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Category:

SaaS Applications

flowlu CRM
CRM

Flowlu is a complete all-in-one solution to enhancing your Daily Operations

by opijayasinghe June 10, 2021

Companies looking to get a comprehensive platform, that allows them to operate every aspect of their business, need look no further than Flowlu. This platform contains the essential online tools to handle a variety of tasks including project management, invoicing, and mind maps. With the help of these tools, businesses discover that they can tackle bigger projects, prioritize tasks, track workloads, and handle sales funnels in one location.

Which Industries Benefit from the Use of Flowlu?

Small to medium-sized businesses in the IT, consulting, building and construction, and creative sectors find the platform allows them to centralize their processes and get projects in order. A user can monitor project progress, ensure they meet key milestones, and remain under deadline and within budget. The platform helps establish time estimates for different tasks to ensure this is the case. Thanks to the functionality of this program, businesses of any size can move their company forward.

What Can the Program Do?

With this cloud-based CRM program, teams can manage processes starting with lead generation all the way to the sale. Features of the program include lead and contact management, invoicing, sales pipeline management, and financial management. Users can track uncompleted tasks, log meeting and phone call notes, delegate tasks, and view sales funnels.

The program offers advanced reports that highlight the steps of the sales process in distinct colors. Personalized invoices remain effortless and include client data pulled from the program. Furthermore, this platform integrates with popular apps that the company may already use, such as Zendesk, Google Drive, PayPal, and Skrill. The business will not need to invest in new programs, and train employees to use them, thanks to this ability of the program.

Plans

Companies have several plans to choose from. Two users may access Flowlu at no charge and receive up to 1GB of storage. The businesses choosing this free plan receive access to the customer relationship management features and expense tracking. They benefit from one template and one knowledge base.

Nevertheless, most companies find the program beneficial and decide they want to provide more employees with access. If you choose the team plan for eight users, you will receive up to 10GB of storage. Additionally, with this plan, you can access more features. Besides the features found in the free plan, users of the 10GB plan receive access to three templates, two knowledge bases, email integration, time tracking, and more.

Medium-sized companies might need additional features. As a result, they may opt for the 50GB business plan to receive them. For example, companies choosing this plan receive unlimited knowledge bases, and custom fields, in addition to the features seen with the smaller plans.

The professional plan allows 25 users to make use of the program and includes 100GB of storage. As with the 50GB plan, all features from lower plans come with this option. However, users choosing this solution receive a custom logo and advanced reporting as part of their monthly fee, which runs $119 a month.

The last option, known as the enterprise plan, allows all employees within an organization access to the platform. This plan comes with 1000GB of storage, and the company receives a custom domain. This plan sets a company back $199 a month, but the benefits of using the platform more than make up for this fee. Pricing plans are billed annually, and all options include a free trial, so businesses can experiment with Flowlu to see which level will most benefit their organization.

Support

Users benefit from the knowledge bases offered with Flowlu. However, not every answer is found in these knowledge bases. Therefore, Flowlu offers a LiveChat service where attendants are available a certain times. In the event there are not, youโ€™re given the email option for support.

Flowlu or Nifty PM?

With many programs to choose from, companies want to know why they should choose Flowlu over other programs. Nifty PM serves as a good example of this. Nifty PM allows for collaboration with guests, and clients, while offering more storage than Flowlu. Nevertheless, it lacks many of the features seen with Flowlu. For instance, invoicing is not available with the Nifty PM platform, which is why business owners might choose to look elsewhere. The invoicing feature is present in the Flowlu platform.

Flowlu or Company Hub?

CompanyHub benefits businesses focusing on sales, as it offers features not found in many all-in-one programs. For instance, territory management and one-click quotes come with the Accelerate plan offered by this provider. However, it comes with a hefty price tag. The business pays by the user, rather than benefiting from a plan that allows for unlimited users for one set fee, which can result in a higher fee. For this reason, many companies opt for Flowlu instead.

Flowlu or Basecamp?

Companies might find they benefit from Basecamp when first starting out. However, they quickly outgrow the program, especially when they expand and take on more clients. For instance, Basecamp does not allow for custom task workflows, a feature seen in Flowlu. Tasks either fit into the to-do or done category. There is nowhere to place tasks that are in progress, which some users may find annoying. Simple team collaboration is where the program excels, but anything more advanced requires the use of another program. This is where Flowlu fits in. The one benefit of Basecamp is its lower prices on plans. Companies must decide what takes priority, their budget or features.

Current users love Flowlu. They talk about how the platform helps to streamline workflows. They also love the calendar functionality and the ease of using the apps. However, these serve as only a few examples of the countless things users rave about with this program. Many users find the ability to comment and tag anything, within the platform, to be a significant benefit. Also, users often mention that they have shared the platform with others because it has been so helpful to their organization.

However, they find certain aspects of the program to be annoying. For instance, users would like to be able to change the title of a box in the contact description. That functionality would be appreciated, according to some users. Customization options, independent of pre-built workflows, are something users would like to see in future updates as well. Overall, they love this program and find that the countless benefits far exceed the few drawbacks.

If you have yet to try Flowlu, now is the time to do so. Take advantage of the free trial to find out if this all-in-one platform is right for your needs. Most businesses discover it is what they require to take their organization to the next level.

Verdict About Flowlu CRM

Truth be told, this would be overkill for a solopreneur as it boarders on not only a CRM but a ERP which focus more on business operations rather even more so than the customer perspective. However you have a vision of growing that company in the next few months and years and youโ€™re serious about this, then Flowlu might be a great option to consider.

June 10, 2021 0 comment
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Automation

Integrately: Your One Stop Shop for Application Integrations

by opijayasinghe January 20, 2021

The Need for Apps as an Online Business Owner

If you own a business, and have an online presence, itโ€™s absolutely imperative that you have a variety of apps to keep things running smoothly. These apps can range from email to accounting software, and everything in between. Using these apps can help ensure that your business is successful. If you set up automation, using certain apps, it allows you to have a more hands-off approach, so you can focus on other areas of your business. However, with so many apps out there, making sure theyโ€™re all active (and running well) can easily become overwhelming. 

In addition to having the apps themselves, many business owners want to set up certain functions to help the apps work together. In order to do this, it generally required some sort of third-party software. Considering the variety of apps that may be used to run a business, it may require users to have a variety of software programs to get them all to work together. This could result in spending quite a bit of money, just to make sure your productivity apps were working well together.

Enter: Integrately

Iโ€™m sure many of you have heard of Zapier. Integrately is essentially the same concept. Itโ€™s a software company that allows you to easily integrate all of your apps. Integrately eliminates the need to have several third-party software programs to automate all of your apps.  Integrately is operated by the same people that run CompanyHub, so you can be confident that youโ€™re getting an incredible product from a reputable company.

Despite being a relatively new company, theyโ€™ve had incredible growth so far. According to Integrately, they currently offer over 200,000 app integrations, all of which can be activated with one click. If they happen to not have an app that you use, they have a super easy remedy. They run off of a voting system, of sorts. On the page where all of their apps are listed, they have a button where you can essentially nominate an app. As a result, theyโ€™re constantly adding new apps based on customerโ€™s needs.

