The allure of summer vacations and festive holidays undeniably boosts the hospitality industry. But what about the off-season? Does it have to be a time of empty rooms and dwindling bookings? Absolutely not! With a strategic and creative hotel marketing plan, the off-season can be an opportunity to attract new guests, generate revenue, and strengthen your brand reputation.
Here at Grow My Bookings, a leading hotel marketing agency, we understand the challenges and opportunities unique to off-season marketing. This blog equips you with a comprehensive plan to transform your off-season from sluggish to successful.
Understanding Your Off-Season:
The first step is to clearly define your hotel's off-season. While some locations have distinct off-seasons (think beach resorts during winter), others might experience a dip in bookings during specific weekdays or shoulder seasons.

• Analyze Past Data: Review past booking trends to identify periods with lower occupancy rates.
• Consider Location & Weather: Factor in your location's weather patterns and typical tourist seasons.
• Benchmark Competitors: Research how your competitors approach off-season marketing.

Crafting a Winning Off-Season Marketing Plan:
Once you've defined your off-season, it's time to craft a targeted marketing plan. Here are key strategies to consider:
1. Target the Right Audience:
During peak season, you likely cater to a broader range of guests. But for the off-season, focus on attracting specific guest segments with interests that align with your hotel's offerings and the off-season experience. Here are some potential off-season target audiences:

• Business Travelers: Attract business travelers with competitive corporate rates, special packages with workspace amenities, and convenient weekday booking options.
• Local Residents: Offer staycation packages for local residents seeking a relaxing getaway close to home. Partner with local businesses for discounts at restaurants or attractions to create a well-rounded staycation experience.
• Weekend Warriors: Entice weekend getaways with romantic packages, family-friendly deals, or themed weekend events (think fall foliage tours or cozy winter retreats).
• Digital Nomads: Cater to the growing trend of remote work by offering attractive long-term stay packages with discounted rates, co-working space access, and high-speed internet.

2. Leverage the Power of Content Marketing:
Create engaging content that showcases the unique appeal of your hotel and surrounding area during the off-season. Here are some content ideas:

• Blog Posts: Write informative blog posts highlighting the advantages of visiting your location during the off-season. Feature articles on local events, hidden gems, and seasonal activities guests can enjoy.
• Social Media Marketing: Share captivating photos and videos showcasing the beauty of your hotel and surrounding area during the off-season. Utilize targeted social media advertising to reach your chosen audience segments.
• Email Marketing: Develop targeted email campaigns promoting off-season packages and highlighting the unique benefits of visiting during this time. Segment your email list to ensure your message reaches the most relevant audience.

3. Create Enticing Off-Season Packages:
Develop irresistible off-season packages that incentivize bookings and highlight the value proposition of your hotel. Consider these components:

• Competitive Rates: Offer discounted room rates to attract guests price-sensitive during the off-season. Bundle room rates with value-added amenities, such as free breakfast or spa treatments, to heighten the package appeal.
• Themed Experiences: Create themed packages that cater to specific interests, such as "Wine & Dine Weekends" partnering with local wineries, or "Fall Foliage Escape Packages" including guided hikes or scenic drives.
• Local Partnerships: Collaborate with local businesses to offer bundled packages that include activities or experiences relevant to the off-season. This showcases your hotel's integration with the local community and creates a more immersive guest experience.

4. Optimize Your Hotel Website & Online Presence:
Ensure your hotel website is optimized for off-season marketing. Here's what to consider:

• Highlight Off-Season Activities & Amenities: Showcase the activities and amenities your hotel offers that are particularly appealing during the off-season.
• Update Your Website Content: Modify your website content to emphasize the benefits of visiting during the off-season. Include clear information on off-season packages and promotions.
• Optimize Your Hotel Listing: Ensure your hotel listing on online travel agencies (OTAs) and travel booking platforms is updated with accurate information about off-season rates and packages.

5. Embrace the Power of Public Relations (PR):
Reach a wider audience by generating positive press coverage about your hotel and the off-season experience. Here are some strategies:

• Press Releases: Issue press releases announcing exciting off-season packages, themed events, or partnerships with local businesses.
• Media Outreach: Proactively reach out to travel journalists and bloggers specializing in your region or target audience. Highlight the unique off-season offerings and experiences your hotel provides.
• Social Media Contests & Giveaways: Run engaging social media contests or giveaways that encourage user-generated content and promote your off-season offerings.

Grow My Bookings: Your Partner in Off-Season Success
Navigating the complexities of off-season marketing can be challenging. Partnering with Grow My Bookings offers several advantages:

• Data-Driven Strategies: Our team utilizes data and analytics to identify underperforming periods and develop targeted marketing campaigns to maximize off-season bookings.
• Content Creation Expertise: Our content creators craft compelling website content, social media posts, and email marketing campaigns that effectively reach your target audience and entice off-season bookings.
• Package Development & Promotion: We assist in creating attractive off-season packages and implementing effective online and offline promotional strategies.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Expertise: We optimize your hotel website and online listings to ensure your hotel appears prominently in search engine results for relevant off-season travel queries.
• Public Relations & Media Outreach: Our team has established relationships with travel media outlets and can help generate positive press coverage about your hotel and off-season offerings.

Transform Your Off-Season from Slow to Sold Out
By implementing these comprehensive strategies and partnering with Grow My Bookings, you can transform your off-season from a period of sluggish bookings to a time of increased revenue and guest engagement. Remember, the off-season presents a valuable opportunity to attract new guest segments, showcase your hotel's unique offerings, and strengthen your brand reputation.
Contact Grow My Bookings today for a free consultation. Let's discuss your hotel's unique needs and create a customized off-season marketing plan that drives bookings and propels your business towards year-round success.
Together, let's turn your off-season into a season of opportunity!

Findom is Femdom. It's practiced offline, in the real world, in relationships all over the world. If anyone did like five seconds of actual research into BDSM, they'd know this.
Anyone I see ask about doing Findom in real life, or dating a sub, I am going to assume is:

1. Literally a minor, or
   
2. Has led an incredibly sheltered life, or
   
3. Can't conceive that woman would want to be dominant in their personal relationships, or
   
4. Think sub men are stereotypes of weak losers.
   If #4 is the case, check your baggage at the door, because that's an offensive stereotype and by that logic, submissive women are also weak losers. If you think it's different because gender, congratulations, you've drank the toxic masculinity Kool Aid and shouldn't be practicing a kink that requires subverting outdated and ignorant social/cultural beliefs in a safe and healthy manner.
   

Back to Findom. Findom is under the umbrella of Femdom. It's been around thousands of years. Fake Dommes on TikTok grifting their shitty guides didn't invent it three years ago.
While I'm at it, whoever told you it's money for just existing is full of something brown and stinky. It's never been that. It never will be that. If you've received "money for nothing," consider that you're simply a product they silently consumed, like renting a movie. A pornographic movie specifically, because no one spends money without getting anything in return. Their return was using you as a masturbatory aid (even if not literally). Or in some cases, masochism or self destructive behavior. But they still used you. And I'm not saying that's wrong, but y'all need to understand the reality of it, that this is what you've signed up for. As so many of us have been saying, Findom is sex work, and you're a product on the porn market.
When Findom is practiced as part of a real life D/s relationship, that aspect isn't there. It's no different than any other relationship. There's give and take and love and chores and bills all that. D/s is a kinky layer on top of a vanilla foundation. It's not the same as online (and so, so much more rewarding).
Online can be rewarding as well when you find someone you get on well with. I have some great conversations with my subs. I have many subs that I'm simply just friends with. I have a great community of other Dommes. I made that happen by treating everyone equally. By being social and friendly. My Twitter has zero bait posters and zero drama. If that's all you're finding, it's 100% on you. Get a better people picker and stop following the people who tweet shallow, tired Findom cliches. There's no shortage of experiences Dommes with engaging, intelligent content.
One last thing... where did this notion that Reddit has better subs come from? They're the same men. Findom doesn't change from one platform to the other. Men aren't "better quality" one place vs another. There's not a single social platform that won't have entitled men, incels, and scammers. So bury that notion or you're just going to be disappointed. If anything, Reddit has more entitled men because it's chock full of free porn. Muskrat has made adult content harder to find on Twitter, whereas Reddit has all the curated, free porn by the millions, easily searched and found, with literally zero barrier to entry. I would bet my savings account that there's far more minors on Reddit also. Now personally, I file that under "not my circus, not my monkeys," but if you're uncomfortable with minors seeing your ass in their feed, then just keep in mind... they absolutely are. You can't advertise on any social platform without that being a reality.

Hey, trading/selling everything from my inventory, interested in buying skins through CSGOFloat, add me on steam to discuss. I am online for the majority of the day, a trade offer will give you the fastest response. Looking for High Tier Liquid items. Feel free to hit me up, if you want to discuss, please send serious offers. [H] ★ Sport Gloves Pandora's Box FT 0.16 (Tradable May 17th) ★ Stiletto Black Pearl FN 0.03 ★ Karambit Doppler P2 FLAWLESS CORNER 0.00 ST (Tradable May 17th) ★ Stiletto Knife Ruby 0.01 (Tradable May 18th) I'm interested in M9/Kara/BFK Dopplers/Fades/high tier playskins etc. Pandora's 0.16 & Flawless Kara P2 0.00 ST Stiletto BP SS Stiletto Ruby SS CSFloat Stall Tradelink Prices on items may change, the B/O price may be inaccurate.

هلا بالجميع ,إذا بدك تتجنب الاجهاد أثناء حجز الرحلات والسفر؟ إليك بعض النصائح لتكون عملية حجز السفر أسهل:
*ابحث مسبقًا: ابدأ بحث عن رحلاتك مبكرًا عن ميعاد السفر لضمان توفر اختيارات أفضل.
*استخدم مواقع الحجز أونلاين: مواقع حجز الطيران الاونلاين كثير مرة وعليها عروض كثير مثل موقع World Trip Deal , booking.
*كن مرن فى تواريخ رحلتك: إذا بتحدد تواريخ مرنة، بتوفر أكثر في الأسعار واحصل على أفضل الصفقات.
Hello travellers, Are you looking for tips to avoid stress while booking your travels?
Here are some helpful suggestions to make the travel booking process easy and enjoyable:
*Start Researching Early: Begin your search early for flights and hotels to ensure the availability of your preferred options.
*Use online booking websites: there are many online booking sites with many offers such as World Trip Deal.
*Be Flexible with Dates: Being flexible with dates can save you money by finding better deals.
If you have any other tips for traveling. Please share your experiences!

TravelTips #TravelHacks #TravelPlanning #StressFreeTravel #BookingTips #VacationPlanning #TravelFlexibility #TripPlanning

Hey, trading/selling everything from my inventory, interested in buying skins through CSGOFloat, add me on steam to discuss. I am online for the majority of the day, a trade offer will give you the fastest response. Looking for High Tier Liquid items. Feel free to hit me up, if you want to discuss, please send serious offers. [H] ★ Sport Gloves Pandora's Box FT 0.16 (Tradable May 17th) ★ Stiletto Black Pearl FN 0.03 ★ Karambit Doppler P2 FLAWLESS CORNER 0.00 ST (Tradable May 17th) ★ Stiletto Knife Ruby 0.01 (Tradable May 18th) I'm interested in M9/Kara/BFK Dopplers/Fades/high tier playskins etc. Pandora's 0.16 & Flawless Kara P2 0.00 ST Stiletto BP SS Stiletto Ruby SS CSFloat Stall Tradelink Prices on items may change, the B/O price may be inaccurate.

