235 systems total

• 

  View all news of Payoneer
  
  Posted on November 21, 2018

  How Freelancers Can Make the Most of Black Friday & Cyber Monday

  Black Friday isn’t only a major shopping day for B2C sales; it’s also a great opportunity for freelancers to make sales to their business customers. With the holiday sales season just opening, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are times when your business and seller clients are looking for downloadable items and services that they can use to draw in their own customers for holiday shopping. Q4 is also a time when work might otherwise be slow for freelancers, so a timely offer or promotion during Black Friday to Cyber Monday can help keep you in the black yourself.

  We’ve brought together 12 suggestions for special offers and marketing free gifts for freelancers to offer their clients, so that you can take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday B2B sales opportunities.

  6 Sales Bundles for Freelancers that will Sell Like Hotcakes

  Black Friday and Cyber Monday are looming large on everyone’s calendar, so it’s a great opportunity for you to offer valuable sales to your B2B clients. Here are the six most popular bundles for freelancers to promote on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to get more customers:

  1. Video content. Photographers and content writers can increase sales with discount bundles for promotional videos. Video leads conversions, so it’s a good time to remind your clients that they might need some of your video magic. Try offering a 20% discount on the first video, or three one-minute videos for the price of two.
  2. Landing pages. Web designers, freelance writers, and programmers would do well to create a landing page bundle. eSellers need to promote their holiday offers with well-designed landing pages, which means they need a lot of special content in a short time. Consider offering one free landing page for every four that you create.
  3. Content marketing. Content is still king, so invite your customers to get the holiday-optimized content they need for a special price. Retail sites need plenty of new content for the holiday season, but they might be reluctant to pay for the number of articles they need. When you run a 5+1 offer for articles, you’ll see a rush to your digital door.
  4. Business websites. Web programmers and web designers can offer to create a new or additional website for businesses or retailers. Convince your clients that there’s no need to wait for next year’s budget to get the latest site up and running by tempting them with a progressive discount. Offering 10% off the first website, 20% off the second one, and 30% off every subsequent site is an attractive offer.
  5. Photoshoots. At this time of year, a lot of retailers need new seasonal product images, but many might also have reached the end of their budget and need to cut expenses. A discount code can entice clients to schedule that photoshoot anyway. Interestingly enough, 25% is the most effective discount. The next most appealing offer is 15% off.
  6. SEO optimization. Digital marketers, encourage your clients to optimize their SEO for winter and holiday-related keywords. With an appealing discount, you can convince your customers that it’s worth it to hire you to fine-tune their holiday SEO.

  6 marketing ideas for freelancers in Q4 2018

  As you slide into the last quarter of the financial year, you want to end on a high. Seize the moment on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to market yourself to your clients for last-minute Q4 sales. Preparing a tempting free gift which appeals to your clients will remind them how much value you can bring to their table, and might swing them to hire you for another job before the end of the year.

  Here are our six favorite free marketing items for freelancers to send in 2018:

  • A free, downloadable holiday card in one or more designs. Designers and photographers can create cards for various winter holidays, as well as Thank You cards.
  • A downloadable stock image pack. Photographers and graphic designers can offer a set of high-quality, seasonal stock images, icons, or vectors for clients to use in their promotions and marketing.
  • Downloadable digital gift card templates for retailers to use over the holiday season.
  • Marketers, designers, and programmers can provide one or more free email marketing templates, especially if you use seasonal themes.
  • A social media marketing calendar from digital marketers, to help businesses manage their campaigns in the seasonal sales period, will always be appreciated.
  • Code snippets to add seasonal sparkle, a themed frame, or special effects to an online store will look and sound impressive without taking too much of your time.

  Whatever you decide to use as a marketing gift, make sure that it:

  • Gives value to your clients
  • Showcases your skills and abilities
  • Is easy to follow with an upsell of more options or other related items

  Another excellent marketing strategy is to create an air of exclusivity around the discount offers we’ve suggested above. You could send a special promotional code to your email list or offer a discount link on your Instagram feed.

  Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be big for B2B sales

  No matter what your vertical is, there’s a special offer or marketing idea to suit your image and appeal to your clients. When you make the most of our sales bundles and marketing suggestions, you can reel in some last minute, end of year jobs to see you through Q4 in style.

  The post How Freelancers Can Make the Most of Black Friday & Cyber Monday appeared first on The Payoneer Blog.

  Read more on Payoneer
• 

  View all news of Coinbase
  
  Posted on November 20, 2018

  Coinbase at AWS re:Invent 2018

  

  The AWS re:Invent conference is coming to Las Vegas the week of November 26–30, and Coinbase is representing! Our incredible Product and Engineering team members will be speaking about site reliability, scaling our blockchain infrastructure, teaching about cryptocurrencies, and co-hosting a Happy Hour with our AWS friends. Come and join us!

  AWS re:Invent is the annual Amazon Web Services (AWS) learning conference in Las Vegas that attracts developers, system administrators, architects, and technical decision makers from all over the cloud computing world. Last year, they had an estimated attendance of 43,000 and succeeded in taking over most of the famous Las Vegas Strip. This year, re:Invent is anticipated to set new records, and the Coinbase team is proud to be contributing to the learning aspect of the conference, as well as facilitating some after-hours mingling time with our fellow attendees.

