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I think the most lucrative has been AI and technology content. AI is so huge right now that everyone wants in on it. This has presented numerous opportunities for writers in this niche, with so many publications wanting a piece of the AI traffic pie. Some of the content you can create in this niche include AI tool tutorials and comparisons, machine learning explanations, tech integration guides (how to integrate AI into different workflows, etc.) and cybersecurity awareness (businesses want to know the impact of AI on their cybersecurity and what they can do to protect themselves.)

The success of any community, whether on a forum or social media platform, depends on member participation. It follows that the more people participate, the better and more successful a community can be. However, according to a recent study by the Nielsen Norman Group (2023), a staggering 90% of online community members never post. This phenomenon is known by many names, but many community leaders call it “lurking”. It presents a significant challenge to a community's growth and success and has the potential to derail it. So, what can community leaders do to get new forum members engaging, knowing that about 73% of new members who post within the first week stay active long-term? The Psychology of Participation[ATTACH type=full" align="left" width="372px" alt="pexels-elina-araja-1743227-3570362.webp]223[/ATTACH] Before exploring specific strategies and options, we should understand why new members hesitate to participate. Many experience what psychologists call "contribution anxiety". This is the fear of being judged or making mistakes in a new social environment. In some cases, new community members do not know where to start, so they do not start at all. By creating structured, low-pressure opportunities for engagement, community leaders can help members overcome these initial barriers and create an environment where they are comfortable to share and participate. Start With a Simple Photo Introduction Challenge Hubspot ran an experiment that showed visual content generates 2.3x more engagement than text-only posts. Community leaders can leverage this while also using it as an opportunity to give new members a softer introduction into their community. It is a good idea to start with something simple, like asking them to post a photo of their workplace, favorite thing, or pet. This last one is always a winner, especially in a diverse community. Community leaders should include prompts when creating such threads that make it easy for new members to post and for members to respond to each other’s photos. Doing this creates natural conversation starters they can use to seed their forum or platform, keep everyone engaged, and provide a good place for new members to get started if they are anxious about doing so. Create a Skill-Share Directory Anyone who understands people knows many of us like talking about ourselves. Community leaders can take advantage of this by building a searchable directory where members can share their skills. They can use these threads or forum sections to encourage new members to list their areas of expertise, offer to help others who need help with something that aligns with these skills, or share resources they know about or like. This approach creates value-based connections between members and encourages new ones to contribute from day one. They also open up opportunities for networking and business connections that members can leverage down the line. Use Weekly Wins Thread[ATTACH type=full" align="right" width="271px" alt="celebrating_wins.webp]225[/ATTACH] Besides sharing our skills, experience, and expertise, many of us love sharing our wins. This has something to do with validation, but it is often a case of making oneself feel their accomplishments matter. Community leaders can start or end each week by creating a dedicated wins thread where members can share their professional accomplishments, celebrate personal or professional victories, acknowledge each other’s accomplishments, and set goals for the coming week or the future. By making it a ritual by creating a thread each week, members can return at a set time to see what others are up to. They are also more likely to share if they see others doing so. This has the double benefit of creating a stronger community and also giving new members somewhere to start if they do not know how. Provide Micro-Volunteering Opportunities Getting everyone involved is not just for older members because it is also a great way to make new members feel welcomed and that they are a part of the community. Community leaders can do this by creating bite-sized tasks new members can handle easily. A good example is asking them to volunteer to welcome other members. When they do this, they will not feel so lost, they will have somewhere to start, and they will encourage members who join after them to post something. Remember, members who post something on their first week are more likely to remain on the forum for the long-term and to return regularly. Community members can also encourage members to share relevant articles or content, collect resources that benefit other members, and organize virtual events. Create a New Member Spotlight Series Creating a new member spotlight series is a creative approach to introducing and welcoming new community members to your forum or platform. This series allows interested members to present themselves in their unique voice and style, enabling them to share their expertise, aspirations, and expectations within the community. The spotlight series can feature brief interviews or profiles. Each interview can focus on the new member's areas of expertise and help showcase their knowledge, skills, and experiences. This allows other community members to identify potential collaborators, mentors, or resources within the group. Additionally, the interviews can explore what the new members hope to learn and achieve within the community. This information can provide valuable insights to community leaders and existing members, allowing them to tailor their interactions and support accordingly. New members can also express how others can assist them in their different journeys, whether that is through mentorship, resource sharing, collaboration, or other ways. Lastly, the spotlight series can offer new members an opportunity to voice their expectations and aspirations for the community. By understanding what they are looking for, whether it's networking opportunities, learning resources, or a sense of belonging, community leaders and existing members can work together to ensure a welcoming and inclusive environment that fulfills these needs. Ask a Question of the Day [ATTACH type=full" align="left" width="368px" alt="ask questions.webp]227[/ATTACH]A question of the day is another excellent option for sparking further discussion. Community leaders should ask questions that invite thoughtful responses and encourage community members to engage with each other. They should avoid questions with one-word answers or predictable outcomes because these can lead to boring responses and threads. Instead, it is better to encourage open-ended discussions that allow members to share their diverse perspectives and opinions. Each question should be easy to answer without the members having to do research. If members have to research answers, they are less likely to answer, which can lead to poor engagement. Finally, each question should be relevant to the community’s interests. Start by thoroughly analyzing member interactions and feedback to identify topics that consistently drive meaningful participation. As you do this, document recurring themes in different discussions, noting which topics generate the highest levels of member engagement. This data-driven approach ensures community leaders can create threads and conversation prompts in the future that align with the topics members are already interested in instead of assuming. If you use this strategy, remember to implement a review process that helps you evaluate the effectiveness of thread topics and prompts. Key metrics like the diversity of the participants, the quality of responses, and the length of member participation and engagement can help you refine your content strategy and optimize future discussion topics. Ready To Create an Engaging Community? The key to successful community engagement and growth lies in providing multiple, diverse opportunities for members, both old and new, to participate. These opportunities should align with their comfort levels and interests. By implementing these strategies thoughtfully and consistently, you will create an environment where new members feel welcomed, valued, and motivated to contribute, ultimately leading to a better community and ensuring its success.

