Thursday, April 22, 2021

BEING A MANAGER IN SOUTH AFRICA

 

INTERCULTURAL MANAGEMENT - SOUTH AFRICA


BEING A MANAGER IN SOUTH AFRICA


Management Guide South Africa


Successful cross cultural management is more likely is you understand the importance of spending time developing personal relationships and getting to know your colleagues. Because the country was closed to outside influences for many years, some older Afrikaners remain suspicious of anyone who might dilute their culture, including foreigners.

There are strong regional differences that affect the way business is conducted. There may be a lack of time urgency in cities such as Cape Town that is best explained by the phrase "just now", which means immediately, just past, now, later, or sometime in the future; whereas business can be quite fast paced in Johannesburg.

The white "Old School Tie" or "Old Boy" network that ran major businesses two decades ago is slowly being replaced by a new generation of executives who are more interested in accomplishment than where someone went to school. This is a country in transition and successful cross cultural management is more likely is you understand that you should expect to find many different management styles. Often the behavior you experience will be more a matter of personality than cultural dictate.


The Role of a Manager

The purpose of meetings in South Africa is to share information among co-workers. There is not a great deal of emphasis placed on position or status. All present are assumed to have value and therefore have value to contribute. The agenda will be set by the leader, and the leader will guide the pace and content of discussions, but all present have both an obligation and a right to contribute.

Meeting schedules are not rigid in South Africa. There may be an agenda, but it serves as a guideline for the discussion and acts as a springboard to other related business ideas. As relationships are highly important in this culture, there may be some time in the meeting devoted to non-business discussions. Time is not considered more important than completing a meeting satisfactorily, so meetings will go on until they come to a natural ending.

Approach to Change

South Africa’s intercultural adaptability and readiness for change is apparent. South Africa is seen to have a medium tolerance for change and risk. It is important for innovations to have a track record or history noting the benefits if they are to be accepted and implemented.

The fear of exposure, and the potential of embarrassment that may accompany failure, brings about aversion to risk. Because of this attitude, intercultural sensitivity is going to be required, especially when conducting group meetings and discussing contributions made my participating individuals.

Approach to Time and Priorities

South Africa is a controlled-time culture, and adherence to schedules is important and expected. In South Africa missing a deadline is a sign of poor management and inefficiency, and will shake people’s confidence.

Since South Africans respect schedules and deadlines, it is not unusual for managers to expect people to work late and even give up weekends in order to meet target deadlines. Successful intercultural management will depend on the individual’s ability to meet deadlines.

 

Decision Making

As with many other aspects of South African business, the relationship between managers and subordinates is changing. Afrikaner managers were known for being autocratic; however, the management style is becoming increasingly collaborative. That is not to say that hierarchical relationships are not respected.

Boss or Team Player ?

In South Africa, groups collaborate well together as teams. Members are generally chosen to participate based on tangible skills or the knowledge base they bring, and are equally welcome to contribute to any discussion that may arise. The success of the cross cultural manager will depend on the individual’s ability to harness the talent of the group assembled, and develop any resulting synergies.


Communication and Negotiation Styles

Women have yet to attain senior level positions. If you are a woman, you can expect to encounter some condescending behavior and to be tested in ways that a male colleague would not. Do not interrupt a South African while they are speaking. South Africans strive for consensus and win-win situations. Include delivery dates in contracts as deadlines are often viewed as fluid rather than firm commitments. Start negotiating with a realistic figure. Decision-making may be concentrated at the top of the company and decisions are often made after consultation with subordinates, so the process can be slow and protracted. Patience may be a necessary cross cultural attribute.

Want more? Go to the Intercultural Management Guides page

Monday, April 19, 2021

How can I remove a pop up ad from my Google Blogger blog?

