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10 Long Distance Date Ideas for Couples to Build Bonds

10 Long Distance Date Ideas for Couples to Build Bonds


They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, primarily when you long distance date, your love. Perhaps you swooned over stories about lovelorn ladies writing to their beaus who were soldiers overseas. These heartfelt situations make some of the best romantic movies.

Some of the most common distant relationships still involve deployed military personnel and their lovers or spouses. Studies reveal that regular communication is vital to keep the bonds of love healthy while another partner is away. They found that hearing each other’s affirmation of love helped them cope with the difficulty of being apart.

Another familiar way that couples must love from a distance is while attending college. These couples realize that their education is essential to their future, so they sacrifice proximity for successful home life in the long run. For others, a lucrative out-of-town job may keep their partner away for days or weeks.

The temporary separation may be even more challenging for the partners who are away because they are homesick and lovesick at the same time. For centuries, love letters were the glue that kept distant relationships together. Today, computer applications like Zoom and Skype provide couples a chance to chat face-to-face in real-time.

How to Bring Your Hearts Closer When Your Lover Is Away

No one said that long-distance relationships are easy. It involves patience, understanding, and a lot of communication. However, relationship experts warn against constant contact because it could be perceived as controlling or desperately needy.

Are you cultivating a long-distance date night with your person? It’s not easy to be away from the one who holds your heart. However, you can still boost the romance factor in your relationship with long distance date ideas.

1. Watch a Movie Together

What were the movies you watched together when you first started to date? Surprisingly, not every couple bonded over romantic comedies or drama. Many found common ground while watching slap-stick comedy, adventure, and even thrillers.

Why not choose a flick from your favorite genre and watch it together on Zoom or Skype? Bring the total movie theater experience and suggest that your partner also makes some popcorn and snacks. Sit back, relax, and revel in each other’s company as you watch a beloved movie or pick a new one to view.

2. Have a Dinner for Two

Many treasured dates are spent around the table enjoying excellent food, drink, and romance. Food has been the language of love since the beginning. Even a lavish plate of delicacies and a vintage wine doesn’t taste the same when you dine alone.

You needn’t forego dinner reservations just because your sweetheart is miles away. Recreate the ambiance for dinner pour Deux over the computer, complete with candles and roses. Both of you dress in your most beautiful, have your preferred meal delivered, and dine together via Facetime.

3. Play Your Favorite Board Game or Video Game

Thanks to modern technology, you can play videos with other gaming enthusiasts from around the world. You can see the gaming scene, but specific programs allow you to see and talk to the other players. If you and your distant amour are gamers, it makes an ideal long distance date.

Ok, what if you both prefer traditional board games over high-tech video ones? Use a face-to-face program to play many of the classic games you love. These virtual games are just as easy to play as the real ones, and you can enjoy quality time with a little friendly competition.

4. Enjoy a Beautiful Sunrise or Sunset

What is it about the heavenly bodies that mesmerize us or instantly put us in a romantic mood? Think of the sweet whispers of love you’ve shared while gazing at a breathless sunrise or sunset. The minutes between dusk and dawn have always had a magical quality that entrances lovers.

It’s comforting to know that wherever your darling is, you can see the same sun, moon, and stars. If you are both in different time zones, you can schedule a long distance date to revel in a sunrise or sunset. Even if you are a day behind, you can watch the sunrise while it sets where your lover is and wish each other good morning or sweet dreams.

5. Get Cozy with a Good Book

The famous author C.S. Lewis proclaimed that when we read, we know that we are not alone. If work, school, or military deployment has taken your partner to faraway places for a while, you know about lonely. A long-distance date idea you might consider is sharing a good book.

Think of it as a book club for two. Choose a title, get a copy for both of you, and then read and discuss it during your virtual date. Do you have a panache for poetry? Why not learn to each other from your favorite poet or share some sonnets of love.

If you love to read, you probably enjoy writing, too. Have you ever thought of penning a short love story with you and your partner as the main characters? You might also try your hand at writing a heartfelt poem dedicated to your darling.