Hey fellow freelancers! After years of remote work, I'm curious how you all structure your work days. My current setup is that I start with the most demanding and time-consuming tasks early, get to some admin tasks in the afternoon, do some coding in the evening and then finish the day off by setting up for the following day. But lately I'm hitting an energy slump around 2pm and wondering if I should switch things up. When are your peak productivity hours? Do you stick to a fixed schedule or keep it flexible? Also, curious how you handle timezone differences with clients! Share your routines and thoughts below!

Taking the fourth spot.

No one can argue about their monetary motivations for doing what they have done. But we can still see the positive outcomes regardless of these and other motives.

This is why buying old domains works as well as it does. No one has to tell you it happens, you just have to look at their backlink profile history using tools like Ahrefs. If you see a sudden jump in backlinks, they likely bought them. As with anything else, gaining backlinks naturally is a slow and gradual process. However, you also have to consider that some websites or content pieces go viral or become popular suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere and earn a website a ton of backlinks all at once. I just hope every business owner who hires an SEO expert or agency gets to understand this. Many want to "rank number one next week or next month" not understanding how SEO works and how slow it can be to see results.

One word: cannibalization. I have seen this also happen with other social media channels and blogs. One starts a blog and then posts a summary of each post on social media. People read the summary there and engage with the social media posts, but very few end up on the website. Remember, we are living in an era of skimming, so if people can "skim" your main content on social media or elsewhere, they will not visit your site. If they can engage elsewhere, they are less likely to engage on your website or forum.

