November 2021 - Jeff Cassman

WP Engine Web Hosting Review (Updated for 2021)

I highly recommend WP Engine. It’s a great web host that’s perfect for WordPress users.

Finding the best web hosting provider can be confusing—but if you’re an experienced WordPress user, WP Engine should be on your shortlist of web hosting options to consider.

In fact, WP Engine ranks high on my list of the best web hosting for WordPress. This is the hosting provider that we use here at Quick Sprout, and we love it.

If you like reliability, great service, and an optimal experience for WordPress, this is the way to go.

I’ve reviewed all of the different WP Engine plan options. I’ll also explain why WP Engine stands out as a top web host, and cover any potential drawbacks as well.

The Benefits of Using WP Engine Web Hosting

Below are all the upsides to using WP Engine as your web host. There are many more, but these are the biggest reasons you should choose it.

Risk-free trial

WP Engine is pricey when compared to competitors. That price is well worth it for their amazing service.

But we get it: You want to save as much cash as possible.

To get the best possible rate, you need to commit to an annual contract. Some of you might be hesitant to commit for so long at a high rate.

Fortunately, WP Engine has a 60-day risk free period for their hosting plans. If you’re not happy with the service, you can opt-out and get refunded.

60 days is double the standard guarantee for most hosting providers in the industry.

Furthermore, the fact that WP Engine offers this is a testament to how they feel about their services. They wouldn’t offer it if they didn’t think you’d be satisfied. That’s reason enough to give…

Thieves of Thankfulness – Why Cynics Struggle with Gratitude

Research indicates the top three thieves of thankfulness are narcissism, cynicism, and envy/materialism. Narcissism tops the list. Second on the list is cynicism.

The original cynic philosopher, Antisthenes, taught in a gymnasium outside Athens called The Silver Hound. Diogenes is the most famous cynic. He criticized social values and institutions believing they were corrupt. He is the founder of Stoicism.

The word came to mean a sneering sarcastic person.

Cynics lean toward ingratitude.

Cynic:

A cynic believes only selfishness motivates people and disbelieves selfless acts.

You might be a cynic if you:

Are frequently sarcastic.
Loath cute animal pictures on Facebook.
Think compliments are usually fake.
Believe people usually want something from you.
Think people who are struggling are faking it.
Lean toward mistrust.
Reject optimism in favor of skepticism.

Being cynical has its uses. If you weren’t at least a little cynical, you’d actually believe everything on the news.

Cynical about gratitude:

Gratitude doesn’t necessarily eliminate unhappiness; it’s a magnifier of positive emotion.

Robert Emmons writes, “When people are grateful, they aren’t necessarily free of negative emotions—we don’t find that they necessarily have less anxiety or less tension or less unhappiness. Practicing gratitude magnifies positive feelings more than it reduces negative feelings.”

Grateful people cope with stress in healthy ways.
Grateful people benefit from the support of others.
Gratitude can help you control your responses to negative events.
Gratitude can help you be less impatient.

Practical considerations:

Reject the myth of self-sufficiency.
Reflect on limitations.
Notice how you rely on others.

Gratitude and humility are playmates that support each other.

Part 1 of Thieves of Gratitude explains the relationship of narcissism and gratitude.

Four Ways to Practice Gratitude When you Don’t Feel Grateful

Episode 1562 Scott Adams: Let’s Talk About All the Fake News and Celebrity Idiots

Content:

National Guard in Kenosha because of fake news industry
Debra Messing on Biden’s job performance
Deep left beginning to suspect fake news exists
“Fair” taxation proposal for Bernie Sanders
Coordinated hit pieces on Dave Portnoy?
CNN multiple stories on Kamala’s incompetence?
If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topicsto build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

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Are You a Unicorn? The 6 Stages of Skill Development in Digital Marketing

Everyone starts as a digital marketer in the same place.

They don’t know anything about marketing, other than it’s a thing that companies do to get people to buy products.

As new marketers, we don’t realize:

→ How much time, effort, and resources get put into offers, products, and services.