  Coinbase has a special relationship with Amazon on a few levels. First, AWS powers almost all of Coinbase’s infrastructure, from storage, databases, analytics, you name it. Second, our VP of Engineering, Tim Wagner, recently came to us from Amazon, where he was the General Manager of AWS Lambda and a pioneer of serverless computing. We are incredibly lucky to have him lead and grow our world-class Engineering team. Third, we are on a mission to build an open financial system for the world and with that, bring the utility of blockchain and digital currencies to the masses.

  

  Back when Web 1.0 was just taking off, there were folks who were still unsure about the promise of telecommuting workers or even buying stuff over a network, and Amazon was there to pave the way. I was consulting at a hot young start-up called AltaVista, developing new, innovative consumer-focused features: integrating product search into web search results and building streaming music samples into product pages. This was before people were sure that buying things over a distributed network wasn’t just a passing fad. A marketing exec walked to my desk, slapped some papers down, and said, “I want you to make it look exactly like this!” He had printed out several pages from a site called Amazon.com, Earth’s Biggest Bookstore. Wow. It was forward-thinking and visionary for its time. Amazon really believed in that promise. The art of up-selling and cross-selling on the web, reproducing what customers might experience in a brick and mortar shop, and “ease of use” came from companies like Amazon. They were dead serious about this “buying stuff over a network” thing! Later on, Amazon took it to whole new level with AWS, by commoditizing compute power and enabling companies to focus on their core businesses. There are but a few companies from Web 1.0 that weathered the booms and busts and have gone on to reinforce the foundations on which Web 1.0 and 2.0 are built.

  Coinbase will be the one that weathers the booms and busts of Web 3.0. We believe, just like Amazon believed. As a company that has grown from 250 employees to over 600 this past year, we are in it for the long haul. Our engineers and product managers are excited about sharing stories from the trenches, our lessons learned, and talking shop about blockchain, crypto, and decentralized applications with fellow technologists who want to come along for the ride.

  

  Conference Events

  If you are attending the conference, or watching from the comfort of your home or office over Twitch, please tune in for the following sessions by our talented colleagues:

  • Niall O’Higgins, Engineering Manager of the Coinbase Site Reliability Engineering team, will be co-presenting with Datadog on building processes and adopting practices that helped scale our SRE group during hyper growth. Tuesday 11/27, 11:30 am — 12:30 pm, Aria West, Level 3, Juniper 1
  • Graham Jensen, Technical Lead on the Coinbase Infrastructure team, will be recording a video with the AWS Step Functions team on how Coinbase uses Step Functions to coordinate serverless workflows. Tuesday 11/27, 1:45 pm — 2:45 pm, Expo, Scamall Theater
  • Kristen Stone, Product Manager of the Coinbase Cryptocurrency Payments team, and Jake Craige, the team’s Technical Lead, will be holding a Cryptocurrency 101 & 201 breakout session to discuss the evolution of blockchain, its impact on our day-to-day lives, a deep dive into the inner workings of the tech, and what’s on the horizon. Wednesday 11/28, 4–5 pm, Startup Central @ The Aria
  • Coinbase Crypto Happy Hour will be hosted at The Aria, right after our Crypto 101 & 201 session and is sponsored by AWS, Coinbase Engineering, and Coinbase Recruiting. Please come join us for hor d’oeuvres and a fully hosted bar! Wednesday 11/28, 5–6 pm at Startup Central @ The Aria
  • Jack Kearney, Senior Software Engineer from the Coinbase Custody team, will be sharing how Coinbase builds out its blockchain infrastructure in a way that allows other teams to use blockchain nodes as a service. Thursday 11/29, 11 — noon, Startup Central @ The Aria

  We look forward to seeing you at re:Invent! For the latest news and updates, follow us on Twitter @Coinbase, or like us on Facebook. Interested in learning more about opportunities at Coinbase? Check out our careers page. We saved a seat for you!

  This website may contain links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of Coinbase, Inc., and its affiliates (“Coinbase”), and Coinbase is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. Coinbase is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any Third-Party Site. Coinbase is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by Coinbase of the site or any association with its operators.

  

  ---

  Coinbase at AWS re:Invent 2018 was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

  Read more on Coinbase
• 

  View all news of Coinbase
  
  Posted on November 20, 2018

  AWS Step Functions, State Machines, Bifrost, and Building Deployers

  AWS Step Functions are hosted state-machines defined according to the Amazon States Language. To execute a Step function you send it JSON data which is given to an initial state to process then pass the output to another state. States are processed until a success or failure state is reached.

  How a state processes its input and selects the next state depends on its Type. For example, a Task state can use a Lambda function to process the input, and a Choice state can select which state to go to next based on its input.

  Step functions are awesome because they:

  1. Explicitly define the order of execution, including all conditional paths, in a simple to understand model.
  2. Perform common tasks, like calling Lambda functions, removing a ton of boilerplate code.
  3. Handle errors and retrying in response to failure increasing reliability without sacrificing understandability.

