Sonia Simone says, “A common newbie marketing mistake is trying to talk to everyone. There are all kinds of buzzwords around speaking to a specific audience — segmentation, demographics, psychographics, generational marketing. Today Sonia talks about a few pitfalls and best practices. Last week the New York Times ran a funny little piece about the Baby Boomers being The Next Hot Market to sell to. It sparked some thoughts on how (and why) we divide our markets into segments, the perils of trying to speak to everyone with the same message, and some of the dangerous curves on the road to... [...]

Leslie Ye says, “Emails are easy to whip up and send off without a second thought. The fact that we send and receive so many of them makes it seem like each individual email isn’t that important. But it’s time to ditch the mindset that an email is “just” an email. You don’t need to treat each one like your own personal Magna Carta, but you do need to put time and attention into crafting a concise, direct message that’ll get your prospect to take action. From your subject line to your signoff, every word matters. From your intention to your execution, you must be deliberate about... [...]

Liz Willits says, “Imagine this scenario for a moment: You just finished creating the perfect email sign up form. You’ve written compelling copy, offer a valuable lead magnet and display it on every page of your blog. But as you sit at your computer waiting for the email subscribers to flow in, little happens. Your conversion rates are low, and you begin to wonder, “Where did I go wrong?” Unfortunately in this scenario, there’s one item that was missing from the quality checklist: effective design. Good design draws the eye of your website visitors, keeps them engaged and plays... [...]

Aja Frost says, “Mark Twain once said, “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead.” Getting your point across in as few words as possible takes time and effort. But it’ll pay off: According to an analysis of more than 40 million emails, the most effective were between 50 and 125 words. Wondering how you can cut your messages down to this length? Here are the most common ways you may be wasting space. 1) Being Too Wordy Make your sentences as short as possible. If your prospect struggles to get your point, they’ll probably stop reading”. 8... [...]

Jason Moore says, “What does YouTube have to do helping you grow your email list? Well, a lot actually. By creating video content, you give yourself another place for people to discover you and your business. And the more people see your content and learn about your business, the more people will have the opportunity to sign up to your email list. So how can you get started? In this post, I’m going to go over two of the main steps to growing your email list on this popular social channel. The first will be about setting up your YouTube channel so that you can add a link to your sign... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Millennials in the United States are heavy users of Facebook’s platforms, they are less worried about privacy compared with older consumers, and they are still influenced by email campaigns, according to recent research from Fluent. The report was based on data from a nationwide survey of 1,769 Millennial adults (age 18-34) and 1,191 non-Millennial adults (age 35+). Participants were asked about their device use and how they interact with various digital media channels. Below, key findings from the report. Social Networks Facebook is the top social network among Millennial... [...]

David DeMambro says, “More than ever before, people are relying on their mobile devices for web browsing. In fact, a recent study from Hitwise found that almost 60% of U.S. online searches are conducted via mobile, and according to Litmus, 56% of emails were opened on mobile devices in April 2016. With so many potential customers opening emails on mobile, it’s essential that marketers optimize their sends for tablets and smartphones in addition to desktop computers. Luckily, Google has made that easier with their announcement that Gmail will begin supporting emails created with responsive... [...]

Liz Willits says, “One of the great things about blogging is that it perfectly fits into so many other digital marketing strategies you might already have in place. And if you’re not yet using it to grow your email list and nurture an engaged community of readers, you could be missing out on some huge business opportunities. According to a Hubspot study, B2B marketers who blog generate 67 percent more leadsthan those who do not. Sixty-seven percent!  So why does blogging help marketers get so many more leads? Well, there are three main reasons: 1) Blogging tends to generate high-quality... [...]

Aaron Orendorff says, “It’s not “like” or follow. And it’s not even add to cart, buy now, or confirm purchase. The most profitable online click is subscribe. Why? Because, as McKinsey & Company’s much-cited study revealed, email is a staggering 40 times more effective at acquiring customers than Facebook and Twitter combined: 91% of all U.S. consumers still use e-mail daily, and the rate at which e-mails prompt purchases is … at least three times that of social media … (and) the average order value is also 17% higher. But that was in 2014. Certainly the landscape has changed?”. How... [...]

Ellisa Hudson says, “You know that you’re a true email marketer if every single one of your emails includes a call-to-action. And I’m not talking about email marketing blasts here. What I have in mind are the individual, personal email messages you send on an everyday basis. Yes, your personal email signature can provide a serious marketing opportunity. You are most likely already using your own email signature to provide information about who you are and where you work. But you can take this practice to the next level by updating your signature to reflect the marketing campaigns... [...]