What’s the Best Credit Card for Points?

Wondering how to find the best credit card for points? Well, it’s a question easier asked than answered.  Everyone has different needs.  Some businesses do a lot of travel, some entertain more, and others simply need to get cash back on purchases. Due to these differences, it can take some time to find just the right card for your business.

The Best Credit Card for Points Depends on a Number of Factors

The thing is, there is a wide variety of credit cards out there. Some offer points at different rates for different types of spending.  Of course, redemption options vary greatly as well. You need to find a card that offers the most points for the types of spending you do the most, as well as the best redemption offers that will save your specific business the most money.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards.

 

Also, if you’re asking yourself “Are credit card rewards taxable?” the answer is, they might be. It’s important to keep that in mind.  There could be tax consequences associated with credit cards as well.

Here are some options we like when it comes to credit card rewards for points, but remember, details change frequently. We make every effort to update them regularly, but be sure to check with the card provider directly to ensure you have the most up to date information.

Alpine Bank Visa Platinum Rewards

The Alpine Bank Visa Platinum Rewards card boasts a $0 annual fee. There is also a balance transfer APR of 10%.  You earn one point per dollar spent, which is pretty standard. However, you also earn a 5,000 point bonus after you spend $3,000 in the first four billing cycles.  When you do the math, that is less than $1,000 per month in the first four months to earn an extra 5,000 points.  The annual percentage rate is 21% for cash advances and Prime + 8.74-14.74% for all other purchases.  

Bank of Hope Credit Card

The Bank of Hope Credit Card also has a $0 annual fee.  Better yet, you can earn a 5,000 point bonus with this card as well.  But, you only have to spend $1,000 in the first three months!  You earn 3x points on gas, 2x on travel + dining, and one point per dollar on all other purchases.  To top it off, there is a 0% introductory interest rate for nine months.  After that, it’s variable at 12.49%, 16.49% or 20.49%, based on creditworthiness after the end of the introductory period.

Union Bank Business Preferred Rewards Visa Credit Card

Union Bank’s Business Preferred Rewards Card offers a very large points bonus of 10,000 points. To qualify, you have to spend $5,000 in the first 3 months. You earn 5X per dollar spent, up to $25,000 annually, on certain business expenses. Some of these include office supplies, utility bills, and telecom services.  After that, you earn one point per dollar. You also earn 2X points up to $25,000 on gas and dining, and one point per dollar after that.  All other spending is one point per dollar.

There is a 0% introductory interest rate for the first 6 months.  Going forward, 11.99-20.99% variable.  There is no annual fee.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards.

US Bank Business Leverage Visa Signature Card

With the US Bank Business Leverage Visa Signature Card, there is no annual fee for the first year.  After that it is $95 per year.  If you spend $7,500 in the first four months, you earn 75,000 points. You also earn 2X points in your top two spending categories.

PNC  Points Visa Business Credit Card

This PNC Visa Business Credit Card for points offers 5 points per dollar on net  purchases. There is an introductory interest rate of 0% on the first 9 billing cycles on purchases.  Also, earn a $200 bonus when you spend $3,000 during the first three billing cycles.  There is no annual fee.

Choose the Right Credit Card for Points for Your Business

How do you choose the right card for your business?  Consider your spending.  Do you spend a lot on dining? Then, pick the card that offers the most points back on dining with the best bonus offer. For example, in the list above both the Bank of Hope and the Union Bank cards offer 2x points on dining. They also offer bonus points.

You may be thinking that the 10,000 points bonus offered by the Union Bank card is better, and you are right. That is, if your business will spend $5,000 in the first three months.  If not, you will likely be better off with the Bank of Hope card, where the bonus is half that, but you only have to spend $1,000 in the first three months.

It’s also important to note that there are sometimes expiration dates on points, so be sure you will be able to use them before they expire. If not, they are worthless. Bonus points may expire faster than other points, so watch for that too.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards.

As you can see, it’s important to carefully weigh the details to get the best deal. There are a lot of options, and some of the offerings are for a limited time. If you pay close attention though, you can find the best credit card for points to benefit your business.

The post What’s the Best Credit Card for Points? appeared first on Credit Suite.

The Marketer’s Guide to Slideshare

The internet is a visual place. With the absence of body language, social cues, and audible tone, the best way to communicate with your users is through visual content.

