Director Philip Kaufman (“The Right Stuff”) is 87. Singer Barbara Ann Hawkins of The Dixie Cups is 80. Director Ang Lee (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) is 69. Jazz

Birthdays – Oct. 23

When an unknown assailant preys on a haunted hotel's patrons, an event planner teams up with a mysterious tenant who's dark past is the key to freeing the cursed hotel

Dante's Hotel

Tightening budgets doesn't mean that people aren’t in the market for solutions, it just means that they are more discerning and deliberate in their decision making.

Three Key Factors For Mastering Outbound Sales In An Economic Downturn

Singer Matthew Shultz of Cage the Elephant is 40. Former TV host Meghan McCain (“The View”) is 39. Actor Masiela Lusha (“George Lopez”) is 38. Singer Miguel is 38. Actor Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”) is 37. Actor Inbar Lavi (“Imposters ...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Oct. 22-28

The recently released research report, titled Lead Generation Software Market Size, Share, Pricing, Trends, Growth, Opportunities, and Forecast 2023-2029. The study includes crucial data about the target market,

Lead Generation Software Market To Show Incredible Growth And Forecast By 2029 | Lusha Systems, Uplead, Callrail, Netline Themarketpublicist

Celebrities having birthdays during the week of Oct. 22-28 include actor Kevin Kline, bassist Robert Trujillo of Metallica and comedian Samantha Bee.

Actor Derek Jacobi is 85. Actor Christopher Lloyd is 85. Actor Tony Roberts is 84. Director Jan de Bont (“Twister,” “Speed”) is 80.

Many insect species that are declining -- such as bees -- are essential pollinators, and more information is needed to determine the best method to sample and monitor their numbers.

UW Researchers Team Up With Girl Scout to Study Bee Sampling Methods

STORY: Imported goods bear witness to growing Euro-Asia trade tiesDATELINE: Sept. 26, 2023LENGTH: 0:02:27LOCATION: XI'AN, ChinaCATEGORY: ECONOMYSHOTLIST:1. various of the 2023 Euro-Asia Economic Forum 2.

Imported goods bear witness to growing Euro-Asia trade ties

Even just painting the bottom portions of turbine bases a darker shade may decrease the abundance of insects and their predators colliding near turbines.

Wind turbine color may play role in insect attraction, research suggests

Lusha

lusha

Editor’s note: This story represents the views of the author of the story. The author is not affiliated with HackerNoon staff and wrote this story on their own. The HackerNoon editorial team has only verified the story for grammatical accuracy and does not condone/condemn any of the claims contained herein. #DYOR Buckle up, folks, because it looks like the web’s latest scandal is about to get your blood boiling. If you’ve been getting more spam than usual lately, it might just be time to thank the shady operators at Soft2Share.com. The operator of the website has been caught red-handed in an outrageous spam scheme attempting to sell unauthorized email lists. Hold on to your keyboards—things are about to get ugly. In what can only be described as a brazen attempt to cash in on email lists, Soft2Share.com has been caught spamming thousands of unsuspecting websites. And how did they do it? By using their own domain email address and Gmail accounts. Let’s dive into the details. Soft2Share.com was caught red-handed attempting to peddle email lists that contain hundreds, if not thousands, of email addresses. And who are these unfortunate email list victims? Private website owners, bloggers, news publications—you name it. If you’ve got an email address and a website, chances are, Soft2Share.com had you on its hit list. Spam Email Subject Line - 10 Million B2B Email Leads From contact@soft2share.com | Clarissa Turner Hi there, I hope you're having a great day. I am a digital marketer and work at Brand Visibility. Just Wondering, are you interested in buying 10 Million verified B2B email leads from the Apollo, Lusha, Cognism, Uplead, Linkedin and ZoomInfo databases?Features: EMEA, NAM, and APAC coverage, validated emails, high accuracy and GDPR compliance. Selling Price: $150 Let me know if you are interested.Regards. - The spammer. One user reported receiving the unsolicited email 17 times (After requesting to stop each time) - After the 17th a response was provided to the stop request - “We use AI for email marketing” - “We:”??? - What a joke! It’s just a freelancer spammer with no shame! Now, you might be wondering why this is such a big deal. After all, spam has been around forever, right? True, but this isn’t just your run-of-the-mill junk email. This is a calculated, aggressive scheme to exploit the personal information of countless individuals and organizations for profit. And it’s not just about annoying emails; it's about privacy violations and a blatant disregard for digital ethics. For bloggers and journalists who rely on email to connect with their audiences, this isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a potential threat to their livelihood. And for private website owners, it’s a breach of security that could open the door to further harassment. What makes this situation even worse is the fact that Soft2Share.com didn’t stop at their own domain. Oh no, they took it a step further by utilizing Gmail accounts to extend their reach. It’s as if they wanted to make sure no inbox was left untouched by their spammy grasp. And let’s not forget the larger implications. When spam emails proliferate, they don’t just annoy—they can lead to serious security risks, including phishing attempts and malware distribution. By selling these lists, Soft2Share.com isn’t just playing with fire; they’re throwing gasoline on it. So, what’s the takeaway from all this? First off, be vigilant. If you’re receiving an uptick in spam, especially if it seems oddly specific or targeted, your email might have ended up on one of these dubious lists. Secondly, it’s time we call out and hold accountable those who profit from our personal data and email addresses. Soft2Share.com may have thought it is operating under the radar, but its actions have lit up the digital world like a neon sign. Hold onto your inboxes, folks, because the Soft2Share.com spam scandal has taken a turn for the absurd. As if flooding inboxes with unwanted emails wasn’t bad enough, it seems the spammer behind Soft2Share.com has now perfected the art of ignoring pleas to stop. Picture this: you've been relentlessly bombarded with spam from Soft2Share.com, and your inbox is overflowing with offers to buy email lists that include thousands of addresses. Frustrated and fed up, you decide to fight back by firing off a polite but firm request to stop the spamming. But what happens? Silence. Crickets. Your emails are swallowed by the void, and the spam continues to pour in, unabated. But wait, there’s more! One particularly fed-up recipient decided to up the ante. They threatened to report Soft2Share.com to the hosting provider, the CAN-SPAM Act administrator, and various spam reporting databases. Surely, such a threat would get a reaction, right? Well, you’d think so. Instead of a professional or even halfway serious response, this beleaguered spam victim received a reply that can only be described as laughably inadequate. The spammer claimed to be from a “large firm”—argued that her actions were perfectly “fine and ethical marketing.” Seriously? This is the spin we’re getting? The response continued in a bewildering fashion, asserting that there was absolutely no need for opt-in permissions or agreements—because who needs pesky legalities when you're making a quick buck off spam, right? And just when you thought it couldn’t get any more absurd, the spammer threw in a veiled threat of legal action. As if any self-respecting legal team would back a freelancing spammer trying to make a few dollars from dodgy email lists. So, let’s dissect this debacle. The so-called “large firm” is actually just a freelancer with questionable ethics and a severely misguided understanding of marketing practices. The email lists being peddled are clearly harvested and then distributed without consent, and the defenses being offered are as flimsy as wet tissue paper. It’s comical and infuriating all at once. On the one hand, we have a spammer who thinks they can just sweep aside legal obligations and ethical standards with a dismissive wave. On the other, we have an industry that’s clearly in need of stricter regulations and more robust enforcement to tackle these digital parasites. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’re looking for a poster child for the digital parasites dragging our online world into the muck, look no further than Soft2Share.com. This slimy operation is a textbook case of everything that’s wrong with the darker corners of the internet. Their modus operandi? Selling email lists stuffed with thousands of addresses so they can spam even more unsuspecting victims. The audacity of these spammers knows no bounds. Despite repeated cease-and-desist requests from frustrated recipients, Soft2Share.com continues to ignore pleas for sanity. Instead of addressing their unethical behavior, they’ve opted to brush off complaints with laughable justifications. So, next time you encounter spam, remember that it’s not just a nuisance—it’s a symptom of a much larger problem. And let’s be clear: operators like Soft2Share.com are at the heart of this problem. They’re the parasites feeding off the health of our digital world, and it’s up to all of us to push back. Note - None of the email addresses contained in the email lists attempting to be sold via spam emails authorized the list provider from soft2share to be mounted in the documents. The contacts in the lists were scraped while the spammer states they are GDPR compliant. Update - 08/04/2024 The spammer has now ceased using their own domain name and gmail.com to send the spam emails and has now moved to using the email marketing service brevo.com. The Brevo abuse email has been contacted and advised of the spam and email abuse. We now wait to see if the service provider takes action. Meanwhile, it has been discovered the spammer lives in India and is now sending the spam from the following address. Email address - clarissaturner91@7982151.m-sender-sib.com Fake name - Clarissa Turner Whatsapp: +91 8755552040 Editor’s note: This story represents the views of the author of the story. The author is not affiliated with HackerNoon staff and wrote this story on their own. The HackerNoon editorial team has only verified the story for grammatical accuracy and does not condone/condemn any of the claims contained herein. #DYOR Editor’s note: This story represents the views of the author of the story. The author is not affiliated with HackerNoon staff and wrote this story on their own. The HackerNoon editorial team has only verified the story for grammatical accuracy and does not condone/condemn any of the claims contained herein. #DYOR Editor’s note: This story represents the views of the author of the story. The author is not affiliated with HackerNoon staff and wrote this story on their own. The HackerNoon editorial team has only verified the story for grammatical accuracy and does not condone/condemn any of the claims contained herein. #DYOR Editor’s note: This story represents the views of the author of the story. The author is not affiliated with HackerNoon staff and wrote this story on their own. The HackerNoon editorial team has only verified the story for grammatical accuracy and does not condone/condemn any of the claims contained herein. #DYOR Buckle up, folks, because it looks like the web’s latest scandal is about to get your blood boiling. If you’ve been getting more spam than usual lately, it might just be time to thank the shady operators at Soft2Share.com. The operator of the website has been caught red-handed in an outrageous spam scheme attempting to sell unauthorized email lists. Hold on to your keyboards—things are about to get ugly. spam scheme In what can only be described as a brazen attempt to cash in on email lists, Soft2Share.com has been caught spamming thousands of unsuspecting websites. And how did they do it? By using their own domain email address and Gmail accounts. Let’s dive into the details. Soft2Share.com was caught red-handed attempting to peddle email lists that contain hundreds, if not thousands, of email addresses. And who are these unfortunate email list victims? Private website owners, bloggers, news publications—you name it. If you’ve got an email address and a website, chances are, Soft2Share.com had you on its hit list. Spam Email Subject Line - 10 Million B2B Email Leads From contact@soft2share.com | Clarissa Turner Hi there, I hope you're having a great day. I am a digital marketer and work at Brand Visibility. Just Wondering, are you interested in buying 10 Million verified B2B email leads from the Apollo, Lusha, Cognism, Uplead, Linkedin and ZoomInfo databases? Features : EMEA, NAM, and APAC coverage, validated emails, high accuracy and GDPR compliance. Features Selling Price: $150 Let me know if you are interested. Regards. - The spammer. One user reported receiving the unsolicited email 17 times (After requesting to stop each time) - After the 17th a response was provided to the stop request - “We use AI for email marketing” - “We:”??? - What a joke! It’s just a freelancer spammer with no shame! Now, you might be wondering why this is such a big deal. After all, spam has been around forever, right? True, but this isn’t just your run-of-the-mill junk email. This is a calculated, aggressive scheme to exploit the personal information of countless individuals and organizations for profit. And it’s not just about annoying emails; it's about privacy violations and a blatant disregard for digital ethics. For bloggers and journalists who rely on email to connect with their audiences, this isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a potential threat to their livelihood. And for private website owners, it’s a breach of security that could open the door to further harassment. What makes this situation even worse is the fact that Soft2Share.com didn’t stop at their own domain. Oh no, they took it a step further by utilizing Gmail accounts to extend their reach. It’s as if they wanted to make sure no inbox was left untouched by their spammy grasp. And let’s not forget the larger implications. When spam emails proliferate, they don’t just annoy—they can lead to serious security risks, including phishing attempts and malware distribution. By selling these lists, Soft2Share.com isn’t just playing with fire; they’re throwing gasoline on it. So, what’s the takeaway from all this? First off, be vigilant. If you’re receiving an uptick in spam, especially if it seems oddly specific or targeted, your email might have ended up on one of these dubious lists. Secondly, it’s time we call out and hold accountable those who profit from our personal data and email addresses. Soft2Share.com may have thought it is operating under the radar, but its actions have lit up the digital world like a neon sign. Hold onto your inboxes, folks, because the Soft2Share.com spam scandal has taken a turn for the absurd. As if flooding inboxes with unwanted emails wasn’t bad enough, it seems the spammer behind Soft2Share.com has now perfected the art of ignoring pleas to stop. Picture this: you've been relentlessly bombarded with spam from Soft2Share.com, and your inbox is overflowing with offers to buy email lists that include thousands of addresses. Frustrated and fed up, you decide to fight back by firing off a polite but firm request to stop the spamming. But what happens? Silence. Crickets. Your emails are swallowed by the void, and the spam continues to pour in, unabated. But wait, there’s more! One particularly fed-up recipient decided to up the ante. They threatened to report Soft2Share.com to the hosting provider, the CAN-SPAM Act administrator, and various spam reporting databases. Surely, such a threat would get a reaction, right? Well, you’d think so. Instead of a professional or even halfway serious response, this beleaguered spam victim received a reply that can only be described as laughably inadequate. The spammer claimed to be from a “large firm”—argued that her actions were perfectly “fine and ethical marketing.” Seriously? This is the spin we’re getting? The response continued in a bewildering fashion, asserting that there was absolutely no need for opt-in permissions or agreements—because who needs pesky legalities when you're making a quick buck off spam, right? And just when you thought it couldn’t get any more absurd, the spammer threw in a veiled threat of legal action. As if any self-respecting legal team would back a freelancing spammer trying to make a few dollars from dodgy email lists. So, let’s dissect this debacle. The so-called “large firm” is actually just a freelancer with questionable ethics and a severely misguided understanding of marketing practices. The email lists being peddled are clearly harvested and then distributed without consent, and the defenses being offered are as flimsy as wet tissue paper. It’s comical and infuriating all at once. On the one hand, we have a spammer who thinks they can just sweep aside legal obligations and ethical standards with a dismissive wave. On the other, we have an industry that’s clearly in need of stricter regulations and more robust enforcement to tackle these digital parasites. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’re looking for a poster child for the digital parasites dragging our online world into the muck, look no further than Soft2Share.com. This slimy operation is a textbook case of everything that’s wrong with the darker corners of the internet. Their modus operandi? Selling email lists stuffed with thousands of addresses so they can spam even more unsuspecting victims. The audacity of these spammers knows no bounds. Despite repeated cease-and-desist requests from frustrated recipients, Soft2Share.com continues to ignore pleas for sanity. Instead of addressing their unethical behavior, they’ve opted to brush off complaints with laughable justifications. So, next time you encounter spam, remember that it’s not just a nuisance—it’s a symptom of a much larger problem. And let’s be clear: operators like Soft2Share.com are at the heart of this problem. They’re the parasites feeding off the health of our digital world, and it’s up to all of us to push back. Note - None of the email addresses contained in the email lists attempting to be sold via spam emails authorized the list provider from soft2share to be mounted in the documents. The contacts in the lists were scraped while the spammer states they are GDPR compliant. Update - 08/04/2024 Update - 08/04/2024 The spammer has now ceased using their own domain name and gmail.com to send the spam emails and has now moved to using the email marketing service brevo.com. The Brevo abuse email has been contacted and advised of the spam and email abuse. We now wait to see if the service provider takes action. Meanwhile, it has been discovered the spammer lives in India and is now sending the spam from the following address. Email address - clarissaturner91@7982151.m-sender-sib.com Fake name - Clarissa Turner Whatsapp: +91 8755552040

