Two email campaigns that arrived in my inbox recently serve as useful illustrations of how best to promote informational content. One, a white paper offer from sales tax automation company Avalara, is a plodding recitation of facts that does little to grab the reader. The other, from email marketing software… Read More
Category Archives: B2B Marketing
Why & How to Test Subject Lines on Your Next Email Campaign
If you took a poll of B2B marketers (see below), my guess would be that only a small percentage test email subject lines with any regularity. The usual excuses given are 1) time and 2) risk – first, that testing subject lines adds one more step to the development of… Read More
If It’s Wednesday, It Must Be a Webinar Invitation
A client writes: I attended a Webinar recently at which one of the speakers prescribed scheduling lead nurturing emails on different days of the week – for example: newsletters on Mondays, product announcements on Tuesdays, Webinar invitations on Wednesdays, etc. He claimed this was an effective way to avoid campaign… Read More
3 Keys to an Effective Autoresponder Program
Studies show that responding to new sales leads promptly, literally within minutes, can have a dramatic impact on the rate at which those leads are qualified, and the speed at which they convert to opportunities and, ultimately, deals. An effective lead follow-up strategy, therefore, is essential to ensuring that you’re… Read More
Maker’s Mark: PR Debacle or Social Media Genius?
By now you’ve probably read about a momentous recent decision, and the very public reversal of that decision, made by Maker’s Mark, a distiller of small batch bourbon based in Loretto, Kentucky. The basic story is this: in February, Maker’s Mark announced that they would be reducing the alcohol content… Read More
How to Sell Marketing Automation to Your CEO (& Other Burning Questions)
Recently I was asked to contribute some thoughts to Marketo’s new ebook, “The Definitive Guide to Marketing Automation.” You can download a free copy of the ebook – 100 pages on everything you need to know about marketing automation – what it is, how it’s different from CRM, common features,… Read More
Measuring the True Impact of Marketing Campaigns: A Conversation with Bonnie Crater
Bonnie Crater is a five-time Vice President of Marketing, a former colleague of this blogger from our days at Oracle in the late 80s, and in 2000 was named one of the “Top 20 Female Executives in Silicon Valley” by San Jose Magazine. In 2011, she became President and CEO… Read More