In The Know

Today is going to be one of hopefully many blog posts that I want to refer to as “In The Know” because, it is very important for everyone to not only focus on building their business while reaching for their dream, it is important to stay aware of things that are happening around you that can affect your business and possibly that dream. Therefore, on this #FundMeFriday, for my first “In The Know” blog post, I have three items that interested me enough to share them with you.

The first item of interest to me is something that seems obvious to me but so many people are oblivious to this tidbit of information. Did you know that as each day passes, we inch that much closer to being a cashless society? That is right, no money to tangibly hold in your hands. Having a bank account at an actual brick and mortar bank is almost obsolete. More and more people, myself included, are utilizing apps like PayPal, Zelle, Quickpay, Venmo, CashApp and the list continues to grow. These apps have made it so easy to send, receive and pay money all from the comfort of your own home or from wherever you happen to be at that very point in time, regardless of the time of day it is and regardless of the day of week it is. Who in their right mind would want to take a potentially one minute transaction and turn it back into a one hour errand? The answer to that question is the reason for the growing popularity of these apps. So, if you have not begun using any of these popular apps, I suggest you download one of them, they are all free downloads, then start playing with it to familiarize yourself with it. They are all basically the same format so switching from one to another will have a very minimal new learning curve. Give it a try because you are either continuously moving forward and progressing or you are lagging behind and dying.

Speaking of banking, wait until I tell you about this second item of interest. Have you heard yet that Amazon, yes Amazon, is developing their own “bank”? That is right. Soon you will be able to have a bank account with Amazon that will be equipped with everything from a checking account, to cash back perks and to all the same perks your current bank is currently offering you. However, with the good, you have to take the bad and there could be one very potentially dangerous perk that comes attached to the bank account Amazon offers and that will be the ability to have a one-click to buy function. Oh boy, for all you super shoppers I can see there may need to be a whole new level of therapists on hand for the Amazon banker.

This third item of interest that I would like to share with you is very interesting for a few reasons. This item is concerning perks that your job may be offering you as an incentive to stay there. I am not talking about the typical perks like possible health insurance or paid sick days or even a retirement plan. I am talking about additional bonuses at work. One new perk that companies are offering more often is the ability to work from home, many times referred to as working remotely. Another perk may be the option to have months off for maternity and or paternity leave. I even read that a company called Boxed will pay up to $20,000.00 for an employees wedding. Yes, their wedding. The point here is pretty simple. When and if you are choosing a new job or just looking to relocate your job, do your due diligence and see what everyone is offering before you take that new position. It could mean the difference of thousands if not tens of thousands of extra money in your pocket.

I hope you enjoyed this new segment I have called “In The Know” and I hope I was able to enlighten you even if it was only on one item that I mentioned. If you enjoyed it, please give it a like or a comment. I would also love to read comments that have items and ideas you may want me to discuss.

Did you think you were going to get away on this #FundMeFriday without me asking this next question, Have you paid yourself FIRST today? If not, make that deposit now. If this is your first time reading one of my blog posts, please go back and read some of my #FundMeFriday blog posts to know what I am talking about.

As usual, I will remind you to always be learning and to assist you in that process, I am going to suggest reading a book that I have suggested in a previous blog post and that book is called Saving Money. I always suggest trying to borrow it from your local library or a friend first but if neither option is available, here is a link to get it from Amazon>> https://amzn.to/32mDGpd

If you choose to shop in Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you could use the link I have provided. As an Amazon Affiliate, it is possible I can earn a bonus and therefore continue to provide continued content we all enjoy. Thank you in advance!

Finally, please stay in the know by subscribing to Lori’s Loop and never miss another posting. You can’t go wrong with constant free life and business advise so please click to subscribe! www.themainhustle.com/subscribe

#FundMeFriday

#LorisLoop

#TheMainHustle

#Entrepreneur

#Goals

#SavingMoney

#AceMcCloud

Top 5 Must Have Attributes

Success and achievement mean different things to different people to whom you ask because every person has their own unique outlook on life. However, there are basic ideas that everyone can follow in order to help you ensure that you find the success as well as the achievements that you seek. So today, on this #TrashItThursday I am going to give you five ideas to help you on your journey toward success by having you throw out outdated ideas that are plaquing you from within.