Soft2Share.com Caught Red-Handed In Large Spam Scheme

Sales reps are trying to sell their products or services to prospective leads consistently. To establish a connection with these leads, sales representatives can either rely on marketing teams to deliver inbound leads or they can find prospects through cold calling, , and texting (SMS). cold emails Add multi-channel outreach, and you can maximize the reach to your target audience by showing up on different platforms. Multi-channel outreaches usually lead to an increase in ROI by an average of 25%. is one of the cold outreach software, which helps you not only send cold emails but also connect with your target audience via LinkedIn. Lemlist How can a multi-channel outbound sequence facilitate your SaaS growth? Fundamentally, using multiple communication channels to reach out to prospects increases your chances of connecting with them. Here are some further reasons why you should not ignore multichannel outreaches. Using multiple channels enables us to communicate with decision-makers in their desired way and gives us more opportunities. Broader, more accurate reach – Multi-channel sales outreach gives data on where prospects are most engaged and suggest the channels that need an upgrade or change. Actionable analytics (and customer insights) – Utilizing the multichannel marketing approach, you may take advantage of different channels’ capabilities while identifying those circumstances where it falls short. Take advantage of the capabilities diverse channels have to offer – One of the major advantages is how each channel works together throughout a single campaign. For instance, you can send emails to leads you connect with on LinkedIn and establish the context of the conversation without much hassle. Utilize multiple channels to engage with a single lead – What is ? Lemlist Lemlist is an AI-powered tool that allows you to automate outreach campaigns and create highly personalised email campaigns. You may segment your audience, customise your emails, and monitor your performance with Lemlist to see what’s working. It functions as a sales engagement platform that automates follow-ups for you. As a result, you can concentrate on your primary sales activities while leaving the follow-ups to Lemlist. email marketing Lemlist not only helps you to create a relationship with your target audience on various platforms, but also guides you to generate leads across several channels, including LinkedIn, cold email, and cold calls. In the process, it enables you to grow your LinkedIn network and transform your profile into a lead-generation tool as well. How to build a multi-channel outbound sequence using Lemlist? In this article, we are going to make your life a bit easier by demonstrating how you can create an outbound sequence in multiple channels by using Lemlist and reach a wider range of your target audience! 1. Defining Your Target Audience The first step towards defining your target audience is to create an Idea Customer Profile (ICP). ICP is a hypothetical description of the kind of organisation that would benefit most from your products or services. Giving your consumers greater value will increase the value you receive in return. Here are some ideas for how to make your company’s ICP as relatable as possible: Try to include customers who contribute the most revenue, receive the greatest value from you, and have been loyal to you for the longest. These are the kinds of customers you should search for more frequently. A. Make a list of your top customers – Attempt to learn the fundamentals of their business, such as its industry, size, and revenue. Then try to dive deep by understanding their social characteristics and if they have added any new features to their solutions. You can also conduct a call or interview to learn more about them if you require more in-depth information. B. Explore their attributes – Look for patterns among your best clients that are repeated from one account to another. These qualities are the ones you should look for in potential new clients to make sure they turn out to be your best customers as well. C. Identify the common characteristics – The above steps were overall research on what kind of company you want to acquire as your customer. However, that is not enough. You need to dive deep into the persona of the individual or buyer in the company who is going to opt for your solution. A buyer persona is a thorough profile of a member of your target audience. While fictional, it is based on extensive study and can help to enhance your outreach personalization. Let’s see some quick steps on how you can create this! undefined Try to pinpoint the professional background (job title, job role, etc.), demographics (location, age, etc.) and interests of the buyer that you are trying to target. You can easily get such information from the LinkedIn Profile of your ideal buyers, or the information from your website’s google analytics account. [ ] Buyer profile – How to find the professional background of your ideal buyer? undefined After you know the precise objectives of your target, you can provide them with a unique value by explaining how your product will help them reach those objectives. This may be determined by looking at their LinkedIn comments and reviews, the queries they post in the social media groups they are a part of, etc. [ ] Know the objectives and goals of your buyer – undefined Once you know the type of content, social media platform, or outbound technique your target customer is most responsive to, you may reach out to them there, increasing the likelihood that they will respond. On your website, you can monitor their behaviour to learn what drove them to make a purchase. [ ] How did they learn about you and choose to acquire your solution? – [ ] undefined It’s crucial to know what might prevent your target market from buying your product. This will enable you to anticipate their objections and persuade them to set aside their concerns in order to try your product. What might prevent them from buying your solution? – Creating tiers for your buyer personas is the final stage in defining your target audience. This stage is essential because it enables you to determine which objectives will yield the greatest profits and where you should concentrate your efforts. These tiers can be used to determine where to focus your personalization and lead-generating efforts. 2. How to Build a Lead List that You will Target in Your Outbound Sequence? After you have defined your target audience, you can make a list of the people whom you would like to reach out to through your outbound sequence. This will not only make you more efficient at work, but a smart and targeted lead list is essential to your outbound sales process. Your sales pipeline is built on this lead list. A lot of your valuable time will be used up manually creating this lead list. Hence, in order to assist you, we will cover the top 3 tools that will enable you to create these lead lists in just a few minutes! Apollo is a comprehensive sales intelligence and engagement tool for SaaS companies that equip firms with all they need to prospect, enrich leads, and connect with potential clients effectively. Apollo makes it simple to centralise your sales efforts and prevent tool exhaustion. A good value for money is also obtained with this tool. With 250 million (and increasing) contacts, it also boasts the largest lead database among all sales lead creation solutions. You may also add a lot more information to your existing lead data (from CRM, marketing platforms, etc.) as well as generate new lead lists here with just one click. Apollo usually provides valid work emails for ~75% of the leads that you identify in their filters. – Apollo With information from over 100 million business contacts and 15 million enterprises, Lusha is a powerful lead-generation tool. The platform also has tools that can help you convert leads into customers, such as enriched data for more precise sales outreach.  Lusha is a fantastic option for mid-market enterprises wanting to build their operations by increasing their sales pipeline because of its extensive set of features and dedication to 85% – 90% accurate data gathering. Additionally, the Lusha platform was created with simplicity of use in mind, making it easy for sales teams to pick it up in just a few clicks. – Lusha Any professional marketer looking for new potential clients will find ZoomInfo to be a great resource. The email search engine on the platform offers extensive data on more than 150 million professionals. Additionally, marketers can be over 95% precise in their targeting of key demographics with ZoomInfo’s data enrichment technologies. The ZoomInfo platform is an advanced software that has made a name for itself as a leader in the field of sales intelligence. However, because it is a relatively complex platform, customizing and integrating it into your current processes might be somewhat challenging. – ZoomInfo 3. How to Create Your Multi-Channel Sequence using and Cold Emails? LinkedIn With Lemlist, you can integrate multiple platforms to reach out to your target audience. In this article, we will discuss how you can create a multi-channel sequence by using LinkedIn and Outbound Cold Emails. You may connect to your leads on LinkedIn directly from your Lemlist Dashboard after you’ve connected LinkedIn with your Lemlist account. You should start by going to the ‘Sequence Stage’ of the campaign you are creating or any existing campaign you wish to alter. From here, you may access your lead’s LinkedIn page and send them an invite. Step 1 - Visit and invite your leads on LinkedIn – This step gives your future messages some context, makes individuals interested in your profile if you haven’t already connected, and demonstrates that you did some preparation. But be mindful of your daily LinkedIn invite restriction of 20. Aim to get at least 20% of the connection requests accepted. If you’re falling short of it, you should upgrade your LinkedIn profile and audit the audience you are reaching out to. You can also send customised messages to your leads on LinkedIn within the “Sequence Stage” exclusively. Since you don’t really need to give much information when engaging with people on a networking platform, you can start your communication with a LinkedIn message. But if you want to share information about yourself with them, it’s advisable to leave a LinkedIn message as a follow-up to any email that you have already given. Step 2 – Send a message on LinkedIn – Also, be sure to wait 5–6 days before entering a message after sending an invite. So your potential customers have time to accept your invitation! They won’t receive your message otherwise. You can start cold emailing your leads once you have connected with them on LinkedIn. The biggest benefit of this is that you are no longer absolutely unknown to them, increasing the likelihood that they will open your emails. Step 3 – Set up cold email sequences – Another benefit of using cold emails in multichannel sequences is that you may use immense personalization, but the entire process is automated. Therefore, you’re working quickly while still attracting leads. In order for your leads to remember you, it is crucial to follow up with them using cold emails. For this reason, you should at the very least create two cold email steps. Don’t forget to keep some details in mind to prevent your emails from ending up in spam – a. Do not send more than 100 – 200 emails per week. Open rate should be more than 50%. Reply rate should at least be 10%. Lemlist will alert you when it’s time to engage with someone’s LinkedIn or Twitter post if you add a reminder to your campaign. This will enable you to establish a strong bond with your leads and win their confidence. To simplify the procedure, you could provide the link to the post, the suggestion for a remark, or the actual comment in the “Instruction” area. Step 4 – Reminders – 4. Things You Should Keep in Mind while Writing Copies for Your Cold Emails. Every cold email starts with some basic principles. But, the best writers and cold emailers master the art of catching a reader’s attention and providing value. You must conduct in-depth market research on your target audience and have a firm grasp of the essential elements of email copy in order to write a cold email that converts well. To generate interest in your solutions, you must not only make your email content interesting but also informative. With these emails, you need to demonstrate to your target audience how you are qualified to address their issues and simplify their lives. Let’s look at some crucial points that you need to bear in mind when composing these cold emails. One of the first things a receiver observes about your email is the subject line. ~50% of recipients only consider the subject line while deciding whether to open an email. As a result, your email subject line should grab the reader’s attention right away. Personalize the subject line by using the name of your recipient or the name of their company, a connection you have, a fascinating fact about them, or a particular problem that they face. And, keep it short. A. Subject Line – What persuades a reader to continue reading are the opening lines. Your introductory paragraphs need to grab the reader’s attention and facilitate interaction. More importantly, it should provide context for your main email body and explain to readers why they should care about your cold sales email/why you have reached out. Do not send cold emails without any context or observations. B. Opening Lines – The primary body of your cold email should fulfil all of your prior promises and assertions. Tell them how the observation is tied to the problem you are solving, how your plan will help them, and how it has worked in the past for other companies. Try not to include any images in the first email that you send. Showcase your value proposition, or what you can accomplish for the recipient. C. Main Body – As soon as a lead has finished reading the email’s content, you need to make it clear what they should do next: book a meeting with you, go to your landing page, read a case study, or watch a brief video. A crystal-clear call to action encourages readers to interact with your material more and drives them towards conversion. Keep in mind that each email should only contain one CTA. CTAs that are overused might confuse readers and reduce engagement. D. Call to Action – You can add some personalizations to your emails to make your potential leads feel more connected or make them more interested in opening your email. For eg: Adding their first names, company names, adding the sender’s name, etc. when you are sending the email it will automatically take the first name of your Potential Leads as mentioned in your uploaded lead list. E. Use as much Personalization as you can – You cannot cover every topic in one simple email. This is why attaching links is important so that any lead who is interested in your solution can get to know more from these links. Another purpose that these links solve is the fact that you can track the leads who are clicking on these links. This would not only help you to see who is interested in your solution but also measure which email copy is working for your leads. But make sure you are not overwhelming recipients with links. Adding too many links also lands your emails in spam. F. Add minimal links to your email body – How to Launch Campaigns on Lemlist? You can start a campaign on Lemlist in just 10 minutes. Let me guide you a bit to make this process extremely simple for you. A. Click on and upload the lead list under that you have created and added to your Lemlsit account. Remember, two campaigns cannot have the same leads. ‘Create Campaign’ ‘Leads’ B. Then set up a name for your new campaign under and check out all the other features. You can alter these according to the goals and objectives of your campaign. ‘Settings’ C. Under create your multi-channel sequence using LinkedIn and cold emails steps as explained above. ‘Sequence’ D. Under select the timezone for which you want to launch your campaign. ‘Schedule’ E. Lastly, all the emails, and check if all leads are added, sequences are in place, and personalisations and links are working. ‘Review’ F. And there you go, you are all ready to your campaign! launch How to Measure Your Performance on Lemlist? With Lemlist, you can not only create a multi-channel outbound outreach but also get feedback on how your outreach is working and if you need to make any changes or improvements.  You can also see exactly how your campaign performed and figure out what was most effective. Let’s see how this is done! Get data for each of your Email steps, LinkedIn steps, Call steps, Manual tasks, and API Call steps for your multichannel sequences. A. Per Channel Statistics – This section contains a breakdown of the stats for your sequence, allowing you to see how well each step performed. You may assess the effectiveness of your A/B testing here as well. Here, you may also keep tabs on your campaign activities, lead analysis, etc. B. Per Step Statistics – Here, you may see the negative aspects of your statistics, such as failed, bounced, and unsubscribed attempts, among others. C. Review your campaign’s negative metrics – Depending on the timeframe you select, you’ll get an overview of the activities of your various campaigns each day or each week. It lists all the actions that your leads have taken, arranged by stat (sent, opened, clicked, replied, interested). D. Receive an overview of your team’s performance – E. The best method for measuring the performance of the Lemlist campaigns is to use its . Setup webhook for events like emailsSent, emailsOpened, emailsReplied, emailsClicked, linkedinReplied, linkedinSent etc., and pipe those events to a data warehouse like Google BigQuery via pipedream or n8n. You can connect your data warehouse to a BI tool like Google Data Studio and bam! You can build all potential analytical cuts you want. webhook Interested in empowering your SDRs with a robust outbound infrastructure? Speak to to Get a More Clear Picture of Building a Multi-Channel Sequence on Lemlist! Our Outbound Expert This article was originally posted . here

