| How to Decorate Easter Eggs Posted: 20 Apr 2019 05:00 PM PDT Decorating Easter eggs is a fun activity that you can do with kids. There are a lot of ways to make the eggs colorful without sticking to a traditional kit. When working with art supplies, always work with hard boiled eggs. After ten minutes on the stove and some cool-down time, you're ready! Assemble your materials and get started. EditDyeing Easter Eggs - Boil the eggs. Put the eggs in a pan of water. Turn the heat to medium. Allow the eggs to boil for about fifteen minutes. Then, remove the eggs and allow them to cool.[1]
- While the eggs are boiling, use that time to cover the area where you will be dyeing the eggs with newspaper or paper towels.
- Fill a container. If you're only dyeing one egg, you can use a cup (236.6 ml). For several eggs, you should use a larger, plastic container. Fill the container with ½ cup of water, one teaspoon of white vinegar, and about twenty drops of any food color. You will know that you've used liquid if the egg completely submerges in the water.[2]
- Fill several containers if you will be using different colors. Each color should have its own container.
- Soak the egg for 5 minutes. Place the egg on a spoon and dunk the egg into the liquid. Turn the egg around so that both sides get color. Allow the egg to soak for five minutes. Leave the egg longer if you'd like a darker color.[3]
- Dye the egg multiple colors. You can dye the egg at least two colors by dipping only one section of the egg in at a time. This works best if you start with a fresh, boiled egg that has not been dyed yet. Hold one half of the egg so that only half of it is submerged in the dye. After about five minutes, submerge the other half of the egg in another color.
- You will probably have to hold the egg as it soaks to submerge only half of it.
- Remove the egg. You can use tongs to gently remove the egg. Put the egg(s) in an egg carton to dry. The egg is now ready to be used for decoration.[4]
EditMaking Glitter Eggs - Use a plastic egg. Real eggs are difficult to use with this method because they break easily. A plastic or paper mache egg is best to use. You can use any color egg you'd like.[5]
- Paint the egg. You don't have to paint the egg if it's already the same color as the glitter you will be using. If it isn't, choose a color of acrylic paint that is the same color as your glitter. Use a paint or sponge brush to coat the egg in two or three layers of paint. Wait until the egg completely dries to move on.[6]
- Apply Mod Podge. Use a separate sponge brush to apply a thick coat of mod podge to the egg. Make sure all of the egg gets covered with the Mod Podge. This part will be messy, and your fingers will likely get covered with glue.[7]
- You can use baby wipes to get the glue off of your fingers.
- Pour glitter over the egg. Put the egg into a plastic cup. The narrowest part of the egg should be facing upward. Pour glitter over the egg. Gently shake the cup so that the glitter covers the egg. You can add more glitter if necessary.
- Allow time to dry. Once the egg is coated in glitter, give it thirty to sixty minutes to dry. You can leave the egg in the cup as it dries, or place it in an egg carton.[8]
EditPainting the Eggs - Boil the eggs. Hard boil the eggs for fifteen minutes. Allow the eggs to cool completely. Set them in the fridge if you'd like to speed up the process.[9]
- Use acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is ideal for eggs because it covers them well and adheres nicely. You can use any brand and color of acrylic paint that you'd like. Use a paintbrush to create fun designs. Since eggs are pretty small, get some fine-pointed paint brushes for more intricate designs.[10]
- You may want to cover the area where you will be painting with newspaper.