So, the first thing I want you to trash once and for all, is your idea of “baby steps” and always playing it safe by thinking small when it comes to your dreams. I want you to start to think so big that you never reach your intended dream. Make that dream so large that it almost feels daunting at times. People will often give up and search for a reach that is more attainable because it is the easy way out. It so so dangerous when you do this because slowly, you begin to kill your dream. Do not confuse your dream with goals. They are not one in the same. Your dream may encompass a thousand goals but your dream is your universe and so it should be so large that your stretch must continue to grow.

I am making this second idea more of a question that I have asked many times before in earlier blog posts and that question is this, are doing what you love? If you have answered that question with a no, you must throw out that notion that you are not supposed to love your job because if you answered with a no, I guarantee that is a major reason. Another horrible notion that I am sure is a major reason for your no response is that you believe that a job constitutes the only real security in life and I am sure you believe that security and a constant paycheck are the only ways in which you should live your life. Throw them out! If you want to live your dream, you must love what you are doing, Period. Even if you are not very successful at what it is that you love, at least you are doing what it is that you love and that in and of itself is so much more fulfilling and satisfying for your life. When you are fulfilled and satisfied with the level that you have obtained, then you will indeed be successful.

The third idea is to trash that fear of failure that most people seem to have. Stop the growing fears about the future because, it has not arrived. Stop those fears about mistakes that you made in the past. You cannot change anything that is behind you. Enjoy where you are right now and stop being afraid of failure. Every day that you wake up and work toward your dreams should be a fearless day. It is a brand new day to continue with strategies that are working or it is a brand new day to toss everything out and implement new strategies so in either scenario, there should not be any fear there, there is only a fresh new opportunity to be great. When you start doubting yourself, just remember this, that each failure is just another step on your path to your ultimate journey. One foot in front of the other and one day at a time.

My fourth item for you to trash is your inability to decide. You must be decisive and take action on everything that involves your dream and your personal journey. Do not wait for people to make decisions for you and do not delegate decisions that belong in your own wheelhouse. Just think about it for a minute, how can anyone on this planet decide what is best for your dream? I am not saying that you should not take advice or suggestions. What I am saying is that it is you who must make all decisions that involve your dream, so learn as quickly as possible to be decisive.

Finally, my last plan of action for you is to throw away the negativity. There is no room anywhere to fit any level of negativity into ones life, unfortunately, too many do. You must and I stress MUST learn and must become a positive person. Positive people are unstoppable and unwavering. Positive people are more relaxed and happy and therefore create and perform much better ESPECIALLY when they are building their dream. Negativity is so easy and so very contagious. Negativity is like a poison and it allows you to be torn down. Get rid of the negative thoughts and the toxic people in your life if you want to thrive and be successful. It sounds so simple but this is going to be one extremely hard attribute for you to master. Practice every chance you get and you will be amazed at how your life will begin to morph into something very new and very special.

If you want to read about an insanely wealthy and successful man who stayed razor focused on his dream, I am once again going to suggest the book Made In America. You have got to get this book from your library or borrow it. If those options are not possible, Amazon has it for a few dollars and here is the link >> https://amzn.to/2MNUUFC

If you choose to shop in Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you could use the link I have provided. As an Amazon Affiliate, it is possible I can earn a bonus and therefore continue to provide continued content we all enjoy. Thank you in advance!

Finally, please stay in the know by subscribing to Lori’s Loop and never miss another posting. You can’t go wrong with constant free life and business advise so please click to subscribe! www.themainhustle.com/subscribe

#TrashItThursday

#LorisLoop

#TheMainHustle

#Entrepreneur

#Goals

#MadeInAmerica

#SamWalton

Making sacrifices

Today is #WisdomWednesday so on this day, I would like to send a little wisdom your way in hopes of enlightening you and maybe even to bring you some realization that you are not alone and your feelings are very valid. I would like to discuss sacrifices with you and although the ideas can cross over from business to life and vise versa, I am going to keep it this blog on more business oriented terms. There are three main areas of sacrifice that I would like to touch upon. The first being work itself. The second area is family. The third area although a primary focus and should actually be first, is money.

