Recent estimates suggest that there are approximately 40 million adults in the world who now vape. That's 40 million former smokers who no longer smell bad, no longer pollute their local landfills with thousands of plastic-filled cigarette butts a year and are now significantly less likely to die early from lung cancer and other horrible diseases. 

Even if you don't smoke or vape yourself, you should still give some serious consideration to vaping as the most disruptive technology of the century to date because it's almost certain that you have at least one close friend or family member who smokes. The existence of vaping significantly reduces the likelihood that you will one day have to watch that person die from a chronic illness before their time.

E-cigarettes and vape shops like E-Cigarette Empire have only been around in the United States for a little over a decade, but vaping technology has evolved unbelievably quickly during that time. One single aspect of vaping technology - pod-based vaping - is probably responsible on its own for helping many millions of people switch from smoking to vaping. 

Pod vaping is probably the most exciting thing going in vaping today, and it's a fascinating topic to study even if you don't vape yourself. 

What is it that makes pod vaping so exciting? That's what you're going to learn from reading this article.

Pod Vaping Combines Style and Convenience Like Nothing Else

Pod vaping changed the look of the typical beginner's e-cigarette forever. Before the first pod systems hit the market, an e-cigarette designed for beginning vapers was typically modeled after the appearance of a tobacco cigarette. Smokers - many of whom weren't yet aware of vaping - needed the visual cue of the cigarette shape to understand that the e-cigarettes they saw in convenience stores and other retail outlets had something to do with smoking. The visual cue made them want to investigate and find out what those devices were.

The cigarette shape helped to introduce vaping to the world, but the extremely small size also created some major drawbacks. An electronic device that's as small as a cigarette will be severely limited in terms of its battery life. An e-cigarette also needs to provide storage for vape juice, and it needs a heating coil to vaporize the juice. If you cram those things into a device that's as small as a tobacco cigarette, you're going to have something that stores very little e-liquid and produces very small, wispy vapor clouds.

By the time pod systems appeared on the market, most smokers knew that vaping existed even if they didn't vape themselves. An e-cigarette no longer needed to provide the visual cue of a cigarette-like appearance. It was time, in fact, for e-cigarettes to develop a unique design language of their own. Smokers were no longer looking for "the next cigarette" - they were looking for the thing that came after cigarettes. Pod systems were a little larger than tobacco cigarettes, but they were still extremely small and stylish. They provided an updated visual styling that really resonated with smokers. Many people who hadn't been interested in cigarette-shaped e-cigarettes at all found pod systems very intriguing.

Being slightly larger than the earlier generation of cigarette-shaped e-cigarettes, pod systems were also far more capable than first-generation vaping devices. They worked more reliably, held more e-liquid, produced bigger vapor clouds and had better battery life. People who tried the first e-cigarettes and weren't impressed with those early products loved the new pod systems.

Pod Vaping Introduced Nicotine Salt E-Liquid to the World

The magic of pod vaping systems doesn't just come from their advanced functionality and updated visual styling. Pod systems also have a magic ingredient that makes them as satisfying as tobacco cigarettes - something that cigarette-shaped e-cigarettes never were - despite their small size. That magic ingredient is nicotine salt e-liquid.

Any vaping device can use nicotine salt e-liquid, of course, but pod systems are uniquely positioned to deliver a perfect experience with that type of vape juice. That's because nicotine salt e-liquid typically has a very high concentration of nicotine and provides nicotine to the body at the ideal rate only when it's used with a small vaping device. 

One of the biggest problems with the first-generation e-cigarettes was that they didn't deliver nicotine to the body efficiently enough to be completely satisfying. To switch fully from smoking to vaping, people would have to adjust to lower blood-nicotine levels - and some people just couldn't get through the transition. E-cigarette makers had to keep the nicotine content in their e-liquids relatively low because higher nicotine strengths would cause throat irritation and coughing.

Nicotine salt e-liquid contains a high level of nicotine but doesn't cause irritation because it contains a mild acid that lowers the e-liquid's pH. Standard e-liquid is alkaline, but nicotine salt e-liquid has a more neutral pH and feels smoother in the throat. Millions of people now depend on it to keep them off of cigarettes.