How to Use Integrately

Integrately is incredibly easy to set up and use. I started using Integrately to replace a similar software that just wasnโ€™t quite meeting my needs. I find Integrately much easier to use, and also less glitchy than some of its competitors. Even if youโ€™re not incredibly technical, youโ€™re sure to be able to use Integrately with ease.

Once youโ€™re signed up, the homepage will ask what apps you want to connect. They have a really fantastic search feature to quickly locate the apps you use. Once you select the apps, you can set up rules as to the flow of the apps. This step also takes you through any additional customizations that you may want or need. Once you have completed the customizations, Integrately will take you testing to make sure the apps are working correctly. After testing is successful, you can make the app automation live.

Thatโ€™s all there is to it. Itโ€™s really that simple to set up and get everything running.

Integrately Pricing

As previously mentioned, similar app integration software can be quite expensive. Integrately offers very reasonable rates, especially when you think of everything youโ€™re getting. On their pricing page, they also show a comparison as to what Zapier offers for pricing and the number of tasks. I believe thatโ€™s a pretty nice feature as it saves you from having to do extensive research as to the competitorโ€™s plans and what they offer

They currently offer four different paid pricing plans, so youโ€™re sure to find one that meets your needs. The plan tiers that they offer are Starter, Professional, Growth, and Business. All of the plans include things like premium support, webhooks, search, check condition, modify data, etc.

The Starter plan runs $15 per month and normally gives you access to 3,500 tasks. However, they are currently doing a special offer, which gives you access to up to 14,000 tasks. The Starter plan includes things like 20 automations and five minute update time.

The Professional plan runs $29 per month and normally gives you access to 10,000 tasks. However, currently, they are offering access to up to 40,000 tasks with this plan. The Professional plan includes a two minute update time, rather than five minutes. It also gives you access to unlimited automations.  While the feature is not available quite yet, auto-replay will also be included with this plan.

The Growth plan runs $99 per month and gives access to 30,000 tasks. Like the other plans, they are currently offering a special offer. This offer gives you access to up to 150,000 tasks. In addition to whatโ€™s included in the Professional plan, the Growth plan allows you to set up unlimited users and folder connections. They are also in the process of setting up shared connections, which is a feature that will also be included in this plan.

The Business plan runs $250 per month. It gives you access to 100,000 tasks. With the special offer, that theyโ€™re currently doing, you get access to up to 700,000 tasks. The plan also includes everything that the Growth plan offers.

In addition to the special offers giving you access to more tasks, Integrately also gives users a 14-day free trial. This gives you plenty of time to test out the service and make sure itโ€™s a good fit.

Give It a Try!

Iโ€™ve personally been using Integrately for a few months. It truly has made my life so much easier and has been a total time-saver. I would definitely recommend giving it a try as itโ€™s not only super easy to use but also pretty reasonable.

 

January 20, 2021 0 comment
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Best Webinar Platform comparison
Webinar Platforms

What is The Best Webinar Platform?

by opijayasinghe March 4, 2020

Webinar Platform is the Best Weapon

Webinar software remains one of the best weapons a company has in its arsenal of tools, as it allows businesses to connect with others in an easy-to-use format. However, with many platforms to select from, business owners often question which will best meet their needs. Numerous factors determine the answer to this question, from the purpose of the webinar platform to the price.

The best way to test a webinar software platform is to hold a meeting using the program. Doing so provides users with the opportunity to compare features, try the different settings, and see how user-friendly the program truly is. What criteria should be used when comparing each of these products to find the best webinar platform?


โ€œWe have technology, finally, that for the first time in human history allows people to really maintain rich connections with much larger numbers of people.โ€
Pierre Omidyar
Founder of eBay, American billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist, and software engineer

Webinar Platform Criteria to Look For When Making a Purchase

Qubely blocks is added to the Gutenberg editor as soon as you install the plugin. You can start using it as any other Gutenberg block. Add ready blocks using the plus sign where youโ€™ll find a new section of blocks under the Qubely icon.


โ€œYou cannot get anybody to do something if theyโ€™re not paying attention to you.โ€
Brian Carter
American author, speaker, marketer, comedian, and CEO of The Carter Group, a digital marketing and advertising agency

Marketing Features IS The Way To Win

Good marketing features remain essential in a webinar platform along with engagement features. What many individuals new to webinars assume is attending a webinar resembles watching a long video or movie. Nothing is further from the truth. Webinars need to be live, interactive, and engaging. However, the most essential tool in any webinar platform is a live chat feature.

Landing Pages Can Be Game Changer

Additional features to consider when comparing webinar platforms include the ability to build different pages for specific purposes, such as a confirmation page and a registration page. An excellent program offers this feature, is visually appealing, and is customizable to meet the business ownerโ€™s unique needs.

Automated and Evergreen Webinars

Consider investing in a program that offers automation or evergreen features. Programs of this type allow the user to create a webinar that looks and feels as if it is live, engaging, and interactive when it is actually automated. Business owners love how helpful this feature is in marketing funnels.

Additional Factors to Take Into Account When Making this Choice

Price plays a role in any business purchase, and this includes webinar platforms. Finally, donโ€™t overlook stream quality and reliability when making a choice. Businesses and other institutions such as schools and Universities want large crowds to benefit from the webinar, and the program must be able to accommodate these large numbers. As such, room size becomes of great importance when comparing programs to ensure all planned webinars can be held on the selected platform.

Participants should easily be able to join the webinar, see and hear the speaker, and have good quality videos when doing so. Screen sharing remains crucial in these meetings, and users shouldnโ€™t find it difficult to download or install the program and features or refresh their browsers regularly.

Price of Webinar Platforms

While this should never be the deciding factor when choosing a webinar platform, it must factor in the decision-making process. However, individuals often struggle with comparing platforms based on this aspect. Pricing plans typically vary based on room size, and business owners should anticipate paying more to accommodate larger groups.
Expect to pay approximately $15  a month for Zoom Meetings, the cheapest option available of the programs analyzed, although this does not include Zoom Webinars. Individuals with a budget of around $50 find options such as Webinar Ninja and Zoom Webinars are offered. For $80, additional options open up, including Easy Webinar and Big Marker. There are most costly offerings, including Demio for $99 a month.
GotoWebinar stands as the most expensive option of the ones examined. Sadly, users find they truly donโ€™t get much for the price they are paying. While Goto Webinar is reliable, that is one of the very few things that the program has going for it. For this reason, itโ€™s best to research other options, with Big Marker being a favorite with most.