Hi dear friends, everything in my inventory is up for trade and up for sale.
I also buy/sell skins via Crypto/CSGOFloat.
Check out my CSGOFloat stall here, almost every high tier item is listed here: https://csfloat.com/stall/76561198021680043
(This List only contain items above $100 I have a lot more items in my inventory, check that out on my profile)
This list is not always up to date there is more unlisted items in my inventory! feel free to add me to discuss offers. The fastest way to get a response is to send me a direct trade offer through my trade link.
Tips to communicate with me: be informative on what you're interested in and if you wish to buy with cash/crypto or trade.
My discord: antonbeastskins
Links to my profile / trade offer
Steam Profile: https://steamcommunity.com/id/antontrades/
Trade offer: https://steamcommunity.com/tradeoffenew/?partner=61414315&token=WGyxdHWU
Every item is up for trade, don't be afraid to send an offer! Buyout
[H]
★ Butterfly Knife Emerald - FN - 0.007
AWP Dragon Lore - FN - 0.03 Titan Holo Scope
AWP Dragon Lore - FN - 0.06
StatTrak™ AK-47 Redline - MW - 0.13 4x IBP Paper Kato 14
Glock-18 Dragon Tattoo - FN IBP Holo Best Pos
★ M9 Bayonet Sapphire - FN - 0.006
★ M9 Bayonet Ruby - FN - 0.02
★ Karambit Emerald - FN - 0.03 FLAWLESS
★ Karambit Ruby - FN - 0.01 FLAWLESS
AWP Gungnir - FT - 0.20
★ M9 Bayonet Black Pearl - FN - 0.03
AK-47 Wild Lotus - MW - 0.13
AWP Dragon Lore - FT - 0.17
★ Sport Gloves Superconductor - MW - 0.13
M4A4 Howl - MW - 0.09914636611938477
★ Butterfly Knife P2 - FN - 0.02
★ Butterfly Knife P2 - FN - 0.031
★ Butterfly Knife P2 - FN - 0.05
★ Sport Gloves Vice - MW - 0.12
★ Sport Gloves Vice - MW - 0.14
★ Bayonet Sapphire - FN - 0.03
★ Bayonet Sapphire - FN - 0.03
★ Talon Knife Black Pearl - FN - 0.02
★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono - MW - 0.14 T2 Kimonos
★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono - MW - 0.126
★ Karambit Fade - FN - 0.009 99.55% Fade
★ Karambit Fade - FN - 0.02 90.94% Fade
Glock-18 Fade - FN - 0.001 99.6% Fade
★ M9 Bayonet Fade - FN - 0.01 99.60% Fade
★ M9 Bayonet Fade - FN - 0.007 99.29% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.01 98.27% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.00 93.78% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.04 80.45% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.02 100.0% Fade (MAX FADE)
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.06 82.08% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.06 85.36% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.03 82.77% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.03 82.99% Fade
AWP Fade - FN - 0.03 82.13% Fade
AWP Fade - FN - 0.01 96.77% Fade
AWP Fade - FN - 0.01 100.0% Fade (MAX)
AWP Fade - FN - 0.03 93.02% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Gamma Doppler P2 - FN - 0.00
★ Stiletto Knife Ruby - FN - 0.00
★ Stiletto Knife Sapphire - FN - 0.03
★ Stiletto Knife Sapphire - FN - 0.03
★ StatTrak™ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.04 99.29% Fade
M4A1-S Knight - FN - 0.02
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P4 - FN - 0.006
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P4 - FN - 0.03
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P4 - FN - 0.05
★ Flip Knife Ruby - FN - 0.006
★ Sport Gloves Hedge Maze - FT - 0.201
Sticker Titan Katowice 2014
AWP The Prince - FT - 0.20
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P1 - FN - 0.02
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P3 - FN - 0.03
AWP Desert Hydra - MW - 0.13
★ Ursus Knife Ruby - FN - 0.006
★ Butterfly Knife Marble Fade - FN - 0.03
★ Butterfly Knife Marble Fade - FN - 0.02
AK-47 Gold Arabesque - WW - 0.41
★ StatTrak™ Karambit Gamma Doppler P3 - FN - 0.01
★ Karambit Gamma Doppler P4 - FN - 0.02
★ Ursus Knife Sapphire - FN - 0.03
Souvenir AK-47 Gold Arabesque - BS - 0.684
★ Huntsman Knife Ruby - FN - 0.007
★ Sport Gloves Amphibious - MW - 0.12
★ Huntsman Knife Sapphire - FN - 0.02
★ Karambit Marble Fade - FN - 0.01
★ Karambit Doppler P3 - FN - 0.02
★ Karambit Doppler P1 - FN - 0.03
★ Driver Gloves King Snake - MW - 0.14 Clean Knuckles
★ Talon Knife Fade - FN - 0.00 99.9% Fade
★ Falchion Knife Emerald - FN - 0.02
★ Sport Gloves Vice - FT - 0.33
★ Karambit Tiger Tooth - FN - 0.06

Hi dear friends, everything in my inventory is up for trade and up for sale.
I also buy/sell skins via Crypto/CSGOFloat.
Check out my CSGOFloat stall here, almost every high tier item is listed here: https://csfloat.com/stall/76561198021680043
(This List only contain items above $100 I have a lot more items in my inventory, check that out on my profile)
This list is not always up to date there is more unlisted items in my inventory! feel free to add me to discuss offers. The fastest way to get a response is to send me a direct trade offer through my trade link.
Tips to communicate with me: be informative on what you're interested in and if you wish to buy with cash/crypto or trade.
My discord: antonbeastskins
Links to my profile / trade offer
Steam Profile: https://steamcommunity.com/id/antontrades/
Trade offer: https://steamcommunity.com/tradeoffenew/?partner=61414315&token=WGyxdHWU
Every item is up for trade, don't be afraid to send an offer! Buyout
[H]
★ Butterfly Knife Emerald - FN - 0.007
AWP Dragon Lore - FN - 0.03 Titan Holo Scope
AWP Dragon Lore - FN - 0.06
StatTrak™ AK-47 Redline - MW - 0.13 4x IBP Paper Kato 14
Glock-18 Dragon Tattoo - FN IBP Holo Best Pos
★ M9 Bayonet Sapphire - FN - 0.006
★ M9 Bayonet Ruby - FN - 0.02
★ Karambit Emerald - FN - 0.03 FLAWLESS
★ Karambit Ruby - FN - 0.01 FLAWLESS
AWP Gungnir - FT - 0.20
★ M9 Bayonet Black Pearl - FN - 0.03
AK-47 Wild Lotus - MW - 0.13
AWP Dragon Lore - FT - 0.17
★ Sport Gloves Superconductor - MW - 0.13
M4A4 Howl - MW - 0.09914636611938477
★ Butterfly Knife P2 - FN - 0.02
★ Butterfly Knife P2 - FN - 0.031
★ Butterfly Knife P2 - FN - 0.05
★ Sport Gloves Vice - MW - 0.12
★ Sport Gloves Vice - MW - 0.14
★ Bayonet Sapphire - FN - 0.03
★ Bayonet Sapphire - FN - 0.03
★ Talon Knife Black Pearl - FN - 0.02
★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono - MW - 0.14 T2 Kimonos
★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono - MW - 0.126
★ Karambit Fade - FN - 0.009 99.55% Fade
★ Karambit Fade - FN - 0.02 90.94% Fade
Glock-18 Fade - FN - 0.001 99.6% Fade
★ M9 Bayonet Fade - FN - 0.01 99.60% Fade
★ M9 Bayonet Fade - FN - 0.007 99.29% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.01 98.27% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.00 93.78% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.04 80.45% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.02 100.0% Fade (MAX FADE)
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.06 82.08% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.06 85.36% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.03 82.77% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.03 82.99% Fade
AWP Fade - FN - 0.03 82.13% Fade
AWP Fade - FN - 0.01 96.77% Fade
AWP Fade - FN - 0.01 100.0% Fade (MAX)
AWP Fade - FN - 0.03 93.02% Fade
★ Butterfly Knife Gamma Doppler P2 - FN - 0.00
★ Stiletto Knife Ruby - FN - 0.00
★ Stiletto Knife Sapphire - FN - 0.03
★ Stiletto Knife Sapphire - FN - 0.03
★ StatTrak™ Butterfly Knife Fade - FN - 0.04 99.29% Fade
M4A1-S Knight - FN - 0.02
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P4 - FN - 0.006
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P4 - FN - 0.03
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P4 - FN - 0.05
★ Flip Knife Ruby - FN - 0.006
★ Sport Gloves Hedge Maze - FT - 0.201
Sticker Titan Katowice 2014
AWP The Prince - FT - 0.20
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P1 - FN - 0.02
★ Butterfly Knife Doppler P3 - FN - 0.03
AWP Desert Hydra - MW - 0.13
★ Ursus Knife Ruby - FN - 0.006
★ Butterfly Knife Marble Fade - FN - 0.03
★ Butterfly Knife Marble Fade - FN - 0.02
AK-47 Gold Arabesque - WW - 0.41
★ StatTrak™ Karambit Gamma Doppler P3 - FN - 0.01
★ Karambit Gamma Doppler P4 - FN - 0.02
★ Ursus Knife Sapphire - FN - 0.03
Souvenir AK-47 Gold Arabesque - BS - 0.684
★ Huntsman Knife Ruby - FN - 0.007
★ Sport Gloves Amphibious - MW - 0.12
★ Huntsman Knife Sapphire - FN - 0.02
★ Karambit Marble Fade - FN - 0.01
★ Karambit Doppler P3 - FN - 0.02
★ Karambit Doppler P1 - FN - 0.03
★ Driver Gloves King Snake - MW - 0.14 Clean Knuckles
★ Talon Knife Fade - FN - 0.00 99.9% Fade
★ Falchion Knife Emerald - FN - 0.02
★ Sport Gloves Vice - FT - 0.33
★ Karambit Tiger Tooth - FN - 0.06

195 60 R15
Just got a flat on a crappy car that I'm only keeping for few more weeks-months. I've ways done minor repairs on my own because the car isn't worth much, but this time the tire damage is too large (where does my wife find these giant nails the drive over?!).
Looking for a 195-60-R15 tire to get me through a couple more weeks. From what I'm reading online, I'll probably need a matching pair to be safe. If anyone has an old pair laying around, let me know. Not many cheap options available locally on Kijiji.
Side note: if I can't find a cheap options to get me thru a couple of weeks, what shop would be best for a cheap job like this? I've seen auto-ad ons, Rez Boyz, and black dog suggested but not sure which is best for this kind of (hopefully) cheap job.
Edit: who would be best to repair the tire? Maybe it's too big of a puncture for me to handle, but not for a shop?

*Sister Act Musical
Hi everyone!
I’m giving out free tickets to an event I cannot attend this Thursday.
Ive got 2x tickets for Sister Act showing at the Dominion Theatre on Thursday evening May 16th 2024 from 7:30 on — staring Beverley Knight and Ruth Jones (of Gavin and Stacey fame).
The show was organised for the purposes of a wider charity gala in hopes of raising funds for the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
Tickets are free of charge, would you or anyone else you know like to go to see the show on that night? DM me if interested
I cannot attend anymore due to other commitments but I’d rather see the tickets used.
P.S. if you dress as a nun, you’ll receive a free drink in the end.

