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    The must-have app to make your National Day long weekend stress-free

    While we all might be ready to delve right into the long weekend, ensuring swift transfers between activities the activities planned, sounds just like the perfect dream. With this year’s UAE National Day celebrations coinciding with a five-day public holiday across the country, you might have a range of activities planned as you explore the city’s picturesque landscape.
    As you wish to spend quality time with family and friends during the holiday, you can do so with premium comfort and air-conditioned cars that contain baby seats for peace of mind for your little travellers.

    Careem is the perfect app to have installed on your phone this National Day to allow for easy travel without having to plan in advance, by offering a convenient ride across the siven Emirates. Now booking a car as per your liking is just a simple tap away.

    In addition, if you’re short on time or wish to try out new food havens in the vicinity, from December 1 to 3, you can relish delicious food with 49 per cent off a wide selection of restaurants. Simply use the code UAE49 on one order every day and your meal will be with you while providing a seamless logistical experience.
    In compliance with the COVID-19 rules, all captains are following personal safety protocols and regularly sanitizing their cars, while allowing four passengers per ride for Max car type and two passengers per ride in Economy, Careem Kids and Business car types.
    So if you’re ready to explore the city sights at affordable prices it’s all at your fingertips.
    – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
    Feature image: Instagram @careemuae More

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    Your Business Marketing Strategy Based on Your Enneagram

    Watching your business grow based on the steps and tactics you’ve implemented along the way is one of the best parts of being a business owner. Whether your blog just hit its page view goal for the month, you made a sale on your website, or you got a referral from a client, you’ve done it! But how can we keep pushing those goals further, make more money, and explore your passions even further? By using your website to its full potential! We’re big fans of Squarespace for all your website needs, and their various options and features make it so easy to keep pushing and trying new things. But it can be challenging to try new things if you’re unsure of the result (perfectionism is a curse sometimes!), and when it seems like you’re overflowing with options and business plans abound, the decision fatigue sets in, and then you ultimately do nothing. To get out of that rut, we’re figuring out which new marketing strategy you should implement based on your type of our favorite personality test, the Enneagram (it’s all about personality, rather than birthdays or charts). Grab your notebook and a pen, and start taking notes!

    Grow Your Email List
    Email is a powerful tool to keep in your back pocket. I mean, how many times a day do you check your own email? How often do you ooh and ah over a product, service, or link you found in a newsletter? Ones know the power of their words, and they’re often very intentional and strong. But they have a tendency to get caught up in all the little details and nuances, which can cause them to self-sabotage through perfectionism. Make it easy on yourself by using Squarespace’s built-in email campaigns, which pull directly from your site so your logo, products, and social links are there waiting for you.
    When building out your emails, include lead generators and clickable content to keep your audience engaged and encourage new signups. Try free downloads, short mini courses, checklists, exclusive blog posts, product discounts, and more! 
    READ: 8 Things You Should Do Before Hitting Send on That Email

    Repurpose Old Content
    Twos are friendly and smooth (charming at best), and they let that come through their content and business. You’ve spent so much time and effort on your website, so don’t let old posts and pages fall to the wayside as time goes on. As your audience grows, you want to make sure they’re able to access all of your content. Update popular posts from the past with new keywords and extra content and links. Write a post about work-from-home tips last summer? Add more photos and relevant topics and post again. This is also a good time to revisit previous projects and breathe new life into them. If you spent a lot of time on something at one point, keep repurposing it for your audience!
    Create a content schedule using all of these reposts. Squarespace allows you to schedule posts in advance, so you can build out your content calendar for the weeks and months ahead. Take note of what types of content perform best based on the day of the week and time to help you keep your audience engaged and increase your click rate. 

