Lucky? No. Five Reasons Why You've Earned Your Success

A former client turned friend once told me, “I don’t believe in luck. Hard work, good decisions and passion are the contributors to success.” I’ve thought a lot about this sentiment over the years and firmly agree.

Because marketing today is harder than it has ever been, every now and then I love to dedicate a piece to all the email marketers out there working tirelessly to drive revenue for their organizations.

Here are some of the skills you’ve probably proven to master, showing how you’ve earned your place as a digital success story:

You know the customer. I would argue that no one on the marketing roster understands the customer better than the email marketer. As a resource that leverages first-party data, you have a keen definition of your customer segments and the rules that determine what segment a customer falls into.  You never speak in generics, but in specifics.

You are left- and right-brained. To plan, produce and send one email campaign, an email marketer is making right-brained decisions such as creative and content. On the left side, you are putting on your technical, analytical hat to code the emails and report on the results post-send. I’m oversimplifying the process required to get an email out the door, but there are a lot of different skills at work here that require an email marketer not just to be creative, but to also be strong from a technical and analytical standpoint.

You are a natural educator. In every role I’ve ever had as an email marketer, I’ve been a teacher to others at all levels of the organization. Ever had a colleague with a campaign idea that was sure to get your program hurt from a deliverability standpoint?  You probably had to explain how deliverability works and why the campaign didn’t make sense.  Have your colleagues ever needed an explanation on what certain metrics mean?  You probably took the time to explain the trends and why they were good or bad.

These are teaching moments where you have the chance to shine and educate others around you—from your level all the way up to the C-Suite.

You can form a fierce argument while also being diplomatic. Speaking of those teaching moments, you know when to push back while maintaining respect among your internal clients. When you see disaster ahead, you know how to prevent potential pain, even if it means saying, “Let’s test that” and carving out the problematic idea into a small subset of your email send to prevent disaster—while honoring the idea and giving it a legitimate chance as a learning opportunity.

You are a comfortable presenter. I have not met many email marketing leaders who lack skills in putting together a killer presentation.  If you have mastered how to tell the story of how your program is driving value for your organization, you have positioned yourself well to move up within your organization and receive the recognition you deserve from your peers and leadership.

On this St. Patrick’s Day, I won’t say “You’re lucky” for working in such an exciting field.  You have earned your place in driving marketing success, and for that I’ll say “You’ve earned it!”

What are some other skills that email marketers have?  Let’s celebrate you by posting in the comments!

Lucky? No. Five Reasons Why You"ve Earned Your Success

5 Reasons You Need to Be Targeting Mobile Email Users

In recent years, a growing percentage of people have made the transition from desktop to mobile, choosing the latter as their leading digital platform. Web browsing, online shopping and checking emails on mobile have become the norm, especially when all it takes is just a few apps to consume your time with. Mobile has become our “friend”, replacing the same role the desktop filled not too long ago. In order to maintain that friendship, here are a few reasons why it’s important to target mobile users, especially via emails.

1. Mail is more popular on mobile. Fact.

According to a study conducted last summer, 52% of Americans prefer surfing on mobile over the traditional desktop platform. The numbers may not come as a surprise, as the importance of mobile in our daily lives increases by the hour, including our emails.

Since 2011, there’s been a tremendous growth for emails on mobile platforms, slowly but steadily replacing the desktop as the preferred choice for opening emails. For the past 4 years, email opening on smartphones and tablets has increased with an astounding 500%. These days, more than 50% open emails on their smartphones rather than desktops. The numbers don’t lie – with the steady growth of email apps and mobile consumption, more people will shift to mobile emails, and that’s where the targeting focus should be.

2. MMM = Mail’s Making Money

It’s all about the money, and a recent study shows that mobile is gaining plenty by email clicks. According to Yesmail, an email marketing solutions provider, mobile email revenue has risen in 12% from Q4 2014 to Q1 2015, and the numbers are expected to grow even more as the year winds down.

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The statistics are even more astonishing, as 45% of email opens have occurred on mobile while 36% were done on desktop, indicating how mobile email has become more popular. However, one head popping question comes to mind – how did mobile email revenue grow when basically emails apps don’t cost a thing?

Social media and messaging apps are usually free of charge, and the same applies to email apps, as mobile users wouldn’t purchase a service they wouldn’t pay for on desktop. Yet, mobile email didn’t earn money miraculously – like any good app or service, it finds ways to make money. It all depends on the users.