Hi Reddit
I'm going to Japan for the first time in June + July for approx. 5-6 weeks. For the first three weeks, I'll be traveling with my partner and we will mainly visit Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Kanazawa, parts of the Japanese alps and of course Tokyo. For this, we have all the accommodations booked and know more or less what to do. He will fly back mid-June and I'll have another 15 or so days in Japan on my own. It will be my first time solo traveling.
Because I don't want to drive a car alone (nervous driver, especially on the left side, plus would need to get my licence translated which seems really complicated), I will be using public transportation.
I'm generally interested in culture, food, nature/hiking. I don't speak Japanese.
After a lot of research and looking through various very helpful posts here on reddit, I decided on visiting Kyushu and Yakushima and came up with the following itinerary. I have booked all the accommodations plus the flight to/from Fukuoka and the ferry to Yakushima, most of the accommodations can still be cancelled. I have not yet set my eyes on any specific restaurants since I like to go with the flow/look what I'm in the mood for.
I am a bit nervous and I would really appreciate it if you could give me some do's or don'ts or recommendations.
Here's what I thought about:
Day 1 (mid-june): Tokyo Fukuoka

• Flight from Toyko to Fukuoka, arrive at 14:25
• Afternoon/Evening: explore the city, visit Tenjin.
• Eat at Yatai in Tenjin (not Canal City).
• Accommodation: WeBase Hostel

Day 2: Fukuoka 1

• Morning: Visit Nanzoin, approx. 30' by train form Hakata Station, 380 Yen
• Afternoon:
  • Ohori-koen, Fukuoka Castle Ruins, maybe Fukuoka Tower?
  • If still time: Daimyo (thrift stores, Cafes, etc)
• Bad weather option: Art Museum or Hakara Machiya Furusato-kan
• Must try food: Hakata Ramen
• Accommodation: same

Day 3: Fukuoka 2

• Day trip to Daizaifu+Yanagawa
  • Dazaifu and Yanagawa Sightseeing Ticket, ca. 3000 Yen, buy online.
  • Morrning Dazaifu: Daizafu Tenman-gu (Shinto Shrine), Tenkai Inari Shrine, maybe Kyushu National Museum
  • Afternoon: Yanagawa + boat ride
• Alternative: Arita, Imari and Karatsu (pottery towns; not sure if this is doable by train)
• Alternative 2: Yufuin? Looks very touristy/far ride.
• Accommodation: same

Day 4: Fukuoka Kagoshima

• Early train ride to Kagoshima, duration 2h, ca. 10'000 Yen.
  
• Buy Cute transit pass for two days at tourist information, luggage to accommodation.
  
• Afternoon:
  
  • Sengan-en for views + Iso-hama
  • Alternative: Shiroyama Park Observation deck, looks not as interesting as Sengan-en
• Evening: spend time at Tenmonkan
  
• Must try food: Kurobuto (black pork), Satsuma-age (deepfried fish cakes)
  
• Accommodation: Hostel in Kagoshima
  

Day 5: Kagoshima

• Day trip to Sakurajima
  
  • Ferry included in Cute transit pass
  • Maybe Sakurajima Nagisa Park Foot Bath
  • Take island view bus
  • Possible sights: Arimura Lava Observatory, Buried Tori, Yunohira Lookout
• Alternative: Ibusuki + sand baths (weather probably way too hot for that)
  
• To do: look up if Yakushima ferry will leave according to plan the next day.
  
• Accommodation: same
  

Day 6: Kagoshima Yakushima

• Take ferry at 07:45 to Miyanoura, Yakushima. Arrive at 09:45.
• Buy Yakushima Kotsu Free Pass at tourist information center.
• Explore Miyanoura
• Accommodation in Miyanoura (incl. Meals) for all 4 nights

Days 7-9: Yakushima 1-3
I don't have all the days planned since it all depends on the weather.
Explore Yakushima, possibilities:

• Hikes:
  • Shirantani-unsuikyo-tozanguchi Hike: duration ca. 4h, 300 Yen Entrance
  • Jomon-sugi Hike: Duration ca. 10h; bus ticket is separate and has to be bought a day in advance, take first bus.
• Other nice places:
  • Nagata Inaka-hama
  • Oko-no-taki
  • Yakusuki Land
• Onsen: Yudomari Onsen

Day 10: Yakushima Kumamoto

• Take ferry at 10:40, arrive in Kagoshima at 12:30. take Shinkansen to Kumamoto, Duration 1h, ca. 7000 Yen.
• Afternoon: explore Kumamoto
  • Kumamoto castle + park
  • Relax and plan day trips for the next two days, get bus tickets
• Must try food: Higo-gyu (Higo-beef)
• Accommodation: Hotel in Kumamoto

Day 11: Day trip to Mt Aso from Kumamoto

• Check if crater is open (www.aso-volcano.jp/eng/)
• Take bus (duration 2h, 1500 Yen) or train (duration 70min, 2000 Yen) to Aso station
• In Aso: get ticket at Sanko Bus Aso Office, take loop bus
  • See crater if open
  • Maybe Kusasenri
  • Maybe Daikanbo
• Accommodation: same

Day 12: Day trip to Takachiho Gorge from Kumamoto

• Look up bus timetable, reserve 1 day in advance
• Take early bus to Takachiho bus center, duration 2-3h, ca. 2700 Yen
• Walk to Gorge, duration 30min
• Take boat ride, reserve boat in advance online https://takachiho-kanko.info/en/boat_kagura/
• Eat Flowing water noodles
• See Takachaho Shrine
• Get back to Kumamoto
• Accommodation: same

Alternatives for Day 11 or 12: Kurokawa Onsen?
Day 13: Kumamoto Nagasaki

• Get to Nagasaki:
  • Option 1: train, duration 2-3h
  • Option 2: take ferry to Shimabara, then train, duration ca. 5h, visit Shimabara on the way
• Spend the rest of the day exploring central Nagasaki, depending on arrival time
  • Dejima
  • Canals of Nagasaki, Maganebashi Bridge
  • Suwa Shrine
• Accommodation: Hostel in central Nagasaki

Day 14: Nagasaki 1

• Morning: Norther Nagasaki
  • Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum
  • Nagasaki Peace Park
  • One-Pillar Torii Gate
• Afternoon/Evening: Mt. Inasayama Observatory for views, get there for sunset
• Accommodation: same

Day 15: Nagasaki 2 Fukuoka

• Check-out at hostel, leave luggage there
• Morning: maybe trip to Gunkanjima (not booked yet)
• Afternoon: visit sights I missed, maybe Glover Garden, Nagasaki Seaside park
• Late afternoon or whenever I'm in the mood: travel to Fukuoka, duration 1.5h, ca. 6'000 Yen
• Evening: check out city again, should be during Hakata Gion Yamakasa Matsuri
• Accommodation: Hostel in Fukuoka

Day 16: Fukuoka Toyko

• Flight back to Tokyo from Fukuoka at 09:45, arrive at 11:35
• Spend evening in Akihabara, last minute shopping
• Accommodation: Hostel in Akihabara

Day 17: Departure

• Flight home from Tokyo Narita at 11:35

Specific questions:

• Day 11 and 12: Does someone have advice on where to check train and bus timetables for those day trips? I saw some guided tours which would be very cool especially for Takachiho gorge, but the tours from "Explore Kumamoto" seem to be booked. The other ones I can find are really expensive, even though they seem to be self-guided and essentially just tickets for the public bus?
• Day 13: Is it worth it/doable to take the ferry to Shimabara and maybe explore Shimabara? Or is it just complicated and should I rather focus on getting to Nagasaki earlier?

Otherwise, do you think I'm making any big mistakes with this itinerary?
Thanks in advance!
Sarah

Hey folks,
Welcome to our new recurring post where you can show off your fashion in ESO!
Feel free to share your outfit or home creations with the rest of the community.
As always, be polite and respectful, may the fashion be with you!  
I was programmed to write posts automatically by Woeler. If you have any questions or suggestions about me or my posts, please join this Discord server. Did you know I am also available as a Discord bot? I can provide all kinds of ESO related information to your Discord server. Click here to add me.

In the bustling metropolis of Delhi, where every minute counts and every task demands efficiency, the concept of doorstep bike service emerges as a beacon of convenience for the city's two-wheeler riders. With traffic snarls being a daily ordeal and time slipping away like sand through fingers, the need for a hassle-free solution to maintain one's bike becomes paramount. Enter doorstep bike service – a revolutionary concept that is reshaping the way Delhiites maintain their beloved rides.
**The Genesis of Doorstep Bike Service:**
Traditionally, getting your bike serviced in Delhi involved navigating through congested roads, enduring long waits at service centers, and then making the return journey amidst the chaos of the city traffic. Recognizing the inconvenience and time constraints faced by bike owners, doorstep bike service providers stepped in to bridge the gap between demand and convenience.
**How Does it Work?**
The modus operandi of doorstep bike service is refreshingly simple. Customers can book a service appointment through the provider's website or mobile app, specifying their location and the nature of service required. Once the booking is confirmed, a skilled technician arrives at the customer's doorstep at the scheduled time, equipped with all the necessary tools and spares to carry out the service or repair. This eliminates the need for the customer to visit a service center physically, saving them precious time and effort.
**Benefits Galore:**
The allure of doorstep bike service lies in its myriad benefits:

1. **Time-saving:** In a city where time is of the essence, doorstep bike service frees up valuable hours that would otherwise be spent commuting to and waiting at service centers.
   
2. **Convenience:** The convenience of having your bike serviced at your doorstep cannot be overstated. Whether you're a busy professional or a student with a hectic schedule, doorstep service ensures that bike maintenance fits seamlessly into your routine.
   
3. **Expertise on Wheels:** With doorstep service, experienced technicians come to you, armed with their expertise and the necessary tools. This ensures that your bike is in capable hands, and you can rest assured of quality service.
   
4. **Transparent Pricing:** Doorstep bike service providers often follow transparent pricing models, with no hidden charges. This clarity in pricing instills trust and confidence among customers.
   
5. **Safety Measures:** In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, doorstep bike service has gained further traction due to its adherence to safety protocols. Customers can avail of service without exposing themselves to unnecessary risks.
   

**The Road Ahead:**
As the demand for convenience continues to soar, doorstep bike service is poised for exponential growth in Delhi and beyond. With advancements in technology, such as real-time tracking of service requests and online payment options, the customer experience is only set to improve.
In conclusion, doorstep bike service epitomizes the fusion of innovation and practicality, catering to the needs of modern-day commuters in Delhi. As more and more bike owners embrace this hassle-free alternative, the days of queuing up at service centers may soon become a thing of the past. After all, in a city where every second counts, why not let convenience come knocking at your doorstep?

Hello all guys, I am from real_China_irl ，and welcome all you to come and enjoy.
Sorry, although I have lived in Vietnam for many years, my Vietnamese is bad and I cannot write. Since I was born in China and lived for more than 20 years, I have a lot of profound experience in China under the CCP rule.
In comparison, Vietnam or Vietnam CP is better than CCP, Because I am an ordinary person, not the second RED generation or the rich, I said that the ordinary person's experience.
If you are rich, you will be very happy to live in China, low cost living and labour services, There is a very diverse range of cheap goods and the infrastructure for a first class experience. You can buy a lot of services for very little money.
But for ordinary people, In Vietnam:
1、Can access to the free Internet of the world,
2、No ubiquitous surveillance cameras, harsh online censorship of speech, or security checks in the train or bus stations,
3、Vietnamese politics seem to be a bit more transparent or modernized than China's, China's meetings are always 100% yes to approve,
4、It's much easier to access to BBC/CNN or any other western medias, all the papers or tv channels are under the control and guide by the govs.
5、Vietnam's household registration problem is less serious, you can not buy a car or a house in the city if your household registration is not in the city, Your child can not go to school in the city, and you can not retire with the city's benefit. In contrast, getting a Beijing city card may be more difficult than immigrating to the United States.
6、You can not buy or sell the land in China, even the land is under your name or your generations lived there a century ago, so you can not be rich by the land.
Overall, Vietnam is a little more open and has a lot more international tourists than China. But it's also getting more expensive, I live in an area of Ho Chi Minh where there are more foreigners and the cost of living here is no less than in Shanghai, China.
I know brothers here have a lot of grievances against the government, especially with prices getting higher and higher and property prices even crazy higher.There are too many injustices in society, social security is lacking and privileges are rampant. It feels like we will never get rich or have hope.
The average person's life is probably 90% determined at birth, and the other 10% by luck or personality factors.
I think it's good for the average person to work abroad or emigrate, especially if you have nothing to lose. So learn a foreign language. You'll have a comparative advantage in many countries.

