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

"I think one mistake many marketers make is to think of their lead management requirements too narrowly," says Jon Miller in a recent post at Marketo. He suggests it's time to move on up—beyond just nurturing and scoring leads—to a higher level of overall lead management. To help show the ... more

Uh-oh. Just when you thought e-commerce might survive these dreary days, a new report comes along that says online merchants didn't do nearly as well last year as they could have done. Why, you ask? Because online shopping is just too scary for some people. According to research results released ... more

"I'm finding that all too often marketers are deciding to spend either more or less money based solely on the conversion rate of how a certain search phrase, ad creative, or banner ad performs," says Todd Miechiels in an article at MarketingProfs. "[I]n other words, the percentage of people who ... 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

"This will be my third year [at SXSW]," says Aaron Brazell in a post at Technosailor, "but I'm a bit surprised, in a down economy, how many people are going for the first time." Because of that, he decided to offer some advice for the newbies, and kicks off 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

On Friday 2/27, Skittles surrendered itself to the Zeitgeist. Visits to Skittles.com led users directly to Wikipedia (later changed to a Twitter search for "skittles," then to the official Facebook fan page), and attempts to explore the site navigation—little more than a pop-up—guided users elsewhere still: flickr, YouTube, Summize. The ... more

Are your sales pipelines feeling a bit clogged lately? Well, welcome to the recession, says Scott Gillum in a recent MarketBridge blog post. "With customers delaying and/or postponing decisions altogether, the ol' pipeline ain't what it used to be," he notes. But, lucky for us, he then offers 7 Pipeline ... more

Dylan Boyd, who blogs at The Email Wars, tells the story of an email with the subject line: "Limited time only: save up to 25%! Plus get free shipping." Within, he discovered more action verbs than you could shake a stick at. At the top of the email there's a ... more

Not long ago, Ardath Albee of the Marketing Interactions blog registered with a company's Web site so she could download a whitepaper that looked interesting. The next day she received an email from a "Sales Development Specialist" asking Albee to place herself in one of three "buckets" so he could ... more

"If you want to create something very good," says Tom Peters, "it takes time, energy, and sometimes money." That, he argues, is exactly why you should give away your finest know-how for free. Before you beg to differ, consider his ten-point business case, which includes reasons like these: It increases ... more

According to Kara Trivunovic and Andrew Osterday, most mom-and-pop businesses can't do much with email marketing advice that concentrates on sophisticated topics like multivariate testing, dynamic content development and data integration. For those who need entry-level advice, they created a 10-point Do-It-Yourself Primer that includes handy tips in plain English. ... 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

Oh, the dreaded negative customer review: shoppers love to read it, and marketers live in fear of it. Marketing teams across the land have been trying to develop strategies for dealing with this new reality. Well, take heart: a recent Forrester Research report called "Myths and Truths About Online Consumer ... more

If you attend as many conferences as Mack Collier, you'll develop a keen sense of factors that make the difference between a successful event and an also-ran. In a post at the Viral Garden blog, he runs offers decidedly practical advice that will make any professional confab better. Here are ... 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

Because your customers will abandon online purchases if they encounter a tedious checkout process, it's critical to make your e-commerce functionality simple and efficient. In a post at the Conversation Marketing blog, Ian Lurie offers recommendations like these: Never make a customer log in before ... 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

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 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