The Effective Marketer

MAY 20, 2011

With the new hype of content creation now making the rounds of webinars, books, and whitepapers another term has regained the spotlight: the buyer persona. I was reminded once again of the importance of creating buyer personas during Bulldog Solutions event on Marketing Benchmark in which Rob Solomon walked us through their five step process for organizing your marketing programs: Business Case.

Buyer Personas 132

Buyer Personas Template Bulldog Solutions B2B Marketing 132

The Effective Marketer

AUGUST 10, 2011

Whether creating a Whitepaper, an eBook, a new Email Marketing campaign, a web page, or any other type of marketing content there are a few basic principles you should follow: Is it simple? Is it timely? Will it solve a problem? If you can answer “yes&# to all three questions above, you’re on the right path to coming up with great content.

Content Marketing 129

Content Marketing Content Marketing Design 129

The Effective Marketer

NOVEMBER 28, 2011

A recent post by David Meerman Scott touched on a big pet peeve of mine… creating content that is easy to understand. Big organizations suffer from this problem more than others, but it also permeates small and medium businesses. Gobbledygook is spread everywhere, from press releases to website content, to the latest whitepaper or eBook. I think that in larger organizations it probably starts with someone trying to sound smarter than the rest, showing off his or her extensive vocabulary of

Effectiveness 125

Effectiveness Content Training Press 125

The Effective Marketer

NOVEMBER 18, 2011

Branding used to be a high-level exercise bigger companies went through as part of their strategic marketing processes. You get an agency, brainstorm cute pictures, logos, and tag lines, come up with the visual guidelines, and move on. Every now and then you refer back to those branding guidelines that tell you the correct position for your logo and the approved color scheme.

Content Marketing 125

Content Marketing Brand Identity Branding Planning 125

The Effective Marketer

JUNE 1, 2011

A new research study by Sirius Decisions , “ Calculating the Return on Marketing Automation “, sponsored by Marketo talks about the different levels of companies implementing marketing automation platforms (or MAP, as they call it). “Companies using technology alone to solve their demand creation issues may actually experience negative return where it matters most&#.

Marketing Automation Services 125

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Automation Planning 125

The Effective Marketer

MAY 9, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking The Rise of the Content Marketer Content Needs a King I know I don’t have to argue the value of content to readers of this blog. If you are even remotely interested in marketing it is clear that the more the web has transformed the way we promote our products, the more firmly ‘content’ has planted itself as the center of our lives.

Planning 125

Planning Marketing Budget Creation Work Management Marketing Management 125

The Effective Marketer

JANUARY 13, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking Aberdeen Shows How to Do Email Marketing Right The new research report from Aberdeen Group “ Email Marketing: Customers Take it Personally ” has some very interesting insights. They talk about how the increase in the number of available marketing channels coupled with the resource constraints of most marketing organizations is the toughest challenge for marketers to overcom

Planning 125

Planning Email Marketing Work Management Marketing Management 125

The Effective Marketer

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Last week Carlos Hidalgo , CEO of the Annuitas Group , shared on the Software Advice blog a nice video explaining two basic concepts that are often used interchangeably by vendors and even analysts in the Marketing Automation space but should in fact be treated as separate concepts: Demand Generation and Lead Management. Demand Generation vs. Lead Management.

Demand Generation 120

Demand Generation Marketing Management Lead Management Demand 120

The Effective Marketer

DECEMBER 14, 2011

HubSpot does it again, taking content that is not necessarily new or revolutionary and putting it in a nicely formatted eBook that makes reading it a pleasure. With “ An Introduction to Inbound Marketing Analytics “, you get an overview of what to measure and why. Especially useful for small companies and those who are just starting out with their marketing programs and need some help identifying key metrics, the eBook is packed with good advice.

Inbound Marketing 120

Inbound Marketing Analytics Paid Search Agency Landing Pages 120

The Effective Marketer

NOVEMBER 3, 2011

Although the level of marketing spend doesn’t usually correlate to marketing effectiveness, it is useful to know how others in your industry or other companies of similar size are spending their money on marketing. Forrester Research has recently released a study, “ Benchmark Your Interactive Marketing Maturity “, that aims to give you some metrics to figure out whether you are putting your money on the right marketing tactics.

