While some believe that the rise of Twitter and Facebook has sounded email's death knell, Jordan Cohen, writing at the Pivotal Veracity blog, disagrees. He takes issue with statements like this one from the Wall Street Journal: "Email has had a good run as [the] king of communications. But its ... more

As the goblins and ghouls out there munch away on their Halloween bounty, fond memories arise of one apparition we saw a lot of this season—the Monster Mash JibJab "sendable." The e-card uses facial-recognition technology to seamlessly attach the faces of your friends or family to the body of a monster. ... more

To be free or not to be free? That is the question many content providers are asking these days. Says SEO Book author Aaron Wall in a Search Engine Land article: "Free content can spread far and get many links, but it won't produce any revenue directly. If it is paid, ... more

Fun fact: Only 13% of the mobile market has an iPhone. That sounds like plenty when you consider how long the phone's been available, but it merits remembering that the vast majority of users—and possibly many in your demo—still don't have one. So how to wiggle into the pockets ... more

"The holiday season is the most important time of year for retailers, when aggressive goals are set for increased traffic and sales, both in-store and online," says eROI's Alex Williams in a MarketingProfs article on key takeaways from his podcast with Chad White of Smith-Harmon. As you experience this holiday season's campaigns ... more

You've done a great job of cultivating your email list—and your subscribers have rewarded your efforts with extraordinary loyalty. So far, so good. But Mark Brownlow of Email Marketing Reports says such best-case scenarios come with their own unique set of pitfalls: Becoming complacent. When you don't have to ... more

Ever wonder how great search results end up that way? Well, in a recent post at the User Interface Engineering blog, Jared Spool says there are no shortcuts to search-result success. According to Spool, "There is no way you can produce a great search-results page [on your website] without spending ... more

You've probably heard a lot that the days of "push" messaging—a mythical golden age when marketers could feed passive viewers whatever rigmarole the ad department pleased—are dead. So true. But for you, it's not a bad thing; it's a chance to develop long-term, even downright codependent relationships with users. And there ... more

"We all have opinions about what constitutes spam," begins a post at the Marketance blog. Indeed, while some would argue that meeting the letter of the CAN-SPAM law puts you in the clear, others insist such legislation is merely the jumping-off point for best practices. In the end, spam is ... more

"The pumpkins come out, the days grow shorter, the weather cools, and there's no mistaking that the holiday season is upon us," says Karen Talavera in an article at MarketingProfs. And though marketers face the challenge of lingering recession worries, you can still add holiday sparkle to a subscriber's inbox, ... more

When dealing with the fallout from an economic downturn, we may try to find comfort in the idea that everything will go back to normal come the upturn. But what if we get there and realize "normal" isn't what it used to be? That may indeed be the case for brand ... more

When you have products or services that customers don't buy on a regular basis—for instance, big-screen televisions or luxury excursions on the Orient Express—targeted email offers based on previous purchases may not be the best way to determine what they want next. That's why Sean Duffy of the UK-based EmailCenter ... more

Research coming out of Penn State reports that 20% of tweets—those wee messages published on Twitter—are brand-oriented. And not the way you'd naturally expect. While researchers originally thought they'd find lots of brand engagement in the form of product reviews or referrals, what they discovered was this (hold on to ... more

If you sell products to consumers, the year-end holidays are a make-or-break big deal. So, making sure online buyers find you easily and happily by planning your search strategy ahead of launch is paramount. Derek Gordon provides some useful tips for doing so in a recent issue of VatorNews. Among them:  ... more

In a post at the Email Wars blog, Dylan Boyd praises a recent message from Banana Republic. The minimalist email used simple text on an all-black background to announce an online sale that took place on 09.09.09. The copy read like this: "9 Hours Only! 20% off our favorite styles ... more

Across all demographics—and yes, we mean all demographics—social networks are where the traffic's at. Because barriers to entry are low and engagement is high, this is perfect turf for marketers who want to communicate with users on a personal level. Best way to do that? Invite them to share in an immersive ... more

"If you think your website content isn't working for you," says Rick Sloboda of Webcopyplus, "you're probably right. And the realization that you need something better is a step in the right direction. But what's the next step?" He recommends a brainstorming process that wipes the slate clean with two ... more

For the small-business owner, getting your name out via local search is a must. And to many marketers, that means optimizing for Google's universal results. After all, Google is the leader of the search-engine pack these days. But as David Mihm points out in a recent article at Search Engine ... more

This summer, Pear Analytics released a study that got plenty of play in the Twitter/blogosphere. According to the Pear research, 40.5 percent of the messages published on social-media-darling Twitter are "pointless babble," and a mere 8.7 percent of tweets have pass-along value to others. The piece won itself a lot of ... more

It's not just the recession; the digital revolution has wreaked havoc on traditional music retailers, who can rarely match online juggernauts like iTunes or eMusic on price or convenience. "As of April," reports Amy Kaufman at The Wrap, "there were 185 record stores in the LA area, down from 259 ... more

"If you're interested in building a flourishing online brand and website that generates links and traffic organically as part of your Internet marketing efforts, it's important to develop an active base of subscribers and fans," says Adam Singer in a recent post at the Online Marketing Blog. Here are a ... more

Despite your commitment to following best practices, you might still commit minor email-marketing sins on occasion. Well, take heart: You are not alone. In a post at the Email Experience Council blog, Marco Marini recounts asking his staff to create a list of the 10 most frequent mistakes they have ... more

"It seems to me that this is the time when marketers should be pushing the envelope, yet it seems like most aren't," says DJ Francis in a post at the iMedia Connection blog. Instead, he says, they are buying into several recession-marketing myths that could do them more harm than ... more

When your company generates revenue from annual subscriptions or memberships, renewal rates are critical to your bottom line. To keep them high, Winston Bowden recommends email programs that use date-based triggers to send automatic renewal notices. In an article at MarketingProfs, Bowden suggests your renewal campaign might include components such ... more

In the age of globalization and the Internet, extending your reach beyond you home market is easier than ever... if you put some strategic thinking behind it. more