- Paint one half of the egg at a time. You can paint any design you want. You can leave it one color, paint geometrical patterns and shapes, or turn the egg into a cute animal—like a bird. Let it dry before painting the other half to avoid smearing the paint.[11]
- Create a sponged effect. You can use this technique if the egg has been painted one, solid color. Wait until the first layer of paint dried. Then, use a dry sponge to apply white paint on the eggs after the other paint dries. Don't use a lot of paint. Use a thin layer of white paint and dab the sponge all over the eggs.[12]
- Allow the eggs to dry. Wait ten or fifteen minutes for the eggs to dry. Handle them carefully when you move them. Display your Easter eggs as you wish.[13]
EditUsing Old Ties - Find a silk tie. Use a tie that you won't be wearing anymore. The tie should be 100% silk. A tie made of any other material won't work. Choose a tie that has an interesting pattern. Dark purple, blue, and red ties work the best.[14]
- It doesn't necessarily have to be a beautiful tie. "Uglier" ties sometimes make the most beautiful eggs.
- If you don't have any ties laying around, silk ties can be found cheap at most thrift shops.
- Cut up the seam. This should double the size of your tie, which will give you a piece large enough to work with. Cut out a section that can easily wrap around your egg. You'll need a section of the material that wraps around the egg and can be held together. Leave about five centimeters of excess fabric.[15]
- Wrap your egg. Wrap the egg in the tie. The right side of the tie material (the side you would see if you were wearing it) should directly touch the egg. Wrap the egg as tightly as possible without breaking the egg.[16]
- The folds in the fabric will form a swirly pattern.
- Secure with a tie. Use a twisty tie to secure the fabric at the top of the egg. A string works, too, but a twisty tie is much easier to work with. Secure on the long side of the egg if you want the opposite end of the egg to show the pattern the best. Tie the egg horizontally if you want the wide side of the egg to show the design.[17]
- Wrap the egg with a second layer. Use a lightweight and lightly colored fabric. You can use a pillowcase, thin dish cloth, or sheet. Wrap the fabric tightly around the egg, and secure it with another twisty tie.[18]
- Boil the egg. Put the egg in a pot. Cover it with water. Add 1/4 cup (50 g) of vinegar. Boil for about 20 minutes. Then, take them off the heat and put them in a colander or on a towel to dry.[19]
- Allow them to cool. Give them about ten minutes to cool down before you touch them. Then, remove the fabric. Be careful when handling the freshly dyed eggs.[20]
- That's it! Be creative and give free rein to your imagination as you make more eggs.
- Use an old sheet or newspaper on the work area to keep it from getting messy with the supplies.
- Wear old clothes or an apron to cover your clothes.
- Do not plan on eating the eggs you decorate unless you can confirm that you did not use toxic materials to decorate your eggs.
EditThings You'll Need - Eggs
- Pan of water
- Glue
- Crayons
- Dye
- Acrylic paint
- Brush and sponge
- Scissors
- Food coloring
- Old ties
- Light material
- Pot
- Vinegar
- Twisty ties
- Towel or colander
- Scissors
- Glitter
- Mod Podge
- Plastic cup
EditRelated wikiHows EditReferences EditQuick Summary
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| How to Do Content Marketing Posted: 20 Apr 2019 09:00 AM PDT Content marketing is different from traditional advertising because it does not directly promote the products or services your business offers. Instead, it involves developing and distributing informative content—such as blog posts, articles, and infographics—that is relevant to the needs of your customers. If you want to incorporate content marketing into your business strategy, start by creating a plan for building and distributing your content. Identify the needs of your clients so that you can target your content directly to them. Once you create some high-quality content, you'll need to distribute and promote it so that it reaches your audience effectively. EditDeveloping Your Marketing Strategy - Create a business plan for content marketing. Doing content marketing effectively requires time, money, and skill. Spend some time thinking about factors like how much of a budget you have for content marketing and how many people you may need to hire or train to create and distribute your content. If you are not the sole proprietor or manager of your business, work with other members of your team to develop a strategy.[1]
- Your plan should focus on factors such as what you hope to accomplish with content marketing, how you plan to achieve your goals, and what your projected budget will be.
- Identify the needs of your audience. Content marketing is only effective if it is directly relevant to the people most likely to use your products and services.[2] Do some research to determine what kinds of content would be most helpful to your primary user base.