Must have Features of a Webinar Software

Webinar platforms only benefit a company if they offer the features the company needs. For this reason, many companies focus on ClickMeeting initially thanks to its countless features. The platform truly excels in this area, but it continues to lag behind other programs in every other area. For instance, the reliability and stream quality of the produced webinars are less than stellar.
Webinar participants often cannot see or hear the speaker, and some find they have to constantly refresh the site. This becomes frustrating as the participant may be missing out on vital information and isnโ€™t getting their moneyโ€™s worth by taking part in the webinar. This explains why it is critical to take each platform on a test run before making a commitment.
Webinar Ninja had similar issues and lacks implementation when it comes to the programโ€™s engagement and marketing features. Sadly, this platform has an even bigger issue that most business owners find is difficult to overcome.
Technical issues plague this platform, ranging from extremely poor stream quality of the video to unusability of the finished product. Users wonโ€™t want to stay for the remainder of the webinar if they encounter technical problems that cannot be easily resolved, and they wonโ€™t want to return in the future to see another webinar. One bad experience is enough to make a person look elsewhere for the products and services they need.

Programs That Fail to Deliver in Most Cases

Individuals frequently find Webinar Easy to be promising at first glance, especially those looking for a platform capable of accommodating large groups. Once they begin digging, however, they discover it is lacking in a variety of ways as well. Not only are the landing pages outdated in terms of their appearance, but the program overall also isnโ€™t user friendly. Demio, another program many business owners consider, lacks the features needed to justify its high price.
Zoom is great for those in need of a budget webinar platform but donโ€™t expect engagement or marketing features. While it is reliable, the user interface isnโ€™t friendly, and the overall feel of the platform is very corporate.
Crowdcast focuses on social engagement, and users looking for a webinar platform with marketing features will find this option doesnโ€™t meet their needs as a result. The same is true of those looking to host webinars for hundreds of people. Users looking for a platform geared to teaching or coaching, however, will like this one.

Outstanding Choices for Webinar Platforms

Big Marker, in contrast, offers the features most users want and need at a price they will love. This platform works for sales webinars, group coaching, one-on-one meetings, and more. In addition, automation features come standard with the program. While Big Marker doesnโ€™t excel in any one particular area, itโ€™s great at all aspects of webinars and meetings. This makes it the ideal choice for most.

WebinarJam offers the features businesses want and need when it comes to marketing and conversions. Multiple offers may be presented at various times throughout the event, and users can incorporate scarcity factors along with countdown timers to encourage action on the part of the participant. These are only some of the many features business owners might find to be of help to them, and the platform also allows users to do on-boarding and coaching webinars, among others. However, this company doesnโ€™t offer payment plans, which might make it unaffordable for countless businesses.

Why Big Marker?

When it comes down to it, WebinarJam and Big Marker remain the two best options for most business users. However, in a head-to-head matchup, Big Marker comes out on top. Why is this the case? What does it have that WebinarJam doesnโ€™t?

Big Marker offers meeting room capability along with text/email chat interaction. Businesses find this to be of great help when they need to respond quickly and ensure their clients or customers receive help in a timely manner. However, these are only two of the features found in Big Marker that are lacking in WebinarJam.

Imagine being able to collect emails from FBLive or import a time-stamped chat. Both features exist in Big Marker but are missing in WebinarJam. With the help of Evergreen, Big Marker users find they can choose a future date or add โ€œJust in Timeโ€ to their webinars and meetings.

During the event, Big Marker attendees may connect via phone or computer and the player screen can come with no branding. These options arenโ€™t available with Webinar Jam. Nevertheless, the lack of these features isnโ€™t enough to make many companies turn away from WebinarJam and choose Big Marker. Itโ€™s the support options offered with Big Marker that ultimately lead many businesses to choose this platform over the others available today.

Companies choosing Big Marker discover they can access support through live chat, phone, email tickets, and remote IT support. In addition, the provider offers live and video training options. Compare this to WebinarJam which offers limited support options. In the event a client needs assistance when using this platform, they must obtain it through live chat or an email ticket. Although WebinarJam does offer video training, live training is not available at this time.

Conclusion

More companies today find they need to interact with suppliers, clients, employees, and more using available technology. Face-to-face meetings simply arenโ€™t possible for a variety of reasons, and companies must ensure they can communicate with others in a timely manner. Webinar platforms make this possible, but only when the right platform is selected for the needs of the particular business. Using the information above, a company finds it can choose a platform that allows them to grow and thrive during difficult times.
If there is any uncertainty as to which platform to use, Big Marker is the answer. It offers features not found in many competitors at a price any user will love. Check it out today while still researching the others, as doing so ensures you find a platform you love and will want to use now and in the future.

Additional Information

Shane Melaugh from Active Growth made a great video comparison of the key players in webinar software market. Well worth watching.

March 4, 2020 0 comment
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Booking AppWordpress Plugin

Best Online Booking Plugin for Hair Salons and Hairdressers

by opijayasinghe January 31, 2020

Last year I started working in a new firm, completely on the other side of town to which I had worked previously. Due to the nature of my work and the number of projects I had running on the side, it made sense for me to get to know the local area and itโ€™s amenities. One service I needed to find urgently was a quality hairdresser; aka barbershop near my new work.

I decided to go for a stroll during my lunch break to get a feel for the area. As I came across several barbershops, I walked in and enquired about their charges for a menโ€™s haircut. Thank goodness I was standing because if I had been sitting, I would have fallen off my chair. Outrages prices!

A couple of days went by and I asked one of my colleagues at work. He mentioned a babershop and told me to book some time with Ricky. I didnโ€™t have a clue where this was so I grabbed the name and searched online to get a number. When I entered their website, I found a button which said โ€œBook an Appointmentโ€. I was pleasantly surprised as this would save me a phone call.

    1. I clicked on the โ€œBook an Appointmentโ€ button.
    2. Selected the day I was interested in getting my hair cut
    3. Selected the type of service, in this case a Haircut and a Beard Trim
    4. Then selected Ricky from the dropdown list of employees.

I was blown away, not because it was anything fancy but because it was so easy. This little experience stayed with me until recently as Iโ€™ve always thought, what a great little plugin this is as every hairdresser should have one.

Not only will this make this easier for their prospective customers but itโ€™ll saved hours of phone calls which means instead of the employees answering calls, they can focus on what they do best. Styling snd cutting hair.

So it was by chance that I came across this piece of online booking plugin/software; actually itโ€™s a WordPress booking plugin with an amazing user interface; not only for the customer but for you as the client too. Get the Drum Roll goingโ€ฆ I present to you

WP Amelia โ€“ your all in one robust booking engine for your wordpress website.

Wordpress Booking platform person holding buttons

What is this booking app different?

There some key distinguishing features of WP Amelia which sets it apart from its competitors in the market.

  1. It is a Wordpress Plugin โ€“ this is a huge benefit because chances are that your website is running using the Wordpress architecture. Today, almost 34% of the entire Internet is powered by Wordpress. Source: https://www.buildthis.io/growth/wordpress-stats/ You might not even know this but if you are running your website on Wordpress, installation of this online booking plugin is relatively straight forward.
  2. Amazing User Interface โ€“ this is so for not only your customer; ie the people looking to book their hairdressing appointments online, but also for you as the backend user. So both the front end and the backend is designed with the user in mind.
  3. It really is competitively priced โ€“ if youโ€™ve got the one single site, its only at a cost of USD $59 or at USD $189 for lifetime access. Firstly, think about if youโ€™ll continue to remain on the Wordpress Platform. In all likelihood, youโ€™ll probably remain on a Wordpress website for the next feasible future but really think about it and see if this small investment is right for you. Below are the pricing for WP Amelia. If youโ€™ve just got the one website, itโ€™s a simple decision to go for the Onetime lifetime access of USD $189.

