The Energy of Tomorrow May Not Be Solar, but Seaweed

The U.S. Department of Energy is investing in a novel source of future renewable energy in the form of seaweed. That’s right — seaweed energy. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that the DOE is investing nearly $1.5 million in two projects that will help develop seaweed farms and explore harvesting methods.

Seaweed, in all its slimy glory, can be processed into a biofuel that could be used to power our homes and vehicles. The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program is funding projects across the country to make the large-scale cultivation of seaweed a reality, supporting another alternative to fossil fuel use.

Of the two latest projects funded, $995,978 went to Makai Ocean Engineering of Honolulu to help build an ocean simulating model that the will aid researchers in designing offshore seaweed farms, and $500,000 went to Kampachi Farms of Kailua-Kona to test harvesting methods for seaweed grown on these farms. Kampachi Farms will also develop an offshore seaweed farm.

MORE THAN SOLAR

Researchers are constantly perfecting renewable energy sources like wind, solar, tidal, among others to allow for greater accessibility. Innovators are looking at seaweed and far beyond to explore novel means of harvesting renewable energy.

A team of researchers from Fudan University in China has developed a power generator that will be able to convert blood flowing in your body into energy. The ability to use hydrogen as a fuel has also recently come back into focus with new ways to store hydrogen power and convert water, even seawater, into hydrogen fuel.

Se the best solar panel on market RENOGY SOLAR SUITCASE

A fossil fuel free future is possible and each new technological discovery brings us closer to making that future a reality. Solar and wind power may have a large role to play in that clean energy landscape, but they will not be exclusive. Novel approaches like those listed above as well as many more that have been developed or are on their way could help to bridge gaps in coverage and lead to a true fossil fuel free planet.

Where to Find Pay Stub Templates For Your New Business

The Way to Find a Payroll real Check Stub Template

In business, it's recognized that one of the most significant elements to running a successful business is paying your employees. Each firm that has workers are responsible for monitoring the job being performed and subsequently on compensating these employees timely and consistently. As an entrepreneur or business owner, it is your duty to be certain that everything is cared for when it comes to your payroll operations.

Now we're going to go over a few ways that you could find payroll check stubs templates. You may use these pay stub generator templates to independently look after your own payroll (that will essentially help save you and the business cash in the long run).

Utilize search engines

The very first (and easiest/quickest) path that you could take when looking for realpay stubs template is to just search online. Search engines like Google and Bing are excellent sources, which also encompass a plethora of other resources and websites also. There are a variety of sites and programs (downloadable) that you can use and select at your own discretion.

Microsoft Office Accounting paystub generator templates

If you have an intermediate/expert understanding of using Microsoft Office applications, then you can just make your own payroll check stub. Microsoft Office Accounting is a program that many companies (independent, small, and medium) utilize on a daily basis. The create pay stub templates are extremely simple to use, edit, and also customize to your own liking. Microsoft Office programs do cost money, but the investment at the end will probably be well worth it if you compare the costs of doing it in your to just how much you'd spend for a third party to do the same exact thing.

Ask Little companies Locally

Having the ability to go out in your neighborhood and request advice from other business owners is pretty common. Although some may be your competition (respectively) when it comes to simple things like citizenship templates, this isn't something that would be considered a threat. Along with asking a company owner that you understand, this fosters an excellent community environment as well.

Use an Online Service that Offers real Pay stub Templates

A few online businesses which generate create pay stubs strictly for the purpose of displaying proof of earnings upon employee request may opt to use an internet create a pay stub template supplier. Several services are accessible and affordable for this infrequent use.

Freelancers Starting Online T-Shirt Shops Face Five Frustrations

Opening At-top shop online at a print-on-demand website looks a perfect means for authors to pick up an extra income stream. It costs alongside nothing. All you do is develop a graphics document together with your layout, upload it towards the website, and acquire a markup when somebody has your design published on the t-shirts online. It is possible to do text-only styles if you should be not comfortable with photos. Alas, you will find five huge frustrations you may encounter in setting up your own personal t-shirts sale look in a printing-on-demand website.