Hi all, I just launched my product on ProductHunt here. It is an online tool allows you add vintage look to memes by compressing image quality:

1. Vintage Features: Lower image resolution, add noise, blur, and apply color filters to make your memes look nostalgically aged and whispered down the digital alleyway.
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3. Caption It: Add your own hilarious captions to images for a personalized touch.
4. Totally Free: We’ve said goodbye to annoying watermarks. It’s completely free for your meme-making pleasure.
5. Privacy Matters: We get it – your data is important. That’s why our tool doesn’t require a login. Make memes to your heart's content without fearing any data leaks.
6. Simplicity and Speed: It couldn't be easier or quicker to whip up a meme! Our tool guarantees a straightforward process with a super-fast operation.

I hope you guys like and support it on the ProductHunt.
Please upvote it if you like it as a thank you for my time and effort.
Thanks

Hi there
My name is Peter, and om fairly new on reddit.
Im a shy person, and abit introvert why online friends seems like a good idea.
Im a salesperson, and i do enjoy gaming. I have been had rough time with anxiety, but im getting better.
I hope to aquire some new friends, feel free to start with ASL.
Hope to see you in my DM 🤗

Marketing is one of the most crucial operation for a Shopify store. There are lot’s of tactics Marketing is one of the most crucial operation for a Shopify store. There are lot’s of tactics to grow quickly and none of them not working. Well, if you looking for a way to create solid marketing plan, then this guide is for you. In this guide you’ll learn

• Definition of Marketing
• Market Research, Competitor Analysis and Defining Your Target Market
• Brand Identity and How to Create Your Branding
• Go-to-Market Strategy and Defining Your Marketing Strategy
• Inbound and Outbound Marketing Channels
• Marketing Plan Template
• FAQs

Definition of Marketing

American Marketing Association defines marketing as activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Source
What do you see here?

1. Marketing is not about activities, it contains activities, set of institutions and process.
2. Function of marketing is not generating sales. It’s creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that has value.
3. In this post we’ll focus on Shopify stores marketing. However in the big picture marketing has not limited with companies. Marketing can be done within organization or society.

Let’s summarize what marketing definition for a Shopify store. Marketing will create, communicate, deliver and exchange offers that have value for customers. As you can see main subject in here is customers. Because of this, I’ll put customers as the center of this guide. Everything we’ll do has to something with them.

Market Research, Competitor Analysis and Defining Your Target Market

This is a practical guide for marketing so I want to continue with a hypothetical Shopify stores for each steps.
Let’s say we have a Shopify store that has some high-end, organic baby clothes targeting new parents.

Market Research

How can we do the market research?
Let’s say you have a new Shopify store that has less than 500 order per month. You can hire expensive agencies, expensive experts to research the market, create market reports for you, etc. Even if you do that, I highly suspicious if it helps you.
However you can talk with your new-parent friends. Ask them about how do they decide to buy baby clothes? What they are looking for before completing their purchases? Do they get any expert opinion before making buying decision? How do they search online and what they want to see? Is there any great YouTube channels about this.
Don’t have any friends? Checkout your friends not a new-parents but parents and ask similar questions to them. If you also don’t have them, try to make new born friends. I know how hard it is but let’s be honest here. If you don’t know anybody in your target audience, how do you manage to get know them? All of the successful stores I saw they have direct relationship with their target audience.
When you make your research with real people, then you can extend your project to online. Try to search as they do. What do you find? Deep in dive and take your notes.

Competitor Analysis

When you done this market research, you’ll also see there are some other brands. This is a huge subject but let’s call these brands as competitor for now.
Now it’s time to analyze them.

1. Checkout their branding strategy.
2. What are their value propositions?
3. What is hot about them? Return guarantee, free shipping etc.
4. What is not hot about them? Poor product or store design, low UX on the website, etc.
5. What people think about them? Google reviews, Trust pilot reviews, product reviews on the store.
6. Are there any partnership or influencer program they’re running?
7. What is their Google/YouTube campaign strategy? Check it here.
8. What is their Facebook/Instagram campaign strategy? Check it here.

Create a spreadsheet with all of this information. We’ll use this when working on positioning and marketing strategy.

Define Your Target Market

What do you say about our target market? Can all of new parents be our target market?
Nope, it can’t. You need to deep dive into your market and find a sub-segment, a niche that will need your products much better than anybody else and afford it easily.
This is what I called ideal customer profile (ICP). Check out what is ideal customer profile and how to create your ideal customer profile posts to learn more about the concept.
For our hypothetical store, ICP can be something like this;
Demographics

• Age: 25-45 years old
• Gender: Primarily women, but also some men
• Education: College degree or higher
• Income: $75,000+ per household
• Location: Urban areas
• Occupation: Professionals, entrepreneurs, stay-at-home parents

Psychographics

• Values: Health, wellness, sustainability, social responsibility
• Lifestyle: Active, eco-conscious, family-oriented
• Interests: Organic food, natural products, children’s activities
• Media consumption: Social media, parenting blogs, magazines
• Shopping habits: Researches purchases thoroughly, values quality over price

Pain Points

• Concerns about harmful chemicals in baby clothes
• Difficulty finding stylish and affordable organic baby clothes
• Wants to make sustainable choices for their children

Needs

• High-quality, organic baby clothes that are safe and healthy for their children
• Unique and stylish designs that make their children look and feel good
• A brand that shares their values and commitment to sustainability

Buying Behaviors

• Researches products online before making a purchase
• Reads reviews and testimonials from other parents
• Shops at specialty stores and online retailers
• Willing to pay a premium for quality and sustainability

After creating ICP, it’s important to spend some time on empathy map. Don’t forget to check it, too.
Now we know our baby clothes Shopify store market, customer’s buying process and our ideal customer profile.

Brand Identity and How to Create Your Branding

I’ll follow the American Marketing Association (AMA) in here too.
First look at brand definition. AMA defines brand as “any distinctive feature like a name, term, design, or symbol that identifies goods or services”.
Branding is for creating and managing your brand’s identity. It involves your mission, values, culture and public image.
I’m not an expert on brand, but I know how branding can be effective for your conversions and performance. Here are some checklist for you.

1. Design consistency is the key. Your visual identity should be consistent across social media, Shopify store, emails, product detail pages, etc.
2. Copy consistency is the key. Your communication style should be consistent across social media, Shopify store, emails, product detail pages, etc.
3. Experience consistency is the key. Let’s say your brand looks like a high-end brand and when a new visitor visit your store first they see is an annoying popup saying want to get 10% OFF. This is simply how to destroy your brand.
4. Craft a story and stick to it. What makes you create this brand? Faces behind the brand. This is a huge leverage for creating trust and building bonds.

Go-to-Market Strategy and Defining Your Marketing Strategy

So far we identified our target market and ideal customer profile. Check out competitors and creates the branding for our store.
Now it’s time to work on go-to-market strategy and crafting our marketing strategy.

Go-to-Market Strategy

Let’s say you recently launched your Shopify store or add a new line of products.
You need a plan to introduce your store or new products to the market. This is what we called go-to-market(GTM) strategy.
Main goal of the GTM is letting people know that there is a new brand or product line. It’s similar to launch marketing. Key message here is there is a new products/brand launched and it offer the best for you. Give it a try, you’ll love it.
All of your messages and communication should be parallel to this process.
Our focus is convincing people to try our products/brand. So I always offer a special campaign just for the launch to give people to a reason to try your products/brand.
For our hypothetical Shopify store we can run a special campaign for launch like;

• Free shipping until X date.
• 5 different boy and girl bundle with 40% OFF to try our products.

Marketing Strategy

This is your plan of actions to sell or advertise your products. Now we can talk about selling part of the marketing.
Let’s say you have GREAT advertising creatives and a huge budget and just spending it. Don’t wait to crack the code and having lot’s of sales.
Your marketing strategy should be follow sales funnel. If you don’t have a high-converting sales funnel, you can’t expect people to buy from you. Check out How to Build High Converting Sales Funnel For Shopify post.
AIDA Sales Funnel Framework
Now we can continue with our hypothetical store example. We’re selling high-end, organic baby clothes on our store. We crafted our ICP, empathy map, work on branding and created our story.

Example Marketing Strategy

First step we’ll work on attention step. Our focus is getting attention of our target market attention.
We can create a educative e-book like “7 Harmful Chemicals Commonly Used in Baby Clothes and How to Avoid Them” and run some campaigns targeted new parents on social network (Facebook, Instagram or YouTube)
This ads will land on a landing page that gives brief information about why we should pay attention to chemicals in baby clothes for our little ones and make a promise like “I spend my last 5 years about researching chemicals on baby clothes and prepare this book for you and your little one”. Also there can be a quick video about our story explaining our expertise in this field and why we’re building this brand.
We can ask for their email address to share the book with them. When they enter their email address, we’ll send them this ebook.
After first email with the ebook, we can send a few more emails with easy to digest information about chemicals.
This will create an expertise image on our target customers and start to create a bond with them. Not a bad start, right?
At the same time we can use this content on our social media, right? Quick videos, infographics and posts about the chemicals in the baby clothes.
After getting a few thousands subscribers we can organize a webinar to answer questions. This will also a great content for re-used social media content and creating trust and expert image.
Then we can share a time-limited promotion with this people for a bundle. Like we’re running a campaign and these 5 chemical free baby clothes bundles 10% discounted until next week!
We can send emails about it and use this campaign for remarketing for only people who show interest in our e-book and webinar.
This is a very brief template of marketing plan.
Now let’s take a look at more common one.

• Post product photos on social media with lot’s of hashtags
• Run a Meta campaign without any targeting, land people on product detail page
• Give them WELCOME10 discount if they enter their email address
• Send them 15 emails in the next 5 days to maximize your sales.

It’s time for you. Which one do you want to choose? All of the experts recommending this without even asking who are your customers. Can you believe it?
Don’t forget that marketing strategy is not a hope. It’s a well documented plan of actions designed for turning strangers into customers.

Inbound and Outbound Marketing Channels

Inside the marketing strategy, channels plays a vital role. There are lot’s of ways to group channels. I’ll use most basic one.
Inbound Marketing Channels: With the inbound marketing your customers will find you and start the interaction. Most common channel for inbound marketing is organic search engine optimization.
After creating high quality content, when customers search something online, they can see your articles and first interaction happens.
Outbound Marketing Channels: With the outbound marketing you reach out to customers. Facebook/Instagram/YouTube ads, influencer marketing, display ads, podcast ads can be count in this category.
As you can imagine inbound marketing channels takes lot’s of efforts and time however over the time you’ll have organic marketing channel and it brings you customer without needing any budget.
Outbound marketing channels generally works with advertisement models and you need budgets to run these channels.
Most of time I recommend to start with outbound marketing channels and then invest inbound marketing channels overtime. Don’t forget to check Mastering Paid Ads For Shopify post.
Succesful marketing plans should be supported by high converting growth and conversion plans. Don’t forget to check Growth Guide For Shopify and Conversion Optimization Guide For Shopify too.
to grow quickly and none of them not working. Well, if you looking for a way to create solid marketing plan, then this guide is for you. In this guide you’ll learn

• Definition of Marketing
• Market Research, Competitor Analysis and Defining Your Target Market
• Brand Identity and How to Create Your Branding
• Go-to-Market Strategy and Defining Your Marketing Strategy
• Inbound and Outbound Marketing Channels
• Marketing Plan Template
• FAQs

Definition of Marketing

American Marketing Association defines marketing as activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Source
What do you see here?

1. Marketing is not about activities, it contains activities, set of institutions and process.
2. Function of marketing is not generating sales. It’s creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that has value.
3. In this post we’ll focus on Shopify stores marketing. However in the big picture marketing has not limited with companies. Marketing can be done within organization or society.

Let’s summarize what marketing definition for a Shopify store. Marketing will create, communicate, deliver and exchange offers that have value for customers. As you can see main subject in here is customers. Because of this, I’ll put customers as the center of this guide. Everything we’ll do has to something with them.