 First things first. Does this happen in some other websites? If it does get a pop up blocker for your browser, or if you are using Internet Explorer do yourself a favor and install Google Chrome and install the Ad-Blocker extension, if you decided to keep your current browser be sure to clean all cookies, temp files, history, etc and then proceed to visit your blog, if it happens again then we need to step it up a notch. Spyware, malware maybe installed in your computer without you knowing it. Get SuperAntiSpyware install it in your PC update it and the let it do a thorough scan. Then do the same with Malwarebytes. Visit your site one more time and it should be OK, if it's not then there are two scenarios I can think of:


1.- Somehow unwanted code was added to your blog (maybe through a widget or app installed on it) and that you have no clue it was installed in the first place.


2.- If you are enrolled in the Google Adsense program, which gives you money if you allow ads to be posted in your blog, then maybe the popup could be a result of the program.


If all of this doesn't help I recommend you post your blogs address so we can test it and include a screenshot of the pop up in question. Also, to cover all of our bases, when does this pop up appear, randomly or at the press of a link or section of the site?

Well will be difficult, start removing your widgets one by one and see if will help. Take out the ads you added to your site.Perhaps the popup comes from Photobucket, or Motigo webstats ...If you have another pc then add a popup blocker then connect to your blog and see any messages.Sometime if someone replies to your threads then possible ther is a link there that might do this.

try Quero Toolbar

http://www.quero.at/


use another theme for your blog

Sunday, February 21, 2021

How To Make Money on Amazon

How to make money on Amazon

Many of us know Amazon as a handy site where you can buy just about anything you need. But to some, it's so much more than that – it's an amazing opportunity to make money. Here's how.

Smiling woman with money and Amazon logo

Credit: Krakenimages.com – Shutterstock

It's no secret that Amazon is a very convenient website for shoppers. What's less well known, though, is just how easy it is to earn an income on there – and not just as a seller.

Granted, selling is one of the most common ways to make money on Amazon, and we've got plenty of tips to maximise your profits as a seller below. But it's far from your only option. In fact, it's even possible to generate a passive income through the site, letting you earn cash in your sleep.

Read on for all the info you need on how to sell on Amazon, as well as our list of the 11 best ways to make money from the site (both with and without selling).

If you haven't already, check out our list of the best ways to get free Amazon vouchers.

How to sell on Amazon

Man looking happy at laptop

Credit: bbernard – Shutterstock

Looking to start selling on Amazon? It's super easy to get started, but there are a few key things to bear in mind before signing up.

The main things to consider are which Amazon selling plan would be right for you, and whether the seller fees would be worth it.

Amazon selling plans

There are two selling plans to choose from at Amazon:

  • Professional selling plan – If you're selling more than 35 products a month, you could consider this plan. It costs £25 a month excluding VAT plus additional fees (below).
  • Individual selling plan – Also known as the 'basic' plan, this one's generally better for people selling less than 35 products a month. You wouldn't need to pay a monthly subscription fee, but you would have to pay £0.75 per item sold plus additional fees (below).

When choosing an Amazon selling plan, think about whether you would be selling a large enough quantity of products at a high enough price each month to go for the professional plan, or if you'd be better off sticking with the basic plan.

If you're unsure how many things you'll be selling each month, it might be better to start off on the basic plan, then consider upgrading to the professional one later on if you decide it would be worthwhile.

But, if you do decide to go for the professional selling plan, it might be worth also thinking about trying Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA). There are added fees, but it would mean you could reach more customers, and packaging and delivery would be handled by Amazon. We go into this in a bit more detail later.

Amazon selling fees

money in a purse

Credit: Yevgen Kravchenko, kamui29, Bell Photography 423 – Shutterstock

As mentioned above, there's a fee per item for the individual selling plan (£0.75) and a fee per month for the professional plan (£25). And, on top of these, there are additional fees that apply to both plans.

