You've probably made a practice of asking customers to review your products, but are you using their praise to its full advantage? "Recently," says Kelly Lorenz at the Bronto blog, "I have seen an uptick in retailers utilizing customer reviews to sell products in their emails." Why? Because user-generated reviews ... more

In this regular Daily Chirp feature, William Arruda shares some of his favorite television ads. And he offers up a lesson for how the ad relates to your personal brand. Today, he looks at Nestle's "Sweet Dreams You Can't Resist." more

Last month, talk of Volvo invaded the blogosphere when the company embedded live Tweets into a YouTube banner ad for its XC60 model. The feed kept viewers abreast of live coverage of the NY Auto Show, then gave them the option to follow Volvo on Twitter. It's a simple enough ... more

Google has always been considered a giant in the online world—it's even been said it rules the Internet. But one medium it hasn't ventured into is television. Until now, that is. more

While most retailers have experienced various degrees of tumult during this recession, the picture isn't entirely gloomy. A recent survey by Internet Retailer, for instance, shows many online-only businesses have maintained—or are improving—their email marketing conversion rates. Of the 275 retailers surveyed: 56.4 percent report their ... more

Occasionally people may buy on impulse. Often, however, they go through a recognizable purchase cycle. "By targeting specific cycle stages, advertisers can increase relevancy by delivering appropriate messages at the right time," says Page Zero Media's Mona Elesseily in an article at Search Engine Land. Here are her definitions of the five ... more

It's one of the oldest clichés in the book, and one of the most persistent: parents who assume everyone else will share an equally enraptured fascination with the accomplishments of their toddlers. As if no other child in the history of mankind has ever taken his or her first step! ... more

Hulu has certainly made a big splash in the online video world. It's quickly becoming a favorite way to watch TV shows and movies. But what's ironic is that traditional TV ads have been instrumental in its growth. more

When using DVRs to watch television, we've gotten used to zipping through commercial breaks. We've been also spoiled by limited interruptions at online services like Hulu, where ads rarely last for more than 30 seconds. In such an environment, sitting through five-minute advertising blocks on live television seems downright onerous. ... more

We hear lots of advice about maintaining a clean list, and much of it centers on how to handle subscribers who seem uninterested in your messages. At a certain point, you might decide it's time to take them off your list. Before you do, though, consider these four "hidden" segments ... more

Last year, Southwest Airlines refused passage to two young women for obnoxious behavior. The ladies immediately went out and told the press they weren't permitted aboard because they were "too pretty to fly"—sparking a media-driven feeding frenzy on Southwest's precious brand equity. It didn't matter that it wasn't true. It ... more

"I get by with a little help from my friends." The words of that old Beatles song could well be applied to today's search marketers. After all, there's nothing like a good link-back among friends to boost search rankings. And in a recent guest post at the MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog, ... more

If you've noticed an unusual drop in open rates for messages sent to Gmail accounts—and for B2C companies, this could represent a large percentage of subscribers—it's probably not your fault. "There's growing evidence that Gmail is disabling images for senders that users had previously whitelisted and enabled images for. Near-term, ... more

In this new Daily Chirp feature, personal-branding guru William Arruda digs into his vast collection of classic TV advertisements and teases out a related lesson for modern-day personal branding. First up: a 1993 Sears campaign. more

In Part I, we suggested a few cuts to make in your current marketing budget to help keep your bottom line healthy during these tough times. Now let's take a look at a few line items you should probably keep intact—or even fund a bit more. According to Pat LaPointe ... more

You closely monitor the results of your paid-search efforts. Shouldn't you do the same for your natural-search program? In a recent MarketingProfs article, Netconcepts' John Thielmann says measuring your natural search performance is not only a good idea, it's imperative if you're reporting progress to higher-ups. So, where to begin? By establishing ... more

"For too long, too many marketers have underestimated the value of email's impact on offline retail," say Lisa Harmon and Alex Madison in a post at the Email Experience Council blog. If you focus entirely on generating online sales, they argue, you might be missing out on bricks-and-mortar opportunities. They've ... more

Like most of us, Elaine Fogel enjoys a good joke. And in a post at the MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog, she points to an irreverent advertisement that puts the subject matter of an ancient tale in a very modern context. The video, titled "Exodus," opens on a bedraggled group of ... more

Email remains one of the least-expensive and highest-converting online marketing techniques out there, but few would argue it isn't past-due for a trendy facelift. Thankfully for the intrepid marketer, there are lots of programmers working on this problem, like little elves, day and night. And a whole passel of them apparently ... more

Welcome to MarketingProfs' inaugural issue of Marketing in a Downturn. We are glad you signed on to receive these once-a-week guides to navigating rough economic seas—and safely making it through to the upturn. We will chart this course together. But if you wish to opt out, just click on the link below. ... more

"Effective one-to-one marketing is more than just email," R.J. Talyor states in an article at MarketingProfs. "[Y]our subscribers and customers aren't always staring at their email inboxes. Rather, they're also posting, texting, watching, commenting, and they step away from the computer sometimes, too." Because of this, he recommends the development ... more

You get it. Email needs to be relevant, timely, and personalized, and it has to arrive in the inbox—not the spam folder. When an email renders, it should load images perfectly, guide the eye through stunning, effective design that drives subscribers to convert—download, purchase, whatever. But effective one-to-one marketing is more ... more

Harnessing the power of customer insights throughout your organization produces a powerful, ongoing interactive connection with key constituents that competitors can't duplicate. Beyond the clever words and attention-getting visuals, the connection with the customer truly engages. When the product has been reviewed, when the ad is over, it's the feeling ... more

The news is out: consumers are changing their buying—and search—habits. SearchIgnite reports that users are taking longer to make purchase decisions online: the average time between when they click on an ad and convert on a marketer's website increased by 32.4% in Q1 2009 compared with Q1 2008. Ouch. In addition, ... more

Abercrombie & Fitch has built a youth-oriented brand around racy images of shirtless men and scantily clad women, often photographed in provocative poses. Subscribers to the clothier's email campaigns are more likely to see well-toned bodies than actual product shots. But this attitude-driven approach can create some problems. For instance, ... more