How to Build a Multi-Channel Outbound Sequence on Lemlist

Secuencia de salida multicanal en Lemlist

Séquence sortante multi-canal sur Lemlist

लेमलिस्ट पर मल्टी-चैनल आउटबाउंड सीक्वेंस

Lemlist のマルチチャネルアウトバウンドシーケンス

Sequência de saída multicanal no Lemlist

Trình tự đầu ra đa kênh trên Lemlist

Lemlist 上的多通道出站序列

The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents, by H. G. Wells, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . THE FLYING MAN THE FLYING MAN The Ethnologist looked at the bhimraj feather thoughtfully. “They seemed loth to part with it,” he said. “It is sacred to the Chiefs,” said the lieutenant; “just as yellow silk, you know, is sacred to the Chinese Emperor.” The Ethnologist did not answer. He hesitated. Then opening the topic abruptly, “What on earth is this cock-and-bull story they have of a flying man?” The lieutenant smiled faintly. “What did they tell you?” “I see,” said the Ethnologist, “that you know of your fame.” The lieutenant rolled himself a cigarette. “I don’t mind hearing about it once more. How does it stand at present?” “It’s so confoundedly childish,” said the Ethnologist, becoming irritated. “How did you play it off upon them?” The lieutenant made no answer, but lounged back in his folding-chair, still smiling. “Here am I, come four hundred miles out of my way to get what is left of the folk-lore of these people, before they are utterly demoralised by missionaries and the military, and all I find are a lot of impossible legends about a sandy-haired scrub of an infantry lieutenant. How he is invulnerable—how he can jump over elephants—how he can fly. That’s the toughest nut. One old gentleman described your wings, said they had black plumage and were not quite as long as a mule. Said he often saw you by moonlight hovering over the crests out towards the Shendu country.—Confound it, man!” The lieutenant laughed cheerfully. “Go on,” he said. “Go on.” The Ethnologist did. At last he wearied. “To trade so,” he said, “on these unsophisticated children of the mountains. How could you bring yourself to do it, man?” “I’m sorry,” said the lieutenant, “but truly the thing was forced upon me. I can assure you I was driven to it. And at the time I had not the faintest idea of how the Chin imagination would take it. Or curiosity. I can only plead it was an indiscretion and not malice that made me replace the folk-lore by a new legend. But as you seem aggrieved, I will try and explain the business to you. “It was in the time of the last Lushai expedition but one, and Walters thought these people you have been visiting were friendly. So, with an airy confidence in my capacity for taking care of myself, he sent me up the gorge—fourteen miles of it—with three of the Derbyshire men and half a dozen Sepoys, two mules, and his blessing, to see what popular feeling was like at that village you visited. A force of ten—not counting the mules—fourteen miles, and during a war! You saw the road?” “Road!” said the Ethnologist. “It’s better now than it was. When we went up we had to wade in the river for a mile where the valley narrows, with a smart stream frothing round our knees and the stones as slippery as ice. There it was I dropped my rifle. Afterwards the Sappers blasted the cliff with dynamite and made the convenient way you came by. Then below, where those very high cliffs come, we had to keep on dodging across the river—I should say we crossed it a dozen times in a couple of miles. “We got in sight of the place early the next morning. You know how it lies, on a spur halfway between the big hills, and as we began to appreciate how wickedly quiet the village lay under the sunlight, we came to a stop to consider. “At that they fired a lump of filed brass idol at us, just by way of a welcome. It came twanging down the slope to the right of us where the boulders are, missed my shoulder by an inch or so, and plugged the mule that carried all the provisions and utensils. I never heard such a death-rattle before or since. And at that we became aware of a number of gentlemen carrying matchlocks, and dressed in things like plaid dusters, dodging about along the neck between the village and the crest to the east. “‘Right about face,’ I said. ‘Not too close together.’ “And with that encouragement my expedition of ten men came round and set off at a smart trot down the valley again hitherward. We did not wait to save anything our dead had carried, but we kept the second mule with us—he carried my tent and some other rubbish—out of a feeling of friendship. “So ended the battle—ingloriously. Glancing back, I saw the valley dotted with the victors, shouting and firing at us. But no one was hit. These Chins and their guns are very little good except at a sitting shot. They will sit and finick over a boulder for hours taking aim, and when they fire running it is chiefly for stage effect. Hooker, one of the Derbyshire men, fancied himself rather with the rifle, and stopped behind for half a minute to try his luck as we turned the bend. But he got nothing. “I’m not a Xenophon to spin much of a yarn about my retreating army. We had to pull the enemy up twice in the next two miles when he became a bit pressing, by exchanging shots with him, but it was a fairly monotonous affair—hard breathing chiefly—until we got near the place where the hills run in towards the river and pinch the valley into a gorge. And there we very luckily caught a glimpse of half a dozen round black heads coming slanting-ways over the hill to the left of us—the east that is—and almost parallel with us. “At that I called a halt. ‘Look here,’ says I to Hooker and the other Englishmen; ‘what are we to do now?’ and I pointed to the heads. “‘Headed orf, or I’m a nigger,’ said one of the men. “‘We shall be,’ said another. ‘You know the Chin way, George?’ “‘They can pot every one of us at fifty yards,’ says Hooker, ‘in the place where the river is narrow. It’s just suicide to go on down.’ “I looked at the hill to the right of us. It grew steeper lower down the valley, but it still seemed climbable. And all the Chins we had seen hitherto had been on the other side of the stream. “‘It’s that or stopping,’ says one of the Sepoys. “So we started slanting up the hill. There was something faintly suggestive of a road running obliquely up the face of it, and that we followed. Some Chins presently came into view up the valley, and I heard some shots. Then I saw one of the Sepoys was sitting down about thirty yards below us. He had simply sat down without a word, apparently not wishing to give trouble. At that I called a halt again; I told Hooker to try another shot, and went back and found the man was hit in the leg. I took him up, carried him along to put him on the mule—already pretty well laden with the tent and other things which we had no time to take off. When I got up to the rest with him, Hooker had his empty Martini in his hand, and was grinning and pointing to a motionless black spot up the valley. All the rest of the Chins were behind boulders or back round the bend. ‘Five hundred yards,’ says Hooker, ‘if an inch. And I’ll swear I hit him in the head.’ “I told him to go and do it again, and with that we went on again. “Now the hillside kept getting steeper as we pushed on, and the road we were following more and more of a shelf. At last it was mere cliff above and below us. ‘It’s the best road I have seen yet in Chin Lushai land,’ said I to encourage the men, though I had a fear of what was coming. “And in a few minutes the way bent round a corner of the cliff. Then, finis! the ledge came to an end. “As soon as he grasped the position one of the Derbyshire men fell a-swearing at the trap we had fallen into. The Sepoys halted quietly. Hooker grunted and reloaded, and went back to the bend. “Then two of the Sepoy chaps helped their comrade down and began to unload the mule. “Now, when I came to look about me, I began to think we had not been so very unfortunate after all. We were on a shelf perhaps ten yards across it at widest. Above it the cliff projected so that we could not be shot down upon, and below was an almost sheer precipice of perhaps two or three hundred feet. Lying down we were invisible to anyone across the ravine. The only approach was along the ledge, and on that one man was as good as a host. We were in a natural stronghold, with only one disadvantage, our sole provision against hunger and thirst was one live mule. Still we were at most eight or nine miles from the main expedition, and no doubt, after a day or so, they would send up after us if we did not return. “After a day or so ...” The lieutenant paused. “Ever been thirsty, Graham?” “Not that kind,” said the Ethnologist. “H’m. We had the whole of that day, the night, and the next day of it, and only a trifle of dew we wrung out of our clothes and the tent. And below us was the river going giggle, giggle, round a rock in mid stream. I never knew such a barrenness of incident, or such a quantity of sensation. The sun might have had Joshua’s command still upon it for all the motion one could see; and it blazed like a near furnace. Towards the evening of the first day one of the Derbyshire men said something—nobody heard what—and went off round the bend of the cliff. We heard shots, and when Hooker looked round the corner he was gone. And in the morning the Sepoy whose leg was shot was in delirium, and jumped or fell over the cliff. Then we took the mule and shot it, and that must needs go over the cliff too in its last struggles, leaving eight of us. “We could see the body of the Sepoy down below, with the head in the water. He was lying face downwards, and so far as I could make out was scarcely smashed at all. Badly as the Chins might covet his head, they had the sense to leave it alone until the darkness came. “At first we talked of all the chances there were of the main body hearing the firing, and reckoned whether they would begin to miss us, and all that kind of thing, but we dried up as the evening came on. The Sepoys played games with bits of stone among themselves, and afterwards told stories. The night was rather chilly. The second day nobody spoke. Our lips were black and our throats afire, and we lay about on the ledge and glared at one another. Perhaps it’s as well we kept our thoughts to ourselves. One of the British soldiers began writing some blasphemous rot on the rock with a bit of pipeclay, about his last dying will, until I stopped it. As I looked over the edge down into the valley and saw the river rippling I was nearly tempted to go after the Sepoy. It seemed a pleasant and desirable thing to go rushing down through the air with something to drink—or no more thirst at any rate—at the bottom. I remembered in time, though, that I was the officer in command, and my duty to set a good example, and that kept me from any such foolishness. “Yet, thinking of that, put an idea into my head. I got up and looked at the tent and tent ropes, and wondered why I had not thought of it before. Then I came and peered over the cliff again. This time the height seemed greater and the pose of the Sepoy rather more painful. But it was that or nothing. And to cut it short, I parachuted. “I got a big circle of canvas out of the tent, about three times the size of that table-cover, and plugged the hole in the centre, and I tied eight ropes round it to meet in the middle and make a parachute. The other chaps lay about and watched me as though they thought it was a new kind of delirium. Then I explained my notion to the two British soldiers and how I meant to do it, and as soon as the short dusk had darkened into night, I risked