Three Takeaways from Andy Crestodina’s ASCEND Talk

Developing great content is easier said than done. But one of the major takeaways from ASCEND 2014 was that time spent crafting well-informed, actionable content is time well spent.

Andy Crestodina‘s ASCEND Summit 2014 talk, Advanced Blogging and Multichannel Analytics, taught us a lot about developing relevant content to attract new customers and keep them interested. In Andy’s words, “Your website is the mousetrap, your content is the cheese.” So, what are some other content best practices that great marketers follow?

Speak your audience’s language

Look at what people are searching for the most on your website. Based on those results, write blog posts around those keywords. This will ensure that you?re delivering the content your target audience wants and will keep them coming back for more.

Make your content work for you

Once you have a compelling piece of content, you need to promote it. Put it into heavy rotation on social networks, link to it in your email signature and run an ad for it using PPC. When it comes to content, getting your words in front of the right audience is half the battle!

Create killer sign up forms

Your sign-up form gives people access to your best content and makes them members of your club. Therefore, your sign-up form should communicate the awesome experience that lies ahead. Think prominence, promise and proof when creating your forms.

If you’re not making friends, you’re doing it wrong.

In other words, all of your content needs to get people to know, like and ultimately trust you if you want to convert prospects into paying customers.

Aside from AWesome content advice, Andy’s presentation had plenty of useful tidbits about the importance of title tags and how to use them. Oh, and he used a lot of slides containing adorable puppies, too.

Want to learn more? You can pre-order Andy’s ASCEND Summit 2014 talk here.

Who is Andy Crestodina?

Andy Crestodina is a co-founder of Orbit Media, an award winning, 35-person web design company in Chicago. Over the past 13 years, Andy has provided web strategy and marketing advice to more than 1000 businesses.

Andy teaches marketing and has authored hundreds of articles on topics like email marketing, search optimization, social media, analytics and content strategy. He is also the author of Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing.

via Email Marketing Tips http://ift.tt/1tzUW3P

To Blast or Not to Blast?

The concept of email blasting divides email marketers like almost no other topic - how do you view an email blast?

via Email - ClickZ http://ift.tt/1xd3P3X

Enjoying the Large Personalities of The Big Payoff

I cannot overstate how much fun these two were to talk to. Listen because Rachel and Suzanna are a hoot ... and because you’re probably learn a thing or three. Enjoy!Related Articles

1. Book Review: Small Business, Big Vision by Adam & Matthew Toren


2. How Small Online Marketers Can Emulate the Big Data Players


3. Introducing the Heart of Business

via Benchmarkemail Blog http://ift.tt/13EOEYl

Big Ideas to Make the Most of Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday, a day set aside to celebrate and shop at small businesses was created four years ago by American Express to rally people to shop local during the busy holiday season. It’ll also be here before you know it.

Small Business Saturday is always held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving – this year it’s on November 29th. Falling directly after Black Friday, this specific day helps bring attention and cash to local businesses. In fact, in 2013, customers spent an estimated $5.7 billion at small, independent businesses on Small Business Saturday according to American Express. To help your business take part, there are some useful tools you should take advantage of:

1. Personalize, Plan & Promote

Create personalized Small Business Saturday marketing materials with your business name, information and even an image, from the Small Business Saturday site. You’ll need to provide a few details about your business, such as name, address and website. The site provides downloadable, personalized email images, digital banners, images for social media posts and logos to use on your blog or website. You’ll also have the option to have your business featured on ShopSmall.com and free online advertising.

Do you have to be an American Express merchant to participate in Small Business Saturday? Nope, but if you are, you get even more goodies as seen below:

With these Small Business Saturday marketing goodies, you have several options for promoting the event, however, it’ll require a little planning. Because Small Business Saturday falls during one of the busiest shopping weekends of the holiday season, decide now which products, services, sales or specials you want to promote, especially during the holidays.

Plan at least one social post per week leading up to the big day; the more frequent the posts, the better, if you can manage it. The images provided on the Small Business Saturday site work well for both social posts and emails, which creates consistency. Plan to send at least two emails about Small Business Saturday; one to save the date, and one the week of to remind people. If you also send a newsletter, include information to encourage your subscribers to visit your business or website and shop.