  Here is a small example where a state-machine calls out to a Lambda function and makes a choice based on its output:

  {
   "StartAt": "CallLambda",
   "States": {
    "CallLambda": {
     "Type": "Task",
     "Resource": "<lambda_arn>",
     "Next": "Worked?",
     "Retry": [{ "ErrorEquals": ["KnownError"] }],
     "Catch": [{
      "ErrorEquals": ["States.ALL"],
      "Next": "Failure"
     }]
    },
    "Worked?": {
     "Type": "Choice",
     "Choices": [
      {
       "Variable": "$.Worked",
       "BooleanEquals": true,
       "Next": "Success"
      }
    ],
    "Default": "Failure"
   },
   "Success": {
    "Type": "Succeed"
   },
   "Failure": {
     "Type": "Fail”
    } 
   }
  }

  This state-machine looks like (generated with step dot --states <state_machine>):

  

  StartAt defines the initial state CallLambda that executes the lambda at <lambda_arn>. The lambda’s output is then sent to Worked?, which goes to Success if its $.Worked attribute is true, otherwise it goes to Failure. If CallLambda returns a KnownError, it will Retry. For other errors it will go to Failure asStates.ALL is a catch-all for any error.

  Lambda code and Step functions are separated from one another in AWS and can be developed independently. This can make them difficult to test and validate, as a change in one can cause a bug in the other. To make it easier to develop and test Step functions and Lambda we built the Step framework.

  Here is an example of a state-machine using the Step framework:

  func StateMachine() (*machine.StateMachine) {
   state_machine, _ := machine.FromJSON([]byte(`{
   "StartAt": "CallLambda",
   "States": {
    "CallLambda": {
     "Type": "TaskFn",
      "Next": "Worked?",
      "Retry": [{ "ErrorEquals": ["KnownError"] }],
      "Catch": [{
        "ErrorEquals": ["States.ALL"],
        "Next": "Failure"
       }]
      },
      "Worked?": {
       "Type": "Choice",
       "Choices": [
         {
          "Variable": "$.Worked",
          "BooleanEquals": true,
          "Next": "Success"
         }
        ],
        "Default": "Failure"
       },
       "Success": {
        "Type": "Succeed"
       },
       "Failure": {
        "Type": "Fail”
       }
   }}`))
  
   state_machine.SetResourceFunction("CallLambda", LambdaHandler)
  
   return state_machine
  }

  The type TaskFn is an extension of the spec to tell the Lambda which Task is calling it so it can route to the correct handler.

  LambdaHandler is the function that is called when the Task state CallLambda is reached:

  type Input struct {}
  
  type Result struct {
   Worked bool
  }
  
  func LambdaHandler(_ context.Context, _ *Input) (Result, error) {
    return Result{true}, nil
  }

  Handlers contain the logic. The path is controlled by the state-machine. State-machines can change the path based on the handlers output, but a handler cannot decide what state to jump to.

  Testing

  With Step a state-machine can be executed by calling StateMachine().Execute("{}"). This sends {} as an input into the machine and returns:

  1. The final output.
  2. The “path” of the states that were visited.
  3. Errors encountered by the process.

  This is used by tests:

  func Test_Machine(t *testing.T) {
   exec, err := StateMachine().Execute("{}")
   assert.NoError(t, err)
  
   assert.Equal(t, `{"Worked": true}`, exec.OutputJSON)
   assert.Equal(t, []string{
    "CallLambda",
    "Worked?",
    "Success",
   }, exec.Path())
  }

  Fuzz tests are also very useful to help build reliable state-machines. The gofuzz library will randomly generate input to make sure no unhandled errors are returned:

  func Test_With_Fuzz(t *testing.T) {
   for i := 0; i < 50; i++ {
    var input Input
    fuzz.New().Fuzz(&input)
  
    _, err := StateMachine().Execute(input)
    if err != nil {
     assert.NotRegexp(t, "Panic", err.Error())
    }
    // Other assertions like final states
   }
  }

  Deploy

  The ultimate goal is to deploy the Step function and Lambda to AWS. For this we need an executable binary, let’s call it hello. hello executed without any arguments must start a Lambda with run.Lambda(StateMachine()). hello json should print the state-machine with run.JSON(StateMachine()).

  The step binary can bootstrap (directly upload) hello to AWS. To install step:

  go get github.com/coinbase/step
  cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/coinbase/step 
  go build && go install

  Then build and bootstrap hello:

  # Build your code for the Lambdas linux environment
  GOOS=linux go build -o lambda
  zip lambda.zip lambda
  
  # export AWS creds using https://github.com/coinbase/assume-role
  assume-role account user
  
  # Use step to upload your code and state-machine to AWS
  step bootstrap \
    -lambda "hello-lambda" \
    -step "hello-step-function" \
    -states "$(hello json)"

  Step does not create the Lambda/IAM/Step function resources, these must be created first with a tool like terraform or geoengineer.

  Practices

  Here are a few good practices to follow using Step:

  1. Handle All Errors: Every TaskFn should have a catch for States.ALL errors. This will ensure the state-machine ends in a proper state.
  2. Fail Quickly: The faster a state-machine fails the less cleanup is needed. Fail if unknown JSON parameters are sent, if referenced resources don’t exist, or if other pre-conditions are not met.
  3. Fuzz Input: As described above, using the gofuzz can save you a lot of time as it highlights errors caused by invalid input.
  4. Comment: use the Comment attribute on states. The ultimate goal is to be able to fully understand the state-machine without looking at the code.
  5. Design defensively: Step functions should behave predictably, especially when failing. Alert if a Step function execution finishes in an unexpected state.

  Deployers and Bifrost

  

  While making deployers as Step functions, a set of conventions emerged which I am calling Bifrost. It is named after the mythical bridge because taking a bridge is easier (and safer) than swimming.