    Use Email Automation
    Threes are excited when they can automate and streamline a process, and email is a great option that will save you ample time when you’re in the zone. 
    We love the automations within Squarespace email campaigns that allow you to keep your site top of mind without having to send an individual email every time. Have an online store? Set up an automation that will email new customers a few days after their initial purchase, offering a discount code. A surefire way to turn first customers into repeat customers. Have a blog? Send out an automatic welcome email to new subscribers featuring some of your most-loved blog posts. The best part about creating these automations is that you can “set it and forget it.” A little work upfront and you can reap the rewards for months to come. 

    READ: 6 Email Marketing Hacks to Double Your Traffic and Sales

    Dive into Hashtags
    Fours are creatively-driven, so they love sharing their projects, products, and more on social media. Want to show your masterpieces to more people? Get acquainted with hashtags. On Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, hashtags are a great way to group content and show it to as many people as possible. Search through the hashtags your audience is following and create a list that you can add to your own posts.
    It also might be a good idea to create your own hashtags to group your content and encourage your audience to share their own similar images and posts! Try keeping sets of hashtags in a note on your phone, based on different content you post. That way no matter what you’re posting, you’re maximizing the number of people who will see it. 

    Explore New Features
    A five never lets a rock go unturned. They want to try and research everything they can, and it’s a big factor in their success—they get results! To keep your marketing strategy up to date, you’ll want to keep that same energy and make sure you’re trying every feature on the social platforms you use. Try Instagram Live, Reels, and IGTV, or Facebook Live and Stories. Did you know you can make “Pinterest Stories” too? Not only will these help the algorithms of these sites to show your content to more people, but your audiences might see a new side of your business, a product from a different angle, more of your personality, and more.
    We love Squarespace’s tool, Unfold, that helps you create beautiful Instagram Stories, straight from your phone. 

    READ: Work Smarter: 15 Ways to Improve Your Website and Business

    Create A Stellar “About” Page
    Sixes have a really strong handle on who they are, so they’re not likely to publish and work on projects they’re unsure about. But they aren’t always so good at talking themselves up! Make it a point to add a little extra bit of you to your business with a really solid about page on your website. Tell potential customers about your favorite movie, or how you got your start in your business. Explain why your product or service is unique. Readers and customers will be more willing to engage with your blog, site, or shop if they feel like they know you. Add photos, quick FAQ type questions, what you’re loving lately, and more. 
    Not sure about where to start? Think about your story. Why did you start your blog or business? Share a bit about where you started and where you are now. Bring readers on the journey with you! 
    Read: Why You Need a Website for Your Small Business

    Go Behind-the-Scenes
    People love your personality, seven! Part of the fun of being a business owner is all the behind-the-scenes stuff you get to do, and your readers and customers want to see all of that too. Give people an insight into your day-to-day: how you package orders, what your office looks like, your favorite office music to play, what your favorite products are. Give your brand a personality—and if a seven can do anything, it’s show their personality! 
    To keep up with your branding, make your personality really matches the aesthetic of the brand. If you’re an outgoing and lively person, a black-and-white website filled with basic serif fonts won’t correlate. The good news? With Squarespace, there’s no need to have any experience coding or designing either—you can easily match your brand’s aesthetic without spending hours upon hours toying around with the design. Choose from Squarespace’s robust library of templates, fonts, stock images, and more to ensure your site reflects your personality and business mission.

    READ: 8 Ways to Make Your Website Stand Out

    Upgrade Your SEO
    Eights love a good project, and optimizing your entire site for SEO is the perfect weekend activity to get your blog and/or business in tip-top shape. Do some research on what your audience is searching and what keywords are best to include to attract even more site visitors. Get specific in your data about when people are clicking on your site, what pages they’re reading the most, what device they’re reading on, what they’re commenting on—seriously, go deep into the data. Then, build your marketing strategy on that. It’s basically the most magical set-up an eight could ask for. 
    Not a whiz with SEO? No worries. Squarespace builds SEO optimization right into its templates, so you don’t have to take an SEO course to understand exactly what to do. Steps such as automatically creating mobile versions of all of your pages that load quickly make it easy on you but efficient and effective for your business plan. Squarespace also includes free SSL certificates to notify search engines that your site is legit, so you’ll show up in more searches. We also love that Squarespace has built-in Google Analytics integration so you can easily track all of your stats and goals.
    READ: Ready to Publish Your Website? Read This SEO Checklist First

