Getting your Web site's marketing copy just right takes time, effort and money. "But before you amortize your investment," says Rick Sloboda of Webcopyplus, "consider how those carefully crafted words can work for your business in other places." By repurposing your content, he argues, you can:  ... more

"For too long, too many marketers have underestimated the value of email's impact on offline retail," say Lisa Harmon and Alex Madison in a post at the Email Experience Council blog. If you focus entirely on generating online sales, they argue, you might be missing out on bricks-and-mortar opportunities. They've ... more

"Now more than ever, the email channel in particular is being asked to contribute higher revenue," says Stephanie Miller in a post at the Daily Fix blog. "Yet, we all must make that happen with existing (or lower) resources." Reaching that goal requires innovation, and Miller reports on a number ... more

Email remains one of the least-expensive and highest-converting online marketing techniques out there, but few would argue it isn't past-due for a trendy facelift. Thankfully for the intrepid marketer, there are lots of programmers working on this problem, like little elves, day and night. And a whole passel of them apparently ... more

The news is out: consumers are changing their buying—and search—habits. SearchIgnite reports that users are taking longer to make purchase decisions online: the average time between when they click on an ad and convert on a marketer's website increased by 32.4% in Q1 2009 compared with Q1 2008. Ouch. In addition, ... more

Abercrombie & Fitch has built a youth-oriented brand around racy images of shirtless men and scantily clad women, often photographed in provocative poses. Subscribers to the clothier's email campaigns are more likely to see well-toned bodies than actual product shots. But this attitude-driven approach can create some problems. For instance, ... more

Just because an email strategy works for one company—even one very like yours—that doesn't mean it will automatically work for you. "This is due to different cultures and expectations," says Debra Ellis in an article at MarketingProfs. "The only way you will know the best strategy for your organization is ... more

The iPhone and iPod touch positively swept the Engadget Awards, winning Gadget of the Year, Smartphone of the Year, Handheld of the Year, Portable Media Device of the Year, and, finally, a spot in Editors' Choice. So, what's this mean for you? It means you need to be ... more

The best email offer in the world won't accomplish much if it never reaches your intended recipient. Beware:  there are strong forces at work these days trying their best to block your messages! In a recent MarketingProfs article, Debra Ellis discusses three distinct deliverability hurdles faced by today's email marketers. Meet the spaminators: ... more

"We all like the comfort of the crowd," says Mark Brownlow in a post at the Email Marketing Reports blog. "The knowledge that others went here before us tells us we're on the right path." Because of this tendency to trust the wisdom of crowds, he argues, you can encourage opt-ins ... more

While most of the email you send contains stand-alone content, it's worth considering an ongoing campaign that engages your customers with multiple messages. "A series of emails is a great opportunity to build top-of-mind awareness and recall for your brand," says Keri Palasz in a post at the Listrak email ... more

When you plan an event, you pull out all the stops. So, too, should it be with your event promotions. Apogee Search's Brian Combs suggests in a recent MarketingProfs article to add paid-search marketing to your event promo mix. "With almost half of all Internet users now using search engines ... more

There’s almost nothing worse than sending out an email offer, only to realize a foolish typo or error evaded your eagle eye. It happens to the best of us. And Kelly Lorenz, writing at the Bronto blog, recommends a plan of action that includes steps like: Stopping the send. If ... more

"Trigger-based email is when you email a message to a customer in response to certain [behavior] or preferences," Valerie Khoo reminds us in a post at the Sydney Morning Herald's Enterprise blog. "The email is literally triggered by something the customer says or does, or is based on other information ... more

In last week's installment, we offered step-by-step tips to get you tweeting on Twitter. This week, we offer a few more advanced steps to take, based on Jim Sterne's advice in a MarketingProfs article. Incorporate these into your tweeting habits, and you'll be well on the way to becoming a Twitter ... more

"OK, so 'digital-or-print' is the new 'paper-or-plastic,'" says Doug Stern in an article at MarketingProfs. "[So, when is it] more appropriate to stick a stamp on [a marketing message] … than hit the Send button?" Before you make your decision, he recommends asking questions like these: What does this customer ... more

Marketing events with paid search campaigns can be a great source for additional traffic and, with these tips, can also be an efficient promotion channel. more

When the spiders come crawling through your Web pages, will they find what they need to index the pages properly? They will if you're using meta commands, or tags, correctly. Meta commands are used on individual Web pages to "modify how search engine spiders behave," says Medium Blue's Scott Buresh ... more

"I am not going to go on a rant [about] adding a 'share this,' 'follow me,' 'digg this,' or another technology to your email programs in order to drive cross-channel adoption of your email strategy," says Dylan Boyd in a post at the Email Wars blog. Instead, he wants to ... more

Smith-Harmon just released its Retail Welcome Email Benchmark Study, which examines best practices at 112 of the Internet's largest retailers. And in a recent post at the Email Karma blog, Matt Vernhout highlights some of the study's key takeaways: Text-only Welcome messages are becoming a thing of ... more

Even a small company can benefit from email messages tailored to a recipient's specific wants and needs. "Using segmentation," says Michael Clark in an article at MarketingProfs, "customers only get notified of new products, specials, and offers based on past buying patterns, knowledge of the customer and what they've clicked ... more

We may be in a recession, but that isn't stopping marketers from spending on search. According to the new 2008 annual survey and forecast from the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO), spending on search engine marketing in North America is expected to hit $26 billion by 2013, up from $13.5 ... more

When you read about spam in email marketing blog posts and articles, you probably notice writers rarely pause to define industry-specific lingo. While you undoubtedly know what block, bounce and tag mean, less common words and phrases might leave you scratching your head. Fortunately, Spamhaus fills in the blanks with ... more

As marketers continue to see good ROI from finely tuned mobile strategies, the humble text message has acquired newfound cachet. And in a recent video posted at the CenterNetworks blog, Allen Stern interviews Tatango CEO Derek Johnson, whose one-to-many SMS service enables instant mobile communication with an entire list of ... more

Your e-newsletter is an excellent tool for maintaining customer relationships. But it can also generate income if you offer cool ad space in it.  In a recent article at MarketingProfs, Drew Adams explains how to make it more appealing to select advertisers: Make it relevant. Adams offers an example: "For a newsletter ... more