Although neither one of these areas is more important than the other, they will all change their level of importance as your business grows because your business will be a continuously moving creature. I say creature to bring up the first area of sacrifice which is the work and boy can work appear as a crazy creature in your life and to every aspect of your world. When you are building your own business, this business will be the hardest work you have ever performed. This is your business and you will work on it probably from the time you open your eyes in the morning up until the time you close those eyes at night. You will work harder for yourself than you ever worked for any boss. This is not meant to scare you away from starting your own business. I am telling you this so that you are aware of this reality. Every day people read about how they should start their own business and then they will be able sit back and just watch the money roll in. If you are one of those people, you have been gravely misinformed. Sure there will be easier days than others but if you are going to create a lifestyle behind this business, than working harder than ever before is one component you will need to get use to. There is however, one extremely different upside that does not exist when you have a boss and that is that even though you may work exponentially harder and or longer hours, you will be doing something that you love and therefore the time spent will be so much more rewarding and satisfying. If you have not read my previous blog posts, I am going to repeat myself again here and tell you that there is a huge difference between doing what you want to do and doing what you have to do.

The next area of sacrifice I would like to cover is family. In order to build that business and create that lifestyle that you want, sometimes family is sacrificed. You can however, try to find balance in order not to destroy your family while you are building your business. For instance, maybe you missed your sons last two baseball games. If possible, maybe you take him to a game to see his favorite team. Or, maybe you missed your anniversary. A gesture might be to send flowers or something to your spouse or maybe just plan a date night. The point here is that it is inevitable that there will be sacrifices with family so you have to make conscious choices to adjust and try to keep a sense of balance between business and family. It will also be great practice for your business because it will teach to to think on the go and to be a better problem solver.

The last area of sacrifice that I am going to discuss is money. When you are building a business and when you are working for yourself, there are no paid sick days and there are no paid vacations. If you do not bring the money in, there is no money. There is another statistic that you should be aware of also. That statistic is that when you start a business, it could be two to five years before you start seeing a profit. Unfortunately, many people never take these major roadblocks into consideration. Once again though, if you are committed to building and growing your business and your dream, the sacrifice will be well worth it.

Therefore, on this Wisdom Wednesday, you need to take all of this knowledge from the three areas of sacrifice which were work, family and money that I mentioned, and decide how much of it is true for your life, how much of it is right for your business and how much of it is lasting. Then and only then can you begin to have the wisdom and the necessary incentive to move yourself toward your dreams.

As always, I am going to tell you that the most important tool you will have in your entire life and that will absolutely bring you to your dreams is your brain. You need to learn something on a daily basis and the best way is to read. Whether you read a chapter a day or a chapter per week, just read and learn something. I mentioned this book in a previous blog post and I am going to mention it again because I think it will help you understand more about taking control and building and growing your business. So as soon as you get the opportunity, go to your local library and get the book called Being The Boss. If they do not have it, ask a friend to borrow their copy. If neither option is available, here is a link to get the book on Amazon>> https://amzn.to/2oEeeNz

If you choose to shop in Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you could use the link I have provided. As an Amazon Affiliate, it is possible I can earn a bonus and therefore continue to provide continued content we all enjoy. Thank you in advance!

Finally, please stay in the know by subscribing to Lori’s Loop and never miss another posting. You can’t go wrong with constant free life and business advise so please click to subscribe! www.themainhustle.com/subscribe

#WisdomWednesday

#LorisLoop

#TheMainHustle

#Entrepreneur

#Goals

#BeingTheBoss

#LindaAHill

#KentLineback

AcknowledGment

It is #TalkingTuesday and for today’s topic I want to talk about acknowledgment. You would be surprised how far a simple acknowledgment of a person, acknowledgment of someone’s look and especially acknowledgment of someone’s post can catapult you into success.