Market Research, Competitor Analysis and Defining Your Target Market

This is a practical guide for marketing so I want to continue with a hypothetical Shopify stores for each steps.
Let’s say we have a Shopify store that has some high-end, organic baby clothes targeting new parents.

Market Research

How can we do the market research?
Let’s say you have a new Shopify store that has less than 500 order per month. You can hire expensive agencies, expensive experts to research the market, create market reports for you, etc. Even if you do that, I highly suspicious if it helps you.
However you can talk with your new-parent friends. Ask them about how do they decide to buy baby clothes? What they are looking for before completing their purchases? Do they get any expert opinion before making buying decision? How do they search online and what they want to see? Is there any great YouTube channels about this.
Don’t have any friends? Checkout your friends not a new-parents but parents and ask similar questions to them. If you also don’t have them, try to make new born friends. I know how hard it is but let’s be honest here. If you don’t know anybody in your target audience, how do you manage to get know them? All of the successful stores I saw they have direct relationship with their target audience.
When you make your research with real people, then you can extend your project to online. Try to search as they do. What do you find? Deep in dive and take your notes.

Competitor Analysis

When you done this market research, you’ll also see there are some other brands. This is a huge subject but let’s call these brands as competitor for now.
Now it’s time to analyze them.

1. Checkout their branding strategy.
2. What are their value propositions?
3. What is hot about them? Return guarantee, free shipping etc.
4. What is not hot about them? Poor product or store design, low UX on the website, etc.
5. What people think about them? Google reviews, Trust pilot reviews, product reviews on the store.
6. Are there any partnership or influencer program they’re running?
7. What is their Google/YouTube campaign strategy? Check it here.
8. What is their Facebook/Instagram campaign strategy? Check it here.

Create a spreadsheet with all of this information. We’ll use this when working on positioning and marketing strategy.

Define Your Target Market

What do you say about our target market? Can all of new parents be our target market?
Nope, it can’t. You need to deep dive into your market and find a sub-segment, a niche that will need your products much better than anybody else and afford it easily.
This is what I called ideal customer profile (ICP). Check out what is ideal customer profile and how to create your ideal customer profile posts to learn more about the concept.
For our hypothetical store, ICP can be something like this;
Demographics

• Age: 25-45 years old
• Gender: Primarily women, but also some men
• Education: College degree or higher
• Income: $75,000+ per household
• Location: Urban areas
• Occupation: Professionals, entrepreneurs, stay-at-home parents

Psychographics

• Values: Health, wellness, sustainability, social responsibility
• Lifestyle: Active, eco-conscious, family-oriented
• Interests: Organic food, natural products, children’s activities
• Media consumption: Social media, parenting blogs, magazines
• Shopping habits: Researches purchases thoroughly, values quality over price

Pain Points

• Concerns about harmful chemicals in baby clothes
• Difficulty finding stylish and affordable organic baby clothes
• Wants to make sustainable choices for their children

Needs

• High-quality, organic baby clothes that are safe and healthy for their children
• Unique and stylish designs that make their children look and feel good
• A brand that shares their values and commitment to sustainability

Buying Behaviors

• Researches products online before making a purchase
• Reads reviews and testimonials from other parents
• Shops at specialty stores and online retailers
• Willing to pay a premium for quality and sustainability

After creating ICP, it’s important to spend some time on empathy map. Don’t forget to check it, too.
Now we know our baby clothes Shopify store market, customer’s buying process and our ideal customer profile.

Brand Identity and How to Create Your Branding

I’ll follow the American Marketing Association (AMA) in here too.
First look at brand definition. AMA defines brand as “any distinctive feature like a name, term, design, or symbol that identifies goods or services”.
Branding is for creating and managing your brand’s identity. It involves your mission, values, culture and public image.
I’m not an expert on brand, but I know how branding can be effective for your conversions and performance. Here are some checklist for you.

1. Design consistency is the key. Your visual identity should be consistent across social media, Shopify store, emails, product detail pages, etc.
2. Copy consistency is the key. Your communication style should be consistent across social media, Shopify store, emails, product detail pages, etc.
3. Experience consistency is the key. Let’s say your brand looks like a high-end brand and when a new visitor visit your store first they see is an annoying popup saying want to get 10% OFF. This is simply how to destroy your brand.
4. Craft a story and stick to it. What makes you create this brand? Faces behind the brand. This is a huge leverage for creating trust and building bonds.

Go-to-Market Strategy and Defining Your Marketing Strategy

So far we identified our target market and ideal customer profile. Check out competitors and creates the branding for our store.
Now it’s time to work on go-to-market strategy and crafting our marketing strategy.

Go-to-Market Strategy

Let’s say you recently launched your Shopify store or add a new line of products.
You need a plan to introduce your store or new products to the market. This is what we called go-to-market(GTM) strategy.
Main goal of the GTM is letting people know that there is a new brand or product line. It’s similar to launch marketing. Key message here is there is a new products/brand launched and it offer the best for you. Give it a try, you’ll love it.
All of your messages and communication should be parallel to this process.
Our focus is convincing people to try our products/brand. So I always offer a special campaign just for the launch to give people to a reason to try your products/brand.
For our hypothetical Shopify store we can run a special campaign for launch like;

• Free shipping until X date.
• 5 different boy and girl bundle with 40% OFF to try our products.

Marketing Strategy

This is your plan of actions to sell or advertise your products. Now we can talk about selling part of the marketing.
Let’s say you have GREAT advertising creatives and a huge budget and just spending it. Don’t wait to crack the code and having lot’s of sales.
Your marketing strategy should be follow sales funnel. If you don’t have a high-converting sales funnel, you can’t expect people to buy from you. Check out How to Build High Converting Sales Funnel For Shopify post.
This article first published at MarketingLib.
Don't forget to check Growth Suite on Shopify App Store.

