As Craig Rosenberg summarizes in this infographic  [link] , the marketing automation space is o n fire. The infographic highlights that growth will be even faster over the next few years with adoption hitting 50% and there are currently over 100 MA vendors and it hasn’t stopped there.  Marketers are literally flooded with options for marketing automation.  So what is the best approach to buying a solution? This quest ion is particularly tough for us marketers.  We love marketing and like to chase the shiniest new thing, or feature set.  1 What is your best source of leads today? Tweet This! MORE >>

by Jesse Noyes | Tweet this For years, Austin, TX-based HomeAway has been helping vacationers find private home rentals that can be rented for a month or even a day. Now the company is looking to find a home of its own on the public market. Tomorrow, (June 29) HomeAway is expected to hit the public market in hopes of raising as much as $216 million, with a valuation that will be in the billions range. It’s just the latest IPO from an Internet-centric company. And like LinkedIn, Pandora and Groupon before it, we scoured the company’s S1 filing to bring you 10 Fast Facts About HomeAway. Enjoy! MORE >>

“Always show an image of the offer.” It’s a rule I quote often, one repeated to me ad nauseum many years ago by an early mentor and long-time direct marketing veteran. The logic: whatever it is you want your reader to download, request, order, or register for, a visual image of that offer makes it seem more “real,” more tangible. The more tangible: the higher the perceived value, and the more likely the reader is to respond. cringe to think of it now, but twenty years ago the task of including an image of the offer – even a white paper – usually resulted in a photo shoot. Add a drop shadow. MORE >>

I recently had the privilege of developing with Focus.com the new graphic below – Marketing Automation by the Numbers.  It is a compilation of relevant and frankly, very compelling statistics about the state of the marketing automation industry, its business impact and future growth.  Hope you enjoy and find it useful in your pursuit of marketing excellence. Marketing Automation by the Numbers. Marketing Automation MORE >>

Tweet One of the big mistakes I see companies make with Web content is using the wrong font size and color. I’m referring specifically to fonts that are small, a very light color, reversed out, or placed on a tinted background — as these screen shots show. Note: I randomly chose these examples by doing a search for “mission statement customer service.&# ). An example of small, gray type. An example of colored type on a tinted background. An example of reversed out type. What’s the problem with using these types of font sizes and colors? They lower reader comprehension. MORE >>