Pod Vaping Continues to Improve With Each Product Generation

Pod vaping systems have become so popular that many of the world's manufacturers of vaping products now invest the majority of their R&D money into pod systems. In the vaping industry, a typical product generation lasts a year or less - and with each new hardware generation, pod systems are getting better and better.

Vapers who use pod systems these days don't just enjoy the convenience of replaceable pods and the smooth satisfaction of nicotine salt e-liquid. They also enjoy some of the most stunning designs in the vaping world as well as all of the modern conveniences that the vaping industry has to offer. 

One of the most exciting conveniences that you can find in a pod system today is a "Replay" mode that you can enable with the touch of a button. If you puff on the device supporting the Replay feature and find it particularly satisfying - because the temperature of the device's atomizer coil is just right, for instance - you can press your device's Replay button to save the characteristics of that puff. As long as Replay mode is enabled, your device will replicate that puff every time you press the fire button.

Instagram is one of the largest and most popular social media platforms, with over one billion monthly active users. The extended reach you have to market your small business or services through the platform is impressive.

The goal of any social media website is to generate likes and followers. Followers get connected to your brand and have a concise and clear way to get updates that you wish to provide. Meanwhile, the ‘likes' enable you to see what type of content you are sharing is successful and how to create a more compelling online presence.

What are the best ways to get real quality Instagram likes and followers? The article examines the different avenues for improving your online reach and marketing successfully to your current followers.

 

Growing an Audience through Instagram

Instagram has quickly outgrown its original purpose as a mobile photo-sharing network for adolescents. It also offers phenomenal content marketing, networking, and audience building resource for small businesses and other individuals looking to promote a message.

There are more than 500 million people that use Instagram each day. It puts this social media second only behind Facebook in terms of the highest number of daily visits for a social media channel.

Consequently, you are foolish to ignore the free and simple to use marketing tool. It does take some work to create and manage an account, yet there are many ways to grow your audience on Instagram. As a result, you should check to make sure you are following these tips to reach your first 50 real Instagram followers.

 

Easy Ways to Get More Followers on Instagram

Instagram has grown substantially since it launched ten years ago. It currently has ten times the amount of users compared to 2013. The site shows no signs of slowing down as it's immensely popular with the younger generations.

Furthermore, the social media platform estimates that nearly three in four U.S. businesses have an account. Additionally, 7 in 10 hashtags on the social media site are branded, and an overwhelming amount of companies consider Instagram engagement an incredibly important metric to marketing.

Now that you understand the importance of Insta in terms of marketing, how do you build an audience? You only get ‘likes' with followers, and there are many solutions for attracting new visitors to your account page.

Here are some easy ways to generate more followers:

● Create a content sharing plan to provide your audience with something interesting to check daily, or near daily.
● You should only post high-quality images and videos. Also, experiment with different filters and dimensions to keep content fresh.
● Interact with followers and tag people in photos that interact with your brand to encourage them to come back.
● Optimize your profile with branded hashtags and call to actions (CTAs).
● Cross-post your content on other social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook to build your following on Instagram.
● Run contests, giveaways, and other types of campaigns to invite audience participation and interest.

 

Get More 'Likes'

Earthweb's Stormlinks review can help you understand how these service works and how it can help you get more liks. People that interact with your content can like and comment on your content. It's an excellent way to foster a strong relationship between you and your potential customers.
Visitors spend nearly as much time on Instagram as they do on Facebook, which presents businesses with ample time to market. Instagram users reportedly spend almost an hour of their time each day on the app. The statistic is important because the more time visitors spend on the app, the more advertisements they see, and the more opportunities exist for someone to commit to a brand.

Fortunately, Instagram performs exceptionally well in terms of engagement rates. For example, the average engagement rate on most social networks is less than 0.1%. Meanwhile, users on Instagram are 58 times more likely to engage compared to Facebook.

Hashtagging is one of the most effective ways to increase the number of followers as well as likes. The average post on Instagram contains almost 11 hashtags, yet experts suggest no more than six per post.