3. Everything’s become smarter. Even emails.

Mobile users became smarter with time, knowing what suits them right. A top reason for the success of mobile email is the fact that users have a better knowledge of what they’re looking for, especially when it comes to apps. Mobile users wish to save their time while browsing on their smartphones, and checking emails is a time consuming action, especially at work. And as the old saying goes – time is money. Many users have reached the conclusion that if they’re already reading emails on their phones, then why go through all the trouble of viewing their mail accounts when those can be combined? The same users decided to make their email accounts clutter free, using apps like MailWise to keep all their emails in one place. This move may sound trivial, but for many users, this may be equivalent to an epiphany.

4. Making purchases via emails.

When reading emails, many users take the time to go over social and promotional updates, checking out online sales and bargains, along with reading the standard work emails. Then again, the idea of bidding for that item on the eBay app suddenly doesn’t sound too bad. Moreover, in 2014, e-commerce, and online sales have generated an amazing revenue of $304,100,000,000. With the growing use of smartphones and phablets for online shopping, the numbers will keep getting bigger by the end of the decade.

Not only will mobile sales improve and have better conversion rates, as mobile technology and its accompanying devices will enhance rapidly as well. The mobile experience is consistently improving, and each generation of smartphones outdoes its prior. Smartphones have become bigger, better, faster, and more important – becoming a product which is our second nature.

5. The ads do work.

An integral part of that nature is to click, stop and shop till we drop. In this case, all done with the touch of our fingers. The same fingers that click on emails will continue to push the “buy” button, generating revenue for retailers, emails and any company or app that does business on mobile.

Mobile users are apparently a great target for advertisers. Contrary to popular belief, mobile ads draw not only clicks, but conversions as well. Although users don’t click on too many mobile ads, it’s still a good way to catch their attention, especially if the ads are located in their email apps. The clicks won’t always lead to a purchase, but they will lead to your product, and that’s a start.

Looking for the perfect experience.

Mobile users have become smart users, as they are always looking for the best experience when browsing on various apps. Mobile companies are aware of that need and work their way to supply that demand, searching for the best ways to improve their products and services. Shopping apps, mobile and desktop alike, aren’t the only apps that will continue their steady improvement – email apps will also be easier to handle, giving a better user experience and a friendlier approach for reading multiple emails and maintaining accounts. Mobile consumers will always look for ways to simplify the experience of online shopping. Their wishes will be granted when email and shopping apps will integrate better, the buying process will become easier, giving users the experience they’re looking for, as well as generating revenue for mobile emails, which function much more than just for reading mail at home or at work.

5 Reasons You Need to Be Targeting Mobile Email Users

4 Reasons Social Media Marketing May Not Be Working for Your Business

You can make social media marketing work. I’m not going to lie – it’s hard and does take time, but it can work.

I come across business owners everyday who struggle with using social media in their business’ marketing plan. I eat, live and breathe it so it’s like second-nature to me, however most business owners are focused on what their business does, whether it be food or clothes or B2B services.

If social media isn’t working for your business, you need to figure out why. There’s always a reason something isn’t working or lining up. Figuring out what it is will help you know what to fix in order for it to work because when it does work, it’s a beautiful thing.

So let’s take a look at why social media marketing may not be working for you right now.

You’re trying to do every platform.

I understand wanting your business to be everywhere, but realistically, it can’t (not unless you hire a person for each social media platform). If you attempt to give every platform 100%, you are going to fail. You’ll spread yourself thin and things will fall through the cracks. What I suggest is to start with the platform that the majority of your market is on. Start with one and give it 110%. Once you have that platform thriving, add a second one. I know everyone is saying you have to be on Instagram or Pinterest or you have to Snapchat because it’s hot right now – don’t listen to them. Listen to your audience. Go to them.

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What you need to remember: Focus on the platform that the majority of your audience is on and go to them.

You are broadcasting sales pitches instead of building relationships.

The last thing anyone wants to see in their newsfeed (on any platform) is sales pitch after sales pitch after sales pitch. Social media is about building relationships. Sales will come from that. It’s not all about you, it’s about them. Think of how many Facebook pages you’ve unliked because of what they do (or do not) post. Don’t be like that page. Ask your audience questions – get to know them. Show them that you care.

What you need to remember: People buy from people they have a relationship with.

You are doing too much online.

You could google “how many times should I post in a day?” and get a different opinion from everyone. The one constant piece of advice you’ll get is not to overpost. Ideally, 1-2 times per day on Facebook is fine. Not once an hour for 10-12 hours straight. If I see too many posts in my Facebook newsfeed from a business in a short period of time, I quickly find the unfollow button. You may be posting awesome content, but I don’t want to see only you in my feed. Likewise on Twitter, don’t send out 30 tweets in 60 seconds. You will overload people and turn them away. My recommendations? 1-2 posts/day on Facebook and 5-6/day on Twitter (depending on how active you are).

What you need to remember: Posting too much in a short time span will cause people to unfollow or unlike you.