It is Talking Tuesday so let us start with the acknowledgment of a person. Go talk to people whether you are a boss or an employee. Start up a conversation with someone acknowledging something good they have done. A main lesson here is for you to know that when you take the time to let someone know that you appreciate what they did or how amazing they did their job or even how well they are progressing, that little gesture of acknowledgment actually propels them forward and by extension they work harder and they work happier.

Another way to acknowledge someone is to point something out about how they look. People are very obsessed lately about every aspect of themselves and most have such low self esteem that they do not like anything about their look. Take a look at them then find something about them that you like whether it is their shirt, their shoes or maybe a piece of jewelry that they are wearing. Then, simply comment on it. It will really have an effect on that person whether it is outwardly or whether it is a feeling you bring to them internally.

Finally, as this blog is usually geared toward business, I will tell you to take the time to comment and acknowledge posts that people put out on any social media platform. Each time you engage a post, you get new eyes on you who may in turn click into your link to see what it is that you are offering and if you do this often enough, you just may get a new subscriber or client. Please though, do not spam any post and by that I mean do not put a link to a product or service that you are selling. Just comment on the relevant post that you happened upon and hopefully you will get mutual engagement.

The main takeaway of this blog post is that if you want to be successful and if you want to build or grow your business, you have to engage people in every possible way that you can and start acknowledging them to let them know that they matter. And, if you use a day like Talking Tuesdays to develop this skill, then it will start to feel like a habit and it will become part of a routine that you will not even have to give any thought to. There is a reason why they say, “Out of sight, out of mind”. You have to keep yourself active in peoples lives, especially on social media if your are building your business. Next, you have to start figuring out where to begin acknowledging people, like making a plan that on Tuesday, you will start scanning Twitter feeds for something that interest you but, be sincere because people will see right through you. The objective is to build a business that you love and that you can be proud of not just to make a quick sale.

As usual, learning is the key to success in all aspects of life so I am going to recommend a book that I had previously recommended to you called How To Talk To Anyone. It is a great way to boost your confidence and finally start those conversations. I am sure that your local library has the book for you to borrow. In the event they do not, I am attaching a link for you to get the book on Amazon>> https://amzn.to/2Ml0Fvv

If you choose to shop in Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you could use the link I have provided. As an Amazon Affiliate, it is possible I can earn a bonus and therefore continue to provide continued content we all enjoy. Thank you in advance!

Finally, please stay in the know by subscribing to Lori’s Loop and never miss another posting. You can’t go wrong with constant free life and business advise so please click to subscribe! www.themainhustle.com/subscribe

#TalkingTuesday

#LorisLoop

#TheMainHustle

#Entrepreneur

#Goals

#HowToTalkToAnyone

#LeilLowndes

@Leil_Lowndes

For The Love Of Monday

I have set my life up so that I can live it on my terms and by my standards so, when I see endless posts online every Sunday about the horror of the impending and dreadful Monday, it makes me so sad at the realization of the enormous number of people who have jobs instead of living their life to the fullest. For this reason, I have chosen this topic on this #MammothMonday because there is nothing greater to do in life than to live it on your terms and in such a way that every day is an amazing day that holds excitement rather than dread.

If you are not looking forward to Monday and Monday brings so much stress into your life, then this is the time to reassess exactly what it is that you want out of your life. It is time to realize that you are not doing whatever it is that brings you passion and enjoyment. Do not scan over this blog post with the attitude that you are not going to live in a fantasy world and start dreaming of sitting on a beach all day long soaking up the sun. Read this post for exactly what it is meant to tell you and that is that you can live life on your terms. It is just up to you to decide when that start date is. I cannot start your life for you but I can give you the information that you need in order to get you started. I am going to start off by telling you that the first and the most important thing you can do right now is decide what it is that brings you happiness.