However, the amount of hashtags does not matter nearly as much as the wording. For example, #love is used over two million times on the site, but using it in your post will drown it out with millions of other types of content.

Try mixing and matching different types of hashtags like:

● Popular Hashtags
● Local Hashtags
● Tag a Location
● Tag Influencers
● Shoutout Tags (to Customers and Users)

Tag-to-enter and Like-to-enter giveaways are two other methods to grow an audience with the invitation to win something so long as the user does something for you (either likes or follows).

 

Build Your Instagram into an Empire

Businesses have a tremendous option to use Instagram and other social media platforms as useful marketing tools. Many services are free and extremely affordable to get your brand out to a massive audience.

Building your audience organically through followers and obtaining ‘likes' helps you grow in such a massive and diverse market. Instagram was once primarily for teens, and young millennials yet have developed into something far more powerful and wide-reaching.

There are many ways to partner with influencers or other brands to grow even more after you receive your first wave of followers. Since it is a social media site, it's best to keep your content fresh and posted daily. Interacting with users and getting them involved with participation (i.e., contests) is another essential method to employ.

Learning to use and sharing posts that resonate with an audience takes some trial and error. Thankfully, Instagram has an informative analytics system that can help you gauge what is successful and what is not working from a content perspective. We recommend using the analytics to improve your profile as well as reference Instagram profiles that are successful. It helps you discover what they are doing well.

 

 

Marketing comes in many different shapes and sizes. Conventional marketing is the term generally given to advertising through newspapers, radio, even the television. It's still effective but no longer the predominant style of marketing.

Digital marketing involves anything that can be done over the computer. This includes emails, analyzing Wi-Fi, launching campaigns, etc.

These are the main elements of digital marketing campaigns:

• PPC

 

Pay Per Click is simply placing keywords through an SEO engine or advertisement company. Your advert will appear every time the keyword is searched on. If a visitor clicks on your advert you'll be charged a set fee, every time.

• Search Engine Optimization

 

Getting on the first page of results for specific keywords is important as most users never click to page two. To get to the first page you need to speak with a team who knows SEO Sydney, (or elsewhere depending on where you're situated on the globe). 

Content forms part of the SEO but coding is also important, that's where the expert becomes essential.

• Content

 

Creating content is essential as part of a digital marketing strategy. Content meets informative articles. They should reference a keyword, such as mobile marketing, or digital marketing.  The content should also establish links to high-quality sites and internal links. This builds credibility which helps with search results.

• Website

 

Your website is a form of digital marketing. It is designed to attract customers to it and encourage them to purchase your product or service.

Designed properly this is a very effective digital marketing method.

• Social Media

 

Social media is perhaps the ultimate way to connect with potential customers. A simple social media account can reach millions of people. All you have to do is focus on your niche and be informative.

• Email

 

This is a more direct route of contacting previous customers to make them feel valued and help them to stay loyal. Emails can also be sent out at random, encouraging people to visit your site and see what you have to offer.

Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is a form of digital marketing. It uses most of the above approaches. However, it adopts them differently. Mobile marketing aims to ensure the results that customers see, regardless of which marketing method is used, display well on mobile screens.

As an increasing number of people access the internet from mobile devices this side of marketing is becoming increasingly important.

In essence, it means that all sites and marketing material need to resize automatically to the screen they are being displayed on. This can be difficult and it is recommended that professional help is obtained to achieve the right result. 

Although mobile marketing is an extension of digital marketing, it is a separate entity as the focus is not on creating the marketing material. Instead, the focus is on making sure it looks good to the mobile user.

A successful company will use conventional marketing, digital marketing, and mobile marketing techniques to ensure they maximize their customer base and, therefore, profits.

 

The BlendJet Portable blender has been around for a while now, and although more than just a few manufacturers have copied their original design since then, it remains one of the best options for a portable blender in the market even today. Stay with us as we go through some of the features and our own experiences with the blender.