Annual Pricing

WP Amelia Online Booking Plugin Annual Pricing

Lifetime Pricing (Onetime payment)

WP Amelia Online Booking Plugin Lifetime Pricing

How do I check if my site is running on Wordpress?

If you donโ€™t know for sure, you can easily check if youโ€™re currently running a Wordpress site.

Step 1. Goto your website, right click on any blank space and click on the โ€œView Page Sourceโ€ button.

Step 2. Press Control + F (PC) or Command + F (Mac) and type in Wordpres. If you have multiple references coming up like the image shown, then in all probability, youโ€™re running a Wordpress website.

What features does this online booking plugin have?

Rather than me trying to explain it, watch this 60 second video to get some insights on how this tool could work for you.

Check out https://wpamelia.com/pricing/

My Must Have Bonus

If you end up buying Amelia though https://wpamelia.com, let me know via the Contact Us and Iโ€™ll provide you with an amazing plugin which backs up your website at a frequency you set directly to your Google Drive Account. Itโ€™s so easy to setup and it worth USD$99.

    • Export and import to and from Google Cloud Storage
    • Use on any number of websites that you own
    • Backup scheduler with hourly, daily, and weekly options
    • Unlimited Extension include
January 31, 2020 1 comment
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What is Scribd
Mobile Apps

Why Everyone Needs To Get On Scribd

by opijayasinghe March 31, 2019

My story of Scribd

I was having a chat with a like-minded family member of mine which is rare as most friends and family are not into self-improvement or bettering themselves.

This gentleman however like me is continuously always looking to improve himself to be a bigger and better person. We often talk about various software, apps and books weโ€™ve read when we catch up at a family gathering.

We were comparing Real books to Digital books and Iโ€™ve personally never caught onto eBooks as I like to hold the physical book when I read. Never the less, he told me he often reads in bed to which I replied, using a Kindle? He said โ€œna man, I use this app called Scribdโ€. At first I was like, what kind of a weird name is that!

Immediately I mentally turned off because I didnโ€™t want to download another app and secondly I didnโ€™t want to use the tiny mobile screen to read books. I did however decide to download it immediately so I wont often the name as it was a tricky one to remember โ€“ Scribd.

Iโ€™ve downloaded many mobile apps in recent months to test and play around with and seriously, when I started looking into this on a train ride the following week, I was pleasantly impressed.

Explain, what is Scribd?

The easist way to explain Scribd is, itโ€™s the Audiobook and Digital Books equivalent of Netflix.

What does that mean? It means you can stream and much content as you want each month at a flat fee but you donโ€™t technically own the content. Same concept as Netflix right? You can watch a movie over and over again but you canโ€™t download and keep the content on your hard-drive forever.

Like Netflix, you can download content for a short period of time using your Wi-Fi to save you your Cell-data allowance.

So why is Scribd so good?

If youโ€™re familier with such subscription companies as Audible, you pay a monthly fee to which you are allocated a 1 credit. With that credit, you can purchase an audiobook. You can sample 3-5 minutes of the book prior to purchase but thatโ€™s it. If you decide to buy the book, you are stuck with it.

Pro Tip: Donโ€™t buy anything books on Audible prior to checking YouTube to see if anyone has uploaded a copyright free version which you can listen to.

With Scribd, Iโ€™ve had the privilege to listen to whole chapters of a book before deciding if Iโ€™m going to finish, save it for later or just completely discard it as it got too boring or I got what I wanted from it. Within the past 2 weeks, Iโ€™ve done this on dozens of books. Itโ€™s like watching a couple of episodes from a TV series on Netflix and deciding itโ€™s not for you and moving onto a Movie or a different show. Now I can do this with Audiobooks and eBooks. Amazing as I love to fully โ€˜test driveโ€™ before investing my valuable time into pursuing a valuable content.

How does this compare cost wise?

Like I mentioned before, with such services as Audible which are no doubt fantastic, you are purchasing only 1 book per credit. Depending on where you are in the world, this can range from $10-20 dollars. Comparatively, at the time of writing this blog post, Scrib only charges $8.99 for unlimited usage. Iโ€™m so impressed with this service. Yes, they do have a free service so and if you use this link, youโ€™ll get 60 days free usage of their premium service. Remember I said to try before you buy. Even if you want to revert back to

Are they any drawbacks to Scribd?

The only drawback Iโ€™ve found so far is that, once my phone locks โ€“ I canโ€™t seem to control Scribd using my bluetooth controls on my wireless earphones. I havenโ€™t been able to figure this out but I do intend on hitting up Scribd support to get this addressed.

All my other audio applications such as Audible and Blinkst do respond to interactions coming into from earphones. Not Scribd (yet).

This is the only drawback Iโ€™ve found so far. Other than that, I love it.

What content does Scribd have?

Truthly speaking, till today I had only used the Audiobooks and Books section. Though it had been right in front of me, I never saw the Magazine, Documents and Music Sheet. Isnโ€™t it funny you only see what you want to see in life.

How much does Scribd cost?

You can browse around and listen to snippets of books and read sections for free. However, to get the true value of Scribd, you do need to upgrade to the premium subscription. I always say this, try before you buy. By default, Scribd give you 30 days complimentary access for you to try Scribd to all of its content for FREE!

However, if you wanted to use my link, this can be extended for 60 days. Yes, so basically two months access to listen to as many books as you want and browse all of the eBooks and Magazines. If youโ€™re like me, youโ€™ll be hooked within days.

Click Here to Try Scribd Free for 60 days.

Conclusion

We live in an age we we buy Coffees everyday, subscribe to Netflix and Cable TV without even blinking an eye. An affordable Coffees can typically be $3-5. If you skip 2 of these indulgences a month, you can pay for your Scribd subscription.

 

March 31, 2019 0 comment
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Funnel Builders

Interfunnels Review + Mega Bonus

by opijayasinghe March 22, 2019
โ€”-UPDATE: BELOW PRODUCT IS NOT RECOMMENDEDโ€”- 

Letโ€™s agree on one thing you need to immediately. If you havenโ€™t tried using funnels you sell a product or a service, you really need to try this out today. Abandon your websites for your online business to survive in 2019 and beyond because website simply doesnโ€™t work (well, it does but thereโ€™s a smarter way).

To sell products or services online Iโ€™m talking here about sales funnels. Yes proven sales funnels which get you 4 times more conversions from your traffic across any niche when it only takes a few minutes to setup. Setting up a sales funnel quickly will enable you to profit from your ideas without wasting a fortune on technology month after month or by paying for developers.
Of course, there are funnel builders out there who do this really well. My preference for many years have been ClickFunnels. Feel free to check out my review here. Though Clickfunnels is no doubt a killer SaaS, it comes with one major drawback applicable to new marketers. The price tag.
Either youโ€™re going to be paying $97 or $297 depending on the package. Does it do the job well. Yes, if you can afford it โ€“ I highly recommend you take the 14-day trial and test it out.
However, if you want something thatโ€™ll do a similar job but truthful not as mature yet, then Interfunnels might be the answer.
During launch week, the founder is doing a super deal. Youโ€™ve got the option of 3 packages.