6. Share a Night of Romance under the Stars

Imagine lying with your lover on the lawn, caressed by the moon under a blanket of stars. Have the two of you ever relaxed in a hammock on a balmy evening and wished on a shooting star? Stargazing is a heavenly way to spend your long-distance date.

Bring your computers outside and use your video camera to give each other a glimpse of the night skies as it appears on each other’s side of the world. Try to trace the constellations as you delight in your lover’s company. Imagine you both are whisked away into the Starry Night by Van Gogh during this extended distant date.

7. Bring Out your Inner Artists

Since nobody has figured out if life imitates art or the other way around, we can assume that the two are intimately connected. Are you or your distant sweetheart a budding artist? You needn’t be Leonardo Da Vinci to channel what inspires you onto paper.

While it’s attractive to use various mediums for your art, a simple pencil and a sheet of paper will do. Have fun on your virtual long-distance date and hone your artistic skills together. Have you ever considered posing for each other to draw romantic portraits? These inspiring drawings can be as intimate as you like since they are for your eyes only.

8. Brainstorm and Daydream Together

Some of your fondest memories may have been the times you spent planning your future as a couple. Perhaps you lay on a blanket on the beach listening to the waves thunder their approval of your dreams. A long distance date may not have been on your plan, but you can still embrace the hopes and dreams that sparked your love.

While chatting live on your long-distance date, continue to share your dreams. You might need to adjust the goals and timing a bit, but they are still yours. Keep a journal together of your aspirations, and revisit them when you long to be together in person.

9. Fall in Love Again with Your Favorite Music

Just about every couple has an enduring song they claim as their own. Usually, this song invokes a particular time and place when you first heard it. Maybe it was played the first time you danced together or a song from your wedding.

Bring the magic of music into your time together and listen to some of your favorite songs. If you like to sing, you might surprise your distant mate with a karaoke version. If you are instrumentally talented, you can play the piano or guitar while you serenade each other.

10. Surprise Gift Exchange

Have you ever bought a gift for your lover just with the thoughts of the look on his face when he opens it? Unfortunately, you can’t have the same satisfaction when you send your gift through the mail, or can you? If you can resist the temptation and wait, you can open surprise gifts as a long distance date idea.

Send each other something thoughtful that each will love, and it needn’t be expensive. Are you a crafty person? Why not create a beautiful item by hand rather than to buy something? Handmade gifts are often more treasured than something from the department store.

On your face-to-face long distance date, open the gifts simultaneously to see the reactions. For some of these virtual gift exchanges, you both may consider gifting a humorous gag item for a memorable laugh. It doesn’t need to be a birthday or a holiday to send your special someone a gift that says you long to be with them again.

Final Thoughts of Keeping a Connection with These Long Distance Date Ideas

Modern technology and telecommunications have made virtual dating a reality. Whether your partner or spouse is in another city or across the globe, try some of these long distance date ideas. When you are in love, time and distance don’t matter.

Business

How to Build an Online Business: 5 Initial Steps

How to Build an Online Business: 5 Initial Steps


How to Build an Online Business: 5 Initial Steps

With hundreds of thousands of e-commerce retailers based in America, it’s obvious to see that online businesses are booming.

How do you get your piece of the pie? You have to learn how to build an online business successfully before you even get started.

There’s more to online business than getting started. You have to learn how to get customers to your website and figure out how to get them to buy from you over all of the other online businesses.

Read this article to learn what you need to know when you want to create a successful online business.

1. Figure Out What Problem You Can Solve

Don’t try to create a product for people that don’t know they have a problem. Instead of trying to find people for a product you make, make a product that solves problems people are already looking for solutions for.

Go through forums, look on social media and do keyword research to see what people are searching for.

2. Write Copy that Converts

Having compelling copy on your website is essential to online success. You have to be able to convince people to act with words on a digital screen and learning copywriting techniques that work to get people to act is a must.

If you aren’t good at copywriting, it is worth it to hire a copywriter to update your current website’s copy or to write copy for your new website.