it. They held the thing high up, and I took a run the whole length of the ledge. The thing filled with air like a sail, but at the edge I will confess I funked and pulled up. “As soon as I stopped I was ashamed of myself—as well I might be in front of privates—and went back and started again. Off I jumped this time—with a kind of sob, I remember—clean into the air, with the big white sail bellying out above me. “I must have thought at a frightful pace. It seemed a long time before I was sure that the thing meant to keep steady. At first it heeled sideways. Then I noticed the face of the rock which seemed to be streaming up past me, and me motionless. Then I looked down and saw in the darkness the river and the dead Sepoy rushing up towards me. But in the indistinct light I also saw three Chins, seemingly aghast at the sight of me, and that the Sepoy was decapitated. At that I wanted to go back again. “Then my boot was in the mouth of one, and in a moment he and I were in a heap with the canvas fluttering down on the top of us. I fancy I dashed out his brains with my foot. I expected nothing more than to be brained myself by the other two, but the poor heathen had never heard of Baldwin, and incontinently bolted. “I struggled out of the tangle of dead Chin and canvas, and looked round. About ten paces off lay the head of the Sepoy staring in the moonlight. Then I saw the water and went and drank. There wasn’t a sound in the world but the footsteps of the departing Chins, a faint shout from above, and the gluck of the water. So soon as I had drunk my full I started off down the river. “That about ends the explanation of the flying man story. I never met a soul the whole eight miles of the way. I got to Walters’ camp by ten o’clock, and a born idiot of a sentinel had the cheek to fire at me as I came trotting out of the darkness. So soon as I had hammered my story into Winter’s thick skull, about fifty men started up the valley to clear the Chins out and get our men down. But for my own part I had too good a thirst to provoke it by going with them. “You have heard what kind of a yarn the Chins made of it. Wings as long as a mule, eh?—And black feathers! The gay lieutenant bird! Well, well.” The lieutenant meditated cheerfully for a moment. Then he added, “You would scarcely credit it, but when they got to the ridge at last, they found two more of the Sepoys had jumped over.” “The rest were all right?” asked the Ethnologist. “Yes,” said the lieutenant; “the rest were all right, barring a certain thirst, you know.” And at the memory he helped himself to soda and whisky again. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. H. G. Wells (2004). The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022, from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/12750/12750-h/12750-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

THE FLYING MAN

Here's a crazy stat for you. Did you know that salespeople spend than they do actually selling things? I'm not even joking – 22 percent of the time is spent on sales, 23 percent on admin, 12 percent on order processing, and 10 percent on planning. more time on admin Oh, and only 6 percent on lunch breaks. Too bad about that last one. To me, it feels like all of these things should be taking the backseat to selling – but alas, that's not the world we live in. Or is it? In 2022, we've got software tools and gadgets for just about anything we could possibly ask. Whether it's customer management, scheduling, or even something as small as a digital business card, there's an app for that. (And more recently, there's an AI for that, too. Machine learning is being used more and more in sales to automate the busywork and free up time for selling. But that's a story for later in the article.) The point is, there are ways to be more efficient with your time – you just need to know where to look. So without further ado, here are five tips on how to be a more efficient salesperson. Get ready to spend more time selling and less time shredding! 1. Find Leads Faster Way back in June 2021, I spoke to Yoni Tserruya, co-founder and CEO of Lusha. If you've never heard of Lusha, it's a that allows salespeople to find contact information for leads in seconds. lead-generation tool "Lusha is a crowdsourced B2B data company, which helps salespeople and marketing people find their next customer. We do it by providing them accurate business data and insight about technologies and the buyers so they can easily identify and connect with the ideal profile," Yoni explained in our interview. If you're a salesperson, you know how painstaking it can be to find the right contact information for a lead. It's a process that often takes hours – and even then, you're not always guaranteed to have the most up-to-date information. Imagine if you could find that information in seconds. And not only that but what if you could be sure that the information was accurate? That's exactly why I wanted Yoni on my show – he's created something truly valuable for people like me, and I admire anyone who fills a gap so efficiently. "The main aim of Lusha is to build the largest salespeople community in the world. The more salespeople are using the product, the better the data become; salespeople help us to validate the data and provide the best B2B data quality in the world." Of course, an alternative is to find yourself a good PPC agency that will help you create targeted ad campaigns and get in front of your ideal customer. But cold calling is still a well-used sales tactic – and considering that it takes 6-8 cold calls per prospect to get a conversion, any time you can save with a tool like Lusha is valuable. 2. Clean Your Data If you're running a team of salespeople, chances are, they're spending between 20 and 30 percent of their day selling your product or service. The rest is administrative work. It's simple math – the less time spent on admin, the more time spent on sales, and the more sales you're likely to make. One of the best ways to tip the scales in your favor is to provide your sales reps with clean, organized data. Going back to my interview with Yoni, he was the person who made me think about this more seriously. "If you provide [your team] with a higher quality of data, or you help them prioritize the leads based on criteria like industry, number of employees, or technologies, they can spend more time selling, because you actually help them with automation and data to prioritize the work." There's just one problem with that; you're not decreasing the time spent on data sorting, you're just transferring the work onto yourself. So, how can you speed up the data cleaning process? It may or may not surprise you to hear that artificial intelligence is our best solution to date. There are now AI-powered sales tools specifically designed for lead prioritization – and as author Victor Antonio noted in his book, Sales Ex Machina, tools like this can . erase human error What if you could feed a vast and complex data sheet into a machine, and have it come out the other side as a clean, organized list of leads? That's exactly what these tools are designed to do – and they're only going to become more common (and more necessary) as time goes on. MadKudu is one of the front-runners in this space, and it's also worth checking out h2O.ai, a company that focuses on making AI solutions available across all industries. 3. Eat Your Frogs Early “Top performers organize their day into distinct time blocks dedicated to specific activities, concentrating their focus and eliminating distractions within those blocks." - Jeb Blount I quote Jeb here for a couple of reasons: one, because I've personally found this to be true, and two, because it's such a simple yet overlooked strategy. (Oh, and a third reason – Jeb is the most quotable salesman on the planet. But that's just my opinion.) If you've ever read some of the prominent studies around multitasking, like the one , you'll know that switching between tasks comes at an enormous cost to our productivity. discussed here Here's why: multitasking is a myth. When you 'juggle two things at once', you're really just switching between them at a rapid pace. But all that mental energy takes a toll, and you wind up spending more time overall on both tasks. Switching from a phone call to writing emails to catching up on client paperwork is only going to prolong the amount of time you spend on administrative tasks – which is why I recommend that you eat your frogs early (the frogs in question being your administrative work.) Set aside the first block of your day to handle every single admin-related task you can think of. That way, you'll stay one-track-minded until it's time to switch over to cold calling or meeting with clients. 4. Automate Your Cold Emails Whether we like it or not, emails remain a prominent sales strategy. It's just unfortunate that they're such a time suck. For a while now, we've had access to tools that make the process easier. MailChimp, Constant Contact, and HubSpot Sales are just a few of the more popular ones. But what if I told you there's a way to automate your cold email process even further? Tools like Phrasee and Lyne.ai use split testing data to determine which of your emails have the best chance of getting opened, and using that info, they craft emails for you that are more likely to get responses. Sometimes I can't believe we live in a world where this is possible. It's insane, and it's great news for us salespeople. 5. Keep Your CRM Up-To-Date Customer relationship management tools are super helpful for keeping all your info in one spot. They quickly become a pain in the rear, though, when you're pressed for time and can't continually update client profiles. The answer? Use integrations. Make the movement of data between platforms so seamless that you hardly know it's happening. Some of the best integrations to use, depending on your needs: Call logging. Set up your CRM with a platform like LiiD so that every time a sales call is made or received, it's automatically logged in your CRM. Emails. Integrate your CRM into Outlook or Gmail so that you can automatically log emails and have them appear in your CRM, as well as easily access customer data while you're crafting emails. Social media. Automate posts and outreach by integrating your CRM with Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Data and surveys. If you use services like Type Form and Survey Monkey to collect customer data and feedback, integrate them with your CRM so you can automatically populate fields. Team communication. You can connect your Slack to most CRMs to prevent switching between tabs and reduce the risk of forgetting to update your CRM with important customer info. These only scratch the surface, by the way. Do some research and see what other integrations might be helpful for you and your team – there's a whole world of possibilities out there. Wrap-Up It was Yoni Tserruya who gave me the idea for today's newsletter with his incredible service, Lusha. I want to wrap up by directing you over to his interview – we spoke about his incredible journey with bootstrapping Lusha, and he's got some great insights into the sales industry as a whole. on my YouTube channel In the meantime, look into your administrative processes and see where you can make some changes. By automating the tedious and time-consuming tasks, you'll be able to focus on selling, which is what we're all here to do in the first place. Oh, and don't forget to leave your tips and tricks in the comments. I'd love to hear how you stay efficient in your sales process!