Now and then, an online platform comes along that makes it easier than ever to showcase your visual content on the internet.

SlideShare is one such example. 

The presentation-sharing platform has created a simple and seamless way to promote visual content while also encouraging user interaction.

In this post, we’ll teach you all about SlideShare, how to use it, why it matters to marketers, and how you can use it to create amazing content for your business.

Let’s get started.

What Is SlideShare?

SlideShare is a content-sharing platform that allows you to upload media presentations and share them on your website or social media profile. Content compatible with the platform includes presentations, infographics, videos, and documents. 

While SlideShare is not a tool for building content, it does work with existing content formats such as Google Slides, Adobe PDF, OpenDocument, and Microsoft PowerPoint.

SlideShare is best known for being a comprehensive educational resource that makes it easy to display presentations and webinars online. 

Here are some of the most popular ways to use SlideShare:

  • to share online webinars or training materials
  • as a visualization tool for presentations
  • to promote products or services
  • to display newsletters and attract new signups
  • to showcase visual materials such as guides or brochures

Acquired by LinkedIn in 2012, the company was later bought by the audiobook subscription platform Scribd.

SlideShare remains free to use and allows anyone to create a presentation to share privately or publicly. 

Why Should You Use SlideShare for Marketing?

For marketers, using SlideShare offers a unique and interactive way to display content online. By adding a presentation to your blog posts, web pages, and social media feeds, you create a completely new content type to engage your users.

SlideShare also allows you to display longer, more complex content in a simple way. Webinars or presentations can be easily uploaded and displayed for users to click through on their own time. 

You can think of these presentations as an infographic with more interactivity. 

It’s also important to note SlideShare boasts a user base of 80 million. Most of its user base are business professionals, and its most searched tags are:

  • #market
  • #business
  • #statistics
  • #socialmedia

SlideShare also receives 500 percent more traffic from business owners than Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. This offers a huge benefit to B2B marketers looking to connect with relevant audiences. 

5 Strategies to Use SlideShare for Marketing

Now that you understand what SlideShare is and why it’s important for marketers, it’s time to learn how to create an effective and successful presentation. 

Here are five steps to follow when using SlideShare for marketing.

1. Use Visual Content

Anyone who’s made a PowerPoint presentation knows they shouldn’t be text-heavy. When formatting your presentation for SlideShare, this is especially important, as online readers tend to lose focus on text-heavy content.

A general rule to follow when creating any type of presentation is the 5/5/5 rule:

  • 5 words per line of text
  • 5 lines of text per slide
  • 5 text-heavy slides in a row

Keep your readers interested and engaged in your SlideShare presentation by using mostly visual content and keeping your text short and succinct.

Visual metaphors can also be used to further cement the messaging of your presentation. You can see an example of a visual metaphor in the image below.

Strategies to Use SlideShare for Marketing - Use Visual Content

2. Add a Call-to-Action (CTA)

Your SlideShare presentation should work as part of your sales funnel, moving customers through the education, nurture, and convincing phases. In order to effectively move your customers through these phases, you’ll need to integrate calls to action (CTAs) throughout your content.

A CTA can be a request to contact your business or even a link to start a free trial. You could also ask your customer to sign up for your email list or visit your website.

Whatever you choose, place it strategically at a place where you know your customer will see it. As well, use a benefit-forward statement that shows your customer how they’ll see value from their click.

3. Keep Your Presentation Short and Sweet

Keeping online reader attention spans in mind, it’s important to keep your presentation short to ensure your users stay engaged.

Presentations that are too long or too bulky will lose reader interest and result in lost leads for your business. Shorter presentations are easier to digest and offer a better chance of a reader seeing your final CTA.

SlideShare itself has noted that shorter visual content is most effective on its platform.

Strategies to Use SlideShare for Marketing - Keep Your Presentation Short and Sweet

4. Use Customer Pain Points to Inform Content Decisions

The first step in determining the kind of content you should publish in your SlideShare is to understand your customer pain points

  • What do your customers want to see from your brand? 
  • What kind of content do they enjoy?
  • How can you strengthen your relationship with them through SlideShare content?

Before you publish your content, conduct customer research to find out what your leads are looking for and why.

Once you know what they’re after, give it to them. It’s really that easy.

5. Use Keywords in Descriptions and Tags

SlideShare comes equipped with presentation descriptions and tags. Be sure to make use of these features when uploading your content.