  Deployers, at their core, productionize developed assets. For example, starting a server, pushing code to a Lambda, or uploading a new version of a package or container. Given this is the step in the development process that shows your hard work to the world, it should be very reliable.

  Bifrost helps to build reliable deployers. By grouping together common concepts, a deployer’s code can focus on its core functionality.

  The core of all deployers is the bifrost.Release struct:

  type Release struct {
   AwsAccountID *string `json:"aws_account_id,omitempty"`
   AwsRegion    *string `json:"aws_region,omitempty"`
  
   ReleaseSHA256 string `json:"-"`
  
   UUID      *string `json:"uuid,omitempty"`
   ReleaseID *string `json:"release_id,omitempty"`
  
   ProjectName *string `json:"project_name,omitempty"`
   ConfigName  *string `json:"config_name,omitempty"`
   Bucket      *string `json:"bucket,omitempty"`
  
   CreatedAt *time.Time `json:"created_at,omitempty"`
  
   Timeout *int `json:"timeout,omitempty"`
  
   Error   *ReleaseError `json:"error,omitempty"`
   Success *bool         `json:"success,omitempty"`
  }

  To extend the release:

  type DeployerRelease struct {
   bifrost.Release
   ... // The attributes for your release
  } 

  This model stores information needed to deploy, e.g. the list of services, paths to assets, SHA’s for validation. The release is:

  1. The input and output for every state handler. This means each state has immediate access to all necessary information about the release.
  2. Not secure. The state history log is persisted forever, so be careful with what you put in it.
  3. Always validated. The Validate method on the release ensures everything is correct. This can be overridden, but should always call the original.

  The Machine

  How a deployers state-machine is organized will depend on the asset being deployed. However, the end state should always be either:

  1. "Success": { "Type": "Succeed" }: Deploy succeeded and everything is good.
  2. FailureClean": { "Type": "Fail"}: Failed to deploy, but successfully cleaned up so a retry can be attempted.
  3. "FailureDirty": { "Type": "Fail" }: Something went really bad, and you should alert someone to have a look.

  This means that a Step execution can fail in a Clean expected way, or a very bad and Dirty way. If a state-machine execution ends in a FailureDirty state (or any state not Success or FailureClean) then someone needs to be alerted.

  The state-machines TaskFn handlers should be thin with fat models. Handlers should be very obvious in their implementation and push the complexities to the Release model (which as stated above is the input and output of each handler). The goal is to make it easy to understand the impact a handler will have on a state-machine.

  The first handler in your state-machine should look like this:

  func Validate(awsc aws.Clients) DeployHandler {
   return func(ctx context.Context, release *models.Release) (*models.Release, error) {
    // Assign the release its SHA before anything alters it
    release.ReleaseSHA256 = to.SHA256Struct(release)
  
    // Extracts the region and account the Lambda is running in
    // This is used to set defaults for release attributes 
    region, account := to.AwsRegionAccountFromContext(ctx)
    release.SetDefaults(region, account, "coinbase-odin-")
     
    if err := release.Validate(awsc.S3(nil, nil, nil)); err != nil {
     return nil, &errors.BadReleaseError{err.Error()}
    }
  
    return release, nil
   }
  }

  This function returns a handler that:

  1. Calculates the input release’s SHA.
  2. Sets the defaults of the release, including Region, Account and Bucket.
  3. Validates the input release SHA against one uploaded to S3.

  The reason this function returns a handler is so that the aws.Clients struct is persisted across calls. aws.Clients manages AWS clients where awsc.S3Client(nil, nil, nil) creates a S3 Client without assuming a role. This pattern is further described here.

  It is neither secure nor practical to put all information into the release. For this and other functions we use S3. Each release has a bucket where:

  1. /<account_id>/<project_name>/<config_name> is the root dir release.RootDir().
  2. /<root_dir>/<release_id> is the release dir release.ReleaseDir().

  These directories are useful as an audit trail, sending signals like Halt to the step function or release instances, and asset storage for things like Lambda zip files.

  Bifrost Example Project

  To assist in building Bifrost deployers we built a “paved path” archetypal implementation that is a basic EC2 deployer. Structure like:

  ./
  ├── .circleci/ # example CI setup
  ├── aws/
  │   ├── ec2/ # example EC2 client
  │   ├── mocks/ # mock AWS clients
  │   └── aws.go # setup for multi-account AWS clients
  ├── client/
  │   └── client.go # example client code
  ├── deployer/
  │   ├── fuzz_test.go # fuzz test example
  │   ├── integration_test.go # tests for the Deployer
  │   ├── machine.go # state-machine definition
  │   ├── handlers.go # handler functions for tasks
  │   └── release.go # bifrost release struct
  ├── releases/
  │   └── release.json # example release
  ├── scripts/
  │   └── bootstrap_depolyer # bootstraping script
  ├── bifrost.go # executable code
  ├── Gopkg.toml # Go dependencies
  └── Dockerfile # Build bifrost for deploy

  To use this to start building your own deployer run:

  export ORG=<your-org>
  export DEPLOYER=<your_deployer>
  
  git clone git@github.com:coinbase/bifrost.git $DEPLOYER
  cd $DEPLOYER
  
  scripts/rename

  This will correctly rename the folder and references in the files to your deployer creating an easy starting place.