You’re trying to do it all yourself – and run your business.

I’ve had over a dozen business owners tell me that they could spend all day doing just social media for their business. Rarely can a business owner effectively (and successfully) run the social media for their business and run the business itself without something getting left behind. Don’t get me wrong – it can be done. However for most business owners, it’s in their best interest to pass it off to someone else or to hire someone to handle it. Your primary job is to do what you love, what your business is. If you’re a designer, you need to be designing, not scheduling Facebook posts. If you’re a photographer, you need to be taking pictures, not figuring out what picture will look best on Instagram. Trust me, you’ll spread yourself too thin if you take on too much.

What you need to remember: Sometimes it’s worth it to hire someone to handle your social media.

If any of these seem familiar to you – I encourage you to take a hard look at your marketing plan. Sometimes it’s worth it to outsource the social media portion or hire someone (who knows what they are doing) to handle it for you. As much as it can benefit your business, it’s not your primary focus – running a profitable business is.

What are some other stumbling blocks you may face making social media work for you?

Author: Mandy Edwards

Mandy is the founder of ME Marketing Services, a social media marketing company located in Statesboro, Georgia. A proud graduate of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia she has a thorough marketing background of over 12 years covering sales, event planning, local store marketing, advertising and… View full profile ›

4 Reasons Social Media Marketing May Not Be Working for Your Business

Top 5 Reasons to Use Google's New Call Only Campaigns

Google has proven once again that it is the king of online marketing with paid search marketing campaigns. Their latest innovation is called “Call-Only Campaigns”, a new type of ad which focus solely on mobile users. Call-only campaigns help you focus on your mobile traffic, where the conversion event is more than often a call. This new type of search campaign works amazingly well for advertisers, publishers and corporations that benefit more from a phone call than from a click.

Image Credit: Jan Vašek

For instance, if you own a roofing company or a hotel, Google’s call only campaigns could prove ten times more useful than a standard PPC campaign, because the customer will contact you directly instead of accessing your website first. If you have not made up your mind yet, here are the 5 big reasons to include call-only campaigns in your marketing strategy.

1. Extremely effective

Mobile users have the tendency to click on the phone number first and only after that on business description and website. This makes call-only ads the most effective PPC ads.

2. Proven to be genuine

According to a study conducted in the United States by a group of marketers led by scientists from the University of Virginia, over 70% of mobile users call a company directly from search results, while around 29% call it after finding a phone number on the website.

3. User-Friendly

This method of promoting your company is extremely user friendly. Users can easily find your number in search results, click it and call you directly. There is no need to copy-paste the number or memorize it (this is the case of websites and blogs).

4. Lower bids

Call-only ads are more affordable compared to other PPC ads for desktop Internet users.

5. Good value for the money

Most people who call a business using call-only ads are normally more serious, with a higher intent to become a customer.

For a little more info about call-only ad’s check out this infographic.

Top 5 Reasons to Use Google"s New Call Only Campaigns

3 reasons to consider affiliate marketing for your business

Dozens of brands, from the online game “Clash of Clans” to superglue maker Loctite, recently gambled millions of dollars by putting out Super Bowl ads.

But it’s difficult to tell how this promotion impacts the success of a business, despite the high cost. Instead, what if you used a marketing channel where you paid for the marketing spend only after a sale was made?

That’s the beauty of affiliate marketing.

This pay-per-acquisition marketing channel is one of the most effective online marketing tools that some merchants have. To help determine whether an affiliate program is right for you, here are three reasons your company might want to consider one:

1. Your vertical is big on blogging

When your business is in a vertical with a large and active blogging community, there will be a wide range of partners who could make good affiliates. For example, companies that sell apparel, home goods and products for kids and moms work extremely well with affiliate marketing. E-commerce sites that sell these things can tap into the large fashion and mommy blogger communities.

Make sure that there are potential affiliates and networks that align with your vertical and strategy. For some very specific niches that have a hard time locating relevant or high-quality affiliates, this strategy might not make as much sense.

2. You have good margins and customization

It’s beneficial if you have a healthy margin so you can offer affiliates an attractive commission. It’s also easier to entice affiliates to sell your product if it’s unique. Merchants with their own brand or an element of customization are much less susceptible to comparison shopping and have better conversion rates for affiliates.

Robert Glazer, founder and managing director of Acceleration Partners, is a customer acquisition specialist with an exceptional track record in growing revenue and profits for fast-growing consumer products and services companies. His clients include Adidas, eBay, Gymboree, The Honest Company, ModCloth, Reebok, Shutterfly, Target, Tiny Prints, Warby Parker, and zulily.

3 reasons to consider affiliate marketing for your business