    Squarespace’s SEO Checklist

    Try Promoting Social Content
    Nines, you create content that deserves to be seen! Nines are usually the shyest of the Enneagram types, so they usually need a little boost of confidence every once in a while to keep their business thriving. And the same could be said about their content. Sometimes, you just need a little boost to get it seen by the right person to convert to sales, and a great way to do that is through promoting your Pinterest pins and Instagram and Facebook posts. This can be pretty low budget (anywhere from $5-15), but could boost your traffic immensely. This might help you gain new followers, sales, website clicks, and more.

    This post is sponsored by Squarespace, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everygirl editorial board. More

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    12 fabulous things to do in Dubai over the five-day weekend

    This week in the UAE, things have reversed themselves. Instead of a five-day work week and a two-day weekend, we have a two-day work week and a five-day weekend.
    With that, we’ve rounded up 12 fabulous things you can do this long weekend – December 1 to December 5.
    A free sunset yoga session

    If you’re taking it easy during this five-day break, there’s no better way than to unwind than with a bit of sunset yoga. Enjoy a free sunset yoga session at the Meliã Desert Palm Dubai at 5.30pm at the resort’s fitness centre garden.
    A festive ladies night

    Kick off the festive season with this Christmas-themed ladies’ night at Distillery in Downtown Dubai on Tuesday, December 1. Enjoy unlimited wine and cocktails with a three-course menu for Dhs129 per person, every Tuesday throughout December from 8pm to 11pm.
    A private isolation daycation

    Take advantage of the Park Hyatt’s amazing daycation deal which is available during weekdays. For Dhs2,225 for four people enjoy a private day away at this Dubai Creek establishment. From 10am to 7pm you’ll get access to a lagoon room in the hotel which has its own terrace with sunbeds. The best part, it leads out to the private beach at the hotel.
    A Charlotte Tilbury wonderland

    Those in the UAE now have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Charlotte Tilbury, as the brand has opened its third Beauty Wonderland for beauty lovers in Dubai at City Centre Mirdif. Learn the world-renowned makeup artist’s backstage, red carpet and celebrity beauty secrets, tips and tricks with bespoke makeover services at the new wonderland. Even better, you can start your Christmas shopping by picking up some beauty bits.
    A hearty breakfast

    Visit JBR breakfast hotspot Eggspectation to enjoy their iconic waffles, but with a twist. In celebration of UAE National Day, the Dubai cafe will be integrating some authentic flavours that are loved across the UAE.
    Sweet treats

    Brunch & Cake is celebrating the UAE’s 49th National Day by creating a limited-edition date and pistachio jam-filled croissant. This Wednesday, December 2, the first 100 dine-in cafe-goers will receive the croissant on the house. Yum!
    An amazing new sunset deal

    In perfect timing for the cooler weather arriving and for party season, Ninive has launched a new daily sunset aperitif offer making it the ideal spot to meet with friends during the long weekend. From 5pm to 7.30pm daily enjoy a mixture five of hot and cold mezze dishes and two cocktails, mocktails, house wine or beer of your choice for just Dh175.
    Mindful Christmas shopping

    Mindful Dubai-based initiative promoting sustainability and one-of-a-kind pieces, One Good Thing, will be hosting a pop-up at West Elm in Dubai Mall from December 3 to 5 from 4 to 8pm, facilitating the sharing of authentic stories and challenging our perceptions of recycling, luxury and consumption.
    Cove Beach’s new dinner show concept

    Launching this Thursday, December 3, Dubai’s renowned lifestyle destination, Cove Beach, will play host to a new night, Bijoux. It’s a new dinner show concept featuring thrilling live acts and lavish six-course menu every Thursday evening. Signature dishes available include nigiri selection, lobster risotto and wagyu short rib.
    Pool days