  The deployers state-machine looks like:

  

  It validates the input, locks the release, validates resources exist, deploys, waits a bit, checks if the deploy is healthy, then succeeds if healthy, fails if an error, or waits to retry and check later. Although the exact details of this deployer are not obvious, the overall flow of the state-machine is understandable.

  Odin

  Odin deploys 12 Factor applications into Auto-Scaling groups. To demonstrate how Bifrost’s conventions impact Odin’s implementation, let’s look at how Odin works.

  Odin’s Release looks like:

  type Release struct {
   bifrost.Release
  
   Services map[string]*Service `json:"services,omitempty"`
    
   userdata       *string // Not serialized
   UserDataSHA256 *string `json:"user_data_sha256,omitempty"`
   
   Healthy *bool `json:"healthy,omitempty"`
  
   ... // ignored LifecycleHooks, Subnets, Image
  }

  This Release struct at the center of Odin contains:

  1. The list of services to be deployed.
  2. userdata that might be sensitive so is not persisted, instead is uploaded to S3 and validated against a SHA UserDataSHA256.
  3. A Healthy check to see if all its services are also healthy.

  Odin’s state-machine looks like:

  

  The “Happy path” is Validate, Lock, ValidateResources, Deploy, CheckHealthy, Healthy?, CleanUpSuccess, Success. As seen in the diagram at any point an error might occur and the state will retry, or catch the error and clean up. This is very similar to the Bifrost example with a few extra paths to recover from failure.

  Bifrost Going Forward

  The goal of this post was to give an introduction to Step, Step functions, and how to build a deployer with Bifrost. Our goal is to automate as many different deployers as we can to reduce toil, increase security and make processes easier to understand.

  For more discussion on the above topics see Baking Bread with Step, Open sourcing Odin, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to AWS Step Functions.

  Unless otherwise indicated, all images provided herein are by Coinbase.

  This website may contain links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of Coinbase, Inc., and its affiliates (“Coinbase”), and Coinbase is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. Coinbase is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any Third-Party Site. Coinbase is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by Coinbase of the site or any association with its operators.

  

  ---

  AWS Step Functions, State Machines, Bifrost, and Building Deployers was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

  Read more on Coinbase
• 

  View all news of ECommPay
  
  Posted on November 20, 2018

  ECOMMPAY to exhibit at SiGMA (Summit of iGaming, Malta)

  

  The fifth edition of SiGMA, the definitive iGaming showcase, will take place between the 28^th and 30^th of November at the Malta Fairs and Conventions Centre in Ta’Qali. In 2018, the conference will welcome over 400 sponsors and exhibitors, who will present innovative products and technologies to a crowd of more than 12,500 visitors and 2,500 affiliates from 80+ countries. Running parallel to the exhibition, a series of talks and workshops covering topics as diverse as regulation, blockchain, programmatic, eSports, etc., will educate attendees to further enhance the event experience.

  International payment service provider and direct card acquirer ECOMMPAY will join iGaming professionals, payments industry peers, and assorted service providers at the event, displaying a selection of customisable payment solutions for iGaming at Stand S169. Colleagues from three international offices, including product experts, customer service representatives, and alternative payment method specialists, will be happy to meet both current and prospective clients to discuss industry trends and propose innovative solutions to common operator pain points. Book a meeting with our experts!

  The post ECOMMPAY to exhibit at SiGMA (Summit of iGaming, Malta) appeared first on ECOMMPAY | Payment Solutions. Individually tailored.

  Read more on ECommPay
• 

  View all news of Payoneer
  
  Posted on November 20, 2018

  Tap Instagram on Cyber Monday for Affiliate Success

  Cyber Monday is a big deal for affiliate marketers, and it’s only going to keep getting bigger. In 2017, 81 million visitors shopped online, spending $6.59 billion. If you want a slice of that pie in 2018, you’ll want to maximize all your marketing options – and in 2018, that includes Instagram. As of June 2018, 500 million people use Instagram every day, a number that has probably grown even more by now. Here are our tips to help you make the most of Instagram to drive greater sales volume on Cyber Monday 2018.

  Insta-tip #1: Focus on Promoting High Commission Items

  Many companies that use affiliate marketing don’t pay high enough commission for the sales that you drive. If you can show that you’ve been successful at driving traffic to their site and converting clicks into sales throughout the year, then you are in a good place to ask for a higher commission rate. The worst that you’ll hear is “no.”

  As well as asking for a better affiliate commission rate for Cyber Monday and Black Friday, you should do your homework when deciding which products to promote. You’re bound to have some affiliate links that earn a higher commission than others. These should be the ones that you put the most effort into marketing to your followers.

  Insta-tip #2: Make the Most of Shoppable Instagram Posts

  Shoppable Instagram posts may just be the biggest and best way to drive sales from your Instagram feed. With an Instagram Shoppable post, you can incorporate “tags” that look like shopping labels. The Shoppable labels can be tagged onto any item in an Instagram post, whether it’s on your profile or appearing in your Instagram Stories feed. Shoppable labels hold information about the product, and when a follower taps the icon, they’ll be taken direct to the product URL to make a purchase.

  Shoppable Instagram posts make it seamless for users to buy products right within your feed, without becoming distracted from your platform. They don’t get in the way of your storytelling, you can still use all your familiar Instagram filters and hashtags, and you can customize the color of the tag. Because your Instagram feed reaches people who are already engaged with your narrative, Shoppable posts have a high conversion rate for affiliate marketers and influencers.

