In a post at Copyblogger, Sonia Simone reports on a recent study from Return Path that found 23 percent of permission-based email never reaches the inbox of Gmail users. "No, I'm not saying it goes to a junk box," she says. "Most of it doesn't get delivered at all. No ... more

To drive response and determine the appropriate marketing mix in this new digital paradigm, marketers must adopt a fresh approach to understand how to influence prospects and customers. By doing so, marketers can maximize marketing spend and generate stronger return on investment. more

Suppose you learned that most of your brand's buyers are switchers: that only 15% of your customers are highly loyal to your brand and account for maybe half of sales. The harsh reality is that that's a typical pattern for many grocery brands. So how do you build a marketing ... more

There's no one-size-fits-all solution to survival during challenging times. But there are some strategies that will help no matter what situation you and your business are in. more

"Do more with less." That is the challenge for software marketers today: to get better results from their marketing programs on increasingly smaller budgets. It's important for software marketers to analyze the effectiveness of their programs and determine their return on investment (ROI), because a careful look will reveal that some ... more

One year ago, Lynda Partner wrote—but did not publish—a blog post that eviscerated a software company for taking liberties with her email address, and then treating her complaint with stunning indifference. "Why publish it now, you ask? This week I got more spam from this same company," she says. "It ... more

Ever since the Web delivered reliable and low-cost connectivity, software as a service (SaaS) has evolved into a formidable business model. Profiting from SaaS, however, continues to challenge the industry. In a post on Chaotic Flow, Joel York writes that SaaS success requires rigorously aligning your business to the underlying ... more

Last week, we showed you some cool makeup vids as an example of how viral videos can rack in the mega-bucks. This time, we offer a sample of how a consistent, useful and compelling online video campaign can serve your brand amazingly well. Consider "Will it Blend," a fascinating online ... more

Although B2B marketers may use the terms drip marketing and closed-loop marketing interchangeably, they are actually two distinctly different approaches to lead nurturing, says Maria Pergolino in a recent post at the Modern B2B Marketing blog. She offers a breakdown of the differences between the two techniques. Some highlights: A ... more

Changes in the way customers receive and process information via social-networking sites, mobile phones, and the Internet, combined with shrinking margins, deteriorating customer loyalty, and increased demand for marketing accountability, suggest the need for a new approach to customer-centricity. A. G. Lafley, CEO of Proctor & Gamble, signaled this reconfirmation best ... more

Mick Jagger sang, "I can't get no satisfaction," and that's apparently how many SEM professionals feel about their efforts these days. A recent report from [x+1] found that even though organizations are still investing as much if not more in SEM during this down economy, they have been somewhat unhappy ... more

Mark Brownlow of Email Marketing Reports says he learned a thing or two while working in a cardboard-box factory as a teenager. "The first was the importance of proofreading," he says. "There are not a lot of alternative uses for 200,000 boxes advertising ‘Premium banannas.’ " Another lesson was the ... more

News flash: mascara is recession-proof! At present, the most popular and recession-resilient videos on YouTube come from the "makeup tutorial" subgenre. Now, don't let those $5 words fool you: this cottage industry is composed of girls barely out of their teens, producing tutorials on everything from applying mascara with a ... more

"How much do you know about your customers right now, at this moment?" asks John Kembel in an article at MarketingProfs. You can't depend solely on the static nature of composite profiles, he argues, when the current downturn has put needs and attitudes in a state of flux. "[Y]ou need ... more

At the Red Pill Email blog, John Caldwell presents one of the most common questions he receives from Web marketers: "We get great open rates and lots of clicks, but not very many conversions. Why?" His answer is swift and blunt: Because you're still selling on the landing page. Stop ... more

In a post at the Emma blog, Edwin Acevedo tells the story of VideoLink, a video-production company that wanted to highlight its skills in an email campaign that showed off new features at a redesigned website. "They made a short video [hosted by CEO Gina Chudnow]," he says, "added a ... more

In an article at the MarketingProfs website,  Mike Volpe explains that SEO is one of the most effective ways to help your customers find you. He compares SEO to a gigantic onion, noting that "there is always another layer you can peel off." For your site to show up first ... more

Frugal American consumers have forsaken their favorite national brands in the case of many food and household, health, and personal-care products, but they are reluctant to switch to store brands on purchases for children and pets. more

"Lately," says Ken Magill in a post at DIRECT, "I regularly get messages from frustrated email managers whose bosses are trying to prod them into doing something self-destructive." It seems they're dealing with upper management who believe that doubling frequency will double profits, and that anything is fine as long ... more

"I predicted back in January that 2009 would be the year of the email marketer," says Stephanie Miller in a post at the Daily Fix blog. "Times got rough mid-last year, and executives were scrambling to maintain revenue and keep customers happy." As a result, she thought, the low investment ... more

One reason social media sites have caught on like wildfire among users is that, by and large, they operate on basic principles of social decency. Now, be honest: Do your social-media skills match the subtle standards set at sites like Twitter and YouTube? Not sure? Well, here are a few site-inspired rules ... more

Surefire lead nurturing may well be the Holy Grail of B2B marketing. Marketers remain in constant pursuit of the golden tactics that will consistently convert prospects into paying customers. Well, sound the trumpets! A recent whitepaper from DemandGen Report and Marketo, "Calculating the Real ROI from Lead Nurturing," may help ... more

In an article at MarketingProfs, Josh Nason suggests you might be letting valuable customer data go to waste. "In every campaign that you send out," he says, "you should have direct links to specific pages on your website, helping you gauge and track what's moving the meter in your emails ... more

It's tough out there. Budgets are being cut. Markets are shrinking. Prospects aren't buying the way they used to. But you can still sell effectively. You just have to think differently. The message is important, but it's effective only if the right people read it. The process that you use to ... more

In every email campaign, you should have direct links to specific pages on your website, helping you gauge and track what's moving the meter in your emails. If you're using a proper email service provider (ESP), you should be able to easily see in real time who clicked on those ... more