    Relax and revitalise in the company of some vitamin D at one of the many pool days available. See EW’s round-up here.
    Brunch time

    When in doubt of what to do, you can never go wrong with a good brunch. See EW’s National Day brunch edit here.
    Staycation time

    It’s never too late to book a staycation, even if it’s just for the night for a change of scenery. See EW’s edit here.
    – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
    Feature image: Instagram/@ig_mn More

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    Sheikh Mohammed approves new designs of Emirates ID and UAE passports

    A new Emirates ID design and new UAE passports are on their way, per the approval from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
    As per the UAE cabinet on Sunday, November 29, new designs for Emirati passports and national identity cards will be replaced gradually with new features to enhance the security and trust of UAE passports globally.

    The Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the new generation of Emirati Passports and national IDs at the cabinet meeting.
    Displaying a new digital code with the highest international security standards, the features will help to verify passports when people travel, especially when going through airports and international ports across the world.

    With the most important security feature, the encrypted codes in passports being upgraded, the UAE is the first Arab country to implement this type of digital change of passport code, while also facilitating citizens when going through airports and international ports across the world.
    Additionally, Sheikh Mohammed has also approved the establishment of a council for cybersecurity in the country.
    – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
    Feature image: Instagram @hhshkmohd More

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    This Dubai terrace has launched the most amazing sunset deal

    IN PARTNERSHIP: Now that the Dubai winter has well and truly arrived, and with festive season fast-approaching, it’s the perfect time to be enjoying the plethora of terraces the city has to offer.
    One standout hotspot for EW is Ninive which offers some of the best views of the DIFC skyline.

    The restaurant, located at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, serves up a range of delicious Arabic and North African favourites, with the menu inspired by the flavours of Morocco, Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

    In perfect timing for the cooler weather arriving and for party season, Ninive has launched a new daily sunset aperitif offer making it the ideal spot to meet with colleagues and friends after work.
    From 5pm to 7.30pm daily enjoy a mixture five of hot and cold mezze dishes and two cocktails, mocktails, house wine or beer of your choice for just Dh175.
    Dishes include maast o Khiar, spicy avocado, Lahmacun, cheese briwat, tuna briwat, tamarind chicken, spiced beef, mini lahmacun and more.
    So, get a group of close friends together to enjoy the delicacies of this Arabic and North African restaurant in a traditional yet stylish setting accompanied by the amazing skyscrapers of DIFC and take advantage of this amazing new deal.
    To make a booking call 043 266 105 or visit ninive.ae. 
    – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
    Images: Instagram/Supplied, Feature Image: Supplied More

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    There’s free parking in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah for three days

    With the upcoming UAE National Day weekend, for those who are in the country for the long break, you’ll be happy to know that the RTA has announced free parking in Dubai (except for multi-level parking terminals), Abu Dhabi and Sharjah from December 1 until December 3.
    In addition, Dubai Metro’s Red Line will run from 5 am to 1 am (the following day), and the Green Line will run from 5.30 am to 1 am (the following day). The Dubai Tram will run from 6am to 1am. Service centres, as well as Customer Happiness Centres, will be closed from Tuesday, December 1, to Thursday, December 3. They will resume from Saturday, December 5.

    #RTA announced an update to the timings of its services during the 49th #NationalDay and the Commemoration Day holiday. https://t.co/6pqh6VIL3f pic.twitter.com/aeRgETGhse
    — RTA (@rta_dubai) November 29, 2020

    All passengers taking public transport have also been requested by the RTA to abide by the necessary COVID precautions.
    The Integrated Transport Centre in Abu Dhabi (ITC) has announced five days of free parking in the capital

    Our Services During the Commemoration Day and the National Day Holiday.To read the full news, please visit “Latest News” section in #ITC website: https://t.co/2oM7KlL4gt#Abudhabi #uae
    — “ITC” مركز النقل المتكامل (@ITCAbuDhabi) November 29, 2020