Make Sure You're Not Wasting Valuable Sales Time

Asegúrese de no perder un valioso tiempo de ventas

Assurez-vous de ne pas perdre un temps de vente précieux

सुनिश्चित करें कि आप मूल्यवान बिक्री समय बर्बाद नहीं कर रहे हैं

貴重な販売時間を無駄にしないようにする

Certifique-se de que você não está desperdiçando um valioso tempo de vendas

Đảm bảo rằng bạn không lãng phí thời gian bán hàng có giá trị

确保您没有浪费宝贵的销售时间

What Is Being a FinTech CEO like?

A website is a doorway to success. For business owners, web design is really important. It shows everyone in the world what your business is all about. To make your design as impressive as possible, I suggest that you read about the latest web development trends. eCommerce website Trends and technologies have shown us that the constant evolution of this digitized world shapes the environment that web developers find themselves in. Last year, web development trends were marked by static & single-page websites, mobile responsiveness, chatbots. But in 2021 what major web development trends do you need to consider?  Here are the top web development trends you need to look out for in 2021. Also Read: ? What is back-end web development Top Web Development Trends 2021 For Startup Firms Artificial Intelligence and Bots Artificial Intelligence can enhance your website’s appearance, strengthen its user experience, search settings, organize your information better, and improve interaction with visitors. A good number of web developers shifting towards AI-based design practices. In 2021, artificial intelligence has become the main trend of modern web development. The recent growth in the use of AI technology for web development, allowing web programmers to combine AI applications into websites and create a better user experience, performance, and functionality. Websites such as Adobe, Grid, and Wix, are using AI in their web design. Their website design software is based on AI that helped web developers to make this website modern-looking based on project-specific needs and the client’s personal preferences. The growth of artificial design intelligence (ADI) systems has influenced the way websites are designed today. Developers can now transform user interface design right from a picture to an HTML markup code. Here, AI technology provides full control of the overall content of your web design including visual elements, text, typography, animations, and graphics. This is particularly useful when you need software decisions for specific types of websites. For instance, for an e-commerce website that receives thousands of clicks every day, you can optimize your website with AI-based features to improve its everyday interactions with customers. If you follow the AI trend for web development, you should also turn to the chatbots that are everywhere these days. Chatbots are trending on the web as well as on mobile. With the AI-powered NLP systems, they’re becoming more efficient, intelligent, and responsive. While a few years back chatbots on websites only offered pre-programmed conversations that can’t understand emotions and can only solve a limited range of problems. Today, chatting with is like chatting with a customer support specialist. 2. Internet of things (IoT) For Web Development Image Source: Signity Solutions Internet of Things is a concept that can’t be ignored in modern web development. The use of the IoT-enabled devices and their sensors are in trend today and can bring huge success to your business. IoT in web development can now transform the front-end interface of your website along with user interactions. It is possible because most websites today use the front-end interfaces to communicate sensors, cameras, other devices that are available on the Internet. For example, Amazon’s Alexa is a virtual assistant with the ability to search the web using a browser at its backend. Hence, it clearly shows how IoT changing the modern web. The continuous growth of IoT has a huge impact on further trends in web development. As seen in the Statista report, approx, 31 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2021. Today, there are websites and web applications that have IoT integration. Among them are brands like Google and Uber. Now you can call the car through the Uber application and confirm the trip with some voice commands and clicks. So, web development with IoT is moving in a new direction of success. 3. JavaScript, Python, and PHP For Web Design When talking about web development trends 2021 it is impossible without a programming language. No doubt, Javascript, Python, and PHP are the best programming languages for web development in 2021 in all indicators. The stats are supported by and . Back-end programming language Python breathes in his back. The reason for this popularity is the following advantages: Github W3techs.com Better performance; Easy integration of codes and toolboxes; Safety of codes; Powerful frameworks; Allow execution of multiple tasks at once; Creation of multi-functional websites; Offers easy scalability; Support large and active community; Highly extensible; Support low code development; Opensource; Easy to build prototypes. Among the web developers, Python is for developing web applications. Stats show that Javascript, PHP, and Python will be the top programming languages for web development, which will remain relevant to the programmers. 4. Shifting Towards API-First Approach Image Source: Dzone Modern web development trends and technologies like web apps, IoT-enabled devices, smart cars, smart homes, driverless cars, wearable tech, and smartphones are all built on APIs. Businesses can have great benefits from using these technologies. The web development of these connections is a bit tricky for developers, as they focus more on the user interface and then integrate the web APIs. Some of the popular web APIs that could be useful for you are - Chute API WebDam Slack Houndify Lusha Nasa API Web developers build interactive web pages and web-based applications by using APIs and data from multiple online sources. Web APIs provide advanced performance, functionality, and features that web developers use to integrate into the websites that they create. You can have greater customization and flexibility on your website with Web APIs. For end-users, a web API enhances the website’s usefulness by making it interactive and more enjoyable. The API-First design is widely used by web developers for its features: It helps increases website performance Provide useful tools Convey company messaging by automatic content generation Help anticipate changes on your website This can speed your website performance and also eliminate the need to re-write the code. 5. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) Trend Image Source: DreamzTech Solutions A progressive web application is a type of web page that has the functionality of a native mobile application. PWAs are still in trend because it can be “installed” easily on any kind of device. These web apps can be placed on a smartphone’s home screen and you can access it at any time, even in offline mode. Secondly, they are responsive and can adjust to any device’s screen of any size and mode too automatically. PWA’s are safe to use as they are served via HTTPS and occupy less space on your device. Progressive Web Apps are easy to build and easy to maintain, which is why they’re trending in 2021 web development and will certainly continue to trend in the coming years. 6. Say ‘Yes’ to Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Image Source: 10 Vorne.it AMPs are nothing but the type of open source library for creating websites, web apps, and web pages. It also helps to improve the overall user experience of a web page by adding instant page loads. With the use of the AMPs on web pages, you can make them more appealing, lightweight, secure, and more responsive on any device. AMPs based web pages are rendered using restricted HTML/CSS and JavaScript, which is the reason that they make the web page load faster. Similarly, if your web pages are AMPs enabled, then it caches automatically on Google and providing faster load times on Google search. Additionally, AMPs enabled web pages also increase website traffic, as more users will spend time on your pages. This is useful for e-commerce websites and they have seen around a 20% increase in sales compared to non-AMP pages. In 2021, businesses can take advantage of AMPs to improve the performance of mobile websites. 7. Web Page Load Time & Data Security Image Source: Website Magazine If you’ve read this article, you might have noticed the trends listed here are focused on better user experience, website performance, faster page loading, and faster everything. As we all are always in a hurry to browse on the web, and when a page loads slow, we abandon it and look for an alternative. After all, there are plenty of websites. Hence, the loading speed of a web app or website will always be trending in web development and in the next few years. You should also need to look for new technology aimed at speeding up websites. Similarly, data security is a future trend and it will only become bigger with time. Bottom Line So if you’re looking to develop a web application or website, you need to keep your eyes open. So, this is complete info on web development trends 2021 that I also expect to be trending over the next year. Thanks for Reading!