Tech Specs: It's a Powerful but Safe Little Kitchen Tool

Back when the portable blender from BlendJet was first launched, it was one of its kind. Admittedly, that advantage does not apply anymore, but this powerful little machine is still one of the most functional, and yet simple portable blenders of its kind. Check out the technical specs and color options below, before we delve deeper into the review. 

• Dimensions: 3" x 3" x 9"

• It comes in 14 colors: our favorites are purple, violet, blue, cyan, green, grey, white, black, red and pink

• A powerful 5V Motor

• 6-point 304 blades made from stainless steel

• 2,000mAh battery with USB-port charging (Takes 3 hours to charge from 0% - 100%)

• Single-button operation

• BPA free, food grade plastic and metal body

• There's a strainer lid built inside to keep drinks from becoming too chunky

• The motor will automatically shut down to prevent accidents and damage to the blender, on sensing overload or misassembled of parts

Simplicity, Portability and Functionality

 

BlendJet designed the portable blender to help us make quick smoothies, shakes and baby food on the go; all of which the little machine is perfectly capable of getting done in or under the one-and-a-half-minute mark (per cup). The single button, press and release system makes blending stuff pretty much as simple as it can possibly get, but do keep in mind that this is not a big, full-sized kitchen blender and don't treat it as such.

If you put all your ingredients and ice into it at the same time and in the wrong order, don't expect the hand blender to perform in the same way that a large kitchen blender would. Make no mistake, the BlendJet portable blender can most certainly crush ice with ease, thanks to the 5V motor and its 6-point, 304 stainless steel blades. However, things will take significantly longer to get done, if you pile too much of everything into the cup, without following any of the instructions.

On the other hand, when we did follow the instructions stated by them quite clearly on the website and inside the manual, BlendJet's classic, portable blender functioned admirably. We have listed down a few tips for your convenience next. Don't learn it the hard way like we did!

• On full charge, the blender can be used for blending 10 - 12 cups, so at least charge it for an hour before starting

• The main trick is to add all liquids and semi-liquids (water, milk, juice, pulpy juice, fresh cream, etc.) necessary for the recipe, into the blender first

• Another neat little trick is to simply turn the blender upside down after filling and closing the lid

• This allows the blades to instantly reach their maximum speed due to a lack of friction

• Now when you put it right side up again, the fully powered blades will blend through, a lot faster

• If you cut your fruits and veggies into smaller pieces, the blender will work faster through them

• When possible, blend ice separately and do so with a lot of water

• To avoid accidental overloads, pay attention and leave some room above before starting the blades

Should You Buy It?

The answer completely depends on your usage, rather than the product itself. The real question is, do you have use for a portable blender? If that's an affirmative then the answer would have to be a confident yes from our side as well!

There are hardly any products out there that can outmatch the original BlendJet Portable Blender, especially considering the price-to-performance ratio. This means that BlendJet is the perfect choice, if you could benefit from a portable and powerful hand blender. Even if you are not a frequent traveler, the silent, small blender is an incredibly useful tool for catering to quick blending needs in any kitchen.

 

With the amount of digital and e-commerce stores we've been using to date, it's easy to think that it's a straightforward business to set up and run e-commerce platforms. For a lot of us who have transitioned to becoming a digital entrepreneur, the advantages of online stores are immense. One of the biggest and most profound factors is the costs involved in setting an online business - it's next to nothing.

 

Plenty of physical stores have an online website and an e-commerce capability to allow customers to continue the purchasing process online and offline. From enabling customers anywhere in the world to purchase products from your site at any time, your online store is a must-have extension of your business.

 

However, entrepreneurs and business owners often find themselves in a conundrum when managing physical and digital extensions.

 

1- Worrying about shipping costs

 

Shipping costs are never going to run away. The only way you avoid shipping altogether is if you sell a service or a purely digital product. If you have a physical, tangible product, shipping costs are part of your daily business. Your main goal when it comes to running your physical and digital store is to ensure the shipping process is clear and strategically aligned to increase sales, and depending on where your orders come from, your shipping costs will be in a different range. In the spirit of increasing your profits, a good thing to start with is to set a flat shipping rate when a customer purchases something from your store or your online site. Also, there are routing apps that will plan out the best directions for driving for business that requires multiple stop delivery.