The first stress is spending over you've to put in place your store. You ought to be ready to do it for nearly free.

A second frustration is fighting along with your picture editor. Also, straightforward a picture manager is going to be too uncomfortable to use. A complete-included picture editor could be difficult to figure out.

The third annoyance isn't realizing what your customers desire. These are self-expression goods. You need to uncover what Greetings people desire to convey.

The fourth frustration is not knowing how to attract your customers for your shop. Having what people want doesn't support should they find you.

The sixth frustration isn't realizing what styles people like. For example, persons don't especially like large, rectangular images owning the design.

The best way to circumvent the first disappointment is twofold: first, get the GNU Image Manipulation Program, GIMP. It's free so when strong while you can ever need. Next, carefully pick the sites of which you create your merchants. You might wish multiple shops for those who have incompatible products, household vs. adult-focused for instance. For that, you could choose t-shirts sale where you could build many stores free. T-shirts online includes a reputation for premium quality but has rather several types of merchandise. If you do not intend to create many stores, you may decide it's worth the $60 per year CafePress prices for each "quality" (i.e. Sufficient) shop: you receive a wide variety of product to put your designs on, as well as their promotion brings a significant number of buyers through their market. T-shirts online is free, has various types of merchandise available, and does an acceptable amount of advertising.

A large challenge having a potent image manager is the fact that you can get lost inside the capabilities. It's worth purchasing a guide to tell you getting started with it. There's information available on the net free of charge, but you may have difficulty obtaining things you need to be presented just enough.

One way to find out what consumers need is to ask people, but that will provide you with too little and too biased a sample. Another approach will be to locate what keywords people form into search engines once they are hunting for types like yours. You'll find this out for free, although in the charge of a little time, by using t-shirt for women and also the t-shirt for men. The keyword tool can advise alternative keywords and can let you know exactly how many occasions people search for distinct phrases within an average month. The t-shirt shop will provide you with an estimation of a number of web pages using the keyword. If you find this method is too much effort, you can purchase t-shirt shop or pay-to-use t-shirt shop.

A method to attract buyers for your look is by using keywords properly. You have to fill up your shop websites with superior keywords, for instance, using them in points of one's styles. Moreover, you must get quality back links for your shop employing these keywords in the point text. (This Is The colored text in a t-shirt shop.) You will get free backlinks by giving away information. You can post helpful advice at forums, it is possible to post reviews on sites, it is possible to set up websites at t-shirt for women or t-shirts sale, you are able to create t-shirt for women, you could have your personal website. The most important part of many of these is to give away useful data and not to attempt to promote. The links for your website within your signature collections and source bins provides you some readers themselves. More importantly, they'll distribute links to your pages around the Internet, showing the various search engines both what's at your store and that your shop is very important.

An effective way to find out what types people like is to ask people. Join the community at your host website. Post your styles and have for comments. The shopkeepers there are usually pleased to provide strategies and encouragement. You can even ask individuals you realize on- or offline.

There are definitely things that can irritate you once you setup your own personal printing-on-demand T-shirt for men, however, you can do items to relieve these worries.

SUNJACK USB BATTERY CHARGER

You are relating to the perfect weblog in the event that you need system. I might say this SUNJACK USB BATTERY CHARGER for Rechargeable AA/AAA Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd Batteries is normally 1 merchandise that you ought to realize. By exploreing that posting, you can find out a lot more around SunJack USB Battery Charger for Rechargeable AA/AAA Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd Batteries. A SunJack USB Battery Charger for Rechargeable AA/AAA Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd Batteries is the best a system with SunJack type. This website is only interviewing the most beneficial solutions, and people recommend SunJack USB Battery Charger for Rechargeable AA/AAA Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd Batteries that you can become run.