$27 is amazingly cheap compared to clickfunnels where youโ€™ll be paying $97.
If you can afford $20 more dollars, then goto for the 100 funnel options at $47.
Lastly, this is very important. You can try this for 60 days without any risk.
Yes, the founders of Interfunnels are offering a 60-day money back guarantee. So thereโ€™s no risk to you for trying. Plus, youโ€™ll get my bonuses below regardless of what you decided to do.
Click Here to try Interfunnels Today!
MY MEGA BONUSES
This product is not longer recommended.
March 22, 2019 0 comment
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Funnel Builders

Expert Secrets is undoubtedly the best read of the Year!

by opijayasinghe October 19, 2018

Through my school and Uni years, I read very little. Even the mandatory reads during High School I ended up renting the movie. I can not recall a single book where I read cover to cover during my school years and Uni years. Fast forward a decade, now I read at least a book a week. I know isnโ€™t a big deal to most of you, but to someone like me who is dyslexic (self-diagnosed), itโ€™s a nice milestone to reach.

Though Iโ€™ve always been ambitious, during the past decade my ambition levels have skyrocketed. The zest for learning and developing myself into a better person each day has become a major priority. The entrepreneurial bug has got me and I canโ€™t shake it loose. If youโ€™re reading this, youโ€™ll know what Iโ€™m referring to. Your mind is always racing and thinking of new ideas and projects. How to improve upon what youโ€™re doing already. How can you take a docile idea and grow it into a full-fledged business opportunity? The mind is constantly racing on how you can โ€˜take over the worldโ€™ with the goal being, providing a wonderful life with some sort of side hassle whilst without relying on a JOB! The options seem to be endless. What is the secret? So many experts out there teaching within specialized niches in Real Estate, Shares and Business opportunities. What are the secrets that these Experts know that I donโ€™t?โ€ฆ. and a couple of days ago I found it.

Sales Expert Secret

Expert Secrets โ€“ The Underground Playbook!

In the last couple of days, Iโ€™ve been lucky enough to get my hands on the first three chapters of a brand new book called, Experts Secrets by one of my favourites internet marketers; Russell Brunson. Actually, who am I kidding, Russell is the man! Itโ€™s got a very seductive subtitle โ€“ The Underground Playbook.

Even if you donโ€™t know Russell Brunson, you may have heard the guy who wrote his forward. Actually, Iโ€™d be very surprised if youโ€™re reading this and you havenโ€™t heard of Robert Kiyosaki. This is what he had to say

โ€œExpert Secrets is the map that will allow you to turn your specialized knowledge, talents and abilities into a business that will work for you! This is one of the shortcuts of the new rich!โ€ โ€“ Robert Kiyosaki

Like Robert said so eloquently in a single sentance, this book is doing something productive with your hiddens talents by helping hundreds and thousands of people in the process. If you do it correctly, youโ€™ll be rewarded very nicely (Cha-Ching!).

Iโ€™ve just ordered by Expert Secrets book but I was lucky enough to get my hands on the first three chapters. WoW!โ€ฆ I mean Wow! Iโ€™m completely blown away even after reading the first couple of chapters. Concepts and ideas that I had never heard before. Iโ€™d be doing a dis-service to Russell if I was to try and explain some of these concepts. However, if I donโ€™t even touch upon even a few, Iโ€™d be doing you a dis-service and you wonโ€™t be encouraged to read this information yourself.

Iโ€™ll explain how one of these concepts has impacted me and the way I think about life. Raised in a Buddhist household where youโ€™re encouraged as a child to love and be friends with everyone. At least that was my understanding. In my early 20s, I discovered that this wasnโ€™t the case at all. What youโ€™re supposed to do is actively engage in friends people who are positive, loving and generally a good influence in your life. The other side of the coin is you were supposed to actively disengage from association with people who bring you down and those who are not a good influence on your life. Putting aside the whole religious aspect, this fundamentally makes sense right.

Associate with good people, Donโ€™t associate with the bad.

Not really rocket science but for some reason, it was an eye opener. This was the first time in my life where I consciously made an effort to cut the negative people out of my life. Boy, did it make a difference? You bet ya!

The Prolific Index

The second turning point was when I learnt the concept of creating polarity from Russell Brunson. In the book, Expert Secrets he refers to this as Prolific Index. Again, Russell explains this brilliantly. However, in a nutshell, the mainstream video or as I like to call it, follow the sheep is in the middle. When you ask someone about a topic, they never really tell you how they actually feel. Itโ€™s always a generic answer where the person is happy to sit on the fence. The majority of the world consist of these people. I certainly was one of them for a very long time. On the ends of this are the crazies. Theyโ€™re always good for a laugh but they are so far right or so far left, itโ€™s really hard to take them seriously. These people seem to lack objectivity and clarity or even a hint of seeing reality. As a result, theyโ€™re labelled the crazies. However, somewhere in between crazy and mainstream is a beautiful sweet spot known as Prolific. Youโ€™re still going to upset people, however, thereโ€™ll be a good proportion of people who will love you more than ever for having that view. It creates enough controversy and buzz to make an impact. The diet niche would a great example. If we use the say the Bullet Proof diet, thereโ€™s a lot of information there that really contradicts the conventional thinking. However, most of it is backed up by research and client testimonials. The very fact that it create

s controversy has an effort to attract people. Hence, the sweet spot. Most importantly, if youโ€™re in a business this is where the money is!

Gold Nugget after Gold Nugget

Having only had the fortunate to read only the first three chapters of Expert Secrets, I can tell you itโ€™s going to a gem of a book! Iโ€™ve ordered mine today and anxious waiting to receive it in the mail.

So if youโ€™ve ever had an idea of selling a product, launching a course, specializing and teaching somethingโ€ฆ Expert Secret is for you! The most amazing part is that Russell is giving this book away for free. Yesโ€ฆ for FREE! All you have to do is cover the shipping. If Robert Kiyosaki had the courage to put his name on it with a solid seal of approval, what else are you waiting for?
Click here to get your Free copy

October 19, 2018 0 comment
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clickfunnels review cover
Funnel Builders

What is Clickfunnels โ€“ The Clickfunnels Review

by opijayasinghe April 27, 2018
If youโ€™ve just come across the name ClickFunnels, your life will never be the same again. I know this sounds dramatic but I assure you, the more you understand the power of the software and the community behind it, youโ€™ll understand what I mean by this statement. Though explaining what is Clickfunnels can be easy, I feel that giving the short answer will do it an injustice as a full clickfunnels review will show you that this goes far beyond a piece of software. Russell Brunson and the team have created a die-hard culture behind its name.
If you want to cut the fluff and try Clickfunnels for 14 days without any risk to you, click here.
However, if you want to know more โ€“ letโ€™s get started on the Clickfunnels review.

