established 1985
Increasing the number of contacts in an email list is a near-universal goal for email marketers. However, many marketers make the mistake of buying lists as a shortcut to the end goal of reaching their quota or in the hopes of increasing their reach and engagement. It may seem like more email addresses will result in more leads, but purchasing lists has the opposite effect. Purchasing…
Though social media has become a competition of virality, there are still a few sacred places that can be used for professional growth. Building a strong brand on Twitter and Facebook can do a lot for your personal network, but your brand on LinkedIn actually means business (pun intended). LinkedIn is less about choosing the right selfie or mastering disappearing stories and more about using content…
SEO is a great marketing tool for an entrepreneur. It is scalable when you don’t have a big budget -- you don’t have to pay for every click as you have to in paid marketing programs. It also has a great brand impact. Users often ascribe leadership status to companies that are top ranked. SEO therefore is a great program that enables entrepreneurs to compete with…
Creating great customer experiences separates market leaders from the rest of the pack. Here are 12 ideas, best practices, strategies and words of advice for advancing your digital marketing efforts in the year ahead. 1. Digital transformation is ‘all or nothing’ Adobe CEO and President Shantanu Narayen addressed the pain points many organizations face today: The need to stay ahead of competitors, the struggle to achieve…
As with all things worthwhile, pursuing a career that is meaningful and fulfilling requires a significant investment in preparation and learning. Most of us have a signifier of success that we want to reach. Once we reach the point where we feel we are finally “there,” though, how do we decide where to put our focus? How can we keep our careers on track for the…
With 2016 officially in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to start thinking about how your marketing strategy will evolve in 2017. It’s a good idea to step back for a moment, assess the success of last year’s marketing campaigns, and consider ways to evolve your digital strategy in the year to come. Overall, 2016 was a year filled with changes and advancements in the digital space.…
You don’t need us to tell you that when it comes to tech, staying ahead of the curve is a pretty good idea. In such an innovative and fast-paced industry, new technologies are emerging every week, every day… basically all the time! Sometimes there’s no way to predict what’s right around the corner; all we can do is look at current trends and speculate where they…
If you've written out a marketing strategy, you’re already ahead of the game: Too many companies neglect the act of formalizing their plans, instead relying on general ideas and improvisation, which almost never turns out well. Thinking through and documenting your strategy separates you from the pack, but there’s a harsh truth about that first draft you whipped up in the meeting room: It probably sucks.…
If one of the greatest marketers of his time were to tell you what he considered the essential elements of a sales letter, wouldn’t you listen to what he had to say? Well, that’s exactly what Robert Collier provided for us. In the last chapter of The Robert Collier Letter Book, he summarized what he saw as the attributes of the ideal sales letter. Collier was…
Steve Jobs didn't have a master's degree, and he certainly wasn't an engineer, but he excelled at marketing. Those marketing skills propelled Apple into the top spot and turned the company around from near bankruptcy. Apple’s marketing has become a benchmark for other companies that want to reach similar heights of recognition and revenue. Whether you are a top tier content marketing agency or a SaaS (software as a service)…