It’s book club time again! Over in Copyblogger’s Killers and Poets Facebook Group, we like to get together and discuss...
The post Why Stress Might Be More Useful than You Think: December’s Selection for the Copyblogger Book Club appeared first on Copyblogger.
During the holiday season, coming up with an attention-grabbing subject line is almost as challenging as finding the perfect gift for everyone on your shopping list. With Christmas promotions and other holiday messages flooding inboxes, it takes a little more effort to make sure your subject lines shine merry and bright. To help your business pa-rum-pum-pum-pummel that inbox competition, here is the holiday and Christmas subject line inspiration you’re looking for.
| ASOSNeed to promote your annual holiday sale, event or fundraiser? Tailor these subject lines to suit your business’s needs.
As a business owner, you know just how busy this time of year can be. Reduce some of that stress by preparing your emails ahead of time. Once you’ve created a subject line that works for you, consider using an email automation tool such as VerticalResponse’s Autoresponders and Email Series. This will allow you to set up your emails when it’s convenient for you, and then have them sent automatically at the right time. Creating an email series during the holidays keeps your business top-of-mind and builds anticipation for upcoming sales and events.
All it takes is a little preparation and creativity, and you’ll be sending holiday emails that stand out and help you achieve your seasonal marketing goals.
© 2018, Amber Humphrey. All rights reserved.
The post 40 hot holiday subject lines appeared first on VerticalResponse Blog.
“Write what you know.” It’s an old adage you’ve probably heard before. And many bloggers and content writers have taken...
The post Why You Should Think Twice about Writing How-To Posts appeared first on Copyblogger.
What’s one thing that you are constantly seeing on the web? Especially if you are on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube?
Come on, take a guess…
No, I am not talking about people taking half-naked selfies of themselves or posting their lunches. I’m talking about people showing off. From taking pictures of their cars or money and even their homes to standing in front of private jets and yachts.
You know… one of those images like the one above. And if you are wondering, that isn’t my car. A friend took that picture of me when I was at the race track… heck I don’t even drive anymore (or have any more hair!).
But do you want to know a little secret?
Now, I didn’t come up with that quote. It’s from the movie American Gangster that stars Denzel Washington.
But sadly, that doesn’t stop people from taking advice from all of the “loud” marketers our there showing off.
But I’ll let you on in a little secret…
People who really have money don’t need to run ads showing off how much cash they have and they surely don’t care what others think about them.
I learned this from my parents, as well as a few other valuable things.
I didn’t grow up with money, and I didn’t have rich parents. My first job was picking up trash, cleaning restrooms, and sweeping up vomit at a theme park.
And I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me either. My life wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t grow up poor either.
My parents worked really hard as immigrants and eventually, they were able to provide a middle-class lifestyle for me and my sister.
But as I was growing up, my parents taught me that showing off only draws more attention and causes problems.
That’s why I don’t have “lifestyle” photos of myself. Heck, I don’t really even talk much about my personal life as I prefer to keep things private… as much as possible at least. That’s the main reason I don’t use Instagram.
See, when I was growing up, I was thankful for whatever I had.
When I was growing up, that’s the car my parents gave me to drive. Luckily for me, my parents were generous enough not to make me pay for the car or even the gas.
Sure, the car had a sticker in the back window promoting my mom’s daycare business at the time, but I didn’t mind. When I would go to business meetings people would make fun of me but that didn’t bother me either.
Want to know why? I had a free car. 🙂
I took a business meeting in Bel Air once, which was a far drive from my parents’ house. When the meeting ended, I was one of the first people to give the valet my ticket. I remember people kept coming after me with their ticket and everyone got their cars before me.
I get it… I was driving a beat-up Honda Civic with a “Tina’s Day Care” sticker on the back.
This experience, as well as a few more similar ones, taught me that people make assumptions based on appearances.
And that’s what you are doing when it comes to getting marketing and entrepreneurship advice.
I know what you are thinking… “no Neil, I don’t believe those ads on YouTube of people showing off their homes and fancy cars.”
And I know you don’t believe them because they are running ads or selling get rich quick products. But let me ask you a question.
Who would you rather take advice from?
A random kid who does magic tricks for fun, barely has any money, and is telling you how to grow your website traffic…
OR…
Someone who lives in a multi-million-dollar house, drives a Ferrari, and is wearing a $20,000 watch.