The Detailed description about SunJack USB Battery Charger for Rechargeable AA/AAA Ni-Mh and Ni-Cd Batteries

The SunJack 4-position USB AA/AAA rechargeable battery charger is designed to charge your rechargeable AA/AAA NiMh/NiCd battery cells safely and efficiently. Keep your AA or AAA battery powered devices fully charged anywhere. The SunJack USB battery charger charges your AA/AAA Ni-Mh/Ni-Cd batteries from any stable 5V USB port or powerbank, including SunJack battery packs. Charge 1, 2 3, or 4 batteries at a time. Mix-&-Match between AA & AAA in the same charge. There is one LED charging indicator light for each installed battery. Fully drained batteries can be completely recharged in approximately 5 hours. To ensure safety, the SunJack USB charger has built-in battery sensing technology that will automatically stop the charging process, if a non-rechargeable battery is inserted into the unit. The charger will also stop charging if batteries become overheated during the charging process. Compatible with the most power banks, smartphones, tablets and USB chargers. Works well with SunJack battery packs. A fully-charged 8000mAh SunJack battery pack can allow the SunJack USB battery charger to charge up to 20 AA batteries. • One year – No Hassle – Warranty • Batteries are NOT included • Does NOT charge alkaline or lithium ion batteries • Spec: 4.5 x 2.8 x 1 3.6 oz max input: 5V 500mAh • Works with solar panels that can provide a consistent 5V (See our SunJack Solar Charger Kits

How to Get Your SEO and Content Teams to 'Play Nice' Together

The growth of content marketing has created a permanent shift in the way marketers view SEO. Rather than taking a purely technical approach to link-building, many SEO agencies are now expanding their services to include content production and promotion as a way of supplementing other ongoing optimization efforts.


Content certainly hasn’t replaced SEO, especially since there are several technical SEO elements separate from content marketing. Content marketing also has very different goals from search optimization. While SEO primarily attempts to improve visibility and acquire new customers, content marketing covers a multitude of goals, including new acquisitions, customer service, lead nurturing, PR, social engagement boosts and more.


The best approach for a marketer or brand looking for ways to leverage content marketing and SEO is to examine the ways in which they intersect. Some tips to do that:

1. Find a balance in quantity and quality.

Your content team will want more quality content, but the SEO team might be more focused on quantity of output. The more content your teams can produce, the greater your company’s chance will be for showing up in search results for a wide range of search terms the team is targeting. Just take it from HubSpot: Companies that blog regularly have 97 percent more inbound links.

Unfortunately, there is a ceiling for how much content you can produce before something gives out. If you focus too much on quantity, the quality of your content will take a hit as your teams struggle to produce more and more.

The only option you have at that point is to stretch your resources by hiring another writer or outsourcing to an agency or freelance job board (go hyper local with sites like Craigslist, Independent Writers of Chicago or Built In Boston if you need someone nearby) who will have the capacity needed to handle the level of output you’re striving for.

The trick here is finding a sustainable way to balance content and SEO. High-quality content produced at a steady, consistent, and measurable pace will prompt more engagement, more traffic and more backlinks.

2. Focus on evergreen content.

SEO wizards have one job to do: build organic visibility to keep traffic flowing in. Your content team needs to align with that goal by producing the right kind of content.

Jumping on trending topics and industry news can provide a significant spike in traffic immediately, leading to brand lift and new lead acquisitions. However, content based on trends often plummets in search results shortly thereafter. The freshness score drops pretty fast as trends die, which indicates that this type of content has a pretty short shelf life.

Evergreen content, on the other hand, will lead to more long-lasting results.

SEO has done much of the legwork to analyze audience research and determine the most relevant keywords aligned with customer pain points. Your team should prioritize content that is highly useful to readers and contains actionable advice around those pain points.

Evergreen content, which is relevant for a much longer period of time, will garner more links and see higher engagement metrics -- both of which are ranking factors.

It’s critically important for SEO and Content to team up in this area, because it creates a beautiful traffic loop that has long-term benefits for your brand. As evergreen content grows traffic, gains links and deepens engagement, the search engine will eventually serve it more often for relevant searches.

3. Incorporate keywords.

As mentioned above, your SEO team should already know which keywords will improve visibility, but these keywords have to be used if you want to be seen. It’s not uncommon for content writers and marketers to balk at injecting keywords into content. They want to write for the reader first, and they want that content to flow naturally.