Web Development Trends 2021 For Startups 

No matter if you are a startup company or a big enterprise, your app needs to be intuitive and customer-facing to win many hearts. However, designing a user-friendly web app for your business is not so easy. You need to be aware of the complete rules. In our quest for finding the best technology stacks and web app development trends, we have discovered a few golden rules of the industry. These rules we’ve found are universal and they are useful for both an enterprise and startup. And, every business should be aware of these rules. To help you out, here’s a list of 5 golden rules for developing modern web applications. 1. Plan Your Project Before you start coding, take your app into a planning mode. And, when laying out a new web app, who’s going to be using your app should be a priority before everything else starts. And, then comes the , etc. Go step-by-step to the end result and get it arranged in a perfect way with all the features. Like, design your web application UX with the least resistance possible. UX needs, design needs, coding, APIs There are some more rules to consider for planning your web app development. For instance, How tech-savvy is your user base who will use your app? How long will your user want to spend on your app? In what environment will people be using your app? Decide Your Patterns When developing your web app, or trying to write a query on your app database, you need to apply the concept of - don’t reinvent the patterns. The reason is all the new and latest mobile operating systems use icons to let users access their apps. And, they can’t be swapped with a different UI element because every time users need to learn a new pattern whenever they switch a device. In the end, this would mean lots of unhappy users. Instead of this, use the same patterns you see in all the popular apps. This will help people to use your app interface easily. Your preference for patterns should be: Icons (For e.g. envelope is a symbol for messages) Colors (Red is for denoting errors) Placing (Forward arrows & buttons are always on the right-hand side) Measure Everything “Talking to your users is important before you start app development but once you understand what they actually want, you need to measure the exact usability standards for your web app.” You need to do more than simply asking your users what they want. You must also understand how they use your app in every way as this way, you will understand and can measure the improvement and modification points of your app. For analyzing your users' needs you can use analytics to know if their app usage behavior matches their words. There are many analytics tools and solutions available today that can be configured into your app in a matter of minutes. The benefit of measuring user behavior is that it will give you clear data on whether your app will be successful or not. 2. Decide on Your APIs Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are the most important part of your web app development, as they let you build smart applications by manipulating data from the other web applications. That’s why APIs must be used wisely because a developer may be using the over a couple of years and changes in API are sudden and can impact the performance of your web app. Facebook API With API’s becoming popular in the developers' community, more and more enterprises and startups started building apps using APIs for front-end usage of data pipelines. And finally, these APIs allow for a more cohesive experience for the end users as web applications become more flexible in terms of user interfaces and experience. Overall, the APIs is a win-win strategy for developers and for the end users. For instance, Bring better functionality to your web app by integrating many other third-party applications. You can build apps for real-time updates on customer behavior, order cancellations, and new signups Provides different ways to enhance your digital asset management. Using WebDam APIs you can create front-end plug-ins and extensions for your specific needs. Slack’s API WebDam API With API like Developers can build speech-to-text web applications with voice-enabled and conversational interfaces. There are other interesting options to check out for APIs in 2019 --- Chute API, Lusha API, and Nasa API. Houndify Brands like have been using APIs for developing their web apps and creating a loyal fan base by giving their user with a more intuitive and engaging experience. Amazon, Salesforce, and Flickr 3. Go With the Widely Accepted Technologies It’s true when it comes to web apps, we all love trying new things. However, trying new frameworks, languages, libraries, tools, etc. can becomes a problem when you need to carry that over into your business. If you develop a new business web app using a newly launched language, you take a big risk. Suppose what if that language never takes off in the market, you’ll be stuck with your application. However, it is fine to experiment with the latest technology, but when it’s about building business web applications, we suggest you go with the established frameworks and technologies such as ------ , and more. Ruby on Rails , Angular JS , Laravel , Express , WordPress , Django In a nutshell, it is always important to select a technology that is widely used and not “popular ones” or “upcoming.”  Also you can contact or hire web app developers to get your app ready on any one of the latest technologies. 4. Check Your Coding Convention Coding guidelines play an important role in the programming of rules and standards for your web app. You have to follow guidelines such as . coding logic, formatting, indentation, folder structure, file names, file organization, file statements, functions, and naming conventions The steps for the coding procedure are: Step 1 Start coding your web app with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript . Step 2 Add more functionality to your web app with Python, PHP, and Ruby. Step 3 Align your UI planning with options: Click-to-edit Drag and drop Two-click delete Automatic saving (after any action) Step 4 Design your “Screens” Homepage Logged out = Intro/Sales Page Logged in = Your list Login page Settings page Lost password page Account activation page Emails Step 5 Now you have the idea in place of what you want to code and how you want to build your web app. Organizing your code effectively is the key to the success of your web app. 5. Test Your Ideas There is so much in our list of rules. Every user is different — you should ask them what they want and also test your ideas of web app development with the online surveys, A/B testing, testing for usability standards, UX, APIs, and other aspects of web app development. Or, you can test your idea of the web app with tools like ------ . Zephyr , Testpad , Testlink , PractiTest , TestComplete , and Selenium Final Thoughts That’s the process. I have given here enough information to help you with your web app development. What do you think? If you have any suggestion or questions, post in the comment section. I am always looking to improve my processes and practices. Businesses must follow these guidelines listed above to reduce the risk of falling out in the competitive business space. If you are looking to hire web app developers, I suggest you should start searching on the internet. For any queries or questions on web application development or hiring web app developers, you can post your comments in the below-given section. I will provide you with the best answers of your queries. Finally, these 5 rules are great to start but applying them requires considerable knowledge and skill to stay ahead of your competitors.

Never Make Assumptions: 5 Golden Rules for Web App Development

The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . KING OF LUTHA KING OF LUTHA Barney Custer, of Beatrice, had no desire to be king of Lutha. He lost no time in saying so. All that he wanted of Lutha was the girl he had found there, as his father before him had found the girl of his choice. Von der Tann pleaded with him. “Twice have I fought under you, sire,” he urged. “Twice, and only twice since the old king died, have I felt that the future of Lutha was safe in the hands of her ruler, and both these times it was you who sat upon the throne. Do not desert us now. Let me live to see Lutha once more happy, with a true Rubinroth upon the throne and my daughter at his side.” Butzow added his pleas to those of the old chancellor. The American hesitated. “Let us leave it to the representatives of the people and to the house of nobles,” he suggested. The chancellor of Lutha explained the situation to both houses. Their reply was unanimous. He carried it to the American, who awaited the decision of Lutha in the royal apartments of the palace. With him was the Princess Emma von der Tann. “The people of Lutha will have no other king, sire,” said the old man. Barney turned toward the girl. “There is no other way, my lord king,” she said with grave dignity. “With her blood your mother bequeathed you a duty which you may not shirk. It is not for you or for me to choose. God chose for you when you were born.” Barney Custer took her hand in his and raised it to his lips. “Let the King of Lutha,” he said, “be the first to salute Lutha’s queen.” And so Barney Custer, of Beatrice, was crowned King of Lutha, and Emma became his queen. Maenck died of his wound on the floor of the little room in the east transept of the cathedral of Lustadt beside the body of the king he had slain. Prince Peter of Blentz was tried by the highest court of Lutha on the charge of treason; he was found guilty and hanged. Von Coblich committed suicide on the eve of his arrest. Lieutenant Otto Butzow was ennobled and given the confiscated estates of the Blentz prince. He became a general in the army of Lutha, and was sent to the front in command of the army corps that guarded the northern frontier of the little kingdom. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1995). The Mad King. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/364/pg364-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

