There are moments in life when you have to write a personal statement. Even though this task is nothing more than an extended essay about yourself, it can be not that easy, as it seems. On one hand, you may think that you know the topic like nobody else. Indeed, who better than you knows everything about your experiences, talents and life views? On the other hand, it clears out that knowledge and clear understanding of the topic is not enough. Choosing the right tone can be much more difficult than recollecting the central episodes from your autobiography.

3-5 seconds. Generally, that’s all the time you have to convince a first-time website visitor to remain on your page, and begin a lasting relationship with your brand. Research by the NN Group has found that while the average website visit lasts less than 60 seconds, the first ten seconds are the most important in how a prospect will perceive your website, and ultimately your company.

That means that fancy flash designs, enormous images, or any other elements which can slow your load time to a crawl are definitely out of the question.

It goes without saying that you need to be consistently and continually updating your blog with new, relevant, and interesting content. But when is the best time to update your blog? Is there a specific day or time that your readers and customers click on your blog, comment on it, or share it more so than any other time or day of the week?

Mike had his website launched – and now a whole world of online opportunity was open before him.

He’d always dreamed of being an entrepreneur. When he was a young boy, his Father told him to build his own business because this was the only way to make a difference in this world. Mike wanted the freedom to follow his dreams and build an empire. Mike was a natural-born innovator, and his years of dreaming, saving, research and hard work had finally paid off.

If there is only one thing that can make your CV look better, it is a cover letter. It helps you get your foot in the door and say to your potential employer: ‘Hey there, please read me and pay attention.’ It may seem obvious and unnecessary. However, a couple of introductory phrases can make a whole world of difference.

Last year, I had a hard time writing more or less decent cover letters. I was looking for a job and sent dozens of CVs daily. Sometimes I even reduced my cover letter to minimalistic ‘Best regards’ and… never heard back from the recipients. In other words, I know it from my own experience that a properly formatted cover letter is as important as a suit and tie in your job interview.

Measuring the ROI of your business blogging can be difficult at times because of all the factors that come into play.

By making regular blog post updates, you’ll get tons of benefits like higher search engine visibility, more inbound links, press mentions, and more!

The list can go on and on…

Writing a great blog involves doing many different things well. You need to do your research, know your audience, be interesting, write compelling headings, keep it simple, write actionable content, make your writing scannable, and include call to actions – and that’s not even everything you need to keep in mind.

10 seconds. It isn’t enough time to publish a Tweet or respond to a Facebook comment, but it’s one of the most important metrics online. According to Microsoft research, that’s all the time you have to impress visitors to your web pages.

The average length of a website visit is between 10-20 seconds, but most decisions about the value of a page’s content are made in around 8 seconds. As Marketer John G. Olsen points out, there’s certainly no time to impress anyone with the main body content of your blog articles. You’ve got to capture interest with a dazzling title, intriguing introductory paragraph, and achieve stickiness with a concluding call-to-action.

There once lived a valiant B2B marketer named Lance. Even though he was incredibly clever, he had been tasked with a particularly arduous mission. His assignment was to create compelling content about one of the most boring products to ever be sold at the market. Not only did he have to write interesting content, he had to create a lot of it.

Lance discovered a magical secret nearly as old as time, which was that every buyer persona loves a good story. By switching his approach from simple information to a narrative, and by creating heroes and conflict, his audience grew.

Ever wonder about the difference between quality content, and the sorts of blogs you can’t help but share on your personal Facebook page? The research and depth behind content matter, and so do the originality of your ideas. However, what about the other elements? Can you define the x-factor behind blogs which feel like a conversation with a best friend, and the ones that put you to sleep?