"Email marketing can be a tricky balancing act," writes Melissa Miller at HubSpot. "You want to use copy that will get your recipients' attention, but you don't want to select words that will raise red flags with SPAM filters." So what about the word free? Once considered the reddest of red ... more

B2B marketers are spending more, using more tactics, and distributing their content on more social networks than they have in years past, according to the latest findings of a study from MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute: B2B Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America. more

Do you wonder what an infographic is, exactly? Or how to create one? The Infographiclabs team gets these questions all the time. And they decided—very appropriately—to explain the infographic basics with an infographic. Begin the process with a good idea. Infographics often answer questions, provide compelling data, or demystify a process. ... more

When making a major technology or security solution purchase, information technology decision-makers (ITDMs) download an average of nine content assets throughout the buying cycle, according to a report by IDG. more

Blogging seems like a no-brainer. But it's grueling work that may not immediately yield the results you want. That's part of the reason why longtime blogger Mike Figliuolo has shared his list of tips for diversifying blog content, increasing content shareability, and using tools to maximize output (and profit). A bit ... more

The most fundamental tenet of professional services marketing is trust. How can you expect potential clients to retain you if they don't trust you? You can't. Until recently, only one path led to trust between you and clients; now, another path is available to you. more

Print journalism has a proud tradition of clever headlines—puns and other devices that grab a reader's attention. But the harsh realities of search engine optimization (SEO) have dampened online wordplay wit. Yet, that doesn't have to be the case. more

More than three-quarters (76%) of marketers say their brands are conducting social media marketing, and an additional 16% plan to begin doing so by the end of 2012, making for a potential social marketing contingent of 92%, according to Chief Marketer's 2012 Social Marketing Trends Survey. more

Fictional photojournalist Peter Parker may have possessed superhero traits as Spider-Man, but he always relied on tried and true journalistic skills to craft a good story and create content. Like Parker, Alexandra Reid values journalism skills. On the Business2Community blog, Reid shares "Five Tips Content Marketer Should Take From Journalists," to ... more

What do you get when you put an analyst, a consultant, a practitioner, and a ringleader on the same panel devoted to demand-gen data? You get smart answers to your most pressing questions. Here's a summary of the smarts that such a panel imparted at the MarketingProfs B2B Forum earlier ... more

Grab a smartphone. Key in your website/blog URL. If what you see is jumbled or distorted, you are likely losing tons of traffic—and conversions. Now that your audiences are mobile, is your website? more

Online video isn't just becoming faster, more accessible, and of higher quality; it's also growing quickly as a media platform. In fact, in July 2012, 184 million Web users in the US accounted for 36.9 billion video content views—and an average of 22.3 hours of video content viewed per viewer. more

"PPC campaigns can be a costly game when they aren't well-planned and wisely implemented," writes Charles Dearing in a guest post at Brandignity. "So, don't waste your time and money on ads or landing pages that don't do what they were designed to do." To help you get the best ROI ... more

With the global economy still slumping, businesses and marketing companies are embracing new methods of social marketing as a way to spread the word in a more reliable, consistent, and cost-effective way. Are you taking advantage of all that LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter offer? more

Two-thirds of B2B companies struggle to achieve a truly collaborative process for message development, according to a report from Corporate Visions: 33% of B2B sales and marketing professionals say their message creation process is non-collaborative, politically charged, or nonexistent, and 33% say their message creation process is semi-collaborative. more

As might be expected, the best day and time of day to share content via social media depends on your target audience (business or consumer) and the specific social platform you're using, according to research by Compendium. more

When people want to know about you, your products, and your success story, the first thing they do is go to Google to see what you're doing, even before checking out your website. And if you look as if you don't have momentum, you may never get that call. It's ... more

Content marketing is gaining in popularity: 83.5% of B2B marketers surveyed say they are stepping up their content marketing production over the next 12 months, up from the 71% who said so a year earlier, according to a report by Holger Schulze for Optify. more

We'll assume you've never thought of Seinfeld as a source of email best-practices. But Dave and Sky Calibey insist there's marketing wisdom in its comic absurdity. "Although the show might not seem the most likely source of practical advice, some of its most memorable moments provide lessons for improving your email marketing," they ... more

Content creation is a large part of what we do as marketers—and writing effective, well-optimized content is, well, hugely important. In fact, poorly written and unoptimized Web content can render you all but invisible on the Web. Not good... more

You have a fiercely loyal audience that loves your content. Folks share it with their networks, provide feedback, and help generate leads. Problem is... your mighty audience is mighty small. What to do? You need to recruit influential people to help you expand your audience by talking about you and your ... more

Despite the glitz and glamour of newer marketing channels, most people still favor tried-and-true email. "A recent study asked consumers which channel they prefer for receiving permission-based promotional messages," reports Janelle Johnson in an article at MarketingProfs. "A whopping 77% said email. No other channel even scored in the double ... more

The way teleprospectors phrase their questions and emphasize key messaging can be the difference between a fully qualified lead or a dial tone. But don't fall into the common trap of writing a script and trying to get everyone to follow it verbatim. more

Feel caught in a stampede of data? To help you get control of data and herd it in the right direction, we're offering a free seminar called Data Wrangling: Solving Marketing's Biggest Chore. more

Content creation is a huge opportunity for brands. But when done badly, it's a potentially huge fail that could tick people off—and damage your reputation, your brand, and your business. So Brands must adhere to some basic editorial standards, including these 10 ground rules. more