Poll

What Social Media Platforms are You Using for Your Business?
Facebook
0%
Twitter
0%
LinkedIn
0%
YouTube
0%
Combination of All of the Above
100%
None of the Above
0%
Other
0%
Total votes: 2

Creative & Copy

Pull Leads Down Your Funnel With Marketing Offers

Author: 
Adrian Mott
Source: 
HubSpotSource: Hubspot

Everybody knows -- or should know -- that blog content is critical to successful online marketing in today's world. 
 
Less talked about (but perhaps even more important) is offer content.
 
As a marketer, offers are your lead generation ammunition.  They're information and resources  your site visitors want to consume and are willing to give you their contact information in exchange for. Offers are simply the best ways to generate leads from your website.
 

An Inventor's Shocking Forecasts for Marketing Technology

Author: 
Jodi Harris
Source: 
iMediaConnectionSource: iMedia Connection

Renowned futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil shares his bold predictions on virtual environments for marketing, the effects of an accelerated technological pace, and how information will transform communications.
 
Article Highlights:

Lessons in Landing Pages

Author: 
Karen J. Bannan
Source: 
BtoB MagazineSource: BtoB Magazine

You spend hours working on the design and copy of your email marketing campaigns, but how much time do you devote to your landing pages? If you’re like many marketers, the answer is simple: not enough. “It’s definitely one of the lesser-thought-about things,” said Jim Wehmann, senior VP-global marketing with Digital River, a provider of e-commerce and marketing solutions. “It’s too much of an afterthought, which is one of the biggest mistakes that a marketer can make.”

7 Simple Ways to Freshen Up Your Direct Marketing

Author: 
Chris Marriott
Source: 
iMediaConnectionSource: iMedia Connection

As the snows begin to melt here in the Northeast, many of us start to think about spring cleaning, the domestic ritual of blowing away cobwebs, rearranging those things put asunder by a hard winter, and just plain throwing out old junk.
 
Why spring? Spring represents a time of renewal -- blooming flowers, hatching eggs, and sprouting seeds. Also, it comes after the all-important holiday season, when most marketers had little time to think beyond the next send date.
 

A Three-Step Plan for Continual Email-List Growth and Engagement (Part 1 of 3)

Author: 
Karen Talavera
Source: 
MarketingProfsSource: MarketingProfs

Since the infancy of direct-response marketing, a targeted and captive audience has been the key to success. It didn't take long for "the list" to become king.
 
Though your list may remain the most powerful pillar of your direct-response effort, you also need strong, motivating offers and spot-on creative to go with it. Still, without the ability to reach the right people, the most enticing offers and the most exceptional creative take you nowhere.

Auto-Responders With Personality

Author: 
DJ Waldow
Source: 
MediaPostSource: MediaPost

I went ice-climbing a few weeks ago. I did what most other business professionals do and set up an out-of-office auto-responder informing people where I was, how long I'd be out, and what they could expect as far as a reply. Standard procedure, right?
 
In January, I blogged about how an auto-responder email I received from Conde Nast missed the mark in three critical areas. The good news is, my example today is quite the opposite.
 
 GroupCard's Auto-Responder Has Spunk!
 

Using Email To Remarket To Customers

Author: 
Loren McDonald
Source: 
MediaPostSource: MediaPost

Email is a superior channel to drive sales, but it can also help you capture the next sale, the sale after that -- and even the sale that didn't happen.
 
Remarketing to customers is one of the benefits that email delivers once you begin to use the channel for more than sending yet another untargeted discount or free-shipping offer.
 
The emails you send in a remarketing program are highly personalized messages, which generate significantly higher response and conversion rates than broadcast emails.
 

Set the Alarm Clock on Your Sleeping Subscribers

Author: 
Stefan Pollard
Source: 
ClickzSource: Clickz

Once you decide to invest time and budget resources to upgrade your list quality, one of your first targets should be winning back the segment of your mailing list that has gone inactive.
 
That could be pretty sizable, given that half or more of a typical B2C (define) list can be inactive. (I explain why you should either win back inactives or move them off your mailing list in this column.)
 

How Word-of-Mouth Fuels Email Campaigns

Author: 
Sam Decker
Source: 
DMNewsSource: DM News

Customer reviews and other forms of word of mouth make great fodder for email campaigns. When measured against identical campaigns that don't include word of mouth, they generally drive higher click-through rates and sales. Two key benefits of email and user-generated content include driving community participation and using trusted words of customers to market products.
 
Email encourages consumers to engage with your site – and your brand.
 

Tips for Email Marketing Bliss

Author: 
Eric Rabinowitz
Source: 
DMNewsSource: DM News

Bliss may be too strong a word when it comes to anything marketing-related, but according to the Direct Marketing Association, every dollar spent on email marketing generates $43.62 in revenue. That, of course, is the average. Follow these rules and get better results from your email campaigns.
 
Person-to-Person
 
We are communicating with people so always remember this essential point when you write your messages.  Stay away from marketing speak and use language that connects on a person-to-person level.

Real-Time Messaging: Customer Engagement 101

New Customers, New Messaging, New Opportunity ... All in Real Time