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A recent McDonald's ad sets a scene many of us see every day, but throws in a twist. Two cultured-looking men are reading at a table in a highbrow coffee house when the first friend—neck wrapped in a scarf—mentions that McDonald's now sells cappuccino. His goateed compatriot greets the news ... more
"Most email marketers do not view soft bounces as being a major cause for concern," says Dela Quist in the UK DMA Email Marketing Council newsletter, "so rarely, if ever, have any specific strategies been in place for dealing with them." According to Quist, this erroneous belief is based on ... more
You know you're on the up-and-up, and that your email messages contain legitimate offers for actual products or services. Unfortunately, though, you're often sharing inbox space with fraudulent messages that claim to come from popular retailers and banks. Those emails are, in fact, nothing more than phishing scams designed to ... more
There's a school of thought that asserts going "viral" is a random occurrence. There is no formula, algorithm or logic that dictates what does and doesn't become a mainstream hit on the Internet. Those people are correct. But there are ways to hedge the bets in your favor—without selling 3/4 ... more
When he saw a reputable marketer praising the use of Fwd: in the subject line of an original email, Matt Hill decided to explain why he disagrees. "[E]ven selectively this is a bad idea," he says at the Email Karma blog, noting that spammers often use this device to trick ... more
How many times have you heard the phrase, "Content is king"? When it comes to search marketing, it's not hyperbole. Content is, well, the key to keywords. "This is the reason writing articles is probably the most [popular] Internet marketing tool being used today," writes Uchenna Ani-Okoye in a recent ... more
In a post at the ExactTarget blog, Nate Romance recounts a visit with his tech-savvy mother, a woman who makes frequent online purchases through sites like Craigslist and Amazon. While scanning her email, she became annoyed with a particular message. "If they send me one more stupid email this week," ... more
Barack Obama wowed the nation with his social media savvy when he won the bid for President on November 4—but he surprised us again when he didn't stop there. Just weeks after scoring the title of POTUS (President of the United States, for those who didn't take poli sci in ... more
In a post at the Emma blog, Jim Hitch tells the story of two emails he received within 20 minutes of each other. "They're similar at first glance," he says. "Almost identical, really. Both are very image-heavy, both came from brand-name clothing retailers, both include simple calls to action, both ... more
In a wide-ranging video interview with BNET, strategist RJ Talyor of ExactTarget discusses a range of email marketing issues, and provides insight on the best way to handle messages sent to subscribers, whether they're reading email at their desk or on the go. Says Talyor, "You need to develop an ... more
Ah, the mobile phone: we know it well as consumers, and as such are in a perfect position to approach it from a direct marketer's POV. Here are a few ground rules for truly covetable mobile marketing: Bait your line. A useful iPhone app could do you right, as could ... more
A prospective customer does a search for a product your company carries, and your brand appears in the number one, three, five and seven spots. Terrific, right? Not necessarily. As Shari Thurow, author of the forthcoming book When Search Meets Web Usability, wrote in a recent blog, finding the same content delivered ... more
Like most of us, Christina Kerley (a.k.a. CK) will admit that she uses her digital video recorder to whiz past commercials on recorded programs. "So when I find a commercial that I like enough to watch—enough to rewind and re-watch the spot—it warrants a post," she says. One campaign she ... more
"Do you ever get that nervous feeling when you click to launch your email marketing campaign?" asks Janine Popick in a recent post at the VerticalResponse blog. "You do it, but then you might quickly cancel it because you need to take just one more look at your content." We ... more
Last year, Google and MediaVest reported on a brainwave-tracking study about banner ads. According to the ad giants, banner ads rated a 6.3 in effectiveness—which was said to be a "very encouraging score." But combined with overlays, the effectiveness of banner ads increases to 6.6. This is because users find ... more
You can always find someone willing to sell you a solution for boosting your keyword effectiveness. But in a recent blog post, search marketer PotPieGirl offered her favorite free keyword research tools: Your brain. We were all consumers before we were marketers, she reminds us. So ask yourself, "If I ... more
If you've made some recent improvements—whether to your product, service or customer experience—now is the time to trumpet those changes! A new year, with consumers anxious for a new start, is a great time to tell your subscribers what they can expect on their next visit to your site. In a post at the ... more
"It can be done, I've seen it," says the Email Karma blog of Goodmail's email certification platform, which now enables users to include video in email messages. "However," the blog says, "if you don't have the marketing budget for certification, you can always try … converting video to an animated ... more
On the weekend it launched, Apple sold one million iPhone 3Gs—and not just to early adopters and hipsters: stats from ChangeWave suggest iPhone's moving in on the smartphone (read: ENTERPRISE!) market, currently dominated by BlackBerry. Already, iPhone's a fertile ad medium. From MySpace to Stella McCartney to the Associated Press, ... more
The advent of DVR technology struck fear in the hearts of advertisers worldwide. Suddenly, viewers were able to fast-forward through TV commercials! A sad truth quickly emerged: when given the option, consumers love to hit that FF button. Now, let's (ahem) fast-forward to today. Are we witnessing the demise of ... more
"The news regarding investment in marketing is not good, with many firms cutting their marketing budgets left and right," reports Neil Anuskiewicz in an article at MarketingProfs. Before taking such drastic steps, you might want to consider his better option: "Instead of taking an axe to your marketing budget … ... more
Cost-effective, and just plain effective, email communications are quite possibly the one sure thing to cling to in the current downturn. So, are you treating them—and your subscribers—right? In a post at ClickZ, Stefan Pollard says there's no time like the present to improve your email marketing programs. He offers ... more
It’s no secret that when the economy goes south, the first cuts companies often make are from marketing. That could mean "bye-bye search budget" if you don’t take steps now to protect it. William Leake of Apogee Search explains in a recent MarketingProfs article how to keep the axe from ... more
"In the holiday email season of 2008, retailers turned up the gas on their email campaigns, hoping to salvage what was predicted to be a flat or down consumer spending season," says Loren McDonald in an article at MarketingProfs. If handled haphazardly, that's a risky strategy that increases the likelihood ... more
As the calendar page flips to a new year, now is the perfect time to re-evaluate and refine your search campaigns' lead gen capabilities. In a new MarketingProfs article, William Leake of Apogee Search offers the following tips for boosting your pay-per-click performance: Add new compelling lead bait. Many viable ... more
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