These are the additional seller fees to be aware of:

  1. Referral fee – This fee will vary depending on the type of product that's sold. It's calculated as a percentage of the total sales price, which includes the product price and added charges for delivery and gift wrapping. There's usually (but not always) a minimum referral fee of £0.25 per item.
  2. Closing fee – There's a closing fee of £0.50 for most media items that are sold. This applies to items like music, DVDs, video games and software. Books have a closing fee of £1.
  3. Refund administration fee – If you need to refund a customer after receiving payment, you'll get your referral fee back, but a refund administration fee will be taken from it. The fee will either be £5 or 20% of your referral fee, whichever is less.
  4. High volume listing fee – This is unlikely to apply to you unless you're selling a LOT. If you have over two million active stock-keeping units (SKUs), there will be a fee of £0.0003 per SKU. SKUs are the unique reference codes you give to each product you list.

To find out more, including the specific referral fees for each type of product, have a look at Amazon's fee page.

Also looking for Amazon buying tips? We've got you covered.

11 best ways to earn money on Amazon

These are the easiest and most effective ways to make money on Amazon:

  1. Apply for Amazon Launchpad

    woman smiling on phone

    Credit: WAYHOME studio – Shutterstock

    If you sell products that are particularly innovative and you've got an interesting brand story to tell, you could consider applying for Amazon Launchpad.

    Applications are reviewed on a case by case basis so there's no guarantee you'd be accepted.

    But if you are, you'd get access to added selling features like customer engagement tools, the chance to have your brand showcased on the Amazon Launchpad homepage and strategic support from an onboarding manager to help you develop your business.

    Bear in mind that if you do sell on Amazon Launchpad, you'll need to pay an extra 5% referral fee on top of the standard referral fee on each item you sell. You can find more info here.

  2. Sell old belongings on Amazon

    Not sure what to sell on Amazon to make money? Have a look through your old belongings – there are likely to be plenty of items that you no longer use that you could sell online.

    In some ways, old belongings can actually be some of the best items to sell on Amazon.

    Not only does it mean your pre-loved stuff goes to a good home rather than a landfill (an important reason alone), but it also means you can cut out the costs of buying or making things to sell, and just make a profit from things you already own.

    For example, when you're finished with a module at uni, you could sell your old bookson Amazon to help fund any new ones you need.

    Just remember that if you do sell used things on Amazon, make sure you clearly and honestly describe the condition they're in.

    For some inspiration, check out our guide on the best second-hand things to sell.

    Have you thought about selling on eBay too? Look on both sites to compare the fees for the types of products you're selling to see which offers the lowest fees.
  3. Start affiliate marketing

    Woman on laptop with social media likes and loves

    Credit: Flamingo Images, Pinone Pantone, Avector – Shutterstock

    Arguably the top way to make money on Amazon without selling is by joining Amazon's affiliate marketing programme.

    Affiliate marketing involves sharing links to products online, such as on social media or your own blog. Then, if people buy things through those links, you'll be able to earn money from the sales at no extra cost to the buyer.

    Or, if you have a particularly good following across your social media profiles, you could consider applying to become an Amazon Influencer. This would still involve you promoting products and making money from sales, but you would be given your own page on Amazon where you could choose which items to promote.

    Unsure if affiliate marketing's for you? We explain it in more detail in our guide to earning a passive income.

  4. Sell crafts on Amazon Handmade

    Talented at crafts or DIY? Amazon Handmade could be a brilliant platform to start selling your creative work, whether it be jewellery, textiles, art or just about anything crafty.

    There are currently reduced referral fees on Amazon Handmade until 31st December 2021, down from 15.3% to 12.24% (with a minimum referral fee of £0.25).

    Although, while this could be a great option for you, it's worth looking into the selling fees on Etsy as well. We recommend doing some sums to work out whether you'd be earning more or less on there per item, depending on factors such as your product's sales price and the cost of post and packaging.

  5. Deliver Amazon parcels

    amazon parcel

    Credit: J.K2507 – Shutterstock

    If you can drive and you have a car at uni, delivering parcels through Amazon Flex could be an ideal way for you to make money in your spare time.

    Amazon estimates you can earn about £13 – £15 an hour as a delivery driver, but it's worth keeping in mind that you might end up taking home a bit less than this.