Do you even realize why Monday brings so many people so much dread? The answer is simple and something that you do not even give thought to because it is ingrained in your brain, just like your name. You do not give your name much thought because you are so use to it. It is who you are. The same goes with your “job”. Your job is something that is ingrained deep within you. Society and a lifetime of brainwashing has convinced you that you must get a “job” and work until you reach retirement age or until you are forced to retire for any of many possible reasons. You dread Monday’s because it brings a routine that is mundane, it is robotic and you are not doing what you want to do in life and therefore Monday is a huge slap in the face to hoards of people. What you need to know is that you can change that, but you have to make the conscious decision to do it.

The dread of Monday is proof that you are not fulfilled. The only way to change it is to take that decision that I asked you to make above about deciding what it is that brings you happiness and find a way to make money doing it. Wow is that all? Gee why didn’t I think of that? Are those the thoughts running through your head right now? If your answer is yes, then you have just been defeated again by being condescending and indignant, not to this post, but to yourself, to your life and to your dreams.

It is Mammoth Monday, make today huge in that you take that first step toward living your dream. Decide what it is that brings you joy. Then figure out how to make money doing that. It does not matter if it is making something and selling it on eBay or Etsy or even at weekend tag sales. Or, do you love talking about a certain topic? Take that topic and maybe you can create your own blog. You just have to start.

On a final note, most people say that they do not have money to start a business on their own. I am here to tell you that is not true. Most accounts like eBay, Etsy, Poshmark etc are all free to open an account. They only charge a small fee AFTER you make a sale. Same goes with platforms like PayPal that you can use to collect the money you earn. They too charge a fee only after they collect your money. As for having your own website, you can start off with hosts like Wix.com that allows you to create a website and they host it free for you as long as their banner is at the bottom. People, I am telling you the list goes on as far as free assistance to start, run and grow a business or should I say, start, run and grow the lifestyle you have only dreamed of having. Just start.

My first suggestion for you is to make sure you get as much information as possible. Google everything because anything you want to know is right at your very own fingertips. A quicker way to start getting information and have information constantly sent to you is to subscribe to my blog and you will always get constant tidbits of information as well as business ideas and avenues to travel toward your dream. Subscribe at: www.themainhustle.com/subscribe

My second suggestion which should actually be my first suggestion is to constantly keep learning. There is no better way to get ahead in life than to continuously keep learning whether you watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts or audio books or, whether you just pick up a book and start dog earring pages. I suggested this book before and I am going to suggest it again because I feel it is a great starting place and a great motivation book. It is called Crushing It. Go visit your library and check it out. If that is not an option, here is a link to the book to get it from Amazon>> https://amzn.to/2OHJCFg

If you choose to shop in Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you could use the link I have provided. As an Amazon Affiliate, it is possible I can earn a bonus and therefore continue to provide continued content we all enjoy. Thank you in advance!

#MammothMonday

#LorisLoop

#TheMainHustle

#Entrepreneur

#Goals

#CrushingIt

#GaryVaynerchuk

@garyvee

Enough With All The Things

On this #FundMeFriday I am going to discuss something that is asked of me over and over again and that question is, “Why don’t I ever have any money”? Does that question sound familiar to you? I’m sure it does and my answer comes in the form of one word, THINGS. That’s right, things. Let me explain.

I am going to start off by telling you a little tidbit of information that I hope you take with you along your journey through life. Did you know that one, just one common denominator that wealthy people share is that they don’t spend their money on endless things. Wealthy people spend the majority of their money on items that will have some type of ROI (Return on Investment). If they enjoy playing the stock market, it’s because they are getting interest or dividends returned to them. If they enjoy real estate, they buy It with the knowledge that the property will appreciate, there will be rental income and they can write off depreciation. Those are only two examples of how the wealthy maintain their money.

Now, on the flip side of wealth, we have those individuals who are broke or living paycheck to paycheck or who are so deep in debt that they don’t know what their next move is but, they too have something in common. What this group has in common is that they all have enormous amounts of things. Things that I guarantee they have already forgotten about but that are stored somewhere in the home.