Keep in mind that people have short attention spans when viewing online content. Don’t bore your readers, but instead, get them to act as quickly as possible.

3. Invest in Premium Web Design

If your website doesn’t look trustworthy, people aren’t going to be interested in buying from you. Investing in premium web design is a good use of your money since hundreds and even thousands of people are going to be visiting your website and deciding whether they want to do business with your company or not.

4. Position Yourself as an Authority

Your website is the perfect place to create content and position yourself as an authority in your industry. Build up your blog with helpful information so people can see that you know what you’re talking about and that you can help them.

5. Analyze Your Metrics and Improve

Whether you’re looking at one single metric or if you’re looking at multiple metrics, know what success looks like. If you don’t know what success looks like in terms of metrics, you’re likely to get off the path to success.

Now You Know How to Build an Online Business

Now that you know how to build an online business, you can get started on your success strategy. Keep in mind that while you might create an initial plan, be ready to morph with the changes online.

Do you need more help with building your online business? Continue browsing our blog and read one of our other online business-related articles for more great tips.

Business

5 Tips for People Who Want to Build Marketing Careers

5 Tips for People Who Want to Build Marketing Careers


Making It in Marketing: 5 Tips for People Who Want to Build Marketing Careers

If you’re considering a career that is highly in demand and always changing, you can’t go wrong with marketing.

There are several marketing careers out there for the taking, including those that you create on your own. As long as you build the skillset and put yourself out there, this is a career that will allow you to thrive.

However, you need a few tips that will get you started on this journey. Consider these tips so you can wrap your mind around this career.

Figure Out Which Marketing Careers Speak to Your Most

Are you more of a mad scientist that wants to “hack” search engine algorithms, or a people person that always wants to be on the scene? Perhaps you have a specific interest, such as sports marketing.

It’s important that you consider these factors when deciding on marketing careers. When you have a clear idea of what you enjoy and why you want to be a marketer, it’ll inform every step you take.

Learn the Nuts and Bolts Tools That Matter

Regardless of what type of marketer you want to become, you need to have the skills for the job.

Three marketing tools that will never go out of style are writing, graphics and web design. If you can put these three together, you’ll always have a job in the field.

Make sure you learn about the latest forms of search engine optimization and roll up your sleeves as you try your hand at a blog. The better your toolset, the better the marketer you’ll be.

Gain Some Valuable Experience

Never stop learning.

You’ll go much further when you either work for a marketing firm or string together some relevant jobs. By learning the ropes and getting this experience under your belt, you’ll have a solid foundation.

When you get experience, you can also show people your prior work, which will help attract future business. Working at a creative agency in Sydney will give you the foundation that you are looking for.

Network and Build Your Portfolio

Networking is essential in marketing. You need to take time to visit conferences that show you the ropes of the latest trends.

Not only does this keep you relevant, but it also gives you the opportunity to network with other marketers. This allows you to form partnerships that will create future business opportunities, and also establish your credibility.

Stay on Top of Evolutions in the Industry

Marketing careers change just like every other industry.

While today, things like blogs, podcasts, SEO and SEM are crucial, these tools and trends will continue evolving. You need to learn the ropes of these industries and make sure you’re never getting left behind.

The more you can do, the more in demand you’ll be as a marketer.

Take Your Career Into Your Own Hands

To make the most of marketing careers, you need to take ownership over it. By following these tips, you’ll be able to build your career from the ground up.

To learn more about following your dreams and building your dream career, visit our site and check out our content.

Technology

Everything You Need to Know to Build an Awesome Author Website

Everything You Need to Know to Build an Awesome Author


Everything You Need to Know to Build an Awesome Author Website

Interested in building an author website? Good idea!

Whether you’re published or not, every author can benefit from having a professional website that functions as a landing page filled with information for interested parties.

The hardest part is building the site, but once it’s done, you’ll quickly realize the benefits in store. Wondering where to start? Here’s everything you need to know to build an awesome author website.

Select a Host

The first step in building your website is choosing a hosting company. This is the company you will pay a monthly or yearly fee to in order to keep your site up and running. There are different categories when it comes to hosting companies.