Allocation 120

Allocation Spending Paid Search Agency Online Marketing 120

The Effective Marketer

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

It has been out for a couple months now, the new myStain app from Clorox, but only now I have seen an interesting account of the marketing campaign and results highlighted in an article from MarketingNews (an AMA publication, requires registration). As I first started reading about the mobile app that gives tips on stain removal, I wasn’t sure who would actually want to download it.

Product 120

Product Mobile Marketing PR Press 120

The Effective Marketer

AUGUST 16, 2011

This is the second post in a series of “ Principles of Great Content Marketing ”. The first post talked about creating simple content. So just to recap, there are three key principles for creating great content: Is it simple? Is it timely? Will it solve a problem? Simple content was explained earlier and is a sure way to create engaging and direct content.

Urgency Marketing 120

Urgency Marketing Content Marketing Automation Services Automation 120

The Effective Marketer

JUNE 14, 2011

A Forrester Research “ How US Maketers Use Email &# Report sheds some light into the use of email by B2B and B2C companies. Author Sarah Glass states: Email is the most mature and most widely used interactive marketing tool. According to the report, adoption of email marketing is high, with 88% of B2C companies already using email and 10% planning to use before December 2011.

Marketing Budget 120

Marketing Budget Practices Budget Programs Forrester 120

The Effective Marketer

DECEMBER 13, 2011

Despite the fact that trade show attendance is going down and there is less money in your marketing budget for attending physical events, if you do have to go to one you’d better make it worth it. I like how Vanessa Nornberg described in an Inc.com article a few tips to make your trade show profitable: Buy a booth you can afford. Strategically organize your booth.

Trade Show 115

Trade Show Marketing Budget Marketing Budget Creation Planning 115

The Effective Marketer

JUNE 20, 2011

Marketing Automation is a hot topic. News about multi-million dollar investments in the space has sparked not only interest from marketers but a multitude of competitors crowding an already jammed market. Is like driving down the highway only to see the traffic stopping right after you take the next curve. As the traffic is slowly moves, some cars faster than others, many drivers start wondering if they should take the next exit.

Marketing Automation Services 115

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Automation Automation Planning 115

The Effective Marketer

MAY 26, 2011

As marketers is our job to create meaningful content that will help influence sales. You will eventually find yourself not only writing copy for an eBook, whitepaper or email campaign but also having to create and deliver presentations. That’s where you can shine. Let me explain. The Suckiness Factor. Most presentations suck. That’s a fact of life and I think that there are people with genetic predisposition to put together boring presentations.

Conference 115

Conference Email Campaigns Webinar Metrics Google 115

The Effective Marketer

MARCH 24, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking Why Sales and Marketing Don’t Get Along Talk to marketing mangers and sales managers about their biggest complaint and you will likely hear “They don’t follow up on leads!&# from the marketing guy and “Their leads suck!

Planning 115

Planning Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Budget Creation 115

The Effective Marketer

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking WordPress Plugins for Marketers A recent question on the Marketing Over Coffee LinkedIn group about WordPress plugins generated a really great list of tools marketing professionals should consider when running a personal or company blog.

Planning 115

Planning Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services 115

The Effective Marketer

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking Making the Most of Your Webinars A recent report from On24, “ Webcast Benchmarks and Best Practices for Lead Generation “, has some interesting numbers when it comes to how webinars are being used and their effectiveness at lead generation.

Webinar Metrics 115

Webinar Metrics Webcast Marketing Automation Services Sales Qualified Leads 115

The Effective Marketer

SEPTEMBER 12, 2011

Surprising results from eConsultancy’s recent survey on the use of QR Codes showed that: 64% of consumers don’t know what QR Codes are. Of the consumers that know what QR codes are, only 11% have used them. Of those that have used QR codes, 20% think they don’t really offer any advantages and don’t expect to use them in future. Yikes! The survey goes on to point out that marketers have to be innovative and think outside the box when it comes to using QR Codes: “Don’t rel

Landing Pages 108

Landing Pages Customer Surveys PPC Mobile Marketing 108

The Effective Marketer

MAY 18, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking Marketing Charts and Trends With an impressive collection of charts, HubSpot released The Marketing Data Box. Get it for free either in PDF or PPT format. There are 65 charts on 54 data slides showing: The benefits and consequences of social media to US Adults Whether Americans are willing or not to pay for online news The average cost per lead for outbound vs. inbound mark

Cost per Lead 108

Cost per Lead Planning Work Management Marketing Management 108

The Effective Marketer

MAY 3, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking The Challenges in Adoption of Marketing Technology A recent webinar hosted by Neolane, “ Crack the Code – Getting C-Suite Buy-In for Your Marketing Tech Purchases &# had a very interesting presentation by Suresh Vital from Forrester Research.