What is ClickFunnels?

In its simplicity, ClickFunnels is a page builder. More specifically, itโ€™s a Funnel Builder on steroids. If you donโ€™t know what a Funnel is, thatโ€™s okay. Iโ€™ll explain this a bit later. ClickFunnels allows you to build amazing sales funnels from a simple squeeze page to the payment page. You can select to build from a template which has been proven to convert or start from scratch. Entirely up to you.

So what is clickfunnels in one simple sentence?

Clickfunnels is an all in one solution for building high converting sales funnels โ€“ Opi Jayasinghe

What is a Sale Funnels

A traditional business example would be a good place to explain this. If you use MacDonald as an example, you normally have something specific in mind like a burger or chicken nuggets. As you finish your order, what do they ask you? Would you like fries with that? Would you like a drink? Did you like to upsize your order?
All of these additional questions which we never gave two thoughts about before was the process of the trained checkout person taking you through a sales funnel. The checkout person may not have any idea that theyโ€™re parroting a carefully structured and refined sales process.
Russell Brunson the co-found of Clickfunnels explains this in an animated video.

The modern online sales funnel

Today we see companies like Amazon, Barns and Noble, Book Depository all doing a similar process offering you complementary products to your initial purchase. This information is displayed based on other buyer orders and itโ€™s own internal algorithm. As the years progress, this artificial intelligence becomes more in-tune with our individual buying habit

The next generation of sales funnels

This is where I can really explain โ€˜what is Clickfunnelsโ€™. Clickfunnels uses these marketing principles and removes the technical complexities out of it. If we have a product or a course that weโ€™d like to share with the world, ClickFunnels allows us to do this without needing a PHD in programming. Iโ€™ve seen 6-year-olds use this software to build out sales funnels for their entrepreneurial mummies or daddies. Iโ€™ve even seen them build out sales funnels for themselves.

Clickfunnels explained with an example

Letโ€™s say Iโ€™m selling a Toothbrush which is so amazing that it needs to be in the hands of the masses. If someone buys my toothbrush, wouldnโ€™t it be logical that they might also need some toothpaste? Letโ€™s call that Upgrade 1. How about some dental floss? Letโ€™s call that Upgrade 2. How about a mini video series from a professional dentist or hygienists showing the buyers on how to Brush and Floss the optimal way. Letโ€™s call that Upgrade 3.
Now, in addition to the main product which is the toothbrush, we have 3 other products which we can add to the sales funnels. Yes, I know what youโ€™re thinking. Some of these people may already have toothpaste that theyโ€™re using and are happy with, thatโ€™s fine. But the fact of the matter is that a certain percentage will buy Upgrade 2 and some will buy Upgrade 3. What most people donโ€™t understand is that a Buyer is not done buying until THEY say they are.

Why use ClickFunnels over a Traditional Website builder

Imagine you have a product to sell or you have a course that you would like to share with the world. How would you do it? The most common approach would be to hire someone or build a website yourself. Building a website yourself can be fairly easy if you use a content management system (CMS) such as Wordpress. However, youโ€™ll still need to buy hosting, connect the name-servers to the domain as well as buy and install relevant plugins. Some of these themes and plugins will be premium ones which will costs anywhere from a couple of dollars to hundreds of dollars. Of course, Wordpress is primarily a blogging platform and not designed for full-fledged sales funnels. You can do this with more premium plugins but it can get a little messy.

Clickfunnels editor review

clickfunnels editor wireframeWe use the editor to build our sales pages for clickfunnels. This is extremely easy to use. Clickfunnels uses a block framework or a table style layout. The major positive of this layout is that the page is well structured and neat. One negative aspect is that itโ€™s not free-flowing. You canโ€™t simply drag and drop objects into the exact place you want. Instead, you must work within the given framework of Sections (green), Rows (blue) and Elements (orange). Once youโ€™ve played around with the editor for a couple of days, you can have a funnel completed within 10 minutes. Yes, it is super powerful but unbelievably easy and fun to use. This is the reason why even kids love jumping on it.
If I was to describe a competitive product such as Leadpage, Optimized Press, BuilderAll or Convertri, the editor would be its main feature. So in explaining what is Clickfunnels, explaining what the editor does only show one small aspect of Clickfunnels and itโ€™s many other features.

The Membership Section

Iโ€™ve explained what is clickfunnels as itโ€™s core but wait, thereโ€™s more. It has a membership section. Yes, a fully fledged stylish membership section. I have used many other membership platforms but nothing is easier to setup and more appealing to look at than the membership areas of Clickfunnels. As itโ€™s inbuilt within the framework, integration is simple drag and drop.
Adding in your lessons is very straight-forward.
Below is the backend and frontend view to one of my membership site to illustrate how easy it is to setup and get going.
 membership-area of clickfunnels frontend and backend

 

My Conclusion

Full clickfunnels review of its other features like Actionetics, Backpack and the solid Support Community, I will save for another blog post. Having used many other page and funnel builders, I can honestly say that Clickfunnels delivers on its core product proposition. Every week I get an email saying thereโ€™s a new Clickfunnels killer. Yes, some of these page and funnel builders do have many more feature than clickfunnels. However, after reviewing and trialling these software, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that they do not deliver on the fundamentals. The important stuff that we really need to when the first time and every time. There are many SaaS companies who promise the world and produce a mediocre products. Russell Brunson and the team donโ€™t pull any pushes. Theyโ€™ve brought to the market a platform which anyone, yes anyone can pick and have a product up and running within a matter of minutes. Iโ€™m not saying thereโ€™s no learning curve. Itโ€™s so initiative that you should be fairly proficient within the first week.
Writing a clickfunnels review has been so easy for me to do as this is one of my core products in my tech stack. In fact, it is the heaviest hitter of them all.

Next Steps

Option 1

If youโ€™d like to learn about sales funnels in more details and how to do it properly like a pro, Russell Brunson wrote a book called Dotcom Secrets which has sold thousands of copies. For a limited time, he is giving away this book for a free. All you have to do is cover the shipping. This is a physical book and one of the best books Iโ€™ve ever read and I read several books a week.
Click the link below to get your FREE copy of Dot Com Secrets.

Option 2

If youโ€™d like to try Clickfunnels free for 14 days, you can do so here. Building a sales funnels can absolutely change your life. Instead of spending days or weeks putting together a static website, you could be up and running with a product funnel in a matter of 10 minutes.
If you have an idea that youโ€™ve been wanting to bring to the market, this is your opportunity do it in style.
If you got a course or something youโ€™d like to teach the world, you can do it with Clickfunnels.

โ€œCemeteries are full of unfulfilled dreamsโ€ฆ countless echoes of โ€˜could haveโ€™ and โ€˜should haveโ€™โ€ฆ countless books unwrittenโ€ฆ countless songs unsungโ€ฆ I want to live my life in such a way that when my body is laid to rest, it will be a well needed rest from a life well lived, a song well sung, a book well written, opportunities well explored, and a love well expressed. โ€“ Steve Maraboli

Thereโ€™s a catchphrase within the Clickfunnels community; โ€œYouโ€™re only one funnel awayโ€ฆโ€. Russell left the end of that for you to complete with whatever your dreams and desires you want.
  • Youโ€™re one funnel away from passing a million dollars in sales.
  • Youโ€™re one funnel away to launching your first online product.
  • Youโ€™re one funnel away from becoming the biggest influencer in your space.
  • Youโ€™re one funnel away from becoming a best selling author.