→ The number of research hours that have led to proven copywriting formulas.

→ That a marketer’s day-to-day revolves around lots (and lots) of spreadsheets.

We come into this field curious—with our eyes on unicorn status. If we can become unicorn marketers, not only will we create financial security for ourselves and our family, but we’ll be able to take any product (or idea) and turn it into a well-known name in its niche.

Digital marketers all pass through 6 development stages, from the curious cat to the untouchable unicorn.

Where are you in your digital marketing journey?

Stage 1: The Curious Cat

We all start as curious cats. We start reverse engineering bus ads, Super Bowl commercials, and our Instagram sponsored posts. We wonder why a company decided to use a certain word, color, or image—and think about ways that we’d improve the ad.

As a curious cat, you’re not necessarily looking to become a digital marketer yet (that you’ve realized). You’re dabbling with an interest in advertising, keen to know more about how this largely invisible world works. We’re seeing ads all day long, but what does the behind-the-scenes of these ads look like?

Is it really like Mad Men? Suddenly on your YouTube recommended feed are videos about content marketing, facebook ads, and copywriting. You’re listening to podcasts, like The DigitalMarketer Podcast, to learn more about this world…

And you’re only getting more and more curious about what’s inside.

Stage 2: The Willing Intern

Eventually curiosity catches the cat and you decide to give marketing a go. No, this doesn’t mean you incorporate a business, launch a product, and hire 7 full-time employees. You might try writing a newsletter, post an Instagram caption, or reply to your favorite marketer on Twitter. You’re dipping your toe in the marketing world.

The willing intern is becoming a student of marketing. Every ad that you see becomes something to study and your social media feeds are filling up with lessons from brilliant marketers. You’re reading articles, like this one!, to figure out what becoming a marketer would look like.

And you’re willing to give it a shot. At this stage, you’re applying for internships or you’re creating one for yourself. You’re testing out marketing strategies with your personal brand or dabbling with marketing inside of the company you work for.

You’ll say yes to any task that lets you create something (emails, social media, ads, etc.) that leads to results (traffic, engagement, subscriptions, conversions).

Stage 3: The Foundational Novice

Your time as an intern (whether officially or through your own trial and error) will eventually come to an end when…

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The 13 Best Digital Marketing Services – 2021 Review

Digital marketing services can increase the demand for your business overnight. They’re the reason some companies are constantly selling out of inventory or have a line of customers stretching around the block.

Now you can do a lot of digital marketing on your own for free using social media, and you want to be doing that, too. But like anything else, a true professional can get more done in less time.

I’ve spent more than two decades in digital marketing. It’s not something you can learn overnight and the strategies that win customers are constantly changing.

Hiring the best digital marketing services to get customers in your door or on your site means that you can spend more time doing what you’re really good at: delivering an incredible product, service, or experience.

Compare Quotes From The Best Digital Marketing Services

Get matched up with a digital marketing service that fits your needs.

>> Compare Quotes

I created this guide so business owners could find a service that fits with their goals and budget. You can take on specific challenges or outsource marketing altogether, depending on the service you choose to partner with.

These are reputable services that let you set the bar. You won’t be paying thousands of dollars wondering about results–you know the demand you want. These firms will help you get it.

The 13 Best Digital Marketing Services of 2021

Ignite Visibility – Best overall digital marketing agency for mid- to enterprise-level businesses
Pearl Lemon – Best SEO services
Lyfe Marketing – Best social media marketing and social media management services
Vertical Measures – Best paid media services
Mainstreethost – Best technical SEO services
Conversion Rate Experts – Best conversion rate optimization (CRO) services
KoMarketing – Best B2B digital marketing services
Stellar SEO…

6 Steps to Trade Limiting Beliefs for Liberating Truths

Scale your business. Find your freedom.

With proven systems, frameworks, and guidance, you can join other successful business owners as you scale your business, reap the fruits of high-performance, and spend more time on the things that matter most.

