Jumping the Shark

Well aware that most customers are "deletists," email marketers will swim any length to catch you.

Sometimes, too far.

A marketing automation provider recently sent me an email with the following subject line:

Don't open this message unless…

The "payoff" (a fairly insipid one) appeared in the body of the email:

You want to automate your marketing woes away!

Obviously, I took the bait.

But I ask: Why would a company that sells, of all things, email marketing services sink to such lows?

So be warned.

Avoid clickbait subject lines. 

Even if they increase opens, they'll take a bite out of your brand.

Machines Will Take over Marketing

Harvard Business School professor Jeffrey F. Rayport predicts that technology will soon take over marketing.

"What Salesforce.com did for sales management and NetSuite did for financial management, software-as-a-service providers will do for marketing, by automating much of what marketers do every day," Rayport says.

As ever greater dollars are shifted to digital from other forms of marketing, marketing technology will rise in importance—and spell doom for activities like planning, budgeting and management.

"Instead of setting advertising budgets on quarterly cycles, marketers will launch ad initiatives whenever opportunities emerge, and they will optimize them for efficiency and effectiveness on the fly," Rayport says. 

"Bidding on ad exchanges already happens in real time; enhancements in media placement and creative execution (for example, what image goes with what copy for a given recipient) will occur with similar speed. The 'budget cycle' is already a quaint idea. It will soon be a thing of the past."

White Noise

Too much content is killing content marketing, says William Yates, an executive with the UK-based digital agency Novacom.

Marketers know full well customers are time-starved, but continue nonetheless to spew "protracted blogs, long, drawn out how-to articles, and over-written so-called white papers."

Most of this content is "textual junk," Yates says; and the oversupply threatens to turn marketing communications into "marketing white noise."

In fact, Yates contends, a transition is already afoot: customers are becoming more discerning.

"Discernment is the other side of the transition coin, and as this side of the coin is flipped and hits the sunlight, and discrimination prevails, so this incessant stream of nonsense will be perceived for what it actually is: valueless."

A Thing of Beauty

What's more important In marketing emails, copy or design?

In a new report on email marketing from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, digital strategist Jason Falls answers the question—categorically.

It's copy.

"Nothing makes an email more powerful than expertly written copy," Falls writes.

"Catching the recipient’s attention, taking them on a quick journey, and making them believe that more than anything they have to take the action you want them to take and take it right now, is a thing of beauty."

Falls quotes Derek Halpern, a fellow digital guru who "swears by text-only emails."

“I’ve experimented with both simple text and fancy HTML," Halpern says, "and in all my experience, simple text generates the best results."

Should You Use "Free" in Your Subject Lines?

Although the adjective can stampede customers, most experts urge you never use "free" in the subject line of marketing emails.

That's because "free" is a so-called "trigger word" which, thanks to spam filters, might well earn you a goose egg in the delivery column.

Similar trigger words include "urgent," "guaranteed," amazing" and "unlimited."

But there's good news for marketers.

As spam filters get smarter, they're learning to distinguish emails sent by bona fide marketers from those blasted by flimflammers.

Smarter spam filtration means marketers can take "free" off the list of trigger words.

I asked digital guru Jason Falls, who recommends rule-breaking to email marketers, whether you should worry about using "free" in subject lines.

"There are actually two reasons it's only a minimal concern," Jason said. 

"First, only spam filters set to a very high level of filtration would weed it out. I'd guess you've seen some 'free' headlines in your inbox in the last few months.

"Also, once you have someone subscribing to your email list, most email systems and filtration methods learn to trust emails that you see, but don't mark as spam. It's sort of a machine-learning way of white listing email addresses. 

"So using a headline like that with a segmented list of people you have sent to before, have opened before, or are long-time list members means the email is more likely to get through than not."

What Content is the Most Effective?

What content works best for attracting new B2B leads?

Research reports, according to a new survey by content creator Ascend2.

The firm asked more than 400 marketers to rate a variety of devices for their ability to generate leads.

Thirty percent of marketers chose research reports as the most effective device.

Twenty-eight percent chose Webinars and twenty-six percent chose white papers.