I bet you are going to take advice from the person with a fancy car over the kid. And that’s where a lot of marketers and entrepreneurs go wrong.
In an ideal world, you should hear both of them out and pick the advice that’s most relevant to you.
Just like how I met up with the kid who does magic tricks because he was an up and coming SEO and there’s always a chance that he can teach me something new.
The big mistake people make is that they only listen to rich people. Just because someone has money, it doesn’t mean they know what’s best for you.
In many cases, the person who is rich may not know your space well. For example, two friends of mine, Matt and Tom, have done well in the financial space and they have a blog called Signals Matter.
Just because Matt and Tom have done well, I would never take advice from them about marketing.
Sure, I listen to them about business and financial advice, but I know when to listen and when to stop. At the same time, Matt and Tom are humble, they never show off, they don’t talk about their success, and they don’t ever try to give me advice on things they aren’t experts on… such as marketing.
So, what’s the point I am trying to make?
Know your audience. Just because someone looks successful, and maybe even potentially is, it doesn’t mean you should go to them for all sorts of advice. Know what they are really good at, pick their brain, and get advice related to what they know well and that’s it.
Funny enough, I know a lot about them. And similar to the advice I gave you above, I look at them from a different perspective.
I don’t care about their ads or their products. But what I focus on is how they do their own marketing.
How are they building up their following? What are they doing to get such high engagement?
I believe that you can learn from everyone. Instead of looking at the bad, focus on what you can learn from them and use it to grow your own business.
For example, a lot of the info marketers sell aggressively, but the tactics they use, such as selling through webinars are great. And instead of just ignoring them, I’ve taken their strategies and applied some of them to my own companies.
And now I am able to generate 3.6 sales at $997 for every 100 webinar registrations. That’s not too shabby… $3,589 in revenue for 100 webinar registrations.
In other words, always look for opportunities to learn from.
As a teacher, my mom taught me that you can learn something from everyone… you just have to be willing to listen.
It’s up to you to listen and decide what advice to follow.
There’s probably a bit too much to break down, but sticking with the theme of the loudest person in the room is the weakest, here are a few things to keep in mind:
There will always be people that are going to show off. Just remember, the loudest person in the room is typically the weakest.
People who have real wealth in most cases have nice things, but they know not to rub them in your face and show off.
The moment someone shows off their wealth, it typically means they don’t really have it. It’s what they call 6-figure millionaires, in which people spend all of their money creating the illusion of wealth.
So, when you see these people or even people with real wealth, don’t focus on what they have. Focus on how some may be trying to scam you for your money with their get rich quick schemes.
You are too smart for that anyway.
Instead, I want you to focus on what you can learn from them. For example, a lot of those Instagrammers who are flashy understand marketing concepts that have helped them build an engaged community. Learn from that and use the tactics that work for you.
A lot of those YouTube and Facebook advertisers might be selling products you don’t approve of but some of their ads are really clever. Again, learn from them. Look at their ads, their copy, their landing pages… see if you can adapt any of their strategies and apply them to your business in an ethical way.
So what do you think about all of the people who show off?
The post Why Being the Loudest Makes You the Weakest appeared first on Neil Patel.
What are the variables we need to think about when we decide on pricing? How much of an effect does pricing have on certain types of customers? Can pricing a premium product at a higher mark actually increase sales?
The price tag that you place on your product or service has an obvious effect on your income and revenue. It also has other less obvious effects and that’s what we’re talking about today. We want to give you a bunch of new ways to think about pricing smartly and what it can do for your business!
In this episode, we discuss what influences our perception of prices, value hierarchies, redefining what is actually being sold and the relationship between prices and prospective customers. We also get into some exercise and questions that might help you think about these concepts in new ways.
Today on the show we are joined by Aiden Fishbein and Joe Kerns who will be helping us unpack these problems. Both Aiden and Joe have some great perspectives and expertise in areas that can really push your strategy forward.
We also talk about knowing your value, clarifying your vision and a few actionable steps to get the process started.
For all this and more, be sure to tune in!