- For example, if your company sells children's toothpaste, your audience is probably mostly parents who are looking for content related to their kids' dental health and hygiene.
- Read industry reports about the people most likely to use your product or service and what kinds of information and content they tend to seek.
- Decide what story you want to tell with your content. The content you create should be relevant not only to your users, but also to the mission of your business. Think about what kinds of values and messages you want your content to embody, and choose a few themes that you'd like to focus on.[3]
- For example, if you sell products that are eco-friendly, you might focus on creating content about how customers can go green and reduce their carbon footprints.
- Determine the best channels for distributing your content. You'll need to ensure that your content actually reaches your audience in order for it to be effective. Do some research on your target demographic and the types of media they tend to consume.[4]
- For example, younger consumers are more likely to use social media or browse informative blogs, while you might reach an older audience more effectively through email lists or even a print magazine or newsletter.
- Document your marketing strategy. Writing down your strategy can help you stay focused. If there are multiple employees in your organization, having formal documentation of your content marketing approach is also a good way to keep everyone on the same page.[5] You might include specifics such as:
- The target audience for your content
- The key themes or stories you want your content to focus on
- Your strategy for developing the content (e.g., hiring writers or designers or working with a content marketing firm)
- How you intend to distribute the content
EditCreating Quality Content - Build content that is useful and relevant to your clients. A funny listicle about celebrity facial hair or a series of cute cat videos might get plenty of views and likes, but they won't do you much good unless they're relevant to your business and to your clients' needs. Instead, focus on content that reflects your core values and directly helps your target audience.[6]
- For example, if you own a landscaping business, you might do a series of blog posts about how to stock a garden fish pond, or you could create an infographic about preventing soil erosion.
- Don't just promote your product or service—that's what traditional advertising is for. Instead, focus on providing something of true value to your current and potential customers.
- Make your content engaging. Content that is fun and interesting is more likely to attract and hold your audience's interest than basic, stripped-down information. To make your content compelling, you might incorporate humor or find ways to appeal to your audience's emotions. Content that is visually interesting can also grab your audience's attention.[7]
- For example, if you sell photography equipment, consider doing a video that offers nature photography tips and shows a professional photographer in action. Pick a breathtaking landscape and get some beautiful shots of your guest star at work.
- You could also add a human-interest element and connect with your audience on a personal level by having your pro photographer tell a story about what photography means to them.
- Keep your content substantive but streamlined. Consumers love content that's rich in information, but concise enough that they can consume it quickly and easily. Look at your content and consider how you can condense it by using words economically, sticking to simple formats like bulleted lists, and using informative headings.[8]
- Choosing the best length for your content depends on a lot of factors. For example, lengthier written content tends to show up higher in Google search results. On the other hand, mobile users tend to be looking for content that's shorter and easier to digest quickly.
- Edit your content carefully. Content that's poorly edited and full of mistakes will seem less credible to your audience. Go over your content and make sure that it's coherent, well-sourced, accurate, and free of grammatical and spelling errors.[9]
- Additionally, double check to make sure your content is formatted correctly and easy to read or view. Even if the content itself is great, bad formatting can frustrate and alienate your audience.
- Work with experienced content creators. If you don't have a lot of experience with building your own content, consider hiring someone who does. Reach out to people in your professional network and see if they can recommend excellent writers, graphic designers, or publishing experts who are familiar with the type of work your business does.[10]
- If you don't have the budget to hire content creators full-time, consider working with freelancers or a content marketing firm.
- Look at samples of any potential content creator's work to determine if they're a good fit for your business and the kind of image you'd like to build for your company.
- Improve your content based on how it performs. Creating good content is an ongoing process. You'll need to keep an eye on how your content is performing and make adjustments based on what you see. In addition to looking at basic metrics like how many visits, shares, and likes your content gets, it's also important to consider what your audience is actually saying about it. If your content isn't performing the way you want it to, make changes based on the feedback you get and keep checking for signs of improvement.[11]
- If audiences seem to think your content is stale or boring, mix it up and try something new. Look at popular content from other successful businesses for inspiration.