Adding keywords to your SlideShare descriptions and tags will help your SEO efforts and ensure your presentation is being seen by the right people. If you’re looking for a keyword research tool, try Ubersuggest.

SlideShare for Marketing Tips and Best Practices 

SlideShare can be a marketer’s best friend when used correctly. Here are a few SlideShare best practices to guide your process:

  • Source quality images and fonts: Because it is such a visual platform, it’s important your presentation looks professional and high-quality. Using grainy or low-quality images, hard-to-read fonts, or bad design will turn users away from your content.
  • Make your presentation simple and clear: As discussed above, don’t overdo it on text, slides, or images. Your users want quick and clear information they can easily digest. The sooner you give them what they want, the better your chances are of converting them.
  • Start strong: Think of your presentation as an essay. You want to set up your thesis at the beginning and continuously reaffirm your message throughout your slides. If it isn’t clear what you’re trying to say early on, users will likely click away and lose interest. Start your presentation off with your main idea and strongest imagery to hook your reader immediately. 
  • Measure your results: Like anything in marketing, it all comes down to the numbers. Leverage any analytical powers at your disposal and continuously A/B test and optimize your SlideShare content.

Examples of Great Marketing SlideShares 

You’re almost ready to start taking the SlideShare world by storm! Here are a few success stories to help you get started.

The Brand Gap by Neutron LLC

The Brand Gap by Neutron LLC is a beautifully designed SlideShare that explores the makings of some of the world’s most iconic brands.

This presentation is successful because it harnesses strong visual design with simple copy to deliver a clear, concise message. The conversational tone of the copy invites readers to continue moving through the presentation, ending with a clear CTA at the finish.

While this presentation is longer than we recommend, Neutron LLC gets away with it because of its masterful design work and messaging. 

How Google Works by Google

How Google Works by Google is a creative and effective presentation that explains how Google operates as an innovative company. 

Google used completely original and unique illustrations to provide clear visual metaphors throughout the presentation. Google’s brand colors are present in every slide, cementing their brand in the minds of the readers.

You Suck At Powerpoint by Jesse Desjardins

You Suck At Powerpoint by Jesse Desjardins is a humor design presentation that tells you everything you’ve done wrong in your past presentations.

Leaning on visual metaphor, this example is funny, concise, and clear in its messaging. 

Not only does Jesse tell you what you’ve been doing wrong, but he tells you how to fix it. If you can’t do it yourself, his information is on the last slide.

SlideShare Resources

How to Create and Share a SlideShare Presentation

Ready to create your first presentation? Follow these steps!

  1. Create a SlideShare Account

    The first step in creating and sharing your first SlideShare presentation is to sign up for an account. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can use your LinkedIn account to sign in. If you don’t already have a LinkedIn profile, you’ll need to create one in order to use the platform.

  2. Create Your Presentation

    When creating your presentation, be consistent in your use of fonts and colors.
    It’s always a good idea to use your own branding assets when creating your presentation to ensure cohesion across your content.
    Create an intro and outro slide at the start and end of your presentation, and remember to add a CTA so your customers stay active after the presentation. 

  3. Upload Your Presentation

    Once you’ve finished creating your presentation, it’s time to upload it to the site. You can upload your presentation as a Google Slide, Microsoft PowerPoint, or PDF. 
    SlideShare allows you to schedule your presentation if you’d like it to go live at a specific time. Once it’s live, be sure to promote it widely and share it across your social channels to ensure a wide reach.

SlideShare Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to use SlideShare?

It is free to use for anyone.

Can you earn money from SlideShare?

Not directly, no. SlideShare does not pay users for ads, and there is no direct way to make money from its platform. That said, by strategically including CTAs and actionable points, you can get an ROI from the presentations you upload.

What are the disadvantages of SlideShare?

It does not offer any direct monetization processes for its users, and it also does not include a built-in way to measure analytics. 

What’s the difference between SlideShare and PowerPoint?

SlideShare is an online platform that allows you to share your presentations across the internet. PowerPoint is simply a tool for creating presentations. 

SlideShare for Marketing Conclusion

SlideShare is a visual content tool that helps you share educational presentations across the internet.

Because online readers want fast and efficient information, it is a great way to engage your audience and move your customers through your sales funnel.

Have you found success using SlideShare?

