Nick Cholakis says, “Nonprofits operate in a crowded digital ecosystem with aggressive marketing tactics and massive advertising spends from the corporate world. It can be tough, as a result, to reach target audiences—especially for membership recruitment. How can nonprofits stand out, build visibility, and drive engagement in a landscape where the average email user sends and receives 122 messages a day? The answer is simple: do what you already do best by building long-term relationships with the communities and stakeholders that you serve. Rely on your value proposition to stand out... [...]

Ashley Lockridge says, “There’s a scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that will stick in my head forever. Violet Beauregarde, an obsessive gum chewer, starts smacking on a piece of gum that is promised to taste like a three-course meal. Despite Willy Wonka’s protests that he hasn’t gotten this test product “quite right yet,” she chews on and experiences a delicious dinner of tomato soup and roast beef. However, when she gets to the blueberry pie dessert, she begins to turn purple and blow up like a gigantic blueberry, eventually becoming so large she almost pops. There’s... [...]

Ryan Robinson says, “When you work in sales, establishing partnerships and building meaningful relationships with prospects is an essential part of the job. At CreativeLive, I’m constantly seeking out new business leaders to introduce to our audience. For me, this translates into a high volume of emails to people who are extremely busy. Over the past couple of years, I’ve perfected my email approach and have had the privilege of opening up doors with people like Rand Fishkin, Tim Ferriss, Brian Dean, and more. However, it didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it wasn’t... [...]

Ben Davis says, “I think I’ve found my favourite ever email unsubscribe! What a treat, on my birthday, as well. See if you agree. Zalando I wrote a long and rather waffling article about Zalando recently. It’s a company I only heard about on the back of Wired Retail, where the founder gave a talk. Ecommerce, yes, but also the vision to build a fashion platform (and become a tech company), backed up by a lot of resource (innovation hubs, app teams, APIs to startups etc.), bringing unique consumer experiences that have so far been lacking in online shopping. I’m not sure... [...]

Andy Beohar says, “Your email list is one of your most valuable assets as a digital marketer. You’ve worked hard to get contacts signed up, and you probably consistently curate an appropriate amount of mailings to keep recipients updated. However, too many marketing professionals fall into the trap of complacency when they have a routine, which can mean you aren’t giving your email list the attention it deserves. To keep nurturing that list to make sure your email marketing campaigns are always effective, you have find ways to maintain steady growth. Luckily, it can be fairly easy to... [...]

Stephan Hovnanian says, “Today’s email subscriber is thirsting for a value-packed and personalized experience. Companies that are creating such experiences are earning more Web traffic, signups, and referrals than the ones that still think a “batch and blast” mentality is the way to go. And although there are many ways to measure and improve the ability of your email program to deliver the goods, generating clicks and Web traffic from your emails is a primary indicator of what’s of value to your subscribers. It’s a simple premise: If your content rocks, you build... [...]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you’re getting started with email marketing. Who hasn’t felt that rush of panic that happens right before you hit ‘send’ on your next email? (Even the most seasoned marketers can relate.) We’ve all been there – and we’ve learned a few tricks to help ease your email anxiety and avoid those rookie mistakes. Take the quiz to see how your email expertise stacks up”. Are You Guilty of These Email Mistakes? Aweber Blog  [...]

Jesse Torres says, “Attention small business owners: Email marketing is not dead. Email marketing is alive and well and continues to blow the doors off of other digital marketing channels. In fact, according to digital marketer and blogger Abrar Mohi Shafee writing on the the Kissmetrics blog, “Your email is your biggest asset!” But how can that be with email continuing to overtake our in-boxes and with email filters more effectively screening email blasts? It would seem that the effectiveness of email by now would have taken a deep fall off a cliff. But according to the experts, a well-maintained... [...]

Stephan Hovnanian says, “Today’s email subscriber is thirsting for a value-packed and personalized experience. Companies that are creating such experiences are earning more Web traffic, signups, and referrals than the ones that still think a “batch and blast” mentality is the way to go. And although there are many ways to measure and improve the ability of your email program to deliver the goods, generating clicks and Web traffic from your emails is a primary indicator of what’s of value to your subscribers. It’s a simple premise: If your content rocks, you build... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Marketers say they anticipate that attracting new subscribers will be their biggest email marketing challenge of 2016, according to a recent report from Campaigner. The report was based on data from a survey conducted in November 2015 of 506 email marketers from the Campaigner customer base. Some 44.3% of respondents say earning new subscribers will be one of their top two email marketing challenges this year; 41.5% say creating compelling content will be a major challenge; and 26.3% cite increasing open rates. Marketers say their biggest email marketing challenges of 2015... [...]