EditGetting Your Content Out There - Make use of social media promotion tools. Simply creating good content is not enough—you need to make sure it gets seen. Social media marketing is a great way to get your content out into the world. In addition to using paid services like Facebook's "Boost Post" tool, you can also promote your content by:[12]
- Sharing it in relevant spaces. For example, if you're a wedding planner, share your blog posts in discussion groups for brides-to-be.
- Tagging it appropriately. Proper use of hashtags can make your content easier to find and help it show up more prominently in web searches and on social media sites. In addition to using general tags (like #weddingideas), choose more specific ones as well (such as #cakeinspiration).
- Promoting your content on multiple platforms. Don't just stick to Facebook and Twitter—share it in as many places as possible. Depending on your clientele, you might also make use of sites like Tumblr, YouTube, LinkedIn, or Reddit.
- Use search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to bring in visitors. When people do web searches for terms related to your content, you want your work to appear as close to the top of the results as possible. You can hire an SEO agency to optimize your website for you, but there are also things you can on your own do to improve search engine results. For example, you can:[13]
- Get links to your content from other relevant, popular, and authoritative websites.
- Give your content pages unique, specific titles (e.g., "FishWorld Inc.'s Ultimate Guide to Keeping Loaches").
- Provide clear descriptions of your content in the meta tags, link text, alternative image descriptions, and headers.
- Incorporate structured data code to improve the way your content appears in search engine results.
- Keep your URLs simple and descriptive.
- Engage directly with your audience to build meaningful connections. Your customers (and potential customers) will feel a more genuine connection with your business if you interact with them directly. Instead of just throwing your content out there into the void and waiting for shares and likes, take time to respond to people's questions and comments. You can even invite comments on your posts or offer prompts to get a conversation going.[14]
- For example, if you've made a video on how to bake vegan cookies using your line of organic ingredients, end the video by inviting your viewers to share their favorite recipes in the comments.
- If your customers use your comment section as a place to complain or vent about their dissatisfaction with your product or service, offer a sincere apology and invite them to work with you to find a satisfactory solution.
- Tap into your business network to promote each other's content. Connecting with other professionals in businesses adjacent to yours can help you tap into each other's client bases and mutually increase the visibility of your content. You could tag a fellow expert in your field in an article, share their work with your own audience (if you think it's relevant), invite them to be a guest poster on your blog, or volunteer to write a guest post for them.[15] If you engage in this way, others in your network are more likely to reciprocate and help you promote your own content!
- Other ways to engage with fellow professionals in your network include commenting on their content and honestly reviewing their products.
- Keep your content feed active, even if you don't have new material. If you go for a long time without producing new content, your audience may lose interest and stop paying attention to what you're doing. Keep things going by interspersing new content with older work and even relevant content shared from other sources. That way, your customers will always have something to look at.[16]
- Reposting some of your best work can help revive interest in it and bring in more views. This can be especially helpful if your audience or client base has grown a lot since you initially posted the content, since newer readers or viewers may not have seen it before.
- Create links between your content pieces. Using internal links is a great way to draw additional attention to your content. If you have a particularly popular piece of content, sprinkle it liberally with relevant links to your other work. This will encourage visitors to explore and discover more of your content.[17]
- For example, if you own a pet store and you have a popular article on caring for goldfish, try linking it to a video you just did about setting up a coldwater fish tank.
- It takes time and commitment to see results from content marketing. If your content doesn't get a lot of attention right away, don't give up. You may need to devote a lot of time to creating and distributing quality content before it starts to catch on.