Hi there everyone, I kind of curious, I have been writing a crossover fanfic in the style of Super Robot Wars storylines. One of the Franchises I want to add is RWBY, however, I never really got into the series until playing Blazblue Cross Tag Battle and during his time I started read up on the series on various wiki pages.
So, if I'm wrong on any details or something does seem to match the character's personalities, please tell me!
In this point of the fanfic, it took place after my idea of an ending to the series, so here goes nothing!
The white haired huntress explained why she feels this is the case, telling them the story of her younger brother and his road for redemption.
For the longest of times, Whitley had nothing but hatred for his older sisters and saw the hunters and huntresses as below him, mocking Weiss every moment he had while she was under house arrest. Escaping from this sham of a home, she swore the boy and their father were nothing but monsters and for their actions were things that she never could forgive. That is until it was after the arrest of their father and their manor being invaded by Grimms that cracks were showing in his facade of pettiness.
"During that fight, Whitley wanted nothing but to run off, until he saw our mother fighting against the Grimm before falling from the underuse of her Semblance when he knew he needed to help."
After saving Willow and learning from their mother that Whitley was as much of a victim as anyone else that the middle child chose to mend their damaged relationship. During the fall of their home Kingdom of Atlas, he continued to help by having all the SDC Saircrafts to save anyone and everyone to relocate the people to Vacuo. When the Team RWBY and Jaune return from Ever After, he became part of the attacking forces as a commander to help defeat Salem's forces.
In the final battle, He was present to witness Ruby Rose and Kairi sparing the now depowered and mortal Salem, who was told to simply live with reminders of her sins haunting her until the day she died, as this was her last life. "While we watch Salem leaving to parts unknown, I thought Whitley was going to say something foolish, but to my surprise, he only watched.
In the four weeks after Salem's defeat, Whitley began his new life but it was something to adjusted to as he worked a part time job and began to start classes in that first week The heir of whatever remained of the SDC let his hair grow out slightly, he may have been inspired by a picture of Jaune's appearance during his time in Mistral but still kept a very clean appearance.
It wasn't until a week ago that there were some Jacques' old associates from Vacuo wanted to give Whitley the position of CEO of a new company, one named Phoenix Ash.
"At first, I thought he just wanted to go back to his old ways of life when he agreed to the deal, Asked from me was to trust him about this..."
Out of the blue, The new CEO of the Phoenix Ash Group called for a Public Announcement. Weiss and Winter were watching on a monitor in an aircraft outside of the city. Fearing for the worst, that he would be making empty promises to make a postive public image, the boy spoke of ending the practices of abusing Fanuas workers. This was a lie that their father made to the press when he was alive, before the young CEO spoke of his new idea.
When questioned by the Press, Whitley told the world that he his idea was to start finding better sources than just Dust to rely on, so he would put his own Lien that he held on since childhood to fund this research. If this research was successful, then he would personally see to the closure of all Dust Mines under the Pheonix Ash banter but threaten that if any of the Fanuas workers were harmed during his time as CEO, that under his leadership that he personally see it that the abusers' paychecks would go to their victims and repeated offenders would be fired as quickly as possible. The two sisters begin to noticed that four of The Board Members who hired him were in shaking in their boots.
"Young Sir, please think of the words you speak..." one of Jacques' remaining associates on the board begged to hopefully conviced the boy to reconsider these ideas
"I am fully aware of the words coming from my mouth as much as you were aware of letting my father's actions slide so you can make more Lien. So, to be quite blunt, SHUT IT OR FIND NEW JOBS!" This wasn't like the boy they once knew while Jacques was thriving, he was a new Whitley Schnee that wouldn't be swayed by the idea of making Lien in dishonest ways and wouldn't allow anyone under his leadership to harm the Faunus workers.
"DAMNED BLEEDING HEART BRAT, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE JACQUES, THE REAL HEIR OF THE NAME OF SCHNEE!"
The oldest board member, a muscular bald man of over fourty who was still extremely loyal to the deceased CEO of SDC, charged at the youth with a knife! The youngest of the Schnee clan knew there would be risks, but didn't have any fighting experience to counter this attack.
"WHITLEY!" Weiss cried out as she knew she wouldn't be able to stop the would be killer's attempt of assassination, however, a certain green eyed Faunus, who's loyalites to Robyn Hill last to this day, arrived in enough time to stopped the youth's would be killer.
"You really think that Fiona Thyme would let you kill your new boss? As IF!"
Within a mere set of seconds, the man of three hundred and something pounds was on the ground, each insult that was aimed at the girl was countered with his former boss nodding for the girl to wack the creep across his bald head. This last for a couple of minutes until the police to take his sorry ass to jail as well as charging the Faunus with a minor crime. The girl knew that there would no way to escape but chose not to surrender as she put her hands behind her head much to the cheers of some in the crowd.
However, In those five seconds before the cuffs closed on her hands, The CEO jumped off of the platform and stood in between the messy haired Faunus girl and the arresting officer, slapping the cuff out of the man's hands to the shock of the world. When asked to step aside, the boy's answer to this was something everyone in Remnant, who were either in the crowd or watched from afar from their scrolls, never expected.
"You're really asking me to step aside, so you could take away a war hero's future? I choose to refuse for we all know these charges against her are nothing but baseless. She fought on the side of various heroes! Heroes ] from the Battle of Beacon, like the Teams: RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, FNKI, ABRN and CFVY, the heroes without teams like Lady Kairi, Qrow Branwen, and Taiyang Xiao Long, Heroes like Ilia Amitola and the Belladonna clan who were once White Fang members but left before the assassination of Sienna Khan and return to fight to stop the once peaceful group when they saw what it became under the command of Adam Taurus, heroes like the remaining members of the Ace Operatives, who fought their own feelings of sadness when they lost Clover Ebi and came together after they realized James Ironwood was in the wrong, after the man fell into despair because of how the upper class saw the innocent victims in Remnant and used Atlas as a ram to prevent the Grimm from gaining another advantage point. These groups of heroic and wonderful people came together to save the world from the forces of Salem, so why can't we, the civilains they protected, do the same?!"
There were some mutters from the civilians that watch on the ground level before one of the rich members of the crowd, a man named Harry Marigold, brought up that Weiss may have saved the world but of her crime of summoning the Grimm at the charity event at Schnee Manor should be held accountable before the youth counter with.
"The crime that night was one in justified anger when you, Harry Marigold, who ignored her sadness and only wanted my sister's attention for bragging rights, that damnable trophy wife, her weak minded shell of a husband, the former CEO of the SDC, myself and many others of the Upper Class chose to cruely mocked the recently deceased of Vale and proudly laughing about the deaths of the many innocents of the fallen Kingdom who had nothing to do with the fighting. fates we claimed that civilains deserved!? If anything, she didn't summoned the Grimm to harm anyone but wanted us demons to understand that life is not to be taken as a joke or anything to not to be take lightly. The real crime that night was that the Grimm didn't caused more damages to Schnee manor and not having the monster hurt any of us because of our cruelity to the dead! But because the CEO of SDC cared for nothing but his public image, when she confronted that scumbag for our actions and for using her as a prize toy for everyone to see, his only reaction was to slapped my sister across her face and denied her Birthright!
This made the rich members of the crowd uneasy, as they knew that they were being put in their places. They wanted the youth to be silenced but he continued, angry and filled with something that he should've had a long time ago, a frightful sense of Justice.
"For too damn long, I was blinded by my family's name, not knowing it was nothing but an evil curse and if it wasn't for my sister's actions that night and the night her team and the remaining members of team JNPR saved the lives of my poor mother and the sorry shell of a person. I, too, would've remained under the very same spell of ignorance that the old fool relished in to keep us in line. So, for you to order me around, to use my sister justified attempt on the upper class to see her honorable view on life so who could silence my words, and to force this maiden, who has fought harder than anyone here because fearful paranoia bigots using unjust hatred of every Faunus to make her life a living torture device, for her to rot in a prison cell without a fair trial, just for saving my life? That command is UNFORGIVABLE!" The boy screamed loudly and in pure rage so everyone could hear his plea.
Fiona was in shock, she heard from various communities of the Faunus that the SDC and clan of Schnee were nothing but monsters, worse than any of Salem's Grimms. Even after meeting the huntresses of Team RWBY, she believed Weiss was the only one of the family who wanted to set things right in the world.
Even through she hated the idea to keep an eye on the Schnee heir, even if it was a jobn from her trusted leader. His father and the fellow members of the Board in the SDC saw the Faunus and wanted nothing but for them to be trapped in cages without futures, But to see with her eyes, the very son made to follow in these footsteps of selfish desires, meaning every single word that left his mouth, these words that were filled with a justified desire to save the young girl from an unfair fate, was so unreal.
"If anything, it was the wicked ideas of greed that the deceased CEO held dear tt were one of the many factors that broke our world, Jacques Sc..." The boy stopped for less than a second before continuing in anger.
"....Actually no, I refuse to allow that bastard to my family's name any longer, even in death! Jacques Gélé was never a father, he was nothing but an unredeemable thief without a sense honor, who used dirty lies to trick my dying grandfather into his once humble life, the honorable man that should've had the right to lived long enough to prevent the future Gélé wanted, Nicholas Schnee!"
"Who used my recently deceased mother's, Willow Schnee, love and trust to steal a company he was never worthy to rule over from underneath her. When she learned of his deception and his lies in their sham of a relationship, the once loving and carring mother only means to escape from his wicked virus was to drink her sorrows away and seclude herself from the world!
"His sickness was something that their three children were not immuned to as he saw nothing from us but to be used as pawns so he could gain more power! It wasn't until we learned better ways to live by others, others who actually cared, that we actually became good people!"
"The first of us was to learn this lesson was The Soldier who proven herself time and time again, who enlisted in the Atlas military to get away from the sickness that Gélé took pleasure in, who leaders knocked the views of hatred for the Faunus and the usage of cheap tricks out of her, my oldest sister, Commander Winter Schnee!
"My second oldest sister, Huntress Weiss Schnee, who learn of the shame that her family name carried at her time in Beacon, who was forced to leave after the battle by Gélé for supposed safety only to be paraded around as a prize trophy daughter for his friends in the upper class, who felt the sting of venom when that man refused to accept her heroic heart, forcing her to escape his maddess so she could continued helping those who were suffering!"
"And then there's myself, Whitley Schnee, the boy who was so scared with the various changes to his home life that he chose to follow in that thief's footsteps, who once mocked the dead of Beacon along with the others in the Upper Class, who has never fought for anything and even in that last battle, was so powerless to prevent more tragedies for befall those he commanded to fight on his behalf! The boy who's heart is filled with so much regret because of his idiotic choices in life but is now filled a newly found sense of Justice, who only goal now is to find a cure for the poison, so he could, no! will make our world a better place than it was in the past!"
The crowd was stunned thar they couldn't help but to stay silent.
"Gélé has cause so much suffering to the Faunus and to many other communities. That suffering spread in the Kingdoms like wildfire. When my grandfather died, so did the fairness and honor that the Schnee name held on to....but not anymore! MY DREAM is to stop the suffering that Gélé relished in so he could live like a damn lazy king!
Whitley then put his hands behind his head and told the world.
"So if this girl goes to prison, so will I! All I asked of those listening is not to cheer no matter what the outcome is, not to cry for this foolish boy who has fought for nothing, but to simply think about his words and the weight they pull!" Whitley's blood was boiling as The puppet CEO's bight blue eyes widden to show everyone that his dream was one that the boy will work for through his pain.
After this decree was finished, everything was slient before the officer asked. "Would you die for that dream..?"
Whitley, answered with all seriousness. "If I die, then I would gladly die with a hundred stabs to my heart and soul to make damn sure that my dream becomes reality." The officer waved to another cop to bring in a second set of handcuffs, much to both cops dismay.
"Alright, I'm sorry. Whitley Schnee for disobeying a officer of the law, you have to come with us."
Whitley said not a word as the cuffs latched onto his hands. As if to respect the boy's wishes, There were no one in the crowd, maybe even in Remnant, cheering about the arrest of these two, even though the boy said he had nothing but hatred of those that surround Gélé mocking those that died in Beacon, none of the them wanted nor could cheer, for to celebrate this would be nothing but hallowed.
On route to the department to put the two in the holding cells until they could make bond, the two talked, mostly it was Whitley asking the girl a thousands questions of the culture of the Faunus, the life she lived before becoming a war hero and so on. The poor girl was shaking with overwhelmingness but snapped out of it when Whitley explained something to her.
"This is the second time you saved me from the door of death, thank you, Lady Thyme."
Fiona was slightly confused before slowly piecing together that in the final battle she rushed to the location of downed aircraft, where a gravely injured woman layed under some debris being protected by her white haired son with a mere wooded stick he found on the ground screaming. "GET AWAY! YOU GRIMMS!" before being knocked backwards and then being held by his throat.
"HEY FANG FACES, I'M MORE OF A CHALLENGE THAN THOSE TWO!" The Fanaus screamed while the Grimm let the boy go to blocked her attack.
"KID! TAKE YOUR MOM AND GET OUTTA HERE, I CAN'T HOLD THIS GUY OFF FOREVER!"The boy nodded as he grabbed his mother and ran off, not knowing that he would plan to thank the maiden the next time they meet.
"No freaking way, you're that boy?"
"Yeah...but I'm not proud to admit that I'm not one for fighting." Whitley smiled as this surprised the girl.
To think, the meek boy she saved that one time and the guy who wanted to help others despite his family's reputation were the same person? How would this day become more of a weird fever dream?
"Hey you two, I hate to burst this bubble but ready for a fight, there was another vehicle besides ours that was on their way to the department." A male's voice explained when they noticed a man in a grey cloak sitting in the darkest corner of the vehicle.
"Before you asked, I've been here for the entire trip."
"Why is that important?" The only woman of the three thought while the Schnee youth figured it out.
"That ghoul of a Board Member?"
"'Faid so, he was taken in sometime before your speech and there are only two holding cells in the department, one for men and the other for women." The man explained.
"I could use my semblance to hold him in a..." Fiona was stopped when the mystery man continued.
"...And to prevent any escapes, the cells and those cuffs on your hands are laced with anti-semblance tech."
Fiona screamed. "OH CRAP!"
Whitley was shaken but kept cool as he thought. "I guess as this is a smaller scale city, I should've figured as much."
"Are you actually prepared to die for your ideas?" The man asked the boy, but his answer was simple.
"I'm not planning to back down now, to betray those words I spoke earlier, would be a wicked sin."
Meanwhile in an aircraft a little ways off. Both Weiss and Winter were dumbfounded by their brother's speech and actions. "He has changed so much since weeks ago." The middle child thought before Winter demanded the pilot to land that at the port nearest to the city.
Yang, Kairi, Jaune, Ruby, and Blake were on the aircraft but was confused by the sudden change of directions, before the commander explained. "The Board member that tried to killed our brother was sent to the holding cell in the department before Whitley's speech."
"OH CRAP!" Ruby and Weiss screamed as they thought in dismay that the boy was going to be in an one sided fight against a heavier opponent.
"Please hold on for a bit longer, Younger Brother..." Winter quietly whispered as the Aircraft was going as fast as possible to their destination.
Upon arriving and being settle in the two holding cells, it was when the guards left the redeemer was being used as a punching bag for the man's humiliation.
"DAMN BRATTY ASSED PUNK!"
"UGHHH!" Whitley groaned, being punched for a hour, his clothing became ragged and bloody.
"LEAVE WHITLEY ALONE!" Fiona cried out at the tallest in the men's holding cell, she was in the womens' holding cell that was across the room, luckly for her, she was alone in the women's side but not for Whitley, making things worse is that the guards were sent out on an emergency call, as their thinning numbers were sent out because of a few bomb threats elsewhere in the city.
"SHUT IT, SHEEPIE! I GOING KEEP BEATING THIS BRAT UNTIL HE UNDERSTANDS HIS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE!"