  Insta-tip #3: Leverage Promoted Posts to Gain Followers

  No matter how much engagement you’re getting for your Instagram posts and videos, you’d never refuse a little more. Instagram Promoted Posts and Instagram Sponsored Posts are a clever way to take your existing Instagram posts and share them with even more eyes. With Instagram Promoted Posts, you can choose the age, interests, and location of your target audience, and pay to have your ad boosted in the relevant Instagram feeds. It’s a great way to attract more followers. You can add links and call-to-action buttons, and you can do all this in-app. Your original post will be displayed with all the comments and reactions it’s already received, just to more people.

  Instagram Sponsored Posts are very similar, but offer more retargeting options and can be used to cross-post to Facebook as well. It’s a little more complicated to master, but even more effective. Both types of posts use content that you’ve already added to your feed, so you don’t need to create something new. Just wait a little to see which posts perform the best, then boost them as Sponsored or Promoted posts to maximize engagement.

  Insta-tip #4: Promote Stories, Highlights and Video Content

  Video content is only getting more popular as time goes on. In 2017, video content generated 1200% more social media shares than other types of content. This year, video posts got twice as many shares and 38% more engagement than posts with photos. In 2016, Instagram users watched 40% more video than they did the year before. If you aren’t maximizing video content, you’re leaving a significant portion of sales behind.

  Micro-stories told through video and photos on Instagram Stories are very successful at driving engagement. Story ads have been proven to increase brand recognition, ad recall, and message association. When you use Instagram Stories, you have the perfect opportunity to draw in followers and engage them with your story. Instagram Story ads can be as simple as a short video of you using the product, or as complicated as a scripted micro-drama. Don’t forget that you can use Shoppable posts as part of your Instagram Story ads.

  The downside to Instagram Story ads was always that they disappear after 24 hours. But as of December 2017, you can use Instagram Story Highlights to keep your best Story ads accessible forever. Highlights sit just below your bio on your Instagram feed. When a follower taps on your Highlights, the archive plays as a standalone Story. You can curate Instagram Story Highlights by choosing which Story ads to include in your Highlights, adding a title, and a cover photo to connect them all into a single themed display. Instagram Highlights is a great way to display a collection of products, present items according to categories, and promote a seasonal portfolio of Black Friday and Cyber Monday items.

  Use Instagram for Cyber Monday Success

  With so many tools to help you drive engagement, Instagram is an indispensible platform for affiliate marketers. With some top content, memorable hashtags, and our Instagram marketing tips, you too can succeed at tapping Instagram for success on Cyber Monday.

  http://register.payoneer.com/affiliates-get-paid-globally-en

  The post Tap Instagram on Cyber Monday for Affiliate Success appeared first on The Payoneer Blog.

  Read more on Payoneer
• 

  View all news of Payoneer
  
  Posted on November 19, 2018

  Teach and Make Money While Travelling with Hujiang

  Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Cynthia and Niko from Journal of Nomads

  ---

  Today’s digital economy makes it possible for people to do what once we thought was impossible, or out of reach. Travelling the world is so much more feasible and we see more and more people taking on a digital nomad’s lifestyle. Many have been trying to understand how it can be possible to travel around the world continuously and maintain it as a lifestyle.

  Plenty of questions cross your mind: How can I make money and travel? Do I need to have wealthy parents supporting me? Do I have to inherit a lot of money? Do I have to create a fantastic app, sell it and become a millionaire? The answer is a resounding *no*.

  You Can Work While You Travel

  If you want to be location independent, you’re probably interested in working online. There are many freelance jobs you can do online such as writing, becoming a virtual assistant, a language teacher, website developer, graphic designer, SEO specialist, etc. Among all of these jobs, teaching English online has become one of the primary sources of income for most long-term travelers with positive experiences paving the way to success.

  The benefits are straightforward: you can teach from the comfort of your own couch, no need to commute to work every day. You can even travel the world and earn money without having to worry about a working visa. All you need is a laptop or a smartphone and a reliable internet connection.

  Teaching for Online Schools

  Teaching students via an online school is one of the best ways you can support your travels, and work no matter where you are.

  The company that I’m currently teaching English at is Hujiang, who are based in China. My job calls for teaching lessons one-on-one online to Chinese students aged 5 to 18 years old or to adult Chinese learners, all eager to learn and develop their English language skills.

  Hujiang

  Hujiang is a professional e-learning platform that provides users with convenient, high-quality educational products and services. It has quickly evolved into one of the top online education platforms in the world. From its inception, Hujiang has avidly supported other online education startups and has built an online education ecosystem and has developed a winning formula for online education that works across the board. But it’s not just online, Hujiang works with traditional schools to narrow the education gap and promote education equality, they are bringing high-quality educational resources to every corner of the world via the internet.

  What benefits can I get?

  • Flexibility: You can work wherever and whenever you want at your own pace
  • Diverse teaching experiences: You have abundant opportunities to connect with students from different disciplines, backgrounds, and cultures
  • Excellent support: You are provided with round-the-clock care and support by a strong and professional team
  • High booking rate: The high booking rate will ensure every minute you spend is worthwhile

  What do I need?