A research report can act like a prospect-magnet, provided it asks the right questions and answers them in an honest way, according to the firm's blog.

Reports that don't focus on customers' "common pain points" or that merely recycle your opinions won't woo prospects, the firm says.

B2B Marketers Spending More on Content

B2B marketers plan to spend a full third of their budgets on content marketing in 2013, according to research firm eMarketer.

The firm defines content marketing as attracting customers with “content that is not, at its core, promotional material, but which is interesting or valuable for its own sake” and that's “geared to help businesspeople do their jobs better.”

With the larger investment comes greater eagerness for “sticky” content, says eMarketer.

Personalization is a sure way to assure content is sticky. “The more personalized the content is, the more helpful and necessary the content—and therefore the brand—becomes to the customer,” eMarketer says.

Consistency is another. “Content marketers must also keep the content flowing,” the firm says. “A customer community is like a pump that one must prime.”

Should Your Content Respect Age Differences?

In MarketingProfs, copywriter Sid Smith asks, “Do all demographics respond well to lead nurturing?” They do, if you use the right content, Smith says.

• Younger buyers have shorter attention spans than older buyers, who tend to delve more deeply into subjects. Videos and snippets work best for younger buyers.
• Younger buyers are persuaded by statistics; older buyers by experience. Use lots of data to persuade younger buyers.
• Corporate buyers respond to value propositions that address their need to be right. Be sure to "start with truth" and don't vary from it.  
• Consumers respond to value propositions that address their need to be safe. They also place a lot of credence in social proof. Be sure to use numerous testimonials.
• Buyers of every age aren't rational. Feelings always trump facts.
• Buyers of every age will buy if they trust you; and all need to feel appreciated.

Social Can't Sell

In The New York Times, tech journalist Stephen Baker recently asked, “Can Social Media Sell Soap?”

His short answer: nope.

Precision targeting, which generates ads "so timely and relevant that you welcome them," has "fueled a market frenzy around social networks," Baker writes.

But social networks are heading for a fall, because social can't sell.

As proof, Baker cites a chilly sales statistic (courtesy of IBM) from last year's Christmas season. 

"On the pivotal opening day of the season, Black Friday, a scant 0.68 percent of online purchases came directly from Facebook," Baker writes. "The number from Twitter was undetectable. Could it be that folks aren’t in a buying mood when hanging out digitally with their friends?"

I think Baker is on to something.

Social can't sell.

That's why the oxymoron "social media marketing" would make George Carlin's list.

Social is unlike traditional media.

When you consume traditional media (newspapers, magazines, radio and TV), you willingly trade your attention for content. 

That means ads are—more or less—welcome.

But in social, ads aren't welcome. 

They're like a telemarketer's cold call in the middle of the family dinner.

You Say You Want a Revolution?

Then get ready.

It's called NFC.
 
It will change the way attendees discover content at events.

NFC (the acronym for "Near Field Communication") is a form of short-range wireless that bridges the gap between the real and virtual worlds.

The technology allows anyone with an NFC-ready mobile phone or tablet to access content by touching the device to a comparable one—or to a "smart poster."

Thanks to the manufacturers, nearly one-third of new phones are NFC-ready right now. Two years hence, all will be.

With NFC, attendees will be able to touch salespeople's phones and instantly download anything now delivered on line. Videos. PowerPoint slides. Flyers. White papers. Discount coupons. You name it.

Salespeople not around? No worries. Attendees can do the same thing by touching a smart poster.

But wait, there's more.
 
Provided the nearest cash register is NFC-ready, attendees will be able to pay for purchases with a touch of their phones.

The revolution NFC will usher in isn't pie in the sky.

It's underway as we speak.

EXPO Magazine has said NFC "will change the face-to-face landscape."

Learn why "NFC will disrupt how things are done."

Learn to Love Tofu

I've just concluded my first month as a Vegan and resigned myself to loving Tofu.

As a marketer, Tofu should be part of your daily diet, too.

Tofu is an acronym that stands for “top of the funnel.”

The top of the funnel, of course, is your lead-cistern.