If you want to be wealthy or if you just need to start walking along that path toward wealth and as far away from broke as you can get, then stop spending your money on useless and unnecessary things. I’m not saying you can’t enjoy your life and have stuff. What I am saying is that instead of buying your monthly 5 magazines, just buy one from now on. Instead of having twenty-five pairs of jeans, maybe only have ten. Instead of shopping three times a week, maybe you shop once per month. Stop spending just to spend.

Here’s a question for you that might make you understand this a little bit better. Did you ever help someone move from one house to another or have you ever moved from one place to another? If the answer is yes, you probably thought to yourself at the time, “How hard can this be? It’s only a one bedroom apartment”. Then, the day arrives and it turns into a nightmare of boxes and endless hours of packing. The reason is the same for everyone, you have so much unnecessary and useless things that you have long since forgotten about them and now these things are just moving along with you to sit in a new place and be useless and unwanted there. Stop buying things that you don’t need just so you can have them.

This is a genuine answer to those who always ask and to those who need to hear it. I am going to end by giving you a little assignment. Next time that you have some free time on your hands, watch a few episodes of Hoarders. I completely understand that most of these people probably have some type of severe psychological disorder that causes them to hoard the way that they do but let me tell you this, the hoarding aspect is exactly the same just on a smaller scale. So the next time you want to know where all your money is, take a stroll around your house, especially your closets.

Please, if you don’t read any other book this month, read the book Spent. It will change how you look at your life and habits but more importantly, it will put you on that path toward wealth so that the place you call broke will be far back in that rear view mirror. Go to your library today and start reading it as soon as possible. If you can’t get it from your library, here is a link to get it from Amazon>> https://amzn.to/2qdROTu

If you choose to shop in Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you could use the link I have provided. As an Amazon Affiliate, it is possible I can earn a bonus and therefore continue to provide continued content we all enjoy. Thank you in advance!

#FundMeFriday

#LorisLoop

#TheMainHustle

#Entrepreneur

#Goals

#Spent

#SallyPalaianPHD

3 Google Must Know Hacks

Nowadays, just about everyone uses google as their go to information center often spending endless amounts of time researching something of interest. On this #TrashItThursday we are going to stop trashing our precious time and hopefully begin to use these three time savings hacks when using google.

The first hack is using quotation marks. When you are searching for something on google, if you put quotation marks around a group of words, google will search for those words in that specific order eliminating endless pages of useless information from popping up in your search feed. For example, if you needed to search for a replacement plug for your Black and Decker vacuum, normally people would google their specific model of vacuum and type Black and Decker R632J power cord. Google would turn up endless search results for every Black and Decker item ever created. If instead you typed Black and Decker R632J “power cord” then google will only return results pertaining to power cords, saving you thousands of unnecessary search results.

The next hack when using google is to use a minus sign in your search. Using a minus sign also helps to ensure that google will not send you thousands of irrelevant results. As an example, let’s say you are throwing a wedding and you need to search for music bands. If you type wedding bands in the google search bar then google is going to return tens of thousands of results. One major reason for this is because google will not only send you wedding music bands but it also reads the word bands as in jewelry, wedding bands, so the list will be endless and time consuming. However, if instead, you type wedding bands - jewelry then, your results will be honed in and so much more practical.

My third and final google hack is concerning images. Have you ever seen an image online and absolutely fell in love with it but you didn’t know how you would ever find out who the artist was or any of their details? Well, I now have that information for you. All you have to do is drag your image into the google image search line and tada, all the information on the image will pop up. Who knew?

These are such time savings google hacks that I didn’t even know existed. Next time you are googling be sure to start using these hacks so that you too can stop trashing your precious time reading endless and unnecessary google results.

The above hacks are only three little baby hacks. If you want to read something really interesting and learn the ins and outs of google and how it can be a major assets to your business and to your life, go to your library and get the book The Google Way. It is an absolute must read. If your library does not have it, here is a link for the book which is available on Amazon >> https://amzn.to/2BXDwcr

If you choose to shop in Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you could use the link I have provided. As an Amazon Affiliate, it is possible I can earn a bonus and therefore continue to provide continued content we all enjoy. Thank you in advance!