• The strange relationship we can foster with price tags. [0:07:50.7]
• Introducing the topics of pricing, value and thresholds. [0:10:32.3]
• The different elements that go into pricing when you start out. [0:14:39.5]
• Hierarchies and ladders in the extraction of value. [0:18:01.6]
• The usefulness and benefits of aiming higher with clients. [0:21:30.4]
• Figuring out what clients are actually paying you for. [0:24:02.6]
• Reconciling the disparate meanings of value. [0:28:34.8]
• Starting with your own sense of value and selling to yourself. [0:32:30.5]
• The difference that charging for a service makes to a process. [0:37:10.3]
• Knowing your value and how this impacts your perspective on sales. [0:41:25.2]
• Clearing up your own vision and clarifying your ideal customer. [0:45:49.3]
• The transformation you are offering and the net that this casts. [0:50:15.6]
• Pricing tiers, premium products and testing out a number of options. [0:54:02.6]
• A journalling exercise around what money means to us. [0:59:20.0]
• How to take the next step in your own pricing decisions. [1:05:03.2]
• And much more!
• Fizzle — https://fizzle.co/
• discover.bot — https://ift.tt/2PkACCO
• Gusto — https://ift.tt/2KGmUIJ
• Aiden Fishbein — https://ift.tt/2TM0qLw
• Joe Kerns
• Joey Diaz — https://ift.tt/2zFTQh8
• Joe Rogan — https://ift.tt/2o79Brx
• Derek Halpern — https://ift.tt/2iXwA3v
• Robert Frost — https://ift.tt/2j3qB25
• Aubrey Marcus — https://ift.tt/1TWc4P5
• Onnit — https://www.onnit.com/
• Donald Miller — https://ift.tt/16fnUfw
• StoryBrand — https://storybrand.com/
• Tony Robbins — https://ift.tt/1eCZTiF
• Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj — https://ift.tt/2PiYJ4S
• Chris Johnson — https://ift.tt/2zEVPCA
• Simplifilm — https://simplifilm.com/
• Gary Vaynerchuk — https://ift.tt/1tUFsd2
• Fizzle 80/20 Copywriting Guide — https://ift.tt/2bBWDcI
• Avatar — https://ift.tt/2JBZ5Cb
• The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge — https://ift.tt/2zFDJQQ
• Jim Rohn — https://ift.tt/1rDpJxu
• Corbett Barr on Twitter — https://twitter.com/CorbettBarr
• Chase Reeves on Twitter — https://twitter.com/chase_reeves
• Fizzle Sparkline — https://ift.tt/21UhhKS
• Fizzle Goals Course — https://ift.tt/2INCTD2
• Fizzle Journaling Course — https://ift.tt/2ilaNrw
• Fizzle Try 5 — http://fizzle.co/try5
• Fizzle Essentials of Web Design Course — https://ift.tt/2TOhnVI
• Fizzle Website Tune Up Curse — https://ift.tt/2Ap63Xa
• Fizzle Roadmap — https://ift.tt/2tOrrCE
• Start A Blog That Matters Course — https://ift.tt/2arAPjh
• Fizzle Toolkit — https://ift.tt/2xt3WCn
• Fizzle Craft + Commerce — https://ift.tt/2ruYyIY
• Fizzle Project Management for Entrepreneurs — https://ift.tt/1K75VXW
• Fizzle Hosting — https://ift.tt/1PijOqG
Have you ever stopped paying attention to content when a publisher stepped up their marketing game? I know I have....
The post What People Actually Want to Avoid (It’s Not Marketing and Selling) appeared first on Copyblogger.
As a CMO, your job is to be ready for every marketing development. You’re never allowed to stand still, because the moment you do, something in your industry will change, and you’ll fall behind the competition.
Unfortunately, turnover for marketing jobs is increasing. One survey revealed that the average tenure of a marketing CMO is less than four years, and burnout is the number one cause. Automation is the solution to avoiding this burnout. It’s one of those constantly-evolving trends that’s a hot topic for marketers.
Many CMOs are hesitant to engage in automation because it can have negative effects, like being banned from accounts or poor engagement. However, the landscape for automation is changing, and CMOs don’t have to be as scared of automation as they once were. In fact, you should be using it to your advantage as it continues to improve.
You have enough on your plate without having to worry about spending enough time on social media to engage with users and create a strong brand. Here are some automation advancements that you’ll likely appreciate as a CMO.
1. Real Engagement Is Possible
In the past, automation bots were always a problem. Many CMOs refused to work with them because they caused awkward situations, lost your followers, and even got your account suspended or banned.
