Quinn Whissen says, “Whether you’re the type of person who likes to make steadfast resolutions every January 1 or you prefer to keep your goals loose, we could all use a little motivation as we start the New Year. That’s especially true when it comes to content marketing, because — as you most likely know — it isn’t a strategy that provides... [Read more]

Marisa Sanfilippo says, “If I had a penny for every time someone asked, “Which social media platform should I use for my business?” Let me just say, I would have A LOT of pennies. As a social media marketer, it’s one of the questions I most often get asked. And every time, my answer always is: that depends on your business. Probably not... [Read more]

Kimanzi Constable says, “As our society moves further into the digital age, more of the income from businesses will come from sales online. Every year, we see sales shift from physical stores to the websites of companies, and online business. There is a tremendous opportunity. While the opportunity is there, so is the competition from many other... [Read more]

These are scary and they are real threats to your site: • Hackers • Botnets • Malware • Code Injections • SQL or XSS attacks. Technology experts are warning us about the risks to our site integrity and even survival if the bad guys get into our site’s back office. And unfortunately, WordPress (and the many plugins and... [Read more]

Jodi Harris says, “If content marketing predictions made by leaders like Joe Pulizzi, Sarah Mitchell, Carlos Abler, and several others are any indication, 2016 could truly be the year when brands finally start to de-silo their content efforts and operate as fully functional publishers. This means it’s time to significantly ramp up your content... [Read more]

Daniel Burstein says, “At MarketingExperiments, we endeavor to teach you to bring the process of scientific discovery to your marketing campaigns to learn what your customers really want and improve results. And, to that end, we share experiments (along with successful case studies — 1,470 and counting — from our sister publication, MarketingSherpa). But... [Read more]

Megan Conley says, “Time for another brainstorm session … After scratching out a list of possibilities, you turn to your computer for inspiration. Consider your go-to sources: Do you immediately navigate to your competitor’s blog? Are your bookmarks filled with favorite content from companies in your industry? Constructive thinking... [Read more]

You may start online with affiliate marketing, and that may continue to bring you some income for years.  But to bring in a substantial income, you probably need to have products of your own to sell... [Read more]

Xiaofeng Wang says, “Marketers in China are increasingly investing in social marketing: Three-quarters of the marketers we surveyed in 2015 plan to increase their social marketing budget in 2016. However, they struggle to determine the best social marketing strategies and tactics to engage with their target audience. My report, Take Three Steps... [Read more]

Varun Sharma says, “A new year brings along new opportunities and new challenges. The SEO world, too, is preparing to combat unexpected threats, especially from various Google penalties. What are those possible threats? Imagine, you wake up one fine morning and get a call from the office reporting, “We have lost all traffic,” and your heart... [Read more]

Ben Davis says, “I enjoy shopping, but a lot of the fun is missing online. The majority agree with me, they miss the crowds, the serendipity, the buzz and the changing rooms. I was re-reading our ecommerce predictions for 2016 and it struck me they are all pragmatic, about devices, delivery, CRO, third-party solutions etc. Only Matt Curry of... [Read more]

You are probably familiar with the term e-commerce, which refers to selling physical (or downloadable) products online, using an online store, a site that usually has many products for sale. This might be a book store, a kitchen gadget store, a tractor parts store, etc... [Read more]

Tim Allen says, “We know Facebook has a huge amount of data on people. For the last 18 months, they’ve been sharing more of this information than ever before through their platform, Audience Insights. As a result, we can begin to pull together audience personas for very little cost other than time, effort, and a Facebook account. This post... [Read more]

Ian Cleary says, “Creating valuable content on your website through a blog post that demonstrates your expertise will help you to build your brand, drive traffic and create leads. But entrepreneurs often struggle to get enough visitors to validate the time they spend creating and promoting their content. However, if you write the right type... [Read more]