EditReferences
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| How to Buy an Iguana Posted: 20 Apr 2019 01:00 AM PDT The common green iguana (Iguana iguana) is a naturally herbivorous lizard that may be kept as a pet. Typically, it is the only type of iguana you can keep as a pet in the United States and other countries, so check your local laws before deciding to buy an iguana.[1] Keeping an iguana is a long-term project with a great deal of responsibility. As small as the juvenile iguana may appear, it will grow into a large lizard, meaning that it isn't a small task to feed, care for, and move this creature. Provided you understand fully what you're in for in terms of care, it can make a great pet that stays your companion for many years. EditFinding Iguanas - Check with local rescues to provide a home to a rescued iguana. Many rescues will take in unwanted iguanas from owners who can't care for them anymore. You may find rescues that specialize just in reptiles or even just in iguanas. Alternatively, some rescues take all animals, including cats, dogs, and iguanas, so look around in your local community.[2]
- Try doing an internet search for iguana rescues in your area or ask your vet if they know of any.
- Look for an exotic pet amnesty program to see if they re-home iguanas. Because some owners release iguanas into the wild when they don't want to care for them anymore, some states have amnesty programs. Basically, anyone can surrender a pet, even if it's exotic or illegal, and it will be re-homed. If your state has such a program, you may be able to get an iguana by applying to be a designated home through the amnesty program.[3]
- Florida, for instance, has one of these programs where iguanas can be surrendered. Search your local government's website to see if you have an amnesty program nearby.
- Consider a breeder for a healthy, socialized iguana. Responsible breeders focus on providing the healthiest animals they can, and they tend to socialize them as much as possible before passing them onto you. If you absolutely can't re-home another iguana, a breeder is a good option.[4]
- Search online to see if you can find a local breeder that has good reviews. Talk to your friends who own reptiles to see if they know of a good breeder.
- Try a pet store as a last resort. Many iguanas are relinquished each year to rescues and zoos, so if you can, try to rescue one of those. But if that simply isn't an option, you can get one at your local pet store. Choose a reputable store in your community.[5]
- Make sure to do your research first and pick a store that has good reviews and a reputation for having healthy animals. Check reptile forums to see if you can find reviews for pet stores.
EditChoosing a Healthy Lizard - Ask to hold the lizard so you can examine it. If you're at a pet store, pick out several you like and ask to hold them one at a time. Hold one in both your hands to examine the lizard more closely. You can gently lift the limbs and dewlap to make sure everything looks healthy.[6]
- As you move the limbs, notice if the iguana seems strong. It should offer some resistance as you try to move the limbs. If it isn't, that could indicate a calcium deficiency or some other problem.
- Look for bright eyes that aren't sunken. If the iguana's eyes appear to be sunken in its head, that could be a sign of sickness.[7] Also, check for drainage and crustiness, which could indicate a respiratory infection.[8]
- A healthy iguana will look around and follow your finger with its eyes or head if you move it around nearby.
- Check for tight, green skin. Loose skin could indicate the iguana has lost weight and is sick or unhealthy. The skin should look taut against the iguana's body, and it should be bright green, not dull-looking. The back end of the lizard at the near the legs and tail should look round not bony.[9] However, if the back legs look swollen with hard knots, that could indicate a calcium deficiency.[10]
- The "green" iguana is something of a misnomer. They typically are green, but they can also be brown, red, or blue. However, you want the skin to look bright and healthy either way.[11]
- While looking at the skin, check for mites, which are little red, black, or orange dots that move around.
- Examine the body for burns and feces. If there is dried feces on the belly, that means the iguana has been kept in an unhygienic environment and could have underlying infections. If the iguana has burns, it's sat on heat that comes from below, something you should never do for an iguana.[12]
- If it's been burned, it's belly may always be sensitive.
- Look in its mouth for a bright pink mouth and tongue. Tap your finger gently on the iguana's nose, and it will usually open its mouth. You should see clear saliva, along with the pink tongue. A grayish or dull mouth could indicate sickness, as does stringy mucus.[13]
- You may also see "cottage cheese" fungus or tiny fungus spots that may be green, yellow, or white. Avoid any iguana that displays these signs.