KING OF LUTHA

The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . A NEW KING IN LUTHA A NEW KING IN LUTHA As the two riders approached the edge of the village of Blentz a sentry barred their way. To his challenge the American replied that they were “friends from the castle.” “Advance,” directed the sentry, “and give the countersign.” Barney rode to the fellow’s side, and leaning from the saddle whispered in his ear the word “Slankamen.” Would it pass them out as it had passed Maenck in? Barney scarcely breathed as he awaited the result of his experiment. The soldier brought his rifle to present and directed them to pass. With a sigh of relief that was almost audible the two rode into the village and the Austrian lines. Once within they met with no further obstacle until they reached the last line of sentries upon the far side of the town. It was with more confidence that Barney gave the countersign here, nor was he surprised that the soldier passed them readily; and now they were upon the highroad to Lustadt, with nothing more to bar their way. For hours they rode on in silence. Barney wanted to talk with his companion, but as king he found nothing to say to her. The girl’s mind was filled with morbid reflections of the past few hours and dumb terror for the future. She would keep her promise to the king; but after—life would not be worth the living; why should she live? She glanced at the man beside her in the light of the coming dawn. Ah, why was he so like her American in outward appearances only? Their own mothers could scarce have distinguished them, and yet in character no two men could have differed more widely. The man turned to her. “We are almost there,” he said. “You must be very tired.” The words reflected a consideration that had never been a characteristic of Leopold. The girl began to wonder if there might not possibly be a vein of nobility in the man, after all, that she had never discovered. Since she had entered his apartments at Blentz he had been in every way a different man from the Leopold she had known of old. The boldness of his escape from Blentz supposed a courage that the king had never given the slightest indication of in the past. Could it be that he was making a genuine effort to become a man—to win her respect? They were approaching Lustadt as the sun rose. A troop of horse was just emerging from the north gate. As it neared them they saw that the cavalrymen wore the uniforms of the Royal Horse Guard. At their head rode a lieutenant. As his eyes fell upon the face of the princess and her companion, he brought his troopers to a halt, and, with incredulity plain upon his countenance, advanced to meet them, his hand raised in salute to the king. It was Butzow. Now Barney was sure that he would be recognized. For two years he and the Luthanian officer had been inseparable. Surely Butzow would penetrate his disguise. He returned his friend’s salute, looked him full in the eyes, and asked where he was riding. “To Blentz, your majesty,” replied Butzow, “to demand an audience. I bear important word from Prince von der Tann. He has learned the Austrians are moving an entire army corps into Lutha, together with siege howitzers. Serbia has demanded that all Austrian troops be withdrawn from Luthanian territory at once, and has offered to assist your majesty in maintaining your neutrality by force, if necessary.” As Butzow spoke his eyes were often upon the Princess Emma, and it was quite evident that he was much puzzled to account for her presence with the king. She was supposed to be at Tann, and Butzow knew well enough her estimate of Leopold to know that she would not be in his company of her own volition. His expression as he addressed the man he supposed to be his king was far from deferential. Barney could scarce repress a smile. “We will ride at once to the palace,” he said. “At the gate you may instruct one of your sergeants to telephone to Prince von der Tann that the king is returning and will grant him audience immediately. You and your detachment will act as our escort.” Butzow saluted and turned to his troopers, giving the necessary commands that brought them about in the wake of the pseudo-king. Once again Barney Custer, of Beatrice, rode into Lustadt as king of Lutha. The few people upon the streets turned to look at him as he passed, but there was little demonstration of love or enthusiasm. Leopold had awakened no emotions of this sort in the hearts of his subjects. Some there were who still remembered the gallant actions of their ruler on the field of battle when his forces had defeated those of the regent, upon that other occasion when this same American had sat upon the throne of Lutha for two days and had led the little army to victory; but since then the true king had been with them daily in his true colors. Arrogance, haughtiness, and petty tyranny had marked his reign. Taxes had gone even higher than under the corrupt influence of the Blentz regime. The king’s days were spent in bed; his nights in dissipation. Old Ludwig von der Tann seemed Lutha’s only friend at court. Him the people loved and trusted. It was the old chancellor who met them as they entered the palace—the Princess Emma, Lieutenant Butzow, and the false king. As the old man’s eyes fell upon his daughter, he gave an exclamation of surprise and of incredulity. He looked from her to the American. “What is the meaning of this, your majesty?” he cried in a voice hoarse with emotion. “What does her highness in your company?” There was neither fear nor respect in Prince Ludwig’s tone—only anger. He was demanding an accounting from Leopold, the man; not from Leopold, the king. Barney raised his hand. “Wait,” he said, “before you judge. The princess was brought to Blentz by Prince Peter. She will tell you that I have aided her to escape and that I have accorded her only such treatment as a woman has a right to expect from a king.” The girl inclined her head. “His majesty has been most kind,” she said. “He has treated me with every consideration and respect, and I am convinced that he was not a willing party to my arrest and forcible detention at Blentz; or,” she added, “if he was, he regretted his action later and has made full reparation by bringing me to Lustadt.” Prince von der Tann found difficulty in hiding his surprise at this evidence of chivalry in the cowardly king. But for his daughter’s testimony he could not have believed it possible that it lay within the nature of Leopold of Lutha to have done what he had done within the past few hours. He bowed low before the man who wore the king’s uniform. The American extended his hand, and Von der Tann, taking it in his own, raised it to his lips. “And now,” said Barney briskly, “let us go to my apartments and get to work. Your highness”—and he turned toward the Princess Emma—“must be greatly fatigued. Lieutenant Butzow, you will see that a suite is prepared for her highness. Afterward you may call upon Count Zellerndorf, whom I understand returned to Lustadt yesterday, and notify him that I will receive him in an hour. Inform the Serbian minister that I desire his presence at the palace immediately. Lose no time, lieutenant, and be sure to impress upon the Serbian minister that immediately means immediately.” Butzow saluted and the Princess Emma curtsied, as the king turned and, slipping his arm through that of Prince Ludwig, walked away in the direction of the royal apartments. Once at the king’s desk Barney turned toward the chancellor. In his mind was the determination to save Lutha if Lutha could be saved. He had been forced to place the king in a position where he would be helpless, though that he would have been equally as helpless upon his throne the American did not doubt for an instant. However, the course of events had placed within his hands the power to serve not only Lutha but the house of Von der Tann as well. He would do in the king’s place what the king should have done if the king had been a man. “Now, Prince Ludwig,” he said, “tell me just what conditions we must face. Remember that I have been at Blentz and that there the King of Lutha is not apt to learn all that transpires in Lustadt.” “Sire,” replied the chancellor, “we face a grave crisis. Not only is there within Lutha the small force of Austrian troops that surround Blentz, but now an entire army corps has crossed the border. Unquestionably they are marching on Lustadt. The emperor is going to take no chances. He sent the first force into Lutha to compel Serbian intervention and draw Serbian troops from the Austro-Serbian battle line. Serbia has withheld her forces at my request, but she will not withhold them for long. We must make a declaration at once. If we declare against Austria we are faced by the menace of the Austrian troops already within our boundaries, but we shall have Serbia to help us. “A Serbian army corps is on the frontier at this moment awaiting word from Lutha. If it is adverse to Austria that army corps will cross the border and march to our assistance. If it is favorable to Austria it will none the less cross into Lutha, but as enemies instead of allies. Serbia has acted honorably toward Lutha. She has not violated our neutrality. She has no desire to increase her possessions in this direction. “On the other hand, Austria has violated her treaty with us. She has marched troops into our country and occupied the town of Blentz. Constantly in the past she has incited internal discord. She is openly championing the Blentz cause, which at last I trust your majesty has discovered is inimical to your interests. “If Austria is victorious in her war with Serbia, she will find some pretext to hold Lutha whether Lutha takes her stand either for or against her. And most certainly is this true if it occurs that Austrian troops are still within the boundaries of Lutha when peace is negotiated. Not only our honor but our very existence demands that there be no Austrian troops in Lutha at the close of this war. If we cannot force them across the border we can at least make such an effort as will win us the respect of the world and a voice in the peace negotiations. “If we must bow to the surrender of our national integrity, let us do so only after we have exhausted every resource of the country in our country’s defense. In the past your majesty has not appeared to realize the menace of your most powerful neighbor. I beg of you, sire, to trust me. Believe that I have only the interests of Lutha at heart, and let us work together for the salvation of our country and your majesty’s throne.” Barney laid his hand upon the old man’s shoulder. It seemed a shame to carry the deception further, but the American well knew that only so could he accomplish aught for Lutha or the Von der Tanns. Once the old chancellor suspected the truth as to his identity he would be the first to denounce him. “I think that you and I can work together, Prince Ludwig,” he said. “I have sent for the Serbian and Austrian ministers. The former should be here immediately.” Nor did they have long to wait before the tall Slav was announced. Barney lost no time in getting down to business. He asked no questions. What Von der Tann had told him, what he had seen with his own eyes since he had entered Lutha, and what he had overheard in the inn at Burgova was sufficient evidence that the fate of Lutha hung upon the prompt and energetic decisions of the man who sat upon Lutha’s throne for the next few days. Had Leopold been the present incumbent Lutha would have been lost, for that he would play directly into the hands of Austria was not to be questioned. Were Von der Tann to seize the reins of government a state of revolution would exist that would divide the state into two bitter factions, weaken its defense, and give Austria what she most desired—a plausible pretext for intervention. Lutha’s only hope lay in united defense of her liberties under the leadership of the one man whom all acknowledged king—Leopold. Very well, Barney Custer, of Beatrice, would be Leopold for a few days, since the real Leopold had proven himself incompetent to meet the emergency. General Petko, the Serbian minister to Lutha, brought to the audience the memory of a series of unpleasant encounters with the king. Leopold had never exerted himself to hide his pro-Austrian sentiments. Austria was a powerful country—Serbia, a relatively weak neighbor. Leopold, being a royal snob, had courted the favor of the emperor and turned up his nose at Serbia. The general was prepared for a repetition of the veiled affronts that Leopold delighted in according him; but this time he brought with him a reply that for two years he had been living in the hope of some day being able to deliver to the young monarch he so cordially despised. It was an ultimatum from his government—an ultimatum couched in terms from which all diplomatic suavity had been stripped. If Barney Custer, of Beatrice, could have read it he would have smiled, for in plain American it might have been described as announcing to Leopold precisely “where he got off.” But Barney did not have the opportunity to read it, since that ultimatum was never delivered. Barney took the wind all out of it by his first words. “Your excellency may wonder why it is that we have summoned you at such an early hour,” he said. General Petko inclined his head in deferential acknowledgment of the truth of the inference. “It is because we have learned from our chancellor,” continued the American, “that Serbia has mobilized an entire army corps upon the Luthanian frontier. Am I correctly informed?” General Petko squared his shoulders and bowed in assent. At the same time he reached into his breast-pocket for the ultimatum. “Good!” exclaimed Barney, and then he leaned close to the ear of the Serbian. “How long will it take to move that army corps to Lustadt?” General Petko gasped and returned the ultimatum to his pocket. “Sire!” he cried, his face lighting with incredulity. “You mean—” “I mean,” said the American, “that if Serbia will loan Lutha an army corps until the Austrians have evacuated Luthanian territory, Lutha will loan Serbia an army corps until such time as peace is declared between Serbia and Austria. Other than this neither government will incur any obligations to the other. “We may not need your help, but it will do us no harm to have them well on the way toward Lustadt as quickly as possible. Count Zellerndorf will be here in a few minutes. We shall, through him, give Austria twenty-four hours to withdraw all her troops beyond our frontiers. The army of Lutha is mobilized before Lustadt. It is not a large army, but with the help of Serbia it should be able to drive the Austrians from the country, provided they do not leave of their own accord.” General Petko smiled. So did the American and the chancellor. Each knew that Austria would not withdraw her army from Lutha. “With your majesty’s permission I will withdraw,” said the Serbian, “and transmit Lutha’s proposition to my government; but I may say that your majesty need have no apprehension but that a Serbian army corps will be crossing into Lutha before noon today.” “And now, Prince Ludwig,” said the American after the Serbian had bowed himself out of the apartment, “I suggest that you take immediate steps to entrench a strong force north of Lustadt along the road to Blentz.” Von der Tann smiled as he replied. “It is already done, sire,” he said. “But I passed in along the road this morning,” said Barney, “and saw nothing of such preparations.” “The trenches and the soldiers were there, nevertheless, sire,” replied the old man, “only a little gap was left on either side of the highway that those who came and went might not suspect our plans and carry word of them to the Austrians. A few hours will complete the link across the road.” “Good! Let it be completed at once. Here is Count Zellerndorf now,” as the minister was announced. Von der Tann bowed himself out as the Austrian entered the king’s presence. For the first time in two years the chancellor felt that the destiny of Lutha was safe in the hands of her king. What had caused the metamorphosis in Leopold he could not guess. He did not seem to be the same man that had whined and growled at their last audience a week before. The Austrian minister entered the king’s presence with an expression of ill-concealed surprise upon his face. Two days before he had left Leopold safely ensconced at Blentz, where he was to have remained indefinitely. He glanced hurriedly about the room in search of Prince Peter or another of the conspirators who should have been with the king. He saw no one. The king was speaking. The Austrian’s eyes went wider, not only at the words, but at the tone of voice. “Count Zellerndorf,” said the American, “you were doubtless aware of the embarrassment under which the king of Lutha was compelled at Blentz to witness the entry of a foreign army within his domain. But we are not now at Blentz. We have summoned you that you may receive from us, and transmit to your emperor, the expression of our surprise and dismay at the unwarranted violation of Luthanian neutrality.” “But, your majesty—” interrupted the Austrian. “But nothing, your excellency,” snapped the American. “The moment for diplomacy is passed; the time for action has come. You will oblige us by transmitting to your government at once a request that every Austrian soldier now in Lutha be withdrawn by noon tomorrow.” Zellerndorf looked his astonishment. “Are you mad, sire?” he cried. “It will mean war!” “It is what Austria has been looking for,” snapped the American, “and what people look for they usually get, especially if they chance to be looking for trouble. When can you expect a reply from Vienna?” “By noon, your majesty,” replied the Austrian, “but are you irretrievably bound to your present policy? Remember the power of Austria, sire. Think of your throne. Think—” “We have thought of everything,” interrupted Barney. “A throne means less to us than you may imagine, count; but the honor of Lutha means a great deal.” About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1995). The Mad King. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/364/pg364-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