"..." The man in the hood remained quiet as he watched this uneven fight. "You should stay down..."
"...As if I would..." The Schnee boy rose back to his feet through he knew nothing of throwing punches he refused to surrender just to spite the former Board Member of Phoenix Ash.
"HEH, for a skinny brat, you're stubborn, be a good little boy and admit that you're nothing but a puppet then I'll quit your rightly deserved beatings!"
Whitley regained his balance before flipping a bird claiming. "You...really...think this..puppet would let some smug ass with no respect for anyone but those in the Upper Class to order me around? SCREW....YOU!" The boy yelled spiting blood onto the man's ghoulish face to annoy the monster in human flesh.
"...WHY YOU LITTLE MAGGOT!" The man was even more enraged now, as he punched the stomach of the younger male causing the boy fall onto the cold floor.
Fiona was horrified as she witness the former spoiled prince rose back to his feet.
"Still standing boy?"
The youth was still standing to a point, until the man pulled a dirty shiv he found in the holding cell while waiting for this very moment. The two youths' eyes widden when they saw the makeshift weapon of sharpen hard plastic.
"...A weapon!?" Fiona cried out in dismay.
"Some poor sap must have made this sometime ago, makes me wonder where he could be now, anywho while I am slicing into your flesh, Whitley, I'm going tell what I thought of those pretty little ideas of yours."
The Faunus was in a state of fear for the young puppet CEO as the shiv user quickly sliced into the white haired youth's shoulder, with this the first time being cut, Whitley scream in pain.
"AHHHHGNN!"
"FIRST, YOU WANT TO FREE THE ANIMALS FROM OUR CAGES, THEY HAVE NO RIGHTS TO A FUTURE IN OUR SOCIETY!
The next was a stab on his left upper leg, luckly not hitting anything vitals as makeshift blade of sharp hard plastic was pulled out and blood dripped onto the flooring The boy's screams of pain echoing through the empty department.
"NEXT, WE CAN'T MAKE ANY LIEN IF BLEEDING HEARTS, LIKE WHAT YOU'VE BECOME, ARE IN CHARGE OF THINGS!"
The attacker then sliced the right side of Whitley's face leaving a scar under his eye.
"THE FACE OF THE BOY WITH A NAME THAT NOWS MEANS NOTHING TOTHE WORLD, USING TRUTHS TO PISS ON THE LEGACY THAT JACQUES BUILT, JUST SO HIS SON COULD REBUILD THE HONOR THAT IT HELD WHEN THAT WINDBAG WAS STILL KICKING! WHAT FREAKIN DRIVEL!"
then a slash across his chest.
"THAT BLEEDING HEART OF YOURS WANTING REDEMPTION SO HE COULD HAVE SOME ATTENTION BUT GUESS WHAT THERE'S NO SUCH THING IN THE BUSINESS WORLD OR IN THE REMAINING KINGDOMS OF REMNANT AS REDEMPTION!"
Then the right hand of the boy, the one Whitley pull in front of his body in an poor attempt to grabbed the makeshift Shiv.
"THESE HANDS OF A SOFT SPOILED LITTLE BOY WHO, EVEN IN THE LAST BATTLE AGAINST THE GRIMM FORCES, NEVER THREW A PUNCH OR SLAP ANYONE, ARE SUPPOSED TO CHANGE THE WORLD, ALL YOU HAVE DONE IN THAT BATTLE WERE ORDERING SOLDIERS TO FIGHT FOR YOU, SOLDIERS WHO SHOULD HAVE SEEN WHAT YOU'VE BECOME!"
Finishing this rant with a punch to the gut, and mocking his braverly. "TELL ME THIS, BOY? WHEN THIS SPINE OF YOURS GREW, DID YOUR STUPIDITY DOUBLED, BECAUSE COMPARED TO YOUR DAD, YOU'RE SUCH AN DOLT TO BELIEVE YOUR OWN CRAP!"
"WHITLEY! STOP, YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Fiona screamed as the man got on top of the boy's body and punch the white haired youth's face twice before the monster yelled at the girl.
"I SAID SHUT IT SHEEP! YOU MAYBE A WAR HERO THAT I CAN'T PUT MY HANDS ON BUT YOU'RE GOING TO WATCH AS THE HOPES OF THIS BOY DIES ALONG WITH HIS BODY!"
Getting off of the beaten body of the Schnee, the man let Whitley try to get up before the boy fell on his stomach and the man grabbed the white hairs of his his head and pulled his face up, so the redeemer would look into Fiona's green eyes for a last time, one filled with tears.
"ACTUALLY, IT'S FUNNY, BECAUSE OF HER STATUS AS A WAR HERO, THE SHEEP WILL GET OUT IN THE END OF THE DAY AND BE ON HER WAY HOME, BUT YOU JUST HAD TO PLAY HERO AND FOR WHAT, WHITLEY SCHNEE?! FOR YOUR REMAINS TO BE MY PUNCHING BAG UNTIL I TRANSFER TO PRISON?....IT'S SO FREAKING SAD THAT I'M LAUGHING MY ASS OFF!"
The redeemer, who's face full of buises, forgotten that this is the case for minor first time offenders but didn't care at all. Ever since Fiona saved his and his mother's lives that day, he would've happily be arrested and be beaten, time after time, so he could thank her. He wanted to smile, to show his savior that he was happy with this outcome, even this meant that his life ended today, but could barely move his face but the only could wheezingly chuckled as tears as swell from his eyes
Before the man could finished Whitley off, a small blackout happened as the doors of the cells opened, Fiona ran to the boy who risked his life just so he could to talk to her. "WHY?!" Fiona cried she held the youth in her arms. "WHY CAN'T MONSTERS LIKE YOU SEE THAT THIS A NEW WORLD, THAT WE CAN BECOME BETTER THAN WE ONCE WERE." The green eyed girl demanded anwers but the man just mocked to anwered the Fuanus.
"Do you think animals like you could understand that only the strong and the Upper Cass are the only ones who have the right to control Remnant. He could have been one of those in control and still have enough Lien to be someone important but he chose to ally with the lower class, and for little lamb he paying for it, dearly."
Putting the boy's head gently on the floor wiping the tears on her sleeve, to hopefully keep friend she made safe for a bit longer, she attempted to use Pocket Demisions to rid the world of this demon, only to realize in the middle of her attack, the power returned and because she ran to help the youth, that she was in the men's holding cell with the real beast.
"....No!" She wimpered.
"Looks like there's some of my fellow board members of Phoenix Ash are still on my side." He smiled wickening as he began to explain their plans. "You see, little Sheep, we figured the boy has a bleeding heart, so to get rid of those childish wishes to loosen our hold, we decided yesterday to make up a plan, the one that you had to prevent. So during that little speech of his, we made a second one on the fly." He continued as he put his hand on an earpiece. "...That one being the threats to distract the guards and that little blackout. Plus thanks to this little device, my semblance to increase my strength with every attack I give, still remains."
"This can't be...." She was scared, as this man that she could taken down a few mere hours ago, was telling the truth when every step he made while approaching Fiona made small cracks in the flooring.
"Damn it, We going need to cause another..." A voice explained though the earpiece before he turned off the equipment's sound option.
"Now, since you annoyed me so much, you're going be my replacement, lamb chops!" The upsuper yelled in bliss as he pulled his fist to punch her small body. She dodged the attack but his second punch connected and sent her flying into the force field door.
"AUHHGGG!" She cried out, recoiling in the pain from her back before noticing the man was coming for her, managing to get up but unable to dodge it completely in this cramped arena. She felt the punch connected with her left arm, braking the bones in the limb, Then a kick to her gut. Knocking her a few inches near Whitley's body.
"....No...."
The youngest of the Schnee clan could only watch in despair through one eye, the two were being broken by a scummy excuse of a human, and the young redeemer of his name could do nothing but watched as his attempt to prove to the world his words were real go down in flames.
"...Leave...her...alone..." These words spit out ignoring the pain as much as he could while rising back to his feet and limping to get in between the Faunus woman and her attacker.
"So, the boy still has some fighting spirit...The boy that has never fought for anything in his life, I am certain that you're doing this for everyone's attention."
The man was right on a few things, Whitley was never a fighter or some ground troop, and it may have been that he wanted attention when he first started to go down this road but Winter quickly knocked that idea out of his head, but the man is wrong on others, for Whitley realize that all he wanted to do in life is to help in anyway, even he'll be happy as a sideliner act to the main heroes.
But one can't always stay in that role and hoped to change the world, for a long time he stood by as a witness to to his father's crimes, for longer his thoughts of heroism being dismissed by that bogus excuse of a father and as far as he remembered, Whitley had others fight for him. But no more!
"In this world, money and power pull the strings, and yet you choose death for a flithy animal? How more times are you going to PISS M-!" The man was interrupted while talking by, to the surprise of all, the white haired boy headbutting his taller foe, knocking the man onto his ass!
"...WHAT!?" The man screamed in horror as he started to bleed from his now broken nose, this was the first time the business man has ever seen his own blood.
"...I've...told...the world...I...would die for my dream....even if I die today....I'll be happy to die...hundred times over again..." The boy's body was mostly broken, each word he spoke caused more pain than his body could stand but the young man still had one part of his body to fight with, his hard head!
The next thing they all knew, Whitley continued headbutting his enemy, causing the man to gain a reality check, his ability were increasing his attacks but at a certain cost, The sole major weak point on his body, the one that held the brain to think of ways to screwed others over, the one with the eyes that saw everyone else as beneath him and the one with the mouth with a booming voice he used to make threats and promises to ruin his foes, his face weaken over time with every punch or kick he gave to the two.
"NONONONONO!" The man screamed with a bloodied and bruised face, before feeling the same despair he installed into his two victims just mere minutes ago. In a desperate attempt to stop these attacks, he grabbed the man in the cloak as a hostage, with the shiv he used on the boy still in his possession.
"You-ou wouldn't w-wan...me to stab some r-random person that had nuthing to do with this, uh?!" These ragged words were like the man himself, desperate and scummy, but was enough to stop the boy from getting closer.
The foe laughed thinking he has the upper hand. "I admired your old man's talent in making a profit, but he was just like you to a certain point, he was no killer, so now I advise we wait until they let us out or I'll be plunging..."
"Tsk...This old fart really been pissing me off since we got here!"
The cloaked man yelled as he stepped on the foot of his captor along with a gunshot ringing though the air. "W-WHAT!?" The man screamed in pain as he released his hold to grabbed his now bleeding foot. "DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!" The larger man screamed before realizing why his leg strength wasn't up to snuff. While being headbutted by his Whitley, the earpiece fell out and was behind his two victims!
"No way this is happening...." He groaned in pain before the cloaked male took off his hood, just to make things worse for the would be assassin.
"...and here I thought I would have a peaceful life in prison..." The man sighed as he revealed himself to be a fomer ally of Salem, one who wanted nothing more but to rot in prisons for the remaining of his life.
"M-Mercury B-B-Black, why is a war criminal here?!" The man screamed, fearing for his life even more than before.
"I was supposed to transfer into the next city, mostly for some good behavior BS..." Mercury turned his attention to the white haired boy.
"Hey kid, you're the brother to that girl Weiss, right?"
"....." Whitley wanted to say something but really couldn't, with those last few headbutts, if he tried to speak now, he will surely faint.
"Man, the geezer really did a number on you, huh?" Mercury asked before = one of the guards and Whitley's sisters ran in.
"Holy...CRAP! WHITLEY!!"
"Why is our brother and Miss Thyme in the same cell as these two?!" Winter demanded answers before Mercury explained for panicing guard while pulling the earpiece from the ground.
"Whitley was being used by lord lard ass as a punching bag until few people from Pheonix Ash caused a short blackout, the girl ran in to stopped the beatings but was attacked as well until your little bro figuring out the buzzard's weakness by headbutting the man in his freakin' face. After that, The creep tried to use me as levelage but yeah, you can see how that worked out."
"DAMNED BRATS...." The man groaned as the two Schnee women got Whitley and Fiona out of this cell but froze in fear when he saw Winter staring down at the man.
"I figured that your group would pulled something like this when Whitley told me of the CEO position, so I looked into yours and the rest of the board's backgrounds...It was just as Black said, You and your three friends in the board of eight have more than just attempted assassination to worry about now."
This decree was worrying enough before Mercury Black turned his attention back to the older man."I guess I'm going to have a kicking dummy for a roommate now!"
"Please have mercy!" The man turned deathly pale before Fiona yelled.
"Like the mercy you shown to me and Whitley because he called out your sorry butt, I would think not!"
Weiss was next to insult the man for his behavior. "...If anything you deserve nothing but a fate in a cage, like the various futures you took away!"
"Looks like you're going to rot in a cell for the rest of your sad existence." Winter finished before the guards were told by the military commander to take her younger brother out of the room and to take his would be assassin to the other cell.
Before leaving, Winter asked the former ally of Salem.
"Mercury Black...Your sentence for your war crimes have been over with for a couple of months now, yet, you still choose to remain in prison, may I ask why?"
"Since Cinder died in the fight against our former partner and Salem's redemption attempt, I really don't have much else left. Besides it's like I've said during that battle with the hammerhead and her pretty boy lover, I have been forced to fight since I was born by a drunk abusive excuse of a dad, so even if I could be let back into society, I don't think I could be happy."
"You could've joined the military..." The eldest member of the Schnee replied before the younger male countered
"Yeah, but I hate following and giving orders, besides you've seen what this old bastard done to your brother, creeps like him and worse are everywhere in prison. So as long as I can beat them senseless, I'm freaking happy to serve more time for each brawl I get my ass into."
This silenced Winter for a couple of seconds before asking for two simple demands. "Just tell Em that I'm okay with how things ended between us, and tell her just to be happy with her new life, if she can do that, then that would give me some sort of peace."
A couple of hours later at the medical bay on the airship.
Kairi used the healing spell Curaga on both the boy and Fiona. "Thank you, Lady Kairi." Fiona bowed while still having her arm in a cast after Whitley opened his eyes, being healed.
"Hey, it's not a problem, but please, just call me Kairi for now on, okay, Fiona?"
"Ughh, what...Fiona..are you alright?" The redeemer asked his friend.
"Yes, but you took the blunt of the beating, please relax, Whitley." The Fanuas explained before the boy asked.
"Who payed for our bails? I doubt it was my sisters, our situation isn't as it once was."
At that moment, Weiss and Blake came in, the disowned heiress of the destroyed SDC was proud at the fact that her former enemy of a brother fought for what's right, explaining. "It those three you poined out from that charity that payed for your and Fiona's bonds."
"Huh?!" Fiona was taken back in surprise by this before the middle child of the Schnee family theorized
"My guess is, either your speech or being outed as horrible people that made those three pay with their own Lien to post bond. I only wished we got there quicker but the airport was on the other side of the city."
"That's good but I can only hope that the others in the crowd took my words to heart and none of the people recording that day alter the video."
...We can check for video or audio interferances later on today but something tells me those who heard your speech that they're going be thinking about it for a long time." Blake's words made the youngest member of the Schnee children a little more eased.
"If only mother lived to see her son became someone to be proud of." Weiss thought to herself that day before their last mission in Remnant before her universe was wiped from existence.
In the Hangar of the doomed Wunder, Weiss had a thought of what could've been the futures of the new CEO of Pheonix Ash and his loyal bodyguard could have been if their universe just lasted a little bit longer.
"Hey, Bozos I'm about to take the Eva-unit 02 F off of the ship, before figuring out a plan to stop Misato."
"Alright.." Aqua answered as the red-head walked towards the console before seeing something strange.
"You guys were here for the last hour right?"
"Yeah?" Duo answered before Asuka added.
"And no one else came in or tried anything funny right?"
"We've been here the entire time, what's with the questions, Langley?" Viral countered.
"...There's two signals of heat in the cockpit...."
"Umm what?" Jaune exclaimed as the console showing the statistics of the bulky armored version of Unit 02, showing two bodies of heat in the entry plug.
Before anything else was said in the group. A young male's voice came through the console. "Umm Hello? Can someone get us out of this thing?"
No one but the Schnee huntress recognize the youth's voice. "Whitley!?"
"Sis, can you hear me?"
Asuka spoke next, "How long were you two in the Evangelion for?"
"I think for three hours, oh right, Fi wanted to asked if there's any males in the area."
"Fiona's in there too?!" Wiess inner thoughts were of panic that were made worse after Jaune's answer.
"Yeah, there's four guys here, why?" Jaunne asked before Fiona screamed in embrassament.
"PLEASE GO TO THE OTHER ROOM OR SOMETHING, I CAN'T GO OUT LIKE THIS!"
"Fi, please relax..."
"RELAX!? YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE IN THIS THING WITH CLOTHES ON!" The girl whined while crying from embarrassment.
"Umm, could anyone bring clothing for Miss Thyme."
Duo began to smirked before being dragged by Viral into the next room. "Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself, Duo Maxwell..."
"Killjoy!" Duo screamed as Jonathan conviced Jaune to followed.
"Sir Arc, we should leave as well, as it is knights' honor to..."
"Already way ahead of you, Mr. Joestar. We'll see you all later when we come up with that plan!"
As this was all happening, an snore echoed out from behind the crates. "Is someone sleeping over there?" Aqua asked while checking to see who it might be.
There, Chibodee Crocket, of all people was in deep slumber, much to everyone's surprise.
"...We should wake him up..." Asuka sighed while Weiss went looking for any of the female members of the crew for some clothing.
But to the surprise of the two, he just walked into the next room while sleeping the entire time. "That...worked out way to well..."

