Kristen Dunleavy says, “So you have a website, you’re on Facebook, and you’re working on content for your blog. You might be wondering, “Where the heck does email fit into this equation?” and: “How am I supposed to find time for email marketing?” Good news: Email marketing can complement any marketing strategy. Even better news: It shouldn’t take more than about an hour of your time each week. Here’s how you can use email with each part of your marketing strategy”. How Email Fits Into Your Marketing Strategy Aweber Blog  [...]

Sophie Turton says, “Instead of creating content, we should be creating opportunities for content creation: instagrammable moments, inspiring experiences. And instead of broadcasting, we should create opportunities for conversation. Audiences are in control of their own digital story. Businesses are no longer in the driving seat but instead must adopt the role of navigator, cleverly guiding the user’s journey, but ultimately remaining vulnerable to the whimsy of the consumer. The expression ‘content is king’ has become something of an industry cliche and, like all good cliches, it’s... [...]

Pamela Wilson says, “You ease yourself into the coziest chair you own, a warm beverage by your side, a blanket over your legs, and the glow of a reading lamp over your shoulder. It’s time to sink into a nice, long session of reading. You pull apart the pages of the nonfiction book you’re working your way through, and you begin a new chapter. It starts with an inspiring quote. Then the author tells a story. Eventually, she comes around to the topic at hand. Now that you’re warmed up, she’s going to share some information with you. What’s the online version of this scene?“. 6... [...]

Jack Simpson says, “It’s strange to think that email is still such an important tool for marketers, and in fact business people of all types, when there is so much technology at our fingertips now.  I’m pretty sure the only people who communicate via email outside of the commercial world are my parents, but for marketers around the world this platform is still going strong. After writing a list about social media tips for beginners last week and thoroughly educating myself in the process, I thought I’d do the same for email marketing this time. I’m going to focus on five key areas: Getting... [...]

Tyler Rhodes says, “The dreaded “unsubscribe” metric. Taming this number is vital for maintaining a healthy contact list to use for promoting your own products or those of potential advertisers. Unfortunately, often times the more emails you send out, the more this number goes up. Assuming you’ve spent the time to grow your list the right way (and haven’t purchased it), this begs the question: Why are subscribers still dropping off at such a high rate if they’ve opted-in in the first place? Let’s look at two of the top culprits—not spending enough time on coordinating... [...]

Karissa Bell says, “The team behind Microsoft Outlook has a new email app that makes it a lot easier to ignore your inbox. Send, released on iOS Wednesday, is an email that app that takes an instant messaging-style approach to your inbox by stripping out almost every aspect. See also: 5 ways to wrestle your email into submission Unlike Outlook, Send is not meant to be a full-featured email app: you can’t use it to view emails you’ve already received or search your inbox. The super simple app only shows threads that have been started from within the app. The idea, Microsoft says,... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “You’ve heard it a thousand times: the money’s in the list. If you’re serious about your digital business, you need to build a list of people who are paying attention to you, typically an email list. So, how do you get people to sign up for your email newsletter? You probably already know the answer to this one: Reward them. Give subscribers something great as a “thank you” for signing up. This is usually some form of content — a useful video, a killer ebook, or an exclusive podcast. Sure, everyone else does that. Because it works“. The Betty Crocker Secret... [...]

Daniel Burstein says, “Mobile email opens have surpassed desktop opens for the first time. How does this affect your email conversion and open rates? How should your company optimize for mobile? In this Chart of the Week, we share device-specific open and conversion data. Watch our interview with Jessica Jacobs, Director of Product Marketing, Movable Ink, to learn how to tackle the most common mobile challenges“. Email Marketing Chart: Mobile versus desktop conversions MarketingSherpa  [...]

Personalization has always been a part of the marketer’s toolbox. Talking directly to the reader, with personal details such as name included, tends to produce better results. But this kind of personalization is really rather superficial. You must know the customer at a deeper level in order to make the most sales. As reported in Email Insider, “Google recently dubbed every tiny interaction consumers have with brands as ‘”micro-moments,” the new battle ground for brands.'” You need to manage these micro-moments for the best customer experience, which will produce... [...]

Mashable team says, “I think we can all agree that waiting to hear back about a job isn’t topping anyone’s list of favorite hobbies. Every time your phone rings or your email dings, you stop what you’re doing just in case it’s news on the job front. Will you get an interview? Will you get an offer? Maybe you even pick up one of those automated scam calls, just on the off chance that the hiring manager is suddenly calling you from a blocked number or remote location. So, more power to you if you decide to take matters into your own hands and write a note. That said,... [...]