Some are advertised as free. This is great for managing a blog or for someone who is still building out their brand, but otherwise, it won’t allow you to really create a customized site. There will be significant limitations because you’re getting the service for free.

Next, there’s self-hosting which will involve a small fee to the hosting company. This option allows you to have complete creative control over the site you’re building, from the template to pages, images and more.

However, you’re responsible for the management of the site and will have to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. Sites like Weebly and Wix have both free and small fee self-hosting options.

Beyond that is a premium hosting option which is best for published authors who have a significant amount of information they want to convey to their audiences such as upcoming book releases, tour dates and more.

A premium option like Direction Inc. will involve a slightly higher monthly rate, but with it, comes security for your site, regular back-ups, and instant help if your site crashes.

Once you’ve determined your hosting company, you’ll be able to move forward with the creation of the rest of your site. If you’re planning to build the site yourself from start to finish, we suggest choosing a clear, intuitive and easy to navigate hosting service so you don’t get confused or stuck during the process.

Choose Your Domain Name

You may already have some ideas about what you’d like your domain name to be. If so, you’ll have to see if it’s available and then purchase it. You’ll pay a yearly fee to maintain ownership of the name.

We suggest keeping your domain simple and pretty obvious. Most authors choose to have their website URL be their full name with a .com or .org following, depending on what’s available. If your name is taken, try adding the word “author” or “books” to the end of your name and see if that option now becomes available.

You want to steer clear of selecting any kind of domain that wouldn’t be immediately associated with you or your work. If you make it too complex, people won’t remember it and it won’t necessarily come up in the search when people google your name.

You want your readers to easily find you online!

Decide on a Template

There’s a lot to consider when building the template or theme of your site and there’s no one right way to do it. The items you select to appear on your site should be relevant to what you’re working on now and drive users to the things you want them most to see.

The most important page is the homepage. But don’t forget about the rest of your site. Think about what you want the sidebar to look like, what’s included in it and how does it pop on the page? What about the banners, footers, and headers?

These are all choices you’ll be able to make in terms of style, font, and color, as well as functionality. When making these selections, keep in mind what keeps you moving smoothly through another website. How do you respond to different templates and themes and which do you prefer when on an internet search?

Include the Essentials

Once you’ve locked down your template, you know how your site will look but what about the contents? Now it’s time to decide what will actually appear on your site. Start by separating your information into categories; those will be the various pages on your site.

You’ll need to have some of the essentials like a home page that gives users some pertinent information so they can be sure they’ve searched the right person and landed on the correct site. You’ll want to have an “about” or “bio” page to share a bit about yourself along with a contact page.

The contact page can be set up so that users can email you directly or you can create a contact form they can fill out on the site that signals you on the backend. You’ll also want to include a page with information about any upcoming work and when they can expect it or what it’s about.

Lastly, you should have easily viewable and clickable icons that connect to your social media platforms. You can put this on your contact page but also consider having it in the footer or sidebar of every page they click so following you on the socials is always an option.

Other than these essentials, you have free reign to create a site that suits you. You can get creative with it as well. Consider having a preview page where users can read excerpts from your upcoming work, much like they could on Amazon when purchasing a book.

Get the Most out of Your New Site

So you’ve built a website and now you’re wondering how to get eyes on it. Well, you’re a writer so, write! Creating and upkeeping a blog that is part of your site is one of the easiest ways to attract more traffic to your page.

Your blog can be about anything! Topics can be relevant to your other existing work or you can even write a personal blog that chronicles the writing process and how it’s going for you. Other writers will be sure to connect and relate to that.

Keep your blogging consistent and use it as a way to promote your site. Don’t be shy on social media. Link your new blog post to Facebook or Twitter and give people even more of a reason to head to your page.

Create Your Author Website!

Follow the above steps and get your author website live within no time. It will help grow your audience and create buzz about you as a writer. If you want people to know who you are and read your work, they need to be able to find you!

Be sure to check out the rest of our blog for more digital marketing and content strategy tips that can help easily grow your business.