The choice of pricing model for freelancers largely depends on the type of work and client relationship you're establishing. Charging per word is straightforward and easy for both parties to understand and calculate. This model works particularly well for basic content writing and translations where the scope is clear, and I personally use this for writing tasks. However, you have to think of the downsides. The most significant one that comes to mind immediately is that it doesn't account for the time spent on research, so it might incentivize quantity over quality. Writers, especially new ones and who charge low rates, might feel pressured to pad their content or rush through projects to maintain their income. After all, their income depends on how many words they can write. Hourly pricing offers a fairer compensation structure, especially for complex projects that require extensive research, revisions, or client collaboration. I use this one when working on larger or complex web development projects. It provides protection when projects go beyond their initial scope and ensures I am paid for all my time, sometimes including client meetings and revisions. The main challenge with hourly rates is that clients may worry about inflated hours or feel uncertain about the final cost. The way I sort this out is by using robust time tracking software that tracks things like time spent on tasks, keyboard strokes, and mouse clicks. Some software also takes random screenshots to ensure I am working on the tasks I are supposed to. It's all about giving my clients peace of mind. This model is particularly suited for consulting work, design projects, or complex assignments that require multiple iterations. Project-based pricing is often the most professional approach, as it provides clients with cost certainty upfront while giving you the freedom to work at your own pace. When you're efficient, this model can be more profitable than hourly rates. This is because, the faster you are, the higher your hourly rate will be. Another thing to consider is that you can factor in all aspects of the project – research, execution, revisions, and client communication – into one comprehensive price. The main risk is scope creep, where clients request additional work beyond the original agreement, potentially eating into your profits. You can learn how to deal with that here: https://agoraforo.com/articles/5-essential-questions-to-ask-your-freelance-clients-before-starting-work.12/ For most freelancers, I recommend starting with project-based pricing for well-defined deliverables, while maintaining hourly rates as a backup for complex or open-ended projects. This hybrid approach gives clients the price certainty they desire while protecting you from uncertain or expanding project scopes. The key is to clearly communicate your pricing structure and ensure all parties understand what's included in the fee before starting work or signing any contracts.

I know businesses and individuals can be penalized under the CAN-SPAM act in the United States, and that such laws may exist in other countries. So, unless you are spamming people or sending them emails without their consent, you have nothing to worry about. Also, you have a strong case to make if it came to anything because you provided the unsubscribe link.

Testing a website for responsiveness, usability, and user experience is important before releasing it to the public. The question becomes, do you test on a real device or online. Both options have their pros and cons, I am just curious which one you prefer and why.

AI is an incredible productivity tool, but the results you see from it will depend on the human elements you add to it. You cannot pick the content or results from an AI and send it out. You have to add the human element if you want the content to work for you. However, AI can save you enough time that you have a few more minutes to polish or improve a marketing piece before putting it out.

I have not used it, but some of my clients have and swear by it. They say they see excellent results with it, especially if they work on something that resonates directly with their target audiences. They also say working with influencers and creators with large followings to feature their products in an affiliate arrangement works wonders for their sales.

Imagine you are a new and unpublished author trying to decide whether to use your real name or a pen name for your self-published works. Which one do you choose? There's no universally correct choice here, as it depends on your personal circumstances. If you use your real name, you openly declare your author identity, associating yourself with your work. Your success and reputation are interconnected, strengthening your personal brand. You can leverage existing publications and resources tied to your name, and there's no confusion about work ownership or royalty distribution. However, using your real name may expose you to personal risks, especially when addressing controversial topics. Additionally, a negative reputation tied to your real name could impact your author image. On the other hand, using a pen name offers you the freedom to experiment with new writing styles, genres, and ideas. It provides more privacy and allows you to explore controversial subjects more comfortably. You can create a unique and memorable author identity that isn't tied to your real name. However, building an author reputation and linking it to your real name might be challenging. It could be difficult to utilize existing resources and publications tied to your real name, and identity and work ownership issues may arise. So, what do you think? Which of the two seems to be the best option for you and why?

Facebook is now full of AI slop and scams, so I think the site is just riding on highs from the past. I would not be surprised to see it fall a few more places over the next year as more people realize this and its user base becomes older and less active.