    Free public parking throughout the city of Sharjah has also been announced by the municipality from Tuesday December 1 until Thursday December 3 with a few paid parking zones that have been identified by blue signs.
    – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
    Feature image: Unsplash More

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    December’s – ‘The Party Issue’ with cover star Haya Jarrar

    December’s – ‘The Party Issue’ – Download Now
    The Gift Guide – Download Now 
    Words & Creative Direction: Amy SessionsPhotography: Greg AdamskiProduction: Kelli MaddockHair & Makeup Ania PoniatowskaFashion Assistant: Sarah JosephLocation: With special thanks to Nyx at Gaia DIFC
    Welcome to The Party Issue.

    In this issue we balance work and play. We partnered with BYFAR for a cover that celebrates fun and freedom with the coolest touch of nineties revival. Our cover star Haya Jarrar, Founder of Romani is an incredible woman with both beauty and business acumen.
    We’ve gone all-out this issue in terms of the experts with exclusive interviews from designer Alexandre Vauthier in The Showstopper, ex-Chief Marketing & Membership Officer for Soho House, Jodie Harrison in the Guestlist, tablescape guru Fiona Leahy in The Party Planner and global go-to for sequins Retrofête in Welcome To The Party.

    The Hero Buys delivers high shine dressing, we look at a modern take on the classic tuxedo in Le Smoking and channel desk to dinner cool with transformative accessories in Crystal Clear.
    In terms of beauty we look at balms to keep skin smooth in Winter Skin, compile the perfect edit for exceptional fragrances that last all night long in After Hours, hero the party prep must-haves in Polished and an interview Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury on how to up the ante for party season in The Magic Touch. We also hear from incredible women on what keeps them looking fresh during the festive season in The Skin Saviours.
    If you’re still undecided on where to celebrate, The Supper Club will be your guide with our edit of the superlative establishments in Dubai.
    As 2020 comes to a close, we stay grateful for the lessons this year has taught us and what better lesson than to live in the moment. See you on the dancefloor.
    December’s – ‘The Party Issue’ – Download Now
    The Gift Guide – Download Now 
    – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
    Images: Supplied More

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    Dubai authorities publish guidelines for the UAE National Day long weekend

    With the five-day weekend fast-approaching, the Dubai authorities have issued some guidelines surrounding gatherings and celebrations for UAE National Day.
    The Dubai Media Office announced via their official Twitter page that UAE citizens and residents some key guidelines they are urged to follow.

    Caution has been issued to avoid large family gatherings, avoid crowded public places and to adhere to the official health and safety precautionary measures, which includes social distancing of two metres and wearing a mask at all times.

    #UAE citizens and residents urged to follow the precautionary measures for National Day celebrations:-Avoid large family gatherings-Adhere to the official health and safety precautionary measures at all times-Avoid crowded public places pic.twitter.com/BC60DSpyC4
    — Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) November 29, 2020

    If family gatherings are to take place, a maximum of 20 people can attend and social distancing measures must be in place and a mask must be worn.
    As of tomorrow, the UAE will enjoy a five-day weekend to mark Commemoration Day and UAE National Day.
    READ: What exactly is UAE National Day and Commemoration Day?
    Commemoration Day
    Commemoration Day honours the Emiratis who have sacrificed their lives to protect their country. On December 1, 2020, which falls on a Tuesday, there will be a day off, which is followed by UAE National Day (see below).
    UAE National Day
    Celebrating the unification of the seven emirates, there will two days off for UAE National Day on Wednesday, December 2 and Thursday, December 3.
    READ: 10 of the best pool day deals to enjoy during the National Day long weekendREAD: UAE National Day: 8 delicious brunches to enjoy over the long weekendREAD: 10 of the best staycations deals over the UAE National Day long weekend
    – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
    Feature Image: Unsplash More