    As an Amazon Flex delivery driver, you'd be working as an independent contractor, so you'd need to cover costs like mileage, parking and tolls. This would mean that, if you make £13 an hour, some of that money might need to go towards driving costs.

    However, it could still work out as pretty good money and the flexible hours would work well around a student schedule. And, our tips on saving money on driving might help you spend slightly less on your deliveries.

  6. Sell through Fulfilment by Amazon

    To make sure you're making as much money as possible as a seller on Amazon, look into whether Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) or Fulfilment by Merchant (FBM) suits your business better.

    When you're first starting out, FBM would probably be your best bet. This would mean that you would handle your own packaging and shipping. However, as your online store expands, it might be difficult for you to keep up with all of the P&P yourself, and it might even be tricky to store all of your stock at home.

    With FBA, you could send your stock to an Amazon warehouse, and they would organise the packaging and delivery of your products. Also, your listings could attract more customers on the site by getting the 'Prime Badge', highlighting that they have fast delivery.

    But, these features do come with added costs – you'd need to pay fulfilment fees and storage fees. These will vary depending on the size and type of your product, so have a look on this page for more details.

  7. Publish eBooks on Kindle

    amazon kindle on stack of books

    Credit: dean bertoncelj – Shutterstock

    Ever wanted to make money from writing? Publishing eBooks on Amazon Kindle is one way to do just that.

    All you need to start writing an eBook is an idea, some free time and a fair amount of commitment.

    Whether fiction or non-fiction, there's a huge range of topics that you could write your book about. For some ideas of popular genres (along with extra money-making tips), have a read of our full guide to maximising profits from eBooks.

  8. Sell designs via Merch by Amazon

    For anyone that's talented at art and design, it's worth considering Merch by Amazon. You need an invitation to get started on there, but if you send in an application and impress them, this can lead to an invite.

    With Merch by Amazon, you can upload an artwork and choose the type of product you'd like the design to be printed on, along with its colour. Then, all you need to do is add a product description and set a price for the item.

    When people buy your product, Amazon will handle the production, shipping and customer service, then pay you a royalty for each sale. The amount of royalty will vary depending on the type of product and the set price of your item.

    For example, for a standard t-shirt that costs £15.99, the royalty would be £2.89 (18% of the purchase price). However, for a sweatshirt that costs £27.99, the royalty would only be £2.52 (9% of the purchase price).

    If you do join this programme, do plenty of research before getting started to make sure you're getting the most money from sales that you can.

    As a bonus tip, Merch by Amazon is non-exclusive, meaning you could sell your designs via additional sites like Zazzle (which is also non-exclusive).

    And, we have more advice on printing on-demand products in our guide to the best passive income ideas.

  9. Trade in Amazon devices for gift vouchers

    Amazon echo dot

    Credit: Zapp2Photo – Shutterstock

    If you're a fan of Amazon devices, you should definitely look into the Trade-In programme. It allows you to send in your old devices and, in return, receive an Amazon voucher.

    The voucher would give you money off an item from the same product category(e.g. if you trade in a tablet, you could buy a new tablet with the voucher).

    It's free to do – you just need to head to the Trade-In store and select the device you'd like to trade. You'll then need to answer a few questions about the condition of your item (it might still be accepted if it doesn't work) and Amazon will give you a quote.

    You'd then get a delivery label that lets you post the product for free and, once Amazon has verified its condition, the gift card for your new device will be automatically applied to your account. It's such an easy way to save money on gadgets.

  10. Do freelance work for Amazon sellers

    Selling on Amazon can take a fair amount of work. Because of this, some sellers will need a bit of help with various aspects of their online store – and that's where you can come in.

    Even if you're not keen on selling things yourself, you'll have plenty of skills that can help you make money on Amazon, so you could work for sellers on a freelance basis.

    For example, if you're talented at photography, you could offer to take eye-catching product photos for sellers. Or, if you've got a really good eye for detail, you could proofread and edit product descriptions.

    A lot of people use Fiverr to advertise their freelance services to Amazon sellers – this is a great place to start.