Whatever this maybe, I hope you ride your dreams to freedom.

To your success,

Opi

April 27, 2018 0 comment
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Long Tail Review Banner
Keyword Research

Long Tail Pro Review โ€“ Is there a better alternative?

by opijayasinghe April 20, 2018

Long Tail Pro Review

When it comes to keyword research, itโ€™s hard to find a more robust piece of software than Long Tail Pro. This product which was initially released as an Adobe Air application has been around for many years and the development team maintain the integrity of itโ€™s key functions at the highest level.

Long Tail Pro is now a SaaS application. I personally found this decision to be the correct one as the software is now completely flawless. The creator of Spencer Haws and the team can now push through seamless software updates without the end user having to worry about the technical detail.

 

>> Grab Long Tail Pro + My Super Bonus Package <<


Key features of Long Tail Pro

The Average Keyword Competitiveness is a proprietary score design specifically for LTP and which tells you the difficulty of ranking in the top 10 Google Results.

Powered by Majestic SEO, you have view metrics to determine competitive domains strength, page strength, referring domains, indexed URLs, number of links and site age.

Calculate Keyword Profitability but using a brand new feature called Rank Value which determines a keywordโ€™s profitability based on Adsense site, Amazon site or even if youโ€™re selling your own product.

Export Results into a CSV format. If you like toe geek out with spreadsheets, youโ€™ll love this feature

Real-time filtering is amazing! By you setting a few easy parameters, you can cut down thousands of keywords into a handful of super targetted keywords which youโ€™ll be able to start working on immediately.

Lastly, you can manually input keywords which youโ€™ve exported from another tool or AdWords itself to allowed Long Tail Pro to review this data and give you analysis on itโ€™s KC, Rank Value and other important metrics.

Understanding how long tail pro works is simple

How Long Tail Pro Works

Long Tail Pro Alternatives

Free Option

The obvious alternative is to use the free keyword planner provided by Google. This is great and is an excellent option if you have a zero budget to spend on any tools.  Unfortunately, it does lack the many valuable features which comes with premium software products.

Market Samurai

The product created by Eugene Ware, Market Samurai has been one of the most popular Keyword Research tools for many years. It is a desktop application powered by Adobe Air is available for a one-time payment of $149.00. Obviously, you can try before you โ€“ click here.

Getting Long Tail Pro at a Discount

Though many of us would love a lifetime subscription to this service, the fact of the matter is that there are ongoing costs for the development team to maintain this software. Never the less, we still want a discount right? Well, here it is. Until Midnight EST on the 23rd April 2018, the Long Tail Pro crew is offering a lifetime deal of 15,000 20,000 keyword search for only US$27.00. Yes, this doesnโ€™t expire and for $27/ this is a great starting place.

This is what the main offer.

Long Tail Pro Funnel Visualized

 

The Annual Offer to LTP

For serious marketers who intend to use the software regularly and requiring a higher keyword allowance, youโ€™ll be given the option to upgrade your order to an Annual plan.

  • 1,000 keywords per 24hrs paid annually will be $97.00 (this works out to be only $8.08 per month)
  • 2,500 keywords per 24hrs paid annually will be $197.00 (this works out to be only $16.41 a month)

The monthly offer to LTD

If you donโ€™t want to commit to an entire year and you pass on the annual pricing, then youโ€™ll be offered a monthly payment option.

  • 1,000 keywords per 24hrs paid monthly will be $17.00 (normally $37)
  • 2,500 keywords per 24hrs paid monthly will be $27.00 (normally $67)

The Long Tail University Special

The last offer youโ€™ll get is a comprehensive set of training videos. Remember, this is optional and is in addition to the free Bootcamp youโ€™ll receive with your initial $27/ purchase.

Spencer Haws and a few others in his team take you step by step through the following modules.

  1. Keyword Research
  2. Types of Keywords
  3. How to Find Seed Keywords
  4. How to Expand Seed Keywords
  5. Criteria of a Winning Keyword
  6. How to Analyze Your Competition
  7. Competitor Keywords & SEM Rush
  8. Developing a Content Strategy
  9. How to Write Great Content Based On Keywords
  10. WordPress Settings & On-Page SEO
  11. Keyword Tracking and ROI
  12. Not all keywords are created equal.

In addition, youโ€™ll get the following 3 webinars for free.

Webinar #1: Simple Tweaks To Make Your Keywords Even Longer Tail.  This is over an hour long IN-DEPTH content about using keyword modifiers to truly take your keyword research to the next level.  I honestly think this webinar alone is worth the value of the course.

Webinar #2: How to Legally Steal Your Competitorsโ€™ Keywords.  In this webinar, I share more in-depth strategies for taking whatโ€™s working (and what tools to use) for your competitors and applying it to your own sites.

Webinar #3: How to Turn Great Keywords into Profitable Content.  This hour-long webinar shows the powerful strategies I use in my business to create amazing content from low competition keywords.

If you are a professional marketer who is making decent money online already, you may not need this training. For everyone else, itโ€™s worthwhile you making this $97/ investment.

Long-Tail-Pro-Search-Results-KC-ColumnMy Recommendation

Honestly speaking, this is one piece of software which I use almost on a daily basis and is something I could not live without. I donโ€™t need to be a technical person. All I need to do is use the keywords highlighted in Green (Avg. KC) and the rest will take care of itself โ€“ more or less.

The entry price point of $27/ is simply too good to pass up on. Therefore itโ€™s a no-brainer to take this offer while this Long Tail discount is still available.

This review is honestly something that was so easy to write because I passionately do love this software and I am happy to promote it without a second thought.

Producing content today without a reliable keyword research tool is like driving at night without your lights on. Sooner or later, youโ€™ll crash and burn.

Make the decision today and invest in a quality product.

 


>> Grab Long Tail Pro + My Super Bonus Package <<

My Bonuses 

  1. Creating Silo โ€“ Why every market should but they donโ€™t

Creating

2. Super Affiliate Shortcuts

3. Link Supercharger

4. How to get the best value from Long Tail Pro

 

To Claim Your Bonus โ€“ send me a note with your PayPal transaction number http://opijayasinghe.com/contact/


>> Grab Long Tail Pro + My Super Bonus Package <<

April 20, 2018 0 comment
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VPN

ExpressVPN vs PIA (Private Internet Access)

by opijayasinghe April 13, 2018

Overview

Choosing the correct VPN isnโ€™t always easy. This article aims to compare two of the most popular VPN services available so you can make an informed decision that will be beneficial for your situation. Below is my honest comparison โ€“ ExpressVPN vs PIA.