New comment by hans_abc in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (July 2021)"

A Better Consultancy | Software Engineer | Full Time / Part Time | Singapore

We are a small technology advisory and consultancy firm who are highly selective on our client projects. We work with clients who have interesting software projects – from either business perspective or tech perspective – and that try to make the world a better place.

We also have a backlog of our own projects that we’re looking to bring to market to ensure that our workload is interesting, varied as well as technically and commercially exciting.

We are very open to flexible working arrangements – and are able to work with you to accommodate your own projects or hobbies – though we do need you to be based in Singapore already.

We work in small and close-knit teams of product manager, UX designer and developers. In terms of development, we use programming languages that are suitable for the project and the client’s needs. As long as you can code and are willing to learn new language or technologies, you are welcome – and we enjoy a learning focused, highly positive work environment.

If you are interested, email hans[at]abetterconsultancy.co and let’s have a chat.

Setting up a Business Email and Website to be More Fundable

When You’re Setting Up a Business, Did You Know You Need to Pay Attention to Your Company Email and Website?

Setting up a business means attending to what seems like a million little details. Your corporate email and website are two of those details. Don’t drop the ball on them!

But let’s start with business credit.

Business Credit

This is credit in a corporation’s name. It is not tied to the owner’s creditworthiness. Instead, biz credit scores depend on how well a company can pay its bills. Hence consumer and corporation credit scores can vary dramatically.

The Benefits

There are no demands for a personal guarantee. You can quickly get business credit regardless of personal credit quality. And there is no personal credit reporting of company accounts. Biz credit utilization won’t affect your consumer FICO score. Plus the owner isn’t personally liable for the debt the corporation incurs.

The Details

Getting corporate credit is not automatic. Building it requires some work. Some of the steps are intuitive, and some of them are not.

Fundability

Fundability is the current ability of a firm to get funding. Some factors are within your control. Others (like your time in business) aren’t. Your online presence and data are one area which is at or close to 100% with your control.

Business Credit, Fundability, and Business Funding Applications

The better your business credit and fundability are, the more likely you will get approval for financing. Today, let’s concentrate on your online presence, that is, your email address and your website.

Lenders Use Data to Decide on Your Application

They check information from a variety of sources, and they don’t tell you about any of them. Knowing what these secret sources measure can only help you. Understanding what matters the most makes getting a loan A LOT easier, because you know what to improve first. This information is the difference between getting an approval and getting a denial.

Lenders Use LexisNexis Information

LexisNexis is one source where many of the lenders reviewing loan applications get their information from. They offer information regarding likelihood to pay, or not. Lenders compare LexisNexis information to what you put on your loan application. If the application and LexisNexis don’t match, then, the loan providers will deny you a loan. They will see the inconsistency as fraud.

LexisNexis connects all of the data that pertains to you, both positive and negative. They have access to

  • criminal records
  • every email address you’ve ever used (these are your professional and personal email addresses)
  • your speeding tickets
  • any mortgage you have ever held

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Lenders Use Online Information Including Your Business Email and Website

One place where lenders and vendors will be looking for your company is online. Even if they’re not specifically checking out your online presence, they may still need to know how to order your product or service, or where to send praise or complaints. Your online presence is where they will find that information, or not.

Your Business Email and Website: Your Website

What happens if your family member or a friend built your website? Maybe that person is talented, but corporate websites differ from personal ones. A business website needs to be easy to navigate. It needs to answer customers’ questions.

Styles differ. Wedding photographers and construction companies differ. They have dissimilar sites and design sensibilities, but they both have Contact and About pages, and information about what they do.

Make sure you own your domain, and not just your domain at Wix or WordPress or the like. You can do this by buying hosting. This is through hosting companies like GoDaddy or HostGator.

Your Business Email and Website: Your Email Address

Given that so much more of lending decisions is going on online these days, then your email address is an opportunity for your firm to puts its best foot forward. Don’t squander this easy and free opportunity! General email addresses like admin@yoursite.com tend to be best.

With a general email address, if someone leaves your employ, another employee can seamlessly take over that email address. A username like admin, webmaster, or even hello is far, far better than cutiepie or the like, even if you’re in a playful industry that caters to kids. After all, your bank and banker aren’t.

Your Business Email and Website: Records Congruency

Keep your records consistent! This includes your online records. LexisNexis and the SBFE (Small Business Financial Exchange) are looking at everything, so it had better match.