We also created a Handy Holiday Marketing Calendar to make planning all your holiday marketing a breeze.

2. Spread the Word Offline

It’s never too early to get people fired up about events you have planned. Print Small Business Saturday signs or posters to hang by your cash wrap, or inside your business’ window. Consider creating postcards to send or pass out to remind customers about Small Business Saturday. Keep in mind, printing and mailing can take some time, so plan for your postcards to be printed and ready to mail 10 days before you need them to arrive.

3. Have a “Shop Small” Soiree

There are several fun event ideas you can plan around Small Business Saturday, including a kick-off breakfast, or a collaboration with several other local small businesses. To help your event efforts, sign up for an event kit, which contains welcome mats, shopping bags and other goodies. To qualify for the event kit, you’ll need provide information about your businesses and the event plan. Request your kit soon as supplies can run out!

4. Get Social

Use the hashtag #ShopSmall on any Tweets you write about Small Business Saturday so they’ll appear on the main Small Business Saturday Twitter feed. Also, check out the helpful Small Business Saturday Facebook page for ideas and info about special shopping day. Get customers in on the action as well by encouraging them to tweet about shopping small, or sharing pictures on Instagram using the #shopsmall hashtag.

With these tips, your business should be well on its way to a successful Small Business Saturday. Do you, or does your business participate? Let us know what you do to prepare or celebrate the day.

VerticalResponse is here to help with your holiday planning. Check out our ready-to-use images and banners for your holiday emails.

© 2014, VerticalResponse Blog. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

The post Big Ideas to Make the Most of Small Business Saturday appeared first on VerticalResponse Blog.

Landing Page Pop Quiz

Pop quiz time! Do you want what are the essentials in creating the perfect landing page?Related Articles

1. Unbounce Integration


2. Putting the Spring Into Your Unbounce Landing Pages


3. Hard Sells Need a Soft Landing (Page)

via Benchmarkemail Blog http://ift.tt/1oaN6P0

Meet AWeber’s Intergalactic Email Marketing Crusader: Commander AJ!

Testing! Timing! Feedback! Writing! Planning! What doesn’t a marketer encounter during their average workday? (Well, maybe not evil space aliens. More on that later.)

Whether you’re an experienced marketer or you’re just getting ready to hit the ‘send’ button on your first email campaign, we hear you. You’ve got a lot on your plate.

At AWeber, it’s our job to make marketing your business easier, so you can focus on what really matters: growing your business.

That’s where our newest team member comes in.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, email marketers of all ages, it is with great pleasure that we announce AWeber’s newest team member? Commander AJ!

Commander AJ is an intergalactic space explorer commissioned by AWeber to create truly out-of-this world experiences for customers in this universe and beyond. AJ knows that business owners have enough on their minds, so the Commander’s job is to provide expert advice to make your email marketing AWesome.

You’ll see AJ pop up from time to time on our website to help guide you along on your email marketing journey. The Commander will deliver tips and tricks on our blog and dispensing knowledge via Twitter.

Need help with follow-ups? Forms? App Integrations? Evil space aliens? AJ is here for you.

“Ask Me Anything” with Commander AJ on Twitter

Want to meet Commander AJ? In true AMA fashion, @Commander_AJ will be taking your questions. Get to know what makes AJ tick, learn about AJ’s mysterious background and find out why AJ is the most AWesome resource in the email marketing universe.

Join in our #AWeberHour Twitter chat, hosted by @AWeber, on Wednesday, November 5, from 2-3 p.m. ET. We hope to see you there!

How To Participate

1. Create an account at Twitter.com.


2. Follow @AWeber and @Commander_AJ.


3. Follow the hashtag #AWeberHour using our tchat.io link or in your favorite Twitter application (e.g., Twitter.com, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, etc.) and be sure to include it in your tweet.

Add it to Your Calendar

via Email Marketing Tips http://ift.tt/1A4KFTt

Happy After Halloween: Let the Holiday Email Begin!

What can you do to make your holiday email marketing programs stand out from the crowd and really sparkle this season?

via Email - ClickZ http://ift.tt/1tz4VIg