 

2- Expecting easy money

 

 

Online retail is great for your business. Once you open an online store as an extension to your physical store, this ultimately opens up another channel of income, plus the online convenience that makes your job simpler. However, don't think it's going to be a walk in the park. Staying ahead of the competition, investing in marketing, and ensuring a smooth and easy to use online site takes time and effort. This needs research as well as a unique approach that makes your product stand out among the masses. Don't expect money to roll in, without putting in the work needed and time as well to see your product and your site lift out.

 

3- Making order information difficult to access

 

The biggest mistake many businesses make is not making it easy for customers to shop, add to cart, and find information on their orders and shipping updates. Providing the estimated shipping dates, so your customers know when to expect their products, is extremely important. Keeping your customers informed of the product they are buying, the way they make payments, the information they are keying in to your site, and how long they will need to wait until their items arrive are all the things you need to put in black and white. This won't only help you troubleshoot problems, but your customers will also be happy with the information they can access.

 

4- Botching order changes and cancellations

 

Your online customers change their minds faster than the ones who shop at regular stores. This is bound to happen, and for this, you need a backup plan. You want to ensure that your customer is efficiently and accurately refunded. Some vendors will immediately go ahead and make the order, and you'll end up with a negative review on your site. To avoid this, speak to your vendor first before confirming things with your customer. While your customers wait for confirmation, let them know you've received their request and are working on making the necessary refunds or changes.

 

5- Not keeping your inventory up to date

 

 

The minute a customer experiences problem with their order, their frustrations are immediately directed at you. If they go on to your site and find that a product has been out of stock, this can create a negative purchasing process. What do you do? Firstly, allow your customers to sign up to get notified when a product is available. That's a front-end must-do. On the back-end side of things, you need to manage your inventory, so you know what products you have, when to expect shipment of your products, when to make another order before stock runs out, etc. Using inventory management software such as Fishbowl training is extremely useful in this context. Get your inventory management staff to participate in an on-site Fishbowl training to learn how to set up, implement, and use the Fishbowl software seamlessly, so you never run into problems of low stock.

 

6- Return complications

 

Setting up a system for returns will be beneficial not only for your sanity, but also to lessen the time your customers need to wait for a result. Organized and systematic approaches to problems not only keep your customers happy, but it also shows you're professional.

 

7- Inconsistent branding

 

 

You want a consistent and strong image when you go to market for your business. The logo of a company, whether a physical store or an online store, is crucial because it can make or break the company's presence. Your brand will fail to gather a huge number of customers if it doesn't have a solid logo and consistent branding that's the same online and offline. It's always best to consult a brand consulting firm or, at the very least, a professional logo designer to create a logo for your online site. It's always good to look for cost-effective options when designing a logo if you're starting out. Many sites host freelancers, such as Upwork and Fiverr.

 

8- Improper About Us/Contact page

 

If you're new, one of the ways that your customers know about you is through your About Us page. This is one of the most visited sites on a website apart from the actual product list or the contact page. If you don't introduce your business, then you're basically killing your business.
Your 'About Us' page should contain the immediate and necessary information to highlight facts about who you are, your mission and vision, and why you're doing what you're doing. Your location details and email address are the other essential things to be added to the site. This information is crucial because it builds trust and loyalty among the customers of your site.

 

9- Not using the newsletter subscriptions effectively

 

Newsletters form an integral part of your marketing arsenal. Most, if not all, of the Shopify themes feature newsletter signup options, and you might as well use it. MailChimp is one of the most popular options for newsletters to use, and you can simply sync it to your online account. Allow your customers to opt-in for email subscriptions of their choice.

 

10- Not doing a soft launch of your site

 

 

Instead of a grand launch, why not opt for a soft launch to a limited number of people? This is a great way of letting your customers know you have an online site that can make purchasing and connecting with you easier. This won't only give you the advantage to use their feedback, but you can also make tweaks to your site and prepare for a grand launch once your site is fully functional and can bring in the traffic you desire.