Learn More

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Episode 1563 Scott Adams: I Will Tell You Which Public Figures Are Lying to You Today. Spoiler: Most of Them

Content:

The book White Fragility is racist
Rittenhouse trial, closing arguments
Riots brewing? Follow the money
Entering the CRT argument to defeat it
Steve Bannon vows misdemeanor from hell
Xi dominates Biden
If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topicsto build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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DigitalMarketer Elite Coach Highlight with Scott Cunningham [VIDEO]

Scott Cunningham runs Social Lite, a company on a mission to help independent eCommerce businesses compete and scale globally. Scott is the Certified Shopify Expert, “to scale an eCommerce business, you need to depend on repeat customers, brand loyalty, and increased revenue per visitor.”

https://www.sociallite.ca/

WHAT IS DIGITALMARKETER:

DigitalMarketer is the premier online community for digital marketing professionals. It’s a place where you can learn how to market like a pro, connect with industry experts, and get the strategies and tools you need to grow and scale your business to new heights.

https://www.digitalmarketer.com/

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The 10 Best Telemarketing Services – 2021 Review

Contrary to popular belief, telemarketing is still an active and viable marketing strategy for many businesses.

The best telemarketing services offer so much more than cold calling random numbers to sell something the person has never heard of. The right services assist with lead generation, campaign management, and other essential services to make sure you’re generating a high ROI.

Some telemarketing services even have complete call center solutions, from answering services to call forwarding and more.

If you’re looking for the best telemarketing service for your business, I’ll help you find one that fits your needs.

Compare Quotes From The Best Telemarketing Services

Get matched up with a telemarketing service that fits your specific needs.

>> Compare Quotes

The 10 Best Telemarketing Services of 2021

DialAmerica — Best US-based call centers, with 60+ years of telemarketing experience.
Flatworld Solutions — Best affordable cold calling telemarketing.
Squeeze Media — Best small BPO (business process outsourcing) provider.
Callbox — Best telemarketing service for B2B lead generation and appointment setting.
Quality Contact Solutions — Best telemarketing service pricing models.
Go4customer — Best for extensive list of other services beyond call centers and telemarketing.
Strategic Calls — Best telemarketing service for targeting executives and managers.
Worldwide Call Centers — Best cheap telemarketing service with global call centers.
SAS — Best telemarketing service for rates based on usage.
Superhuman Prospecting — Best for telemarketing agents with a background in sales.

This guide contains an in-depth review of each service. We’ll cover the features, benefits, and other factors to consider during your search.

Best Telemarketing Services Reviews

#1 – DialAmerica

In business for 60+ years
Located in the United States
Full-service sales & marketing
Wide range of services

>> Compare Quotes

With DialAmerica, you get…

You Have More Than you Think – Turkey’s Revenge

We were poor college students, over 1,600 miles from home, when my wife and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving.

I’ll never forget how proud we felt to host Dave Tricky, a fellow student, and his girlfriend for our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. (Yes, that’s his real name. I soon learned the trick was on me.)

We were becoming ‘real’ adults. My bride was 19. I was 20.

We moved our tiny kitchen table to the larger living room and stationed it uncomfortably close to the front door to accommodate the crowd of four.

After the blessing, I ceremoniously stood as the ‘man’ of the house, blade in hand, ready to carve the bird. It was one of life’s great moments.

But the knife didn’t slice into tender breast meat. It was hard. I poked the blade around. The whole damn turkey was bone. I had purchased a BONE TURKEY!

Dave and his girlfriend probably stopped at a fast food joint on their way home. If not for the drumsticks and wings, it would have been perfect for vegetarians.

I carried the bone-bird to our cramped kitchen, defeated, to scavenge any remains. (We could use even sparse leftovers.) I flipped the bird over to find two succulent turkey breasts, staring me in the face.

I had carved the bone-back of the turkey.

We cooked the bird upside down!

Lessons from a bone turkey:

Humble yourself before a turkey humbles you.
You have more than you think.
Sometimes a different approach changes everything.
One day, if you keep learning, you’ll laugh at how ignorant you used to be.

What experiences humble you?

*This post was originally posted on Nov. 22, 2012. Occasionally, I repost it this time of year.