We never tire of good writing advice, and Anna Goldsmith of The Hired Pens recommends an interesting editing process that begins with taking a break. "We all know that when we're too close to things, we don't see them clearly," she says. So after writing your first draft, go for ... more

If the popularity of the 3G iPhone is any indication—Apple sold over one million units during its first weekend on the market—the smartphone is here to stay. According to Loren McDonald, this presents something of a quandary for email marketers. While everyone likes the idea of customers having access to ... more

No matter how upright you are as a mailer, your good reputation won't follow you to a new IP address: for all an ISP knows, you could be a spammer. This means you have to "warm up" any new IP address to gain acceptance in your new "neighborhood." Stefan Pollard ... more

While good SEO boosts site traffic, not all tactics used these days are above-board. Some, designed to "trick" search engines, are not only bad business: they can get your site banned. And that's no treat. To make sure you're operating with the good guys, it's best to avoid using questionable tactics. ... more

When Apple unveiled its first iPhone in 2007, most reviews highlighted features that skewed to personal—rather than business—use. You could use the iPhone for many things, but you surrendered a measure of professional functionality in the tradeoff. A recent re-design, however, coupled with the introduction of the App Store, has made ... more

"[Your subscribers] are reading e-mail on mobile devices more frequently than ever," says Winston Bowden in an article at MarketingProfs. "[And] there are some specific issues to consider." At a minimum, he suggests you keep PDAs in mind as you design: Optimize image ... more

Do you have a live Internet video channel in your future? You may scratch your head wondering how such a Web presence might improve your business. But, even though it's not a mainstream marketing vehicle today, real-time streaming is a trend to watch. What started as live sports and concerts on ... more

Of course we want customers to like our brand. But recent research suggests that an even more important driver of brand equity is brand attachment. Brand attachment represents the emotional bond that consumers have between a brand and themselves. (Ahhhh! That's the cologne he wore on our wedding day!) Consumers ... more

Plenty of marketing bloggers give blogging advice. Few of their posts, though, approach the comprehensive nature of a recent entry from Chris Brogan. Entitled "50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level," the mini-primer divides its titular goal into five distinct categories, each brimming with ten viable action ... more

When you hear the name George Orwell, you probably think of books like 1984 and Animal Farm. But the philosopher-author also penned a 1946 essay called "Politics and the English Language." And in a guest post at the Conversation Agent blog, Lauren Vargas argues that his advice on writing can ... more

As demonstrated in past issues, consumers often make choices based on their feelings. We also know that their decisions about what to buy may be based on how they think a given product will make them feel. Simple formula: promote it with a positive hype, and they'll love it. Right? Not so fast. Now ... more

As it becomes easier than ever to produce and distribute online videos, you probably see how the medium can serve as a key marketing tool. And in a guest post at HubSpot's Inbound Internet Marketing Blog, Eric Guerin explains how to give your DIY efforts the competitive edge: Start with a ... more

You know investing in widgets can improve brand recognition and site traffic. So what's holding up execution? Well, you protest, I’m not very tech-savvy. Breaking news: widgets have evolved. Sites like Widgetbox.com, Dapper.net, Google Gadgets and Sprout.com make building them as easy as disseminating RSS feeds. Dampen your toes at a ... more

The success of videos posted at your Web site or YouTube depends in no small part on the quality of execution, and those made in-house are most vulnerable to amateurish production values. Not to worry: In a guest post at the HubSpot blog, Catie Foertsch offers her best tips for ... more

"Nobody loves email marketing more than I do," says Gary Levitt. "But even I admit that within the grand taxonomy of consumer touchpoints, e-newsletters hold a sorry position." Regardless of how we feel about them, the fact remains: e-newsletters do a consistent job of moving product and building loyalty. So if you must ... more

In a Web 2.0 world packed with online voting/referral tools like Digg and Sphinn, DJ Francis of the Online Marketer Blog has decided that there's one he likes best: StumbleUpon. Though he acknowledges the quality of the traffic isn't always the greatest, the volume more than makes up for ... more

Is this the beginning of the end for the CEO blog as client outreach? A report by Forrester Research seems to think so, according to a recent article by Christine Kent at Ragan.com. "Blogs read like tired, warmed-over press releases," Kent quotes Forrester's Laura Ramos as saying. "Corporate bloggers [just] ... more

Imagine you've got a great product, and you've opened your first boutique. You're drumming up customers, but getting traffic through the door is tough. Then you think, What if I could license other vendors to carry my product? In one deft motion, you multiply your brand ambassadors and significantly broaden ... more

Careful how you say that! When introducing a new product whose usage may involve a slight risk, research is showing that a positive message is paramount. Many new products carry some degree of risk. For example, most new drugs are risky, as they involve potential short- or long-term side-effects. Or ... more

In a post at the Marketing Interactions blog, Ardath Albee discusses the potentially calamitous effects a bad first sentence can have on your email campaigns. She highlights typical errors with some actual examples: Presuming a recipient knows—and respects—you : "I wanted to share with you the ... more

This October, MarketingProfs is hosting the Digital Marketing Mixer in Scottsdale, Arizona, where a stellar line-up of experts will address the Big Three of online marketing: Email, Search and Social Media. In a post at the Daily Fix blog, chief content officer Ann Handley touts our keynote speaker, Arianna Huffington. "However ... more

Another Monday. Another newsletter to crank out. You've built a decent subscriber list, and your clients are happy to receive your ramblings. So why aren't you that happy to produce them? Perhaps you need to give yourself a break. Enter Kevin Sinclair with his Quick Newsletter Tips. Who knew you ... more

"Email is not dying in the midst of the Social Media revolution," says Anna Billstrom. But your email marketing strategy, she says, must evolve to go with the flow. Take the way subscribers read email. You probably have a BlackBerry or an iPhone, and so do your customers. It's therefore ... more

It's knowing where prospects are—and how they behave—that's paying off for today's New Media marketers. Their advertising dollars are in hot pursuit of a fragmented audience that now receives thousands of channels of programming over TV, Internet, radio and mobile device. … Enter good ol' Behavioral Targeting. This tried-and-true direct marketing practice ... more

As we mentioned last week, customers like to be woo'ed and won. Here's another way to look at it, with memory and immediacy each playing a part. This bit of research shows that, chances are, your customers are making their buying choices in two main ways: They make memory-based choices ... more