    Looking for more ways to make money? Check out some other top Fiverr gig ideas.
  11. Work for Amazon

    Group of students working hard

    Credit: Jacob Lund – Shutterstock

    If making money on Amazon isn't enough for you, there is, of course, the option to work for Amazon.

    There's such a vast range of jobs available at Amazon so, whatever your skill set, there's bound to be one that suits you. Plus, as a global brand, Amazon can offer great career progression opportunities.

    Like the idea of working there? Have a look on their careers page to see if any of the current vacancies appeal – especially their student opportunities and graduate jobs.

    These jobs will be super competitive, so it's important to put loads of time and effort into your application and do what you can to make your CV stand out.

    And if you manage to bag yourself an interview at Amazon, make sure you've done your research and feel prepared to answer the most common interview questions. Good luck! 

Monday, February 15, 2021

WHAT ARE THE TOP TOOLS FOR DIGITAL MARKETING IN 2021?

Aren’t you relieved that 2020 is over? It was one long surreal trip that affected almost every kind of business.

Now that things are beginning to look up again this February, it’s time to set your business strategies into motion for 2021.

Indeed, we have learned many lessons this trying year. However, picking one of the most valuable ones would be to adapt to new marketing methods using a deluge of efficient digital tools around us. Why digital? Given the present circumstances, which will likely spill over in 2021, can your brand still retain visibility with customers spending most of their time at home?

Of course, it can, but digitally. Know that digital marketing has already been a critical element in the marketing mix for most B2B and B2C companies, but given today's context, it has indeed come to the fore. So, if you are not choosing to reach out to your customer base over the web, your competitors are.

Here are the top 11 tools you need for digital marketing in 2021.

Fortunately, there are many digital tools available at affordable prices that can help you keep your customers engaged from afar. Let’s take a look. 

1. SendX 

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Most marketing experts swear by email, which is why SendX tops this list. It is a marketing automation software that helps you send out emails to your client base productively. Affordable than most of its competitors, this SaaS email marketing platform comes with several pre-loaded templates and can also help with email verification

But, one of the best things about SendX is its intuitive and user-friendly interface. With the fewest clicks possible, you can drive entire digital marketing campaigns and increase conversions. And, if you ever get stuck, SendX offers instant support, any time of the day, via live chat.

Also, get the best breed email deliverability to ensure high open rates with this robust digital marketing software.   

2. SEMrush

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No digital marketing campaign is complete without Search Engine Optimization or SEO. If you seriously want to improve your SEO strategy, there is no other tool as potent as SEMrush. It is an all-in-one digital marketing tool that assists with in-depth keyword search, spotting backlink opportunities, position tracking, and much more.

You can even perform a detailed SEO audit using this tool. What’s more, SEMrush offers both free and paid memberships. If you want to test the waters first, we suggest you try out their 14-day free trial version that allows you to explore all of SEMrush’s features.

3. HubSpot

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If you are in any way affiliated with the marketing industry, you ought to have come across the word HubSpot. It is an essential digital marketing tool for all things inbound. You can leverage HubSpot for their CRM and CMS interfaces, social media management, email marketing, and to design landing pages. 

In a nutshell, from managing your social media content to tracking emails and engaging with leads, HubSpot is your powerful one-stop-solution. The software application also comes with HubSpot Academy, which can help you learn a great deal about inbound marketing.

4. BuzzSumo

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Directly marketing your wares is often not enough to make it big. You must go deeper to understand the market sentiment, who your target audiences turn to for advice, and who influences their buying decisions. 

Believe it or not, the digital space is replete with influencers who can play a critical role in promoting your offerings better than you. Several studies have shown that influencer marketing, at times, works even better than the regular channels. But how do you find the right influencer? With the help of BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo is a rare content research tool that lets you identify the right influencers within your industry and helps you connect with them. With this SaaS app, you can check out trending topics and expand your research scope. BuzzSSumo also helps with content analysis, impressions, and social mentions. With these features, you can gauge your campaign's performance. 