- If it doesn't open its mouth, you can gently try to pull it open.
- Notice if the lizard is relaxed around you. If the iguana has been socialized properly, it won't be startled by you. In fact, it may even try to climb up your arm or hand. Ones that haven't been socialized will try to run away from being caught.[14]
- It's fine if the iguana is young and unsocialized, as you still have time to socialize it.
- If it's completely unresponsive, it's too weak or sick to respond.
- Pick a male over a female if you're not interested in breeding. While males can be more aggressive during breeding season, ovulation in females can be difficult to deal with if you don't know what you're doing. For instance, females often don't eat in the 4 weeks leading up to ovulation; if your iguana is in poor health at all or is malnourished at all, it can collapse during this period from weakness.[15]
- Often, this is due to the female not getting enough calcium in its diet.
EditPurchasing Your Lizard and Supplies - Expect to pay at least $10-$20 USD for an iguana. In a pet store or from a rescue, an iguana can cost as little as $10 USD. From a responsible breeder, you may pay a little bit more, as they put more work into the animal.[16]
- These pets are remarkably long-lived, and if you expect to only want this pet for a few years, you should think about getting another pet. While some iguanas only live 10-15 years, some live as long as 20, so they are quite a time commitment.[17]
- Buy a small cage in the beginning but be prepared to upgrade. While the iguana may look little and cute in the pet store cage at , keep in mind these lizards can get quite large. Even if you get a baby, prepare for it to grow to in length. You need to start with an aquarium that's as large as .[18] By the time it gets full-size, you may need one that's as big as .[19]
- However, you shouldn't start small iguanas in a huge cage. They may not be able to find their food and water, and the smaller cage helps train the lizard not to see you as a predator.
- Purchase the appropriate heating equipment for the tank. All iguanas need heat lamps to help keep them warm. For a small iguana, 1 lamp is sufficient. However, for a full-grown adult, you'll need as many as 6 bulbs to make sure the iguana can maintain its body heat. You'll need to place these above the cage so the iguana can regulate its heat.[20]
- Maintain a temperature of for your iguana.[21] Keep one area at at least so your iguana can get warm.
- Avoid hot rocks and heating pads that provide heat from below. Heat from above the iguana engages a sensory organ called the parietal eye that tells it to start basking and regulate its heat. When the heat comes from below, this organ is not used, and the iguana may not realize it is getting hot or even burned.
- Keep in mind that if you're housing the iguana inside, this heat output could increase your electricity bills in the summer when you're trying to cool the house down with the air conditioner.
- Buy the ultraviolet lighting your iguana will need. This type of lighting is also referred to as UVA and UVB lighting. This lighting gives your iguana the light it needs to make vitamin D, an essential nutrient. Speak to an associate at a store that sells reptile accessories to find the best lights for your iguana.[22]
- Be ready to feed it fresh leafy greens and produce. Iguanas are vegetarians, and they need fresh produce in their diet. You'll need to feed them leafy greens as at least 80% of their diet, including romaine, collard greens, mustard greens, cabbage, kale, parsley, broccoli, Swiss chard, and cilantro. About 10% or a little less should be reptile canned food or pellets, while the rest should be other fresh fruits and vegetables.[23]
- Keeping fresh greens on hand can get expensive.
- Iguanas can eat veggies like squashes, sweet potatoes (cooked), carrots, cucumbers, and mushrooms.
- For fruit, try ones like apples, peaches, melons, mangoes, pears, strawberries, apricots, figs, and bananas (with the skin on).
- Buy an iguana book to learn more about iguana care.
- Iguanas only eat vegetables so do not feed them crickets or other insects.[24]
- Iguanas can carry salmonella. While rare, it is important to clean any wounds you receive from an iguana very well. Also, wash your hands after handling the iguana or dealing with the cage. Do not allow very young children or the elderly handle the iguana, especially if it's known to be aggressive.[25]
EditReferences
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