This approach isn’t wrong, but to be truly effective, the content still needs to include the terms and phrases your audience is using, as well as semantic terms.

Rather than pushing a writer or your content team members to pigeonhole specific keywords into their writing, let them produce the content that most naturally targets the audience. This method should creatively slip in some of the target words and phrases the audience searched for.

The content can later be adjusted to work in keyword variations where they fit more naturally.

4. Review and reporting.

It takes time for content to gain traction, and the SEO side will need to monitor all the content your team produces to ensure your strategy is working. This includes generating traffic, engaging the reader, contributing to conversions and ultimately pulling its weight in the funnel.

Those reports need to be shared with the content side of your business. This way, both teams will recognize which topics or formats have the most significant impact and which of the poorly performing approaches need to be eliminated from the content strategy.

Streamline efforts for the future to avoid wasting time on tactics that don’t provide results or help the team meet its goals.

Conclusion

With SEO and content marketing, you’re dealing with two very different disciplines that should operate together, since many common goals are shared. The success of one team greatly depends on the contributions and dedication of the other.

Whether you’re working with in-house, remote teams or a combination of the two, know that teamwork and consistent communication are crucial. When you keep the information flowing, your teams will soar past milestones and tackle goal after goal as your business continues to grow.

Product, Price, Placement, Promotion: Can Your Business Survive Without Them?

Retail is unforgiving. It makes no exceptions for holidays, offers no accommodations for special occasions and is undaunted by personal limitations. In fact, the fiercely competitive climate of the retail world is an unmistakable variant of social Darwinism. The best stores will thrive, beating out weaker, less amenable, or simply less attractive ones.

What does a store do if it lacks intellectual property or a monopolistic edge, thereby negating the possibility of compelling foot traffic premised on advantageous product? Or if its pricing is not low enough to be considered penetration due to a lack of economies of scale, yet premium pricing cannot be garnered due to a USP-lacking product? And if its location is nestled within the confines of a shopping mall, rather than showcased under the glimmering lights of Fifth Avenue? Can it even compete, or survive, if its promotional arsenal is bound by a profitability threshold to appease its commercial banker, subsequently inhibiting ad campaigns of any substance?

In this hypothetical, the ubiquitous four Ps of Marketing 101 -- product, price, placement, promotion -- would dictate that this retail operation would acquiesce like the lame gazelle of the retail safari, reaffirming that a Darwinian, survival of the fittest industry is a deeply unpleasant one to be in.

How can the aforementioned hypothetical business thrive, in light of being inundated with such barriers? The answer is SaaS -- Service (not software) as a Solution. I can declare this with confidence because that business is not quite hypothetical. Rather, it’s the store whose doors I proudly open most mornings.

At ROYCE, we put our emphasis on service because on paper, it costs little to smile, hold a door, demonstrate compassion, convey technical knowledge on product and carry a conversation. Undeniably, being open 365 days a year can be leveraged as possibly our biggest source of differentiation, particularly in our overly saturated monogramming industry that surprisingly does not work on Sundays.


We make a promise -- no, a guarantee -- to our clients. Come to our store between 11 am and 7 pm, and we will be there. Always. “Rain, snow, sleet or shine…” goes the mantra of the U.S. Post Office, and it applies to us at ROYCE as well. Our outlook is that while being open every day is great, being open consistently, regardless of conditions out of our control, is exceptional. One could argue that it is counterintuitive that a small family business would appear so capitalist in its ethos, remaining open even on federal holidays. The thinking would be that the store would be more employee-oriented, closing to recognize holidays that coalesce families. However, reliability is something we hold dear to our hearts, as we also do with inclusiveness, wanting to provide a haven for consumers who may not engage in particular holidays.