However, automation has come a long way. There are still bots and automation services that can pose problems, but many more offer high-quality services that allow you to connect with real followers and not fake accounts. For example, SocialCaptain gets Instagram followers with strategic automation. The platform gets you real engagement as a result of authentic strategies guided by AI expert algorithms.
There are great tools for every social media platform, not just Instagram. You can free up a lot of your time by using these tools while maintaining the desired engagement from your target audience.
2. More Accessible Data
In an interview with, Forbes, Matt Gay, CMO for Accenture, said that data is one of the marketers’ biggest challenges, particularly when it comes to the ability to use it. “It’s got to be in a form and format that is easily accessible and useable going forward, so you don’t have to have an IT person sorting through and making static reports,” he says.
Thankfully, there is automation to handle a lot of the legwork in data analysis. The right software tools can help CMOs not only gather data but turn it into insights that can be used for advertising and marketing purposes.
“CMOs would traditionally use data scientists and their analytics,” Gay says, pointing out that this is no longer a necessity with today’s machine algorithms that can do more than data scientists ever could.
“Even with analytics and algorithms, these processes are manual, slow, and not leveraging the full capability of data scientists,” he continues. “As well, since machines can process massive amounts of data quickly, they will uncover insights faster and more efficiently than humans…allowing the data scientists to use their brains more and continue to seed the algorithms.”
It’s an incredible tool that every chief marketer should be leveraging for the promotion of their business.
3. Provides More Context
Machine learning and artificial intelligence have come leaps and bounds in the last few years. They can now gather contextual clues much better than before, limiting inaccurate and sometimes embarrassing mistakes of the past.
“Brands can use automation for contextual marketing, offering more personalized interactions,” says Linda Turley, an attorney at Turley Law Firm, who has experienced this first hand. “For example, data shows you when your target audience is usually online. Then, you can set your content calendar to post content at these times,” she explained.
Additionally, data can show you trending topics, high-performing posts on social media, and highly effective advertisements in your industry. This information gathered with bots and other automated tools can give consumers the customized experience they most desire.
4. More Valuable SEO
SEO was once all about the use of keywords and link building to make your content searchable. However, it’s turning into a more personalized experience where quality content that’s highly valuable is king.
Automation offers us what’s known as semantic SEO, “which aims to decipher what kind of question the person typing words into a search bar is actually trying to answer,” says Matthew Walker-Jones of Marketing Tech News.
These semantics add value to SEO everywhere, offering a more tailored approach to understanding and catering to user behavior.
“This marketing technique goes a long way to improve the traffic of a website by employing meaningful metadata through the removal of ambiguity in search queries and further creates clusters of content, grouped semantically by topic rather than keywords, developing meaningfully-connected networks that better respond to user searches,” he says.
5. Augmented Reality Changes Social Media
Connecting with consumers on social media is getting much more complicated and involved now that augmented reality is a part of the automation chapter. More and more users are demanding augmented reality, especially on social media.
Many brands are responding, including major makeup producers like Estée Lauder and Loreal that allow you to try on colors with Facebook Messenger bots before they make a purchase through the app. Brick-and-mortar companies are also using AR to give consumers a tour of their businesses.
AR is not out of your reach, no matter the size of your business. Automation tools not only provide insights on the highest-performing AR platforms, but they also make them more readily available. Simple smartphone apps and software tools are affordable and provide many options for incorporating these themes into existing marketing campaigns.
6. Improved Integrations
In the past, very few automation tools worked together. You utilized separate tools that ignored the others, giving you an incomplete picture of the collected data. Non-integrating automation tools still exist, but they’re becoming the minority.
This is good news because seamless integration of every automation tool you use is vital to delivering a holistic experience for the customer.
“The strategic focus of marketing automation needs to shift from the campaign or component approach to the customer journey in totality to deliver on the seamless customer experience promise,” advises an article from Martech Advisor that focuses on where automation will be by 2020.
By the time we reach 2020, the current marketing landscape will be completely different, thanks to the prevalence of automation. These changes continue for the better, helping CMOs focus on what’s most important while staying on top of their engagement and marketing campaigns.
Having trouble convincing your CEO that Marketing Automation is the key to sales and marketing success? We've got you covered. Download our free guide.
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