Jared Wells says, “As a senior sales manager at TSL Marketing, I used to think “social selling” was a fancy buzzword invented by marketers that didn’t actually have tangible results. It was an overhyped promise. Then I realized I was wrong. Because after experimenting with social selling for a few months back in 2008, I sold a $70,000 deal... [Read more]

Arbitrage is a technique often used in many busy marketplaces. The stock market and commodities market, for example, are filled with people (referred to as arbitrageurs) who practice arbitrage as a way of earning a living... [Read more]

Cathy McPhillips says, “Karianne Stinson heads social media for Priceline. Her role – part strategist, part crisis manager, and part travel ambassador – requires a clear vision plus a huge dose of patience. Stinson opens up about the challenges she faces day-to-day and the long-term course she’s setting for the company. CCO: You manage... [Read more]

Paul Miller says, “The Internet of Things, or IoT, finds its way into a lot of conversations these days. CES in Las Vegas last week was awash with internet-connected doo-dahs, including cars, fridges, televisions, and more. Moving away from the home and into the world of business, the IoT furore continues unabated. Instead of connecting cars... [Read more]

Ginny Marvin says, “The year that display ad spend finally overtakes search in the US may finally have arrived. Emarketer estimates that display ad spend in the US will reach $32.17 billion in 2016, compared to $29.24 billion in search spend. If reached, this milestone will have taken a bit longer than originally anticipated. In 2012, eMarketerhad... [Read more]

3-year old, profitable, authority online brand in the raw foods niche. Caters to millennials. Here are the vital stats: - 22 Million page views since launch. - 560,000+ combined audience. - 23,876+ customers. - $1.2Million combined revenues since launch 3 years ago... [Read more]

Justin Gray says, “The biggest challenge B2B marketer will face in 2016 is the same as 2015, ’14 and ’13 before it. Want to take a guess what it is? I’ll save you some time: It’s process.Process alone is the greatest gap we see in today’s modern marketing environments. (highlight to tweet) These days, acquiring software is the easy part.... [Read more]

Michael Hewitt says, “The explosive emergence of price comparison websites and money advice websites has made for grim reading for many traditional banking brands. But, are these brands starting their digital fight back and seeing positive movement in their favour? We’re all aware of the challenges banking brands have faced in recent years... [Read more]

Arie Shpanya says, “Dynamic pricing has certainly been gaining traction in the online retail space. Popular in industries like hospitality and sports entertainment, dynamic pricing has led to the retail price tag’s obsolescence in those industries. Why? Because it is a symbol of static pricing, a tactic that holds many retailers back from... [Read more]

Brigg Patten says, “When it comes to reaching customers, public relations can either be a company’s best friend or its worst enemy. Building the foundation for a strong customer/business relationship comes from mutual trust and respect. The customer is the company’s lifeblood, and as such, they expect a brand’s ambassador to abide by... [Read more]

Alex Chris says, “SEO does not always work the way we want. It is common for Google to rank a page for keywords other than the ones for which we would like the particular page to rank. What can you do? How can you guide Google to improve the ranking of a page for the keywords you want? The simple answer is that you need to make sure that Google... [Read more]

Mike Canarelli says, “The fast paced, ever-changing world of online marketing can be a daunting prospect for business owners. But it shouldn’t be. In fact, business owners should feel more in control than ever. After all, the needs of companies and the increasingly sophisticated preferences of consumers continue to dictate the direction of the... [Read more]

Peter Saisyme says, “Social media is here to stay in the marketing world and, by all accounts, it will only further penetrate all aspects of life and work. As we enter 2016, many social-media experts are already forecasting the direction of social media in the new year. To be prepared, it’s that time of year to organize our social-media tool... [Read more]

Brad van der Woerd says, “History is filled with examples of improved technologies outperforming predecessors—from the typewriter to word processor to computer, or from rotary phone to iPhone 6… That pattern is true among email service providers, too, with Outlook and Gmail overtaking more players such as Yahoo Mail. Yahoo Mail is not... [Read more]