Nevertheless, upholding that advantage is also the leading source of disappointed family members, frustrated spouses and puzzled friends. Especially when that Sunday lands on Super Bowl Sunday! A seismic wave of unrest ensues every year, despite the egalitarian way (drawing straws) in which we select who oversees the store on Super Bowl Sunday. I worked the store last year, thus precluding me from being in the drawing this year. John, a diehard Falcons fan, was randomly chosen, and the cheerful color on his face quickly evaporated. He’s a proud man, but if I was not mistaken, I could hear him hold back tears. This was his year -- the second time in Falcons history they had made the Super Bowl -- and after several worthy foes, I was not going to get in the way of John.

So, I took it upon myself to manage the store again this year, serving as entertainment for a handful of Americans and a few Australian tourists not fazed by football, witty ads or a Lady Gaga performance. I probably made $400 that day, nothing that would sway the profitability barometer in one direction or the other.

Service as a Solution entails seeing employees as more than a balance sheet liability and customers as more than a balance sheet asset. A manager must service both the customer and the employee. Substituting myself for John gave me the opportunity to embody our sense of inclusiveness, and more importantly, to convey that we do not just take care of those in front of the counter, but those behind it as well.

How Much Should Small Businesses Spend on Digital Marketing in 2017?

A few decades ago, marketing and advertising meant putting up bill boards and buying radio or TV placement ads. A company’s marketing budget was dedicated to producing these awesome posters, pamphlets and jingles. Fast-forward a couple of years and a lot -- if not all -- has changed. Now, this marketing budget, regardless of size, should be focused on social, search, email and mobile.

The statistics are proof of this shift in marketing budget: for nearly half a decade, investments in traditional advertising have consistently dropped by single digit percentages each year. Digital marketing spending, by comparison, has consistently grown by double digit increments year after year. So, how much should small businesses spend on digital marketing in 2017? This article provides information that can guide you through setting up your marketing budget and where to invest those marketing dollars.

Statistics of digital marketing budget

Email, social, display ads, mobile and search are all growing in 2017. Digital is now at $75,000 a year, or 35% percent of all marketing spend on average for companies. Companies are shifting more and more money to digital because of it’s perceive R.O.I., and the ability to spend less for more return.


“Digital marketing is vital for SMBs and our survey numbers bear that out,” said Simon Grabowski, GetResponse CEO and founder. “Marketers are investing accordingly, given the substantial return on investment delivered through web-based campaigns.” According to GetResponse, 70 percent of small to medium sized businesses said they will increase their digital/web-based marketing budgets this year. Furthermore, SMB marketing statistics available from 2016 indicate that 62 percent of small businesses are investing 4 percent or more of their revenue in marketing.

BrightLocal conducted an insightful piece of research into the attitudes toward and usage of Digital Marketing by SMBs. Key findings include:

The average SMB spends $400/month on marketing.

SMBs spend on average 46 percent of their marketing budget on digital marketing.

78 percent of SMBs think that mobile marketing is an important channel for their business.

Budget allocation for digital marketing channels

According to GetResponse, social, mobile and email are at the forefront of digital marketing spending this year. More specifically, 59 percent of SMBs said marketing on social networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter will be the primary spending focus. The next channel projected to drive digital marketing spend in 2017 is mobile marketing (50 percent) -- either app or web-based -- followed by email marketing (42 percent). The other important digital channels include, video production, search marketing, content creation, data analysis and website maintenance. A report from Forrester Research, on the other hand, estimates that search engine marketing will capture the largest share of online spend.

Overall, the chart below from 2016 shows strong increases in digital channel investment. Of the five digital marketing strategies represented, each expected to see at least a 42 percent increase in investment.

Conclusion

How much should you spend on digital marketing this year? What is the right allocation for digital marketing spend of total marketing budgets and on what channels should it be spent? These are important questions to tackle in 2017. When making decisions for your business, consider these takeaways:

Marketing budgets are increasing overall
Marketing spend is shifting from traditional advertising channels to digital channels
Social, mobile, email and search marketing represent the lion’s share of the digital marketing budget
Total marketing budgets are between 4 percent and 12 percent of total revenue
Smaller companies spend more on marketing as a percentage of their total revenue
B2Cs and online companies spend more on marketing compared to B2Bs