SBT team says, “You may have been segmenting your lists throughout the year, but the end of the year is the perfect time to reevaluate your email lists and make sure that you’re breaking up the addresses in the most optimal way for your company. If you’re not already segmenting your email lists, then now is the time. But it’s important... [Read more]

Scott Langdon says, “You’re trying to raise money for your startup, and social media makes that mission easier than ever. In fact, if you know what you’re doing, you can reach millions of people on a shoestring budget. The big question, however, is how? Below are six quick tips for gaining exposure and raising money for your startup using... [Read more]

Greg Finn says, “Earlier this year, Facebook launched “Page Plugin,” an embedded widget that promoted Facebook pages and content. This month, they announced that they’ve bulked up the functionality to do much more than simply promote content. Page Plugin can now handle messages from customers (using Messenger functionality), as well as... [Read more]

Beginning marketers often start with affiliate marketing. It makes sense. You don’t need a product of your own, and you get to take advantage of the work an established business has done. And you don’t need to deliver products or handle customer service; something that can be a major headache. There are many businesses looking for affiliates... [Read more]

Jacob Davis says, “There was a time when marketing was purely art. The Don Drapers of the world felt that an angle, a message, a concept would work, and then they went and executed – the “genius artist” was at work. Of course, this isn’t entirely true. It’s a romantic idea, though, especially for those of us in the current marketing... [Read more]

Jessica Lorenz says, “It seems like shopping has turned into a research project. Although there will always be impulse buys, almost every product, service and company can now be made transparent in just seconds. Personally, this makes shopping more of an emotional investment than it has ever been in the past. Now, not only am I shopping for a... [Read more]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “For email marketers, the inbox is a battlefield. Chances are, the folks on your email lists are receiving promotional emails not just from you, but from a lot of different businesses. Whether they open your emails depends on a lot of things, including your subject line, how well they liked your past emails, and so on. But... [Read more]

No doubt, some Facebook marketers are doing well, while others are going broke. The secret to success is: 1. Attract targeted traffic to your fan page and 2. Properly monetize your fan page so people who arrive take action... [Read more]

Zak Stambor says, “One Google ad lets a shopper ‘test drive’ an app for up to 60 seconds, while the other lets a marketer integrate some of the app’s elements into an ad. Google Inc. is testing two new AdMob ad units that aim to help retailers and other developers persuade consumers to download their mobile apps. Google’s AdMob mobile... [Read more]

Stephanie Carr says, “As the year draws to a close, here’s some final advertiser inspiration to make those ad budgets work harder. Black Friday spending may have been more than $1bn lower in 2015 compared to 2014, but that meant one thing: plenty more shopping to be done. To save marketers a headache during this busy period, we have created... [Read more]

Eric Enge says, “The past 20 years have seen the fastest rate of change in human history. Breathtaking as that may have been, the reality is, that was just the beginning. In fact, the pace of change is going to continue to accelerate. Because of these changes, I see the need for brands to evolve into what I am calling a10x brand. This is an expansion... [Read more]

Graphic designer, Tantan Hilyatana, has just released a major collection of vector graphics he calls 'Vector Freak'. Its each set comes in many variations; change clothing, glasses, hand position, etc. There are thousands of variations you can easily construct... [Read more]

Kristen Vanstrom says, “Tons of small business owners are giving SMS marketing a try. In fact, I even used this tactic to promote my recent book launch. Simply put, SMS marketing isn’t just reserved for franchises or even small businesses. As a marketing consultant, I’ve experienced tons of success using this simple mobile communication... [Read more]

Jonathan Long says, “Twitter share counts are a thing of the past. There are now millions of Twitter share buttons without count data, and it has pissed off a lot of people — and left many, including myself, questioning the network’s decision. This move didn’t come out of left field — it was announced two months ago that... [Read more]

John Lincoln says, “Content marketing, like any other business initiative, is a learned skill. It’s not as simple as sitting down at your keyboard and typing out a few bits of advice relevant to your niche. (It actually used to be a lot like this, but now it is much more competitive.) In fact, corporate blogging is a learned discipline, just... [Read more]

There are a number of well-known eCommerce platforms. Perhaps Shopify is the best known, but there are also BigCommerce, Volusion, Spark Pay, CoreCommerce and others... [Read more]

Susan Dafron says, “In early 2012, I turned on my corporate-provided laptop for my first day of work writing content for a large technology company. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. For more than 15 years, I’d been a dedicated freelancer — rejoicing in my independence, working in my little office from a log home in the middle... [Read more]

Patricio Robles says, “For retailers trying to win in the make-or-break holiday shopping season, no digital channel is arguably more important than email. By some estimates, email drove a quarter of all visits that produced a sale this Black Friday, putting it ahead of organic and paid search and direct traffic. The holiday season presents some... [Read more]

Julie Ask says, “Yahoo’s board met yesterday amidst disappointing financial results that have failed to live up to the expectations of its investors. Prevailing rumors suggest that the board under pressure from investors will vote to break apart the business and sell the pieces. While it is true that the majority of Yahoo’s revenue comes... [Read more]

Having your own product with your own name on it does a lot to build your credibility. Authors and product creators are seen as experts, and experts are paid better than the average person... [Read more]

Scott Gerber says, “We all get used to using a certain tool for our sales and marketing needs. However, with so many automation tools available, it’s a good idea to reevaluate the one we use so as to make sure it is best for our present purposes. Automation, when used correctly, can streamline segmentation, insights, and leads. This allows... [Read more]

Samiksha Jain says, “Are you planning to build your own website or an app? For that, you must be using power point presentation, excel sheet and many other means to create clickable demos of your app ideas. You can get confused about what features or design your app should have. You take all this pain and then in the end, you get fed up and... [Read more]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “Like a tree falling in the woods, if you launch a product without spreading the word … will anyone use it? Will anyone even want it? Probably not. Whether you’re launching something huge, something small, or you’re updating a current offering, you’ll want to start your preparation well in advance... [Read more]

Ben Davis says, “It’s as traditional (and as enjoyable) as Cliff Richard’s Mistletoe and Wine. Yes, we’re getting in there early with our annual trends roundups, beginning with SEO. We’ll be featuring annual digests from many other digital channels over the coming weeks, as well as looking forward to 2016 with a few sage... [Read more]

Ginny Marvin says, “AOL has struck a deal with A+E Networks on both an ad technology and advertising fronts. A+E will use AOL’s programmatic platform, ONE by AOL, for display and video ad targeting and delivery on A+E Network digital properties. The company will also use AOL’s content recommendation engine, Gravity, for delivering personalized... [Read more]

Peter Daisyme says, “With the holidays right around the corner, it’s time to get your online shop in tip-top shape to help sell to those impulse Christmas buyers. With online monsters like Amazon taking up a huge majority of the market, you’ll need to get creative with your online selling methods to take advantage of this influx of shoppers... [Read more]

Julia Jornsay-Silverberg says, “Social media can be an incredibly powerful tool for driving traffic to your website. However, without analyzing your website traffic on Google Analytics it’s virtually impossible to know which social media channels are driving the most traffic. Enter: Google Analytics Advanced Segments. What they are Advanced... [Read more]

Geoff Smith says, “Holiday sales have traditionally been viewed as transactions with the customers buying gifts rather than as interactions with the people receiving the gifts. As a result, few brands put effort into winning customers’ loyalty to retain them for the long term. That’s a lost opportunity: Holiday shoppers tend to be... [Read more]