Work Management 108

Work Management Marketing Management Planning Marketing Automation Services 108

The Effective Marketer

APRIL 6, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking Selecting the Right Email Marketing Provider You either have or will have to evaluate and select an email marketing software provider at some point in your marketing career. And there’s a good reason most people dread this project, after all with so many ESP (email service providers) out there, is really a daunting task.

Work Management 108

Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services Planning 108

The Effective Marketer

MARCH 10, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking How Everybody Wins with HubSpot’s Funding As everyone in the marketing industry surely knows by now, HubSpot raised $32 million in additional funding. This means that is time to update my previous charts on marketing automation funding (see below) and the funding timeline, because HubSpot just surpassed Marketo as the highest funded marketing software vendor to date.

Work Management 108

Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services Hubspot 108

The Effective Marketer

FEBRUARY 10, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking The Science of Email Marketing I just attended “The Science of Email Marketing&# online webinar, hosted by HubSpot and presented by social media scientist Dan Zarrella. Slides should be available for download soon here. Key takeaways: Businesses are consumers (the boundaries between B2C and B2B are blurred when it comes to reading email) Try sending emails on weekends

Planning 108

Planning Email Marketing Work Management Marketing Management 108

The Effective Marketer

AUGUST 26, 2011

With Steve Jobs stepping down from the CEO post at Apple, is inevitable we look back at the history of such an iconic company. Marketing, at Apple, has always been a differentiating point and key to their eventual dominance of the electronics consumer market and their resurrection in the personal computer industry. While Brand Republic’s post “ Appointment to view: Apple’s History of Marketing ” takes us back to the early days of Apple advertising the Apple-1 in 1976 until today’s iPad commercia

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Marketing Budget Work Management Differentiation 100

The Effective Marketer

JULY 21, 2011

It seems Marketo has a nicer way of presenting Marketing Conferences. I did a post back in February listing upcoming marketing events but I have to agree a nice graphic is so much better! Check out below.

Marketo 108

Marketo Conference Marketing Trade Show 108

The Effective Marketer

APRIL 29, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking Getting the most out of conferences and events If you feel like you keep going to conferences and events but don’t have time to apply what you learned when you get back to the office, you’re not alone. Once you’re back and the emails pile up, the phone rings, and people walk into your office there’s not much you can do.

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Conference Effectiveness Marketing Budget Creation Work Management 115

The Effective Marketer

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking Upcoming Marketing Conferences It’s February already and you keep thinking “what the heck happened to January&# ? You’re note alone. A few good events have come and gone, like the Digital Marketing Forum , MarketingSherpa’s Email Marketing Summit , and the Email Evolution Conference and I completely missed them.

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Conference Planning Work Management Marketing Management 125

The Effective Marketer

DECEMBER 8, 2011

A nice post by Nick Westergaard on the “ 12 Most Underutilized Brand Touchpoints “ talks about the stuff many people relegate to second plan when thinking about their company’s brand. You have your logo, your tagline, your website… but how about product packaging, brochures, and holiday cards? Yup, holiday cards deserve some branding love too.

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Touchpoints Brand Identity Branding Newsletter 120

The Effective Marketer

FEBRUARY 16, 2011

The Effective Marketer Effectiveness is a discipline and it can be learned Home About the Effective Marketer Books Speaking Marketing Automation Catching On Fire According to the recent report by Marketing Sherpa, “ CMO Perspectives on B2B Marketing Automation &# (offered for FREE by Marketo until March 1st), “the majority of CMOs have either implemented, are in the process of implementation, or are at least considering implementation of marketing automation software “ 34%: Our

Marketing Automation Services 139

Marketing Automation Services Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Automation 139

The Effective Marketer

AUGUST 18, 2011

This is the third post in a series of “ Principles of Great Content Marketing ”. The first post talked about creating simple content , and the second post discussed timely content. The Principles of Great Content Marketing series is based on three core ideas: Create simple content. Create content that is timely. Create content that solves a problem.

Word of Mouth 146

Word of Mouth Content Marketing Management Buyer Personas 146