 

What is a VPN

Virtual Private Network, which is more popular with its acronym VPN refers to a network technology, which helps in creating a secured network connection on any public network like the Internet. Though this technology offers a wide range of advantages to the users, it used to be used largely by the educational institutions, large corporations and government agencies for making a secured connection. However, itโ€™s becoming more and more popular in the consumer or retail market as data privacy and anonymity becomes a prevalent issue. With this technology, even remote users of an organization can work in a private network. Depending on your choice, you can either go for the free ones or the paid ones. In this article, weโ€™ll dive deeper as to why you should never use a free or a public VPN.

ExpressVPN vs PIA (Private Internet Access)

This comparison straight forward and easy to understand, the below chart can be used as a quick aid.

[go_pricing id=โ€expressvpn_vs_piaโ€

Should I just get a Free VPN?

Simple asnwer is, NO! Anyone, who is new to VPN services can be tempted to start by taking the free VPN options available in the market. The only advantage in doing this is that youโ€™ll become familiar with what a VPN actually does but other than that, itโ€™s not worth the risk.

  1. Free VPN equal malwareโ€“ malware is software which is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain authorized access to a computer system and it can come into your network via a Free VPN.
  2. Free VPN tracking โ€“ unsolicited tracking of everything you do on the internet. A CSIRO study concluded that 75% of all free VPNs has tracking enabled. This basically does the complete opposite to what you were trying to achieve.
  3. Third party access to your data means collecting your data which is used and sold by many third party companies which will profile you and in term target you for consumer offers.
  4. Stolen bandwidth means slower speeds for you. This can also be very profitable for free VPN companies to do which is to sell your bandwidth to third party companies. There have been instances where they use your
  5. Browser takeover or hijacking as the name suggests is taking control over some aspects of your browser functionality such as redirecting you to partnering third-party websites. Donโ€™t even think about doing Internet Banking of payment related activities when youโ€™re on a free VPN.
  6. Free VPNs leak your IP and other details, unlike the paid services. The key mandate of providing anonymity is clearly not upheld with a Free VPN.

With all the points mentioned above, the risk of Fraud and identity theft also increases. Therefore, please do yourself a favour and pay a small fee which is the cost of your anonymity and in turn retain your sanity knowing that no one is looking over your shoulder.

Did someone say Netflix? Yeah Baby!

With an ExpressVPN service, you will also be able to access American Netflix from any place in the world. This is one of the key bonuses which comes with ExpressVPN. If you already live in the US, you might be thinking that this doesnโ€™t add any value to you. However, you wouldnโ€™t believe the number of people who desperately wanted to watch their favourite show while theyโ€™re travelling aboard, only to find out they are restricted to the Netflix version of the local country. With ExpressVPN installed on your laptop or phone, youโ€™re never restricted no matter where you areโ€ฆ (yes, that sentence does sound like a cheesy commercial โ€“ I apologize).

US Netflix with ExpressVPN

Source โ€“ https://www.finder.com.au/netflix-australia-vs-netflix-us-tv-shows 

Use the Trial Period to your advantage

Remember, some VPN companies will give you a risk-free trial period. I recommend you literally try before you buy. Sign up, install it and test and speeds and functionality. If youโ€™re not happy with the speeds and you like the company, contact their support and attempt to troubleshoot the issue. However, if the problem persists please request a refund and try a different VPN company.

This must be done within the first 30 days, but I recommend doing the testing within the first week.

  1. Goto Google and search for โ€œspeedcheckโ€ and obtain a baseline of your current internet speed.Write down both the download and upload speed. You may need to do this over several days and different time duringthe day. Generally speaking, during the evening most people in your street and neighbourhood are online, browsing, downloading and streaming. This may impact your speeds as well so itโ€™s important to test your speeds say at 8am and 8pm.
  2. Sign up for a company which youโ€™ve determined to be best fit for you.
  3. Connect to the nearest server and check the speeds. Again, write down the speeds over several days both evening and at night.
  4. You should notice a slight drop in speeds when youโ€™re connected via VPN. I personally wouldnโ€™t tolerate a speed drop of more than 20%.

[ultimate-faqs include_category=โ€™express-vpnโ€™ ]

 

Conclusion and my recommendation

ExpressVPN vs PIA โ€“ both have its Pros and Cons.

Pro for PIA is its pricing. Super cheap pricing, especially if you go for the 2-year plan. If youโ€™re on a budget and you see the importance of getting a VPN, thereโ€™s no question โ€“ PIA is the winner.

Con for PIA is that every mother and their dog uses this and itโ€™s basically the no-frills version of VPNs.

Pros for ExpressVPN are its slick application, high speeds and a solid reputation. As I mentioned earlier, there is the added bonus of accessing Netflix from outside the US if you need it.

Con for ExpressVPN would be its pricing. Plain and simple.

Knowing what I know now and having used both services, I would (and still do) use ExpressVPN over PIA. Iโ€™d rather pay a bit more for the reliability and robust desktop and mobile application. If youโ€™re strapped for cash, then going with PIA is the best option. Itโ€™s certainly far better than nothing at all or god forbid โ€“ free VPN! Donโ€™t do it (say it like Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Remember that this is an ExpressVPN vs PIA comparison. There are might be other VPN provides which may meet your requirements altogether. The key take away from this article should be to test a company and all itโ€™s functionality during the trial period.

Stay Safe Online. All the best.

โ€“ Opi

April 13, 2018 0 comment
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Opi Jayasinghe

Lead Business Analyst ๐Ÿ“• - Pro DJ๐ŸŽง - Entrepreneur๐Ÿ’ก - Investor๐Ÿ  - Marketer ๐ŸŒŽ Plant-based๐ŸŒฑ - Free Market Capitalist ๐Ÿ’ท

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Opi Jayasinghe
  • Home
  • Health
  • Wealth
    • Business
      • Getting Started
      • Local Business
        • Letter to Dan โ€“ Getting Your Local Business Online
      • Mobile Apps
        • Why Everyone Needs To Get On Scribd
      • SaaS Applications
        • Automation
        • Booking App
          • Best Online Booking Plugin for Hair Salons and Hairdressers
        • CRM
          • Flowlu is a complete all-in-one solution to enhancing your Daily Operations
        • Engagement
          • Quick Review of ConvertBox โ€“ The best Engagement Tool Iโ€™ve found
        • Funnel Builders
          • Interfunnels Review + Mega Bonus
        • Integrations
          • Integrately: Your One Stop Shop for Application Integrations
        • Payment Gateways
          • Thrivecart vs PayKickstart โ€“ In-Depth Review and Comparison
        • Video Software
          • Viddyoze Review + My Mega Bonus
          • Goodbye Content Samurai, Hello Vidnami!
          • Content Samurai has just launched something huge!
        • Webinar Platforms
          • What is The Best Webinar Platform?
        • Keyword Research
    • Shares
    • Real Estate
      • 6 Steps To Achieving Success As A Real Estate Agent
  • Happiness
  • Video Streams
  • Books
    • Rich Dad Poor Dad Book Review โ€“ Best Book On Building wealth!
    • Expert Secrets is undoubtedly the best read of the Year!
  • Crypto Websites
  • Discovery Den
  • Disclaimer