Inconsistent records will lead to a denial due to fraud because that’s how lenders interpret inconsistencies. This is a cause of denials which is in the owner’s hands. You have the ability to change and correct this.

This means your corporate name, address, phone number – everything! – must look the same in these places and more:

  • Every place you have an online presence (your website, Yelp, SoTellUs, etc.)
  • IRS records
  • Company records with Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax
  • All licenses needed to run your business
  • Incorporation documents

Copy/paste this information; don’t chance it with retyping.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Build Fundability on Business Credit Applications to Avoid Denials

Keep your firm looking fundable (legit) with:

  • A professional website and email address
  • A toll-free phone number
  • List your phone number with 411
  • A business address (not a PO box or a UPS box)
  • Get all necessary licenses

Your Business Email and Website: Online Fundability

There are some aspects of fundability where you should pay particular attention to what’s going on online. They include:

  • Firm owners listed and listed ownership uniformity
  • Company name and address uniformity
  • Industry aligned
  • Company domain
  • Information uniform on all records

Online Fundability: Business Ownership Listings

Records consistency matters here, too. Your website should show who owns your company. And that information needs to be consistent. So if the owner is named Susan Johnson on your website’s About page, then she can’t be listed as Sue Johnson on your Contact page. If your ownership changes, you need to show that here.

Business Name and Address Uniformity

Abbreviations can be your downfall here, as can punctuation like hyphens, commas, and colons. If your Contact page says your main office is on Main Street, then your About page can’t say it’s on Main St.

If you move, or you add subsidiaries and other locations, then you need to update that information everywhere. This even means whether you use your 5-digit ZIP code, or a ZIP plus 4 code (9 digits).

Fundability: Industry Alignment

If your industry is over the road trucking, then it needs to be listed that way. Pro tip: when your industry can be called several different names, like long distance trucking, mention those other phrases on your website.

Your Business Email and Website: Company Domain

When your company domain matches your company name, it helps with fundability. Pro tip: try to match what people will be searching for online, so if (for example) the word ‘brothers’ is in your company name, then determine if ‘brothers’ or ‘bros’ will be used by people searching for your company and its goods and services online.

Keep your business protected with our professional business credit monitoring.

Bonus: What Your Website Needs

Good websites can help you get funding and convert prospects to customers. While websites differ, there are some things they all need. Such as:

  • Easy to use navigation – hiding important information won’t help
  • Speed – if visitors have to hang around and wait for pages to load, they’ll go elsewhere
  • Intuitive organization – keep your address and phone numbers on your About and Contact pages because people expect that data to be there

Your website also needs:

  • Branding – if your company is known for the color green, but it’s nowhere to be found on your website, you’re losing an opportunity for connection
  • Visual design – ugly websites, and those which haven’t had a design update in a decade are not conducive to enhancing your reputation or making sales
  • SEO – search engine optimization means making your site easier to find. Stuffing in keywords doesn’t help with this, but writing honestly about your biz and using the kinds of terms people search for? That does

One of the more vital items your website needs is content. This can mean blogging, and it certainly means creating pages which explain what you do and what sets your biz apart from its competition. It also means a page devoted to each product you sell or service you provide. Again, you’re making it easier for your prospects to find you.

Setting Up a Business Email and Website: Takeaways

More fundable companies can get more money, and they tend to get more prospects who decide to become customers. One area of fundability you have total or near total control over is your corporate online presence. Keep it professional, uniform. and appealing, and easy to use. We can help you with even more aspects of fundability.

The post Setting up a Business Email and Website to be More Fundable appeared first on Credit Suite.

New comment by Bipasha in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2020)"

Software Engineering- Mentor | Bangalore | ONSITE | Full-time employment | 75 paid vacations days | INR100K learning & travel allowance | Competitive compensation | Apply at https://careers.mountblue.io/mentor If you’ve ever thought of sharing your programming skills, we want you. MountBlue Technologies (https://www.mountblue.io) is looking for great software engineers to mentor the next generation of …

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New comment by mahnen in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2020)"

Positrigo | Full Stack Software Developer | Zurich | Apply: https://positrigo-ag.breezy.hr/p/234b41567cba-full-stack-sof… Our vision at Positrigo is to image everyone by bringing nuclear medical imaging to the patients. That is why we work to develop the smallest and most affordable brain PET system – combining cutting-edge medical imaging technology with simplicity to enable the early and …

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