I will go a different route and discuss not what to use such mass emails for. I don't think there is any value in letting members know about new skins or minor updates. While these improve the forum and even provide a better experience for when they visit next, they may not justify a mass email. The second is regular reminders to visit. Yes, you can target people who have not visited a for a while to let them know what is going on with and on the platform so they can return. However, doing it too regularly can be seen as spam and may irritate members. Lastly, I don't see value in sending a mass email for general announcements. It is much better to share these on the forum itself unless they are truly impactful and significant. That said, there might be value in adding them to a monthly newsletter or something like that.

This is for a site I was working on, not a community. Long-tail keywords. Google's "People Also Ask" feature and related searches has been a gold-mine for uncovering long-tail keywords as well as new topics to write about. Because people are already asking these questions, I know there is interest and intent, and likely traffic and better rankings to be harvested from exploring this area. Since we are here, don't overlook online communities like forums, social media platforms, and Q&A sites because these can also be goldmines for niche-specific long-tail keywords. By monitoring these sources, you can stay informed about the language and concerns of your target audience. Both of these are crucial for creating targeted content that resonates with a specific audience. Once you've identified potential long-tail keywords, consider grouping them into content clusters. Doing this will help you create comprehensive, authoritative content around related topics, which can boost your overall SEO performance. Everyone knows this, but it's a nice bonus. Use tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs to keep an eye on your competitors' keyword strategies. They may be ranking for valuable long-tail terms that you've overlooked. If you find such keywords, try to create content and topical clusters that are better than what is already available to outrank them. Remember to use keyword modifiers like "best," "how to," "vs," or location-based terms (especially if you are doing local SEO) to further refine your main keywords and target more specific search intents. As [mention=5]Cpvr[/mention] said, these keywords are less competitive, so it is much easier to rank for them. Finding them might take some work, but the benefits are worth it.

This is exactly what I am saying! Google has done so much good, has supported companies and developers, has arguably led to a better internet, but they have done so much evil that it is hard to keep rooting for them even if their failure would be disastrous.

I listen to a wide variety of music depending on what I am doing. Jazz and RnB for reading, reggae and alternative rock for working, and African rhumba for relaxing.

I have an HP laptop that can game and a desktop that can only play non-demanding games. So, no. I do not have a gaming computer. As for a prebuilt or building one, I think building is the better option. You get to make your computer truly yours because you are not limited to someone else's choices and selections. However, I would advise anyone who wants to go the custom route and is not comfortable building one or does not have the skills to do so to work with a reputable systems integrator. These companies let you customize the computer however you want and only build it for you. However, they do charge services fees and a markup on parts, so this is something you should be aware of and consider before going this route.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It depends. I have free hosting, shared hosting, and VPS hosting for different needs. For some personal projects and proofs of concept, I use the free hosting. For most of my client work, I use shared hosting. Most people and businesses are more than happy with what a good shared hosting account provides. VPS hosting is best for when I need a lot of computational power or need to configure a server in a specific way. For example, I might need SSH and admin privileges that shared hosting might not give me but that VPS hosting does.

A portfolio and LinkedIn. A portfolio not only showcases my work, but it is also something I can point to when clients ask if I have worked in a specific niche or done specific types of writing. LinkedIn is a place to curate your writing, engage with other writers, and in writing communities where you can engage with other writers who are, hopefully, looking for help with some of their tasks or projects. Creating relations like these is a great way of marketing yourself and your work.

Do something that engages a different part of your brain. Coding is a creative endeavour, and the monotony is what leads to stress and feeling weary. Do something that engages a different part of the body and mind. If you cannot do this, take a nap. I find that it always helps when I am having a tough time.

Put your work in front of as many people as possible. Design is visual and if people cannot see what you can create, no one is going to hire you. Also, doing this create an online presence for you so it gets much easier for people to find you and your work over time the more work you put out into the world. Next, reach out. Social media is a powerful tool and the best way to reach millions of people at a very small budget. Get into design communities, reply to posts, talk to other designers, show people your work, put yourself in front of potential opportunities.

I use the same tools as you do; Analytics and Search console. I also used to use SEMrush and Ahrefs when I was deep into SEO, but I used them for more keyword-adjacent tasks than traffic specific traffic origins. These days, I mostly stick to the free Google tools for my sites. They are more than adequate for what I need.