Pritesh Vora says, “When was the last time you responded to a cold email? You probably can’t remember — for good reason. Most people simple delete outreach emails from reps they haven’t met or mark them as spam. Even if some prospects do read the email, few bother to respond. However, a well-crafted prospecting email is a powerful weapon in any salesperson’s arsenal. I used seven principles to take a prospecting email from bad to great, and raised my response rate from 1% to 14% in the process. In this blog post, I’ll analyze the real emails I sent to prospects... [...]

Jim Yu says, “Eric Schmidt predicted that sales of smartphones would surpass PCs more than six years ago, as the then-Google CEO prepared the world for the “mobile-first” culture at the Mobile World Congress in 2010. Fast forward to today, and we’re witnessing the birth of a new mobile era where consumers interact and convert in what Google describes as mobile micro-moments — the key points of time when a user is interacting with their mobile device because they want to know something, go somewhere, do something or buy something. As marketers, measuring mobile moments that matter... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “According to data from Adobe, Cyber Monday became the largest day in US e-commerce history. Consumers spent roughly $3.4 billion online, which just beat Black Friday’s $3.34 billion. Cyber Monday generated somewhat less mobile commerce revenue at $1.19 billion vs. $1.2 billion on Black Friday. Nonetheless, smartphones and tablets drive more traffic than PCs yesterday. Adobe said that 44 percent of retail site traffic came from smartphones, while 9 percent was from tablets. More conversions happened on PCs however, driving 65 percent of online retail sales. Adobe reported... [...]

Marcus Varner says, ““When can you get started on that blog post?” “When will you have that e-book done?” If you’re like many content creators, these questions can bring on an outbreak of cold sweat, an uneasy feeling in your gut, or even a full-blown panic attack. But why? It’s not like you’re a newbie to the production process. And you already understand the value of tracking, measuring, and making decisions based on data. But for some reason, you haven’t connected the two to become more disciplined and deliberate in your content production. Todd Patton, content marketing... [...]

Pauline Jakober says, “Most PPC agencies or professionals who want to get more business have some form of marketing in play. And many of us have come across the more questionable methods. You know the kind I’m talking about, those unsolicited emails and calls with one goal: to scare a business into thinking there’s something terribly wrong with their current pay-per-click program. These ploys can easily confuse well-meaning businesses and leave them second-guessing their strategy. This is fear-based marketing, and we run into all kinds. In this post, I’ll walk you through three scare... [...]

Eric Siu says, “The never-ending to-do list . . . the constant deadlines . . . the pinging inbox: Welcome to the world of the typical entrepreneur or small business owner. When you’re one of them, you’re constantly deluged with tasks, and prioritizing tasks can be difficult. That’s why most business owners wear many hats as they grow their companies, eventually adding marketing tasks to their ever-expanding priority list. So, in that regard, understanding how to prioritize and delegate your marketing tasks can be a huge help. These five steps will help you do what you need... [...]

Thomas Husson says, “Most marketers agree that mobile is a strategic priority. However, they fail to appreciate the true power of mobile: its ability to radically improve their entire marketing plan by linking consumer online and offline behaviors. While consumers use mobile as a sixth sense to digitize the offline world, marketers still think of mobile as a subdigital channel. Marketers must reconsider mobile’s role in their entire marketing plan. They should: * Link Mobile To Offline To Unlock Its Full Potential To bridge digital and offline marketing, marketers must rethink the total... [...]

Joy Hawkins says, “Previously, I wrote an article unveiling some of the most common myths I see in the Local SEO space. I thought I’d do a follow-up that specifically talked about the myths pertaining to citations that I commonly hear from both small business owners and SEOs alike. Myth #1: If your citations don’t include your suite number, you should stop everything you’re doing and fix this ASAP. Truth: Google doesn’t even recognize suite numbers for a whopping majority of Google business listings. Even though you enter a suite number in Google My Business, it doesn’t translate... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “It’s time again for Andy Crestodina’s annual survey of 1000(+) bloggers. Take a listen and see how your site measures against the trends … For the third year running, Andy Crestodina over at Orbit Media has run his Survey of 1000 Bloggers. We had a chance to chat about the most interesting findings … and talk about what a big project like this can mean for an organization like his (or maybe yours). In this 30-minute episode, Andy and I talk about: – The content practice that twice as many bloggers are doing this year: How does your process stack up? –... [...]

Nikki Gilliland says, “Financial topics and Facebook are not natural bedfellows. Generally, people are more inclined to spend their time on social media watching cat videos than they are tutorials about credit checks. However, Experian UK – known for its credit score services – is trying to persuade people otherwise. It’s been doing some interesting things with Facebook video lately. Here’s a bit of insight into what’s been working (and what might be missing the mark). Real-time and relatable elements The first thing that strikes me about Experian’s Facebook page is just how... [...]