#TrashItThursday

#LorisLoop

#TheMainHustle

#Entrepreneur

#Goals

#TheGoogleWay

#HunterTravis

#Hashtag

My title for today’s blog post is a little redundant for a reason but rest assured that there are a few fun facts and tidbits of information here.

So many people still do not understand how exactly to use the hashtag so I decided to give a quick lesson for those who may need one. On this #WisdomWednesday, I am going to make this particular blog post a lesson in this crazy craze known as the hashtag. First though, I would like to credit Dan Nedelko who wrote a lovely little article about the hashtag that I really enjoyed and the reason for my enjoyment was because I too learned a little something about that pesky little # but I digress.

Use of the hashtag is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of its actual purpose. . There are three hashtag rules that people need to understand and follow if they are going to reap all the benefits that hashtags may provide. The first rule to follow for a successful hashtag is that there are no spaces in a hashtag regardless of how long your tag may be. For example, if you want to hashtag monkey business, the proper way is #monkeybusiness not #monkey business. Although this may seem ridiculously simplistic, many people still make this mistake and when you post your hashtag improperly, it then loses its intended meaning and those who happen upon the portion that is tagged will not have any idea what you are talking about and by extension, you could lose a potential audience member because they may assume you don’t understand what you are doing. So, whether you are using a hashtag with two words or with twenty words, DO NOT use any spaces.

The second hashtag rule is that you should NOT hashtag a brand, you should reference it instead. Most brands have their own “handle” so you should use their handle rather than a hashtag. For instance, if you are posting about Joel Osteen who is a famous preacher, you wouldn’t do #joelosteen instead, you would do @joelosteen and add it along with your other typical hashtags for whatever you are posting. One of the main reasons for using a brands handle is because THEY are more likely to see your post and it is more likely that they will interact with you. If you choose to still hashtag the brand, you can but your engagement may be very limited which is defeating your whole point of hashtagging. By the way, I’m not sure if hashtagging is an actual word but I need to use it to bring my point home so for this blog post let’s just say that I am the inventor of said word, #hashtagging Lol.

Finally, The third rule or should I say that this is more of a misunderstanding that comes in two parts. The misunderstanding is whether or not to use capital letters in a hashtag. Part one of this answer is that if you have a single word, there is no need for any capitalization. You can capitalize if you choose to, but there is no real need for it. However, part two of this answer is that if you have a longer hashtag, capitalizing the first letter of each word will make it extremely easy to read and therefore make your posting more efficient. Two examples of proper and or efficient hashtags would be #animals and #AnimalsAtTheFarm. The easier the ability to read your hashtag, the greater opportunity that people will repost it properly. No need to worry about searches because whether you include capitals or not, a search does not differentiate and will only look at each letter for what it is.

The last thing I want to say about hashtagging is to please make sure you test your hashtag especially if they are long. I learned this reading the article that Dan Nedelko wrote and it was an eye opener. He talked about a “fatal” flaw that occurred in the Twitter universe when Margaret Thatcher had passed away. The trending hashtag was #NowThatcherHasDied but it was posted in all lower case, like this #nowthatcherhasdied so, masses of people read it as, “now that Cher has died”. Up to and including today, that hashtag lives in error infamy. So the two points to take away here are the following, if you have a long hashtag, make the first letter of each word a capital one so that people will read it correctly. The second takeaway is that if you do indeed have a long hashtag, test it to make sure that it cannot be read in different ways like the example above. I can almost guarantee you that if your hashtag can be read more than one way, it will, so make sure you test it.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post as much as I enjoyed writing it. There is a very interesting and entertaining book called, wait for it, Hashtag. That’s right, it’s called Hashtag. Next time you are in your local library, please check this book out. It is so interesting and fun to read. If your library doesn’t have it, here is a link to the book which is available on Amazon >> https://amzn.to/331BHaq

If you choose to shop in Amazon, I would greatly appreciate it if you could use the link I have provided. As an Amazon Affiliate, it is possible I can earn a bonus and therefore continue to provide continued content we all enjoy. Thank you in advance!

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