  • A laptop or computer with a fast processor (most companies use their own online classrooms and you’ll have to install one or more computer applications), a headset and a webcam
  • A fast and reliable internet connection is a must! It’s a requirement to have a wired internet connection or a high-speed Wi-Fi connection. 10Mbps or more for both downloading and uploading is required
  • A degree in education or TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate
  • Previous (online) teaching experience is a plus!

  How Do I Apply?

  You can apply for the kids (K12) or the adult program. Hujiang provide their own lesson materials and plans so there is no need to make your own classes. If you’re a trained teacher with native level language skills and can make yourself available to teach weekly minimum 10 hours for at least 3 months in a row, then I highly recommend Hujiang! I teach an average of 20 – 40 hours per week and have been able to travel the world while teaching.

  You can check out more information by browsing Hujiang’s official website, here.

  Send your resume to apply!

  Getting Paid with Hujiang

  As you travel the world and teach online you can easily get paid by Hujiang with Payoneer. Payoneer is Hujiang’s official payment service provider, so you can be sure that getting paid will be simple. When you work with Hujiang you can easily and quickly get paid to your Payoneer account and transfer the funds to your bank account.

  Cynthia and Niko, “professional” nomads fromBelgium and Canada, who love to RocknRoamaround the world. Currently on an once-in-a-lifetime adventure: traveling from Ireland to Alaska, across six continents, with no time limit and without taking any airplanes. Feel free to contact them via their personal blog Journal of Nomads.

  The post Teach and Make Money While Travelling with Hujiang appeared first on The Payoneer Blog.

  Read more on Payoneer
• 

  View all news of Gocardless
  
  Posted on November 19, 2018

  Xerocon London: a human, connected world

  

  A 'double shot of inspiration' for accountants and a 'big family reunion' – just some of the ways our customers and partners described Xerocon London on Twitter last week.

  With over 3,000 attendees and 56 different education sessions across 2 days, the show was a celebration of a new world of truly connected finance and accounting.

  We're proud to be part of this family of innovators, customers and partners who are changing the face of accounting and finance; and we were thrilled to be named App Partner of the Year for the second year running at the show – a testament to the growth of GoCardless for Xero and the amazing support of our customers and partners.

  If you weren’t lucky enough to attend, let us run you through our highlights.

  Human at heart

  While product updates are a big part of Xerocon, Gary Turner, Xero UK MD, revealed the thinking behind the 'Human at Heart' theme, in his keynote:

  “Xero’s here to have a positive impact on people’s lives – we’re human at heart. The world is digitising, but the world of work is humanising.”

  It’s a theme that resonates with us, too. On Day 2, GoCardless CEO Hiroki took to the stage with Will Farnell of Farnell Clarke to talk about the real, human impact of late payments on small businesses.

  As Hiroki said: “Unpaid invoices create a huge amount of uncertainty and stress, and if you look at recent surveys, around 9 out of 10 business owners are worrying about late payments.”

  To support our accounting partners in removing those stresses for clients, we announced at the show the launch of the GoCardless Accountants Program.

  Will Farnell said: “The Accountants Program fits nicely with what we’re doing already in the market, adding value for our clients. We’re giving people options and being there to support our clients.”

  You can find out more about the Accountants Program here.

  

  Steve Vamos, Xero CEO

  Connected tax and accounts

  Compliance has always been at the core of Xero – but Xero is doubling its efforts to deliver recordkeeping, bookkeeping and accounting that meet the needs of Making Tax Digital (MTD) and the digital future of financial reporting.

  As Gary Turner highlighted: “Making Tax Digital is not just about getting new software. It’s the start of a new era. The Xero ecosystem has a responsibility to help with this move from analogue to digital – once it’s done we don’t go back.”

  On the theme of compliance, Xero made some key announcements at the show:

  • Tax filing and accounts preparation added – Xero has acquired Instafile to automate tax preparation, bringing accounts preparation and corporation tax filing to the accounting platform for the very first time.

  • Xero is now MTD for VAT-compliant – Xero is officially ready for MTD for VAT, with customers having greater control and visibility of VAT and being connected in real-time to HMRC.

  • ‘Dexter the Digital Tax Advisor’ launched – Xero has worked with HMRC to create Dexter, the friendly face of Making Tax Digital for VAT and the digital future of financial reporting.

  

  Gary Turner, Xero UK MD, meets Dexter The Digital Tax Advisor

  Connected banking, payment and finance

  Integration with fintech providers is something that Xero is focusing on – as we found out when talking exclusively to Edward Berks, Xero’s EMEA Director, Platform Business:

  "It was really exciting to see the dynamic fintech firms that we integrate with at Xerocon. Whether it's Tide, Revolut or GoCardless, it was clear to see just how significant their role is in transforming the lives of small business owners."

  With Open Banking driving evermore innovation in fintech, Xero is embracing the connectivity this offers for advisors and their clients:

  • Open API for bank feeds – Xero announced a brand new, full-featured API for bank feeds, so fintech partners can put their own bank feeds into Xero, alongside those offered by big high street banks.

  • More fintech partnerships – including the additional of 5 new UK banks, and evolving payment functionality with GoCardless, Stripe, Soldo and PayPal as payment partners.

  And there's plenty more potential here, Edward Berks concluded: "There’s a lot of headroom to expand on this connectivity, particularly in financial services where businesses can capitalise on the advances of Open Banking, and make use of the Xero feeds API."

  Read more on Gocardless
• 

  View all news of Payoneer
  
  Posted on November 19, 2018

  The 3rd Edition of the Annual Payoneer Entrepreneurship Awards is Here!