A NEW KING IN LUTHA

The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . A RACE TO LUTHA A RACE TO LUTHA Barney’s fall was not more than four or five feet. He found himself upon a slippery floor of masonry over which two or three inches of water ran sluggishly. Above him he heard the soldiers pass the open manhole. It was evident that in the darkness they had missed it. For a few minutes the fugitive remained motionless, then, hearing no sounds from above he started to grope about his retreat. Upon two sides were blank, circular walls, upon the other two circular openings about four feet in diameter. It was through these openings that the tiny stream of water trickled. Barney came to the conclusion that he had dropped into a sewer. To get out the way he had entered appeared impossible. He could not leap upward from the slimy, concave bottom the distance he had dropped. To follow the sewer upward would lead him nowhere nearer escape. There remained no hope but to follow the trickling stream downward toward the river, into which his judgment told him the entire sewer system of the city must lead. Stooping, he entered the ill-smelling circular conduit, groping his way slowly along. As he went the water deepened. It was half way to his knees when he plunged unexpectedly into another tube running at right angles to the first. The bottom of this tube was lower than that of the one which emptied into it, so that Barney now found himself in a swiftly running stream of filth that reached above his knees. Downward he followed this flood—faster now for the fear of the deadly gases which might overpower him before he could reach the river. The water deepened gradually as he went on. At last he reached a point where, with his head scraping against the roof of the sewer, his chin was just above the surface of the stream. A few more steps would be all that he could take in this direction without drowning. Could he retrace his way against the swift current? He did not know. He was weakened from the effects of his wound, from lack of food and from the exertions of the past hour. Well, he would go on as far as he could. The river lay ahead of him somewhere. Behind was only the hostile city. He took another step. His foot found no support. He surged backward in an attempt to regain his footing, but the power of the flood was too much for him. He was swept forward to plunge into water that surged above his head as he sank. An instant later he had regained the surface and as his head emerged he opened his eyes. He looked up into a starlit heaven! He had reached the mouth of the sewer and was in the river. For a moment he lay still, floating upon his back to rest. Above him he heard the tread of a sentry along the river front, and the sound of men’s voices. The sweet, fresh air, the star-shot void above, acted as a powerful tonic to his shattered hopes and overwrought nerves. He lay inhaling great lungsful of pure, invigorating air. He listened to the voices of the Austrian soldiery above him. All the buoyancy of his inherent Americanism returned to him. “This is no place for a minister’s son,” he murmured, and turning over struck out for the opposite shore. The river was not wide, and Barney was soon nearing the bank along which he could see occasional camp fires. Here, too, were Austrians. He dropped down-stream below these, and at last approached the shore where a wood grew close to the water’s edge. The bank here was steep, and the American had some difficulty in finding a place where he could clamber up the precipitous wall of rock. But finally he was successful, finding himself in a little clump of bushes on the river’s brim. Here he lay resting and listening—always listening. It seemed to Barney that his ears ached with the constant strain of unflagging duty that his very existence demanded of them. Hearing nothing, he crawled at last from his hiding place with the purpose of making his way toward the south and to the frontier as rapidly as possible. He could hope only to travel by night, and he guessed that this night must be nearly spent. Stooping, he moved cautiously away from the river. Through the shadows of the wood he made his way for perhaps a hundred yards when he was suddenly confronted by a figure that stepped from behind the bole of a tree. “Halt! Who goes there?” came the challenge. Barney’s heart stood still. With all his care he had run straight into the arms of an Austrian sentry. To run would be to be shot. To advance would mean capture, and that too would mean death. For the barest fraction of an instant he hesitated, and then his quick American wits came to his aid. Feigning intoxication he answered the challenge in dubious Austrian that he hoped his maudlin tongue would excuse. “Friend,” he answered thickly. “Friend with a drink—have one?” And he staggered drunkenly forward, banking all upon the credulity and thirst of the soldier who confronted him with fixed bayonet. That the sentry was both credulous and thirsty was evidenced by the fact that he let Barney come within reach of his gun. Instantly the drunken Austrian was transformed into a very sober and active engine of destruction. Seizing the barrel of the piece Barney jerked it to one side and toward him, and at the same instant he leaped for the throat of the sentry. So quickly was this accomplished that the Austrian had time only for a single cry, and that was choked in his windpipe by the steel fingers of the American. Together both men fell heavily to the ground, Barney retaining his hold upon the other’s throat. Striking and clutching at one another they fought in silence for a couple of minutes, then the soldier’s struggles began to weaken. He squirmed and gasped for breath. His mouth opened and his tongue protruded. His eyes started from their sockets. Barney closed his fingers more tightly upon the bearded throat. He rained heavy blows upon the upturned face. The beating fists of his adversary waved wildly now—the blows that reached Barney were pitifully weak. Presently they ceased. The man struggled violently for an instant, twitched spasmodically and lay still. Barney clung to him for several minutes longer, until there was not the slightest indication of remaining life. The perpetration of the deed sickened him; but he knew that his act was warranted, for it had been either his life or the other’s. He dragged the body back to the bushes in which he had been hiding. There he stripped off the Austrian uniform, put his own clothes upon the corpse and rolled it into the river. Dressed as an Austrian private, Barney Custer shouldered the dead soldier’s gun and walked boldly through the wood to the south. Momentarily he expected to run upon other soldiers, but though he kept straight on his way for hours he encountered none. The thin line of sentries along the river had been posted only to double the preventive measures that had been taken to keep Serbian spies either from entering or leaving the city. Toward dawn, at the darkest period of the night, Barney saw lights ahead of him. Apparently he was approaching a village. He went more cautiously now, but all his care did not prevent him from running for the second time that night almost into the arms of a sentry. This time, however, Barney saw the soldier before he himself was discovered. It was upon the edge of the town, in an orchard, that the sentinel was posted. Barney, approaching through the trees, darting from one to another, was within a few paces of the man before he saw him. The American remained quietly in the shadow of a tree waiting for an opportunity to escape, but before it came he heard the approach of a small body of troops. They were coming from the village directly toward the orchard. They passed the sentry and marched within a dozen feet of the tree behind which Barney was hiding. As they came opposite him he slipped around the tree to the opposite side. The sentry had resumed his pacing, and was now out of sight momentarily among the trees further on. He could not see the American, but there were others who could. They came in the shape of a non-commissioned officer and a detachment of the guard to relieve the sentry. Barney almost bumped into them as he rounded the tree. There was no escape—the non-commissioned officer was within two feet of him when Barney discovered him. “What are you doing here?” shouted the sergeant with an oath. “Your post is there,” and he pointed toward the position where Barney had seen the sentry. At first Barney could scarce believe his ears. In the darkness the sergeant had mistaken him for the sentinel! Could he carry it out? And if so might it not lead him into worse predicament? No, Barney decided, nothing could be worse. To be caught masquerading in the uniform of an Austrian soldier within the Austrian lines was to plumb the uttermost depth of guilt—nothing that he might do now could make his position worse. He faced the sergeant, snapping his piece to present, hoping that this was the proper thing to do. Then he stumbled through a brief excuse. The officer in command of the troops that had just passed had demanded the way of him, and he had but stepped a few paces from his post to point out the road to his superior. The sergeant grunted and ordered him to fall in. Another man took his place on duty. They were far from the enemy and discipline was lax, so the thing was accomplished which under other circumstances would have been well nigh impossible. A moment later Barney found himself marching back toward the village, to all intents and purposes an Austrian private. Before a low, windowless shed that had been converted into barracks for the guard, the detail was dismissed. The men broke ranks and sought their blankets within the shed, tired from their lonely vigil upon sentry duty. Barney loitered until the last. All the others had entered. He dared not, for he knew that any moment the sentry upon the post from which he had been taken would appear upon the scene, after discovering another of his comrades. He was certain to inquire of the sergeant. They would be puzzled, of course, and, being soldiers, they would be suspicious. There would be an investigation, which would start in the barracks of the guard. That neighborhood would at once become a most unhealthy spot for Barney Custer, of Beatrice, Nebraska. When the last of the soldiers had entered the shed Barney glanced quickly about. No one appeared to notice him. He walked directly past the doorway to the end of the building. Around this he found a yard, deeply shadowed. He entered it, crossed it, and passed out into an alley beyond. At the first cross-street his way was blocked by the sight of another sentry—the world seemed composed entirely of Austrian sentries. Barney wondered if the entire Austrian army was kept perpetually upon sentry duty; he had scarce been able to turn without bumping into one. He turned back into the alley and at last found a crooked passageway between buildings that he hoped might lead him to a spot where there was no sentry, and from which he could find his way out of the village toward the south. The passage, after devious windings, led into a large, open court, but when Barney attempted to leave the court upon the opposite side he found the ubiquitous sentries upon guard there. Evidently there would be no escape while the Austrians remained in the town. There was nothing to do, therefore, but hide until the happy moment of their departure arrived. He returned to the courtyard, and after a short search discovered a shed in one corner that had evidently been used to stable a horse, for there was straw at one end of it and a stall in the other. Barney sat down upon the straw to wait developments. Tired nature would be denied no longer. His eyes closed, his head drooped upon his breast. In three minutes from the time he entered the shed he was stretched full length upon the straw, fast asleep. The chugging of a motor awakened him. It was broad daylight. Many sounds came from the courtyard without. It did not take Barney long to gather his scattered wits—in an instant he was wide awake. He glanced about. He was the only occupant of the shed. Rising, he approached a small window that looked out upon the court. All was life and movement. A dozen military cars either stood about or moved in and out of the wide gates at the opposite end of the enclosure. Officers and soldiers moved briskly through a doorway that led into a large building that flanked the court upon one side. While Barney slept the headquarters of an Austrian army corps had moved in and taken possession of the building, the back of which abutted upon the court where lay his modest little shed. Barney took it all in at a single glance, but his eyes hung long and greedily upon the great, high-powered machines that chugged or purred about him. Gad! If he could but be behind the wheel of such a car for an hour! The frontier could not be over fifty miles to the south, of that he was quite positive; and what would fifty miles be to one of those machines? Barney sighed as a great, gray-painted car whizzed into the courtyard and pulled up before the doorway. Two officers jumped out and ran up the steps. The driver, a young man in a uniform not unlike that which Barney wore, drew the car around to the end of the courtyard close beside Barney’s shed. Here he left it and entered the building into which his passengers had gone. By reaching through the window Barney could have touched the fender of the machine. A few seconds’ start in that and it would take more than an Austrian army corps to stop him this side of the border. Thus mused Barney, knowing already that the mad scheme that had been born within his brain would be put to action before he was many minutes older. There were many soldiers on guard about the courtyard. The greatest danger lay in arousing the suspicions of one of these should he chance to see Barney emerge from the shed and enter the car. “The proper thing,” thought Barney, “is to come from the building into which everyone seems to pass, and the only way to be seen coming out of it is to get into it; but how the devil am I to get into it?” The longer he thought the more convinced he became that utter recklessness and boldness would be his only salvation. Briskly he walked from the shed out into the courtyard beneath the eyes of the sentries, the officers, the soldiers, and the military drivers. He moved straight among them toward the doorway of the headquarters as though bent upon important business—which, indeed, he was. At least it was quite the most important business to Barney Custer that that young gentleman could recall having ventured upon for some time. No one paid the slightest attention to him. He had left his gun in the shed for he noticed that only the men on guard carried them. Without an instant’s hesitation he ran briskly up the short flight of steps and entered the headquarters building. Inside was another sentry who barred his way questioningly. Evidently one must state one’s business to this person before going farther. Barney, without any loss of time or composure, stepped up to the guard. “Has General Kampf passed in this morning?” he asked blithely. Barney had never heard of any “General Kampf,” nor had the sentry, since there was no such person in the Austrian army. But he did know, however, that there were altogether too many generals for any one soldier to know the names of them all. “I do not know the general by sight,” replied the sentry. Here was a pretty mess, indeed. Doubtless the sergeant would know a great deal more than would be good for Barney Custer. The young man looked toward the door through which he had just entered. His sole object in coming into the spider’s parlor had been to make it possible for him to come out again in full view of all the guards and officers and military chauffeurs, that their suspicions might not be aroused when he put his contemplated coup to the test. He glanced toward the door. Machines were whizzing in and out of the courtyard. Officers on foot were passing and repassing. The sentry in the hallway was on the point of calling his sergeant. “Ah!” cried Barney. “There is the general now,” and without waiting to cast even a parting glance at the guard he stepped quickly through the doorway and ran down the steps into the courtyard. Looking neither to right nor to left, and with a convincing air of self-confidence and important business, he walked directly to the big, gray machine that stood beside the little shed at the end of the courtyard. To crank it and leap to the driver’s seat required but a moment. The big car moved smoothly forward. A turn of the steering wheel brought it around headed toward the wide gates. Barney shifted to second speed, stepped on the accelerator and the cut-out simultaneously, and with a noise like the rattle of a machine gun, shot out of the courtyard. None who saw his departure could have guessed from the manner of it that the young man at the wheel of the gray car was stealing the machine or that his life depended upon escape without detection. It was the very boldness of his act that crowned it with success. Once in the street Barney turned toward the south. Cars were passing up and down in both directions, usually at high speed. Their numbers protected the fugitive. Momentarily he expected to be halted; but he passed out of the village without mishap and reached a country road which, except for a lane down its center along which automobiles were moving, was blocked with troops marching southward. Through this soldier-walled lane Barney drove for half an hour. From a great distance, toward the southeast, he could hear the boom of cannon and the bursting of shells. Presently the road forked. The troops were moving along the road on the left toward the distant battle line. Not a man or machine was turning into the right fork, the road toward the south that Barney wished to take. Could he successfully pass through the marching soldiers at his right? Among all those officers there surely would be one who would question the purpose and destination of this private soldier who drove alone in the direction of the nearby frontier. The moment had come when he must stake everything on his ability to gain the open road beyond the plodding mass of troops. Diminishing the speed of the car Barney turned it in toward the marching men at the same time sounding his horn loudly. An infantry captain, marching beside his company, was directly in front of the car. He looked up at the American. Barney saluted and pointed toward the right-hand fork. The captain turned and shouted a command to his men. Those who had not passed in front of the car halted. Barney shot through the little lane they had opened, which immediately closed up behind him. He was through! He was upon the open road! Ahead, as far as he could see, there was no sign of any living creature to bar his way, and the frontier could not be more than twenty-five miles away. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1995). The Mad King. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/364/pg364-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

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