for determining prices for your development services:

1. Research the market rate.
2. See how much other developers with a similar skillset are charging.
3. Determine your skill level.
4. Factor in external fees such as freelance website charges and marketing costs.
5. Choose a pricing model that works best for your services.
6. Draw up a contract, so you don’t run into any legal issues with clients.

Do you have any questions about fairly pricing your development services? Let us know in the comments section below!

The post How to Price Your Development Services (6 Tips) appeared first on Torque.

Are you looking for a more engaging way of promoting your products? Video marketing is a great medium for showing customers the value of your products rather than telling them. However, it can feel tricky to tackle if you don’t have experience with this advertising approach.

Fortunately, implementing video marketing in your eCommerce store isn’t all that challenging. With an online video editor like InVideo, it’s simple to create audiovisual media, from fun marketing clips to seasonal gift guides.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at video marketing. Then, we’ll show you four ways to implement it in your eCommerce store. Let’s get started!

An Introduction to Video Marketing 

Video marketing has grown massively in recent years, recording an online usage reach of over 90 percent. And yet, only 54 percent of businesses include videos on their landing pages. 

However, using videos is an easy way to bring your products to life. Unlike with static images, you can effectively show your product(s) in action:

You can also demonstrate the benefits of using your products more effectively. This can help buyers understand your goods better, instilling plenty of confidence in their purchasing decisions. 

Additionally, videos can make your web pages more engaging. You might utilize humor, add music, and harness the power of storytelling to entertain, inspire, or encourage visitors to act. Videos can also help you build brand awareness by showing your company’s personality.

How to Implement Video Marketing in Your eCommerce Store (4 Ways)

Fortunately, you don’t need to invest in expensive equipment to create high-quality videos. Instead, you can use a free online video editor like InVideo to achieve the same effect in half the time. Here are four ways to use this interactive medium in your online store!

1. Create Marketing Videos

Instead of using static images in your marketing campaigns, videos are far more interactive. They enable you to generate an emotional response from your audience and guide them toward a desired action on your page.

Better yet, using video advertisements gives you a greater opportunity to share key information about your product. For example, you might address customers’ common questions and build a strong brand image. 

If you’re launching a marketing campaign, you might want to share a special offer or discount. If this is the case, you could benefit from using a Black Friday Sale Reel:

This fun, vibrant clip enables you to display your featured product(s) while drawing attention to the discount. Of course, you’ll likely include your video advertisement on your website. Moreover, you might also consider sharing it on social media since 50 percent of users admit to purchasing a product after seeing it in Instagram stories.

2. Share Product Videos 

Product videos let you show users the value of your products rather than simply telling them. You can utilize a video to demonstrate your item in greater detail or create a tutorial that explains how customers can use it:

As you can see, product videos can clearly present the benefits of your products. For example, you might show that your items are super easy to use, or you can boast about a one-click installation process. Either way, it’s much easier to show off your unique selling points using video marketing. 

Product presentations are also helpful, allowing you to put forth your ideas about your eCommerce products. Alternatively, you could share a style guide video and cross-sell related items in your store:

With the right music, persuasive text, and high-resolution images, you’re able to convey a particular mode, tone, and feel for your brand. 

What’s more, if you’re an independent seller, you can always put a quirky spin on your video:

One way you can do this is by encouraging shoppers to give you their business instead of mass merchants like Amazon.

3. Social Media Videos 

The type of social media video you should create depends partly on your chosen platform. For instance, if you prefer short, snappy clips, TikTok and Instagram Reels are great options. 

Furthermore, you could also build meaningful customer relationships with live videos by hosting Q&As or carrying out product tutorials. In this case, Instagram and Facebook are excellent choices. 

“How to” videos tend to perform exceptionally well across social platforms, especially if you partner with affiliate marketers and influencers:

You can also feature these videos on your website. Here, they can act as customer reviews, increasing buyers’ trust through a more interactive format. They can be exceedingly helpful since 90 percent of consumers check online reviews before buying from a business.

If you’re still trying to establish your brand, you could capitalize on pop culture trends, share celebratory news, or give a walk-through of your business premises. This way, customers can get to know you better. 

4. Seasonal Videos and Gift Guides

Seasonal videos are great for positioning your brand as relevant and fresh. Plus, you can target a more specific demographic with video ads.

For instance, you might celebrate the change of the seasons or honor global events like Father’s Day and Pride Month:

Gift guides are also excellent for showing off a variety of related products that shoppers might be looking for:

You could share specific themed gift suggestions such as budget-friendly gifts, home accessories, or presents for sports fans.

Conclusion

Video marketing is a great way to engage with your audience while showing off your products in their best light. However, video can be a daunting medium if you’ve never used it before. Fortunately, an online editor like InVideo makes it quick and easy to create powerful clips you can share online.

To recap, here are four ways to implement video marketing in your eCommerce store:

1. Create short marketing videos.
2. Produce in-depth product videos.
3. Share social media videos.
4. Leverage seasonal videos and gift guides.

Do you have any questions about video marketing for eCommerce? Let us know in the comments section below!

The post How to Implement Video Marketing in Your eCommerce Store (4 Ways) appeared first on Torque.