  The incredible stories of our community are the driving force that inspires us here at Payoneer. The work we do aims to support more than 4 million individuals worldwide, this fantastic community that we support around the globe are all breaking the mold. Expanding, exploring and building their way to success with their global businesses.

  To celebrate entrepreneurial success and innovative spirit around the globe, Payoneer will host the Entrepreneurship Awards for the 3rd time. This award seeks to recognize international businesses that display strategic thinking and an innovative approach.

  Enter and Go Beyond!

  We will award 5 winners from different fields, celebrating these exceptional individuals and their achievements:

  • eCommerce Seller of the Year
  • Freelancer of the Year
  • Affiliate of the Year
  • Innovator of the Year
  • Entrepreneur of the Year

  Why Enter?

  We reached out to 3 of our winners from last year, so they can share how they, and their businesses, were impacted by winning the Entrepreneurship Awards.

  Hear straight from them why you should enter the contest:

  FREELANCER OF THE YEAR: Katia Myroniuk, Ukraine

  Being named one of the winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards last year was pretty cool. This award proved to me that I’m moving in the right direction, and allowed me to invest in my professional career. The prize money from Payoneer helped me advance my career, and I put it toward an educational course in Vienna.

  INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR: Carlo Silva, Philippines

  Winning the Payoneer Entrepreneurship Awards helped my business a lot, we gained media exposure, and we also got featured in a global publication, Forbes and received international recognition. It was a pleasure taking part in the awards and being able to represent the Philippines. I highly recommend that any aspiring entrepreneurs enter as the exposure is great.

  ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR: Saurabh Nanda, India

  Being awarded Entrepreneur of the Year was one of the most motivational and encouraging moments of my life. I have a printout of an interview featuring me after winning the contest under my office glass table, it motivates me every single day. I have yet to use the prize, but I am waiting for the right opportunity to invest back into my business.

  Who qualifies for a submission?

  You must be a business owner and willing to share your story. That’s it!

  The winners will be announced on the Payoneer Blog and across the Payoneer social media channels.
  Please note that the deadline for submitting applications is December 31st, 2018.

  So – do you have what it takes?

  Enter the 2019 Entrepreneurship Awards

  The post The 3rd Edition of the Annual Payoneer Entrepreneurship Awards is Here! appeared first on The Payoneer Blog.

  Read more on Payoneer
• 

  View all news of Coinbase
  
  Posted on November 16, 2018

  A brand new look for Coinbase Wallet

  

  We’re excited to present a fresh new look for the easiest and most trusted crypto wallet.

  We’ve been talking to you, our users, and compiled a list of the features and improvements you want the most.

  With this release, you can now view the value of your coin portfolio in your local fiat currency. You can also check the fiat values for individual tokens whenever available.

  And now, all the ERC20 tokens you own show up automatically — no more manually adding custom tokens.

  

  We’ve also created a beautiful new gallery for your collectibles, and integrated with OpenSea and RareBits to support hundreds of collectibles. Now you can show off your collectibles from right inside your wallet.

  

  And we’ve made a series of other changes under the hood for improved stability, security, and better gas price estimation.

  If you use an iPhone, your app should already have updated to the new look. Wallet users on Android phones will see the update roll out over the next few days.

  We hope you enjoy using the new, updated Coinbase Wallet. Your feedback helps us make Wallet better for everyone. You can now reach us at wallet.support@coinbase.com. Please reach out with feedback or if you ever need some troubleshooting.

  

  ---

  A brand new look for Coinbase Wallet was originally published in The Coinbase Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

  Read more on Coinbase
• 

  View all news of ECommPay
  
  Posted on November 16, 2018

  Overview of Finance Magnates London Summit 2018

  This year’s Finance Magnates London Summit has been the largest conference yet, with over 2,500 attendees, 80 speakers and 150 sponsors joining the trading industry at its flagship event. Exhibitors revealed the latest products and services, visitors were keen to share hands-on insights, and top industry representatives initiated diverse collaborations.

  ECOMMPAY exhibited a tailored selection of forex payment solutions and engaged existing and prospective clients in a fruitful dialogue regarding our latest technological payment innovation.

  Our Regional Partner & Director Michael C.G. Charalambides shared his expertise in a panel discussion on the impact of the latest leverage rules, as well as the global expansion opportunities available to retail brokers. He stressed the importance of approaching regulation positively, encouraging the establishment of stronger lobby groups and more sophisticated products to ensure an enhanced experience for traders rather than focussing on the addiction of high leverage. His eloquent, yet passionate speeches were sure to leave a last impression on audience members and fellow industry peers.

  ECOMMPAY’s team, comprised of colleagues from four international offices – even Arvind Jeewooth from our Mauritius branch stopped by! – enjoyed many promising conversations at this year’s summit. We look forward to developing the newly forged relationships further, forming unrivalled business partnerships, and continuing to make recommendations on how to solve pain points and increase conversion with the help of our advanced payment technologies.

  If you didn’t catch us at this year’s event, but would like to learn more about the bespoke payment solutions we engineer for the trading industry, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

  

  The post Overview of Finance Magnates London Summit 2018 appeared first on ECOMMPAY | Payment Solutions. Individually tailored.

  Read more on ECommPay

• Suggest|
• Articles|
• About Us|
• Links