The global COVID-19 pandemic sent shockwaves through every facet of our lives, and immigration policies were no exception. At Adric Immigration Consultants in Bangalore, we understand the uncertainty and challenges this has caused for individuals and families with international aspirations. This blog post delves into the impact of COVID-19 on immigration policies around the world, offering insights into the current landscape and potential future trends.
A Global Disruption: Border Closures and Travel Restrictions
The initial response to the pandemic involved a widespread closure of borders and implementation of strict travel restrictions. Many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and India, suspended visa processing
for certain categories or altogether. This sudden halt significantly impacted individuals seeking work visas, student visas, and family reunification opportunities.
While some restrictions have eased as the pandemic progressed, the pace of recovery for immigration processes varies significantly by country. Understanding the current situation in your target country is crucial for making informed decisions about your immigration journey.
Reliable Resources for Updated Information:
Here are some resources where you can find the latest information on travel restrictions and immigration policies for specific countries:

• U.S. Department of State Travel.gov: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas.html
• Canadian Government Immigration Website: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada.html
• Australian Government Immigration Website: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/
• UK Government Immigration Website: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration
• Official Website of the Government of India (Ministry of External Affairs): https://mea.gov.in/

Shifting Priorities: Focus on Essential Workers and Healthcare Professionals
As the pandemic unfolded, the need for essential workers in various sectors became evident. Many countries introduced temporary visa programs or streamlined processing for healthcare professionals, agricultural workers, and other critical personnel. This shift in focus reflects the need for skilled labor to maintain vital services during a global crisis.
Impact on Specific Visa Categories:

• Work visas: Processing for certain work visa categories, particularly those in essential sectors, might have experienced an acceleration in some countries.
• Student visas: Restrictions on international travel and potential disruptions to online learning models created uncertainties for student visa applications.
• Family reunification: Delays and backlogs in processing family reunification visas caused significant hardship for families separated due to the pandemic.

The Evolving Landscape for Essential Workers:
While the initial focus on essential workers provided a temporary reprieve, it’s crucial to stay updated on current policies and potential changes for these visa categories.
Embracing Technology: Virtual Interviews and Online Applications
The pandemic accelerated the use of technology in immigration processes. Several countries adopted virtual interviews for visa applications, reducing reliance on in-person interactions and expediting certain aspects of the process. Additionally, online application portals became more widely used, offering a more convenient and streamlined experience for applicants.
The Future of Technology in Immigration:
The pandemic’s impact on technology adoption in immigration processes is likely to have lasting effects. We can expect to see continued use of online applications, virtual interviews, and potentially even AI-powered tools for document screening in the future.
Navigating Uncertainty: The Importance of Expert Guidance
The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably created a dynamic environment for immigration policies. Keeping track of ever-evolving regulations and procedures can be overwhelming. Partnering with a reputable immigration consultant like Adric Immigration Consultants in Bangalore can provide invaluable support during these uncertain times.
How We Can Help:

• Stay Updated: We stay abreast of the latest changes in immigration policies around the world and advise you accordingly.
• Eligibility Assessment: We can assess your eligibility for various visa options, considering your background and the current situation in your target country.
• Application Assistance: We provide guidance and support throughout the application process, ensuring your documentation is complete and accurate.
• Communication and Advocacy: We can help navigate communication with immigration authorities and advocate for your case if necessary.

Looking Ahead: A Potential Resurgence of Immigration
While the pandemic presented significant challenges for immigration, some experts predict a potential resurgence of immigration activity in the post-pandemic era. Countries recovering from the economic effects of the pandemic might seek skilled labor to rebuild their economies. Additionally, a renewed focus on global collaboration and innovation could lead to increased demand for international talent exchange.
Potential Areas of Growth:

• Skilled Worker Immigration: Countries facing labor shortages might prioritize attracting skilled workers in specific sectors.
• Global Talent Programs: We might see an expansion of programs designed to attract highly skilled professionals and entrepreneurs.
• Focus on Innovation: Immigration policies could incentivize the immigration of individuals with expertise in science, technology, engineering, and other innovation-driven fields.

The Importance of Adaptability:
Regardless of the specific direction immigration policies take, the key takeaway is the need for adaptability. Partnering with an experienced immigration consultant can equip you with the knowledge and guidance required to navigate the evolving landscape and pursue your immigration goals effectively.
Conclusion: Embracing the Journey with Confidence
The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly reshaped the world of immigration. However, it’s important to remember that the desire for international exchange and opportunity remains strong. At Adric Immigration Consultants in Bangalore, we believe that with the right knowledge, preparation, and expert support, you can successfully navigate the immigration process, even in these times of change.
Contact us today for a free consultation and let our experienced team guide you on your immigration journey. Together, we can transform your international aspirations into a reality.

You're a die-hard soccer fan, but you live in a country where the European Championship isn't broadcast.
Or perhaps you're a European citizen on vacation in a region with different broadcasting rights. It's frustrating, right? Geo-restrictions and licensing agreements can feel like a goalie blocking your shot at enjoying the game.
But fear not! A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is your secret weapon to bypass these obstacles. It masks your location, making it appear like you're in a different country where the tournament is available for streaming.

Here's the good news:

• VPNs are Your Secret Weapon: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is like a digital mask for your location. It makes it appear like you're browsing from a different country, opening up a whole world of streaming possibilities.
• Not All VPNs are Created Equal: The article recommends top-tier VPNs like NordVPN and Surfshark, known for their speed, security, and ability to bypass those pesky geo-blocks.
• It's Easier Than You Think: Setting up a VPN is surprisingly simple. Just download the app, connect to a server in the right location, and BAM! You're streaming Euro 2024 like you're sitting in a German pub.

Why This Matters to YOU:

• Traveling During the Tournament? No problem! Watch the matches from your hotel room, beachside cabana, or wherever your adventures take you.
• Stuck with a Limited Streaming Service? Unlock broadcasts from other countries and maybe even catch some commentary in a different language!
• Simply Want the Best Viewing Experience? VPNs can even help you avoid buffering and lag, so you won't miss a single goal.

Top VPNs for Streaming the UEFA European Championship

• NordVPN: The all-star player, offering top-notch security, a vast network of servers, and the ability to unlock content from numerous streaming platforms.
• Surfshark: The team player, known for its unlimited simultaneous connections, allowing you to share the game with friends and family across multiple devices.

These are just a few of the fantastic VPN options available. Choose the one that best suits your needs and budget.

How to Score with a VPN

1. Sign up: Choose a reputable VPN provider (like NordVPN or Surfshark).
2. Download and install: Get the VPN app on your preferred streaming device.
3. Connect to a European server: This will make it appear like you're in Europe, where the tournament is widely available.
4. Start streaming: Sit back, relax, and enjoy the beautiful game!

Pro Tips for a Flawless Streaming Experience

• Test your VPN: Before the tournament kicks off, try streaming a few videos to ensure a smooth connection.
• Choose the right server: Connect to a server in a country known for good streaming speeds (e.g., Germany, the Netherlands).
• Update your VPN: Ensure you have the latest version for optimal performance.

With a reliable VPN in your corner, you can dribble past geo-restrictions and score a front-row seat to the UEFA European Championship 2024. Get ready to cheer on your favorite team and witness the birth of new legends. The world of soccer is at your fingertips!
Remember: A VPN isn't just for soccer. It can enhance your online privacy, security, and freedom. So, whether you're a sports fanatic, a movie buff, or simply someone who values their online privacy, a VPN is a valuable tool to have in your arsenal.

I am looking for a system and tools to take notes with the following constraints: Native apps for Mac, Windows, iOS. Free, stores data locally and syncs with a cloud drive account or NAS
I intend to use this for a few purposes. First - saving articles that I read online, or even entire books. Also for taking notes for various topics e.g. research on a company for an interview . Planning my day (daily notes) and recording meeting minutes. I want to be viewing, navigating between, and revisiting these notes - e.g. fetching by date, or by meeting name or topic. Basic formatting (h1,h2,h3, bold, highlight, hyperlink)
Preferably something as simple yet intuitive as the stock Notes app on iOS (but it lacks a Windows app). Nothing too complicated / cluttered like Obsidian.
I would like to have ability to backlink notes, but that's not critical. I tried Logseq, Obsidian, Anytype, Amplenote, Simplenote among others but stopped fairly quickly.