5. Ahrefs

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Do you have a great website but not enough traffic? Perhaps, you need an SEO tool, primarily to amplify your web traffic. And Ahrefs is it! A comprehensive SEO tool, Ahrefs, offers 150 million keywords for the U.S. alone, and even more for various other countries.

Another stellar feature of Ahrefs allows you to conduct in-depth competition analysis. It can also help you figure out who is latching to your competitors, their top landing pages, and much more. With Ahrefs, you can figure out how well your competitor's content ranks.

But is that enough? No! You must also know the efficacy of your content. Ahrefs provides users with a Content Gap tool to identify the weakness in their own content.  

6. Google AdWords

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No top digital marketing tool list is complete without the mention of Google AdWords. After all, it is one of the most popular methods to advertise on Google’s search results page. And, it costs so little for the kind of returns you can expect!

Paying for AdWords is based on a pay-per-call or pay-per-click structure. This digital tool also hosts the Google Keyword Planner, which helps research the keywords you should include for optimizing your ad.

Sure, you want to appear on the first page of Google Search organically, but that may or may not happen. However, if you bid on the top-rated keyword on AdWords, you can surely grab a prime spot on the search result page.

7. Yoast

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Yoast is an exceptional tool for optimizing your content for search engines. It helps you to choose the right core content and keywords. Yoast also enables you to spot individual URLs and internal links to boost web traffic. 

The Yoast plug-in for WordPress costs nothing, but premium plans come with different price ranges depending on how many websites you wish to monitor.    

8. Hootsuite

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Hootsuite is a powerful and popular social media management platform. It stores your previously approved content on the cloud that your team members can access for social media needs. What’s more, you can draft and schedule multiple posts with keywords and tags at once using this app.

Hootsuite also allows you to track your brand’s performance on social media. With this SaaS tool, you can calculate your marketing ROI, conversions, and public conversations and sentiment around your brand.

9. Medium

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An effective blogging platform, Medium has a genuine readership of individuals looking to read long-form content. This tool is also incredibly simple to use, as you don't have to worry about configuring and coding your content here. 

You can upload your brand posts and be sure of reaching a pre-existing community with similar interests. If you wish to enhance your product's awareness, Medium is a great 'medium' to do so.

10. Canva

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Before finalizing on tools that carry your messages to leads and customers, you need an app to create high-quality content with striking imagery and textual layouts. This is where Canva comes to the rescue. It is an excellent online graphic design tool that costs nothing but offers countless professional templates to fit your message. 

You don’t have to be a graphics expert to use Canva. Given its clean and intuitive interface, you can design your newsletter or email quickly and easily. If you are operating on a tight budget, Canva is a must for you as it saves you the additional cost of hiring staff to compile striking ads.

11. Growbots

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Have the perfect digital marketing pitch ready, but not sure who to send it to? Growbots can help you find the best prospects from a database of over 200 million contacts. This way, you can identify key influencers and decision-makers and follow-up with them.   

Growbots also offer primary analytics that helps you track successful customer approaches. While you can take a free demo of this lead-gen software, the premium features are all paid for. 

Your Turn

Before we sign off, here is a quick recap of all the tools you should use in 2021:

  • SendX - for robust email marketing.
  • SEMrush – for selecting the right keywords.
  • HubSpot – for inbound marketing.
  • BuzzSumo – for influencer marketing.
  • Ahrefs – for website SEO.  
  • Google AdWords – for search engine advertising.
  • Yoast – for optimizing content for search engines.  
  • Hootsuite – for managing social media with a single dashboard.
  • Medium – for content marketing and blogging.
  • Canva – for designing marketing content.
  • Growbots – for lead generation.

As you can see, several tools can help you reach the right prospects at the right time. But, which one is the best for your organization? This answer will depend on your company's goals and the digital platforms your target audiences prefer.

Not all of these tools will stick, but they are more than enough to get you started on your journey towards digital marketing in 2021.