Everyone knows McDonalds. They’re the world’s most popular fast food chain with over 36,000 locations in more than 100 countries, selling on average 75 burgers a second all over the world. Their rise to monopolising the fast food industry was quick having only started in 1954 but having the intelligence to stay at the top is what I find the most interesting. Improving quality whilst expanding are paramount to Mcdonalds.

McDonalds have a clear-cut growth strategy that they work to abide by with every day of service, the key pillars are: retain, regain, convert, digital, delivery and experience of the future. They constantly innovate to keep up with the current times and to stay miles ahead of their competitors. An example of this is their monopoly game they bring out for a month every year, essentially with certain products you can buy you have the chance to collect stickers to win big prizes or stickers that entitle you to a free item on their menu. This simple game draws in consumers because people love the ‘instant gratification’ of winning something. The consumer is given a sense of empowerment and comes back for more, it’s genius. As well as this promotional game they come out with seasonal items that they change every so often so the consumer doesn’t get bored or find it repetitive, the Signature burgers and the Big Tasty are on and off the menu to avoid repetition and keep people interested. Would you go back to a fast food restaurant every time knowing their menu hasn’t changed since you first went? Especially with sufficient alternative restaurants probably just as close by, I doubt you will. Mcdonalds are truly ahead of their time when it comes to dominating the fast food restaurant industry.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.