According to inbound-marketing agency FiveFifty, 97% of first-time Website visitors are top-of-the-funnel people.

They're "just looking" and far from ready to buy. 

So, if your content appeals only to bottom-of-the-funnel people, you look a little desperate.

"Remember the last time you were shopping at a retail store, and the sales representative kept asking if they could start a dressing room for you?" FiveFifty asks. "If you’re just browsing, their attempts to close a sale can feel overly pushy."

To make delicious Tofu, you need to prepare "buyer personas" that include the demographics, pain-points and priorities of your leads.

"The world’s best Tofu is based on answering real-life questions people have when they first come to your company's Website," FiveFifty says.

5 Steps to Mobile-friendly Emails

Customers are most likely to read your emails on smartphones and tablets, according to research by Return Path.

Follow these five steps to make your emails mobile-friendly:

1. Use a one-column layout. Vertical scrolling is more natural to mobile users.

2. Use larger fonts, bigger buttons and high-contrast colors. Make it easy for readers to differentiate your email's elements.

3. Include a link in the pre-header. The link should take readers to a text-only or—better—mobile-optimized version of your email (essential if you want to influence Blackberry users).

4. Keep emails short. Edit ruthlessley and use attention-grabbing calls to action. Your emails will be read during brief intervals of downtime.

5. Link readers only to mobile-friendly Web pages. It's futile to send readers to a Web page that can only be read on a desktop.

Big Data Hurts Brands

Crossing the Chasm Geoffrey Moore thinks Web ads personalized by Big Data will harm—not help—your brand.

In a blog post on LinkedIn, Moore says that, while Big Data and predictive analytics boost online advertising response rates a couple points, "they do not deliver a more personal, more relevant, or more one-to-one consumer experience."

"Don’t think that any of these techniques are going to create 'delight' among your target audience any time soon," he writes. "They aren’t. Spam is spam, with or without your maple syrup.  When you spam, you are consuming brand equity—not creating it. That’s what 'personalized' ads do."

If you want to create brand equity, Moore says, you have to engage your fans in a community, so they talk about you. 

Brand equity "is driven by social interactions with others in your target consumer’s community of interest," Moore writes. "By sponsoring such interactions, by facilitating them, and by (selectively) participating in them, you can indeed grow brand equity."

Respect Your Guests

Does this happen to you?

You download a single white paper from a Website. Before you can read it, your phone rings. 

It's the company's rep. He's pushing a demo.

You beg for time. 

Big mistake!

A rep now calls you every 48 hours.

In her blog, e-marketing maven Ardeth Albee wrote recently that one white paper download "does not equate to a relationship."

She has it right. 

A visitor's one brief encounter with your Website shouldn't trigger a barrage of phone calls.

Companies that push sales conversations on one-time Website visitors hurt themselves.

They come across as too-hungry.

And the more companies act too-hungry, the more they'll encourage future visitors to provide fake phone numbers. (Research by marketing automation firm Eloqua shows—remarkably—that fewer than five percent of phone numbers entered into the forms gating Web content are fake.)

Please, respect your guests.

Why NFC is the Next Big Thing

Get set for yet another marketing revolution.


NFC will change the way customers discover your content.


NFC (the acronym for "Near Field Communication") is a form of short-range wireless that bridges the gap between the real and virtual worlds.


The technology allows anyone with an NFC-ready mobile phone or tablet to access your content by touching the device to a comparable one—or to a "smart poster."


Thanks to the manufacturers, nearly one-third of new phones are NFC-ready right now. Three years hence, all will be.


With NFC, customers will be able to touch your sales reps' and ambassadors' phones and instantly download anything you now deliver on line. Videos. PowerPoint slides. Spec sheets. White papers. Price lists. Discount coupons. You name it.


Sales rep not around? No worries. Customers can do the same thing by touching one of your smart posters.


But wait, there's more.  


Provided the nearest cash register is NFC-ready, your customers will be able to pay for your products with a touch of their phones.


The marketing revolution NFC will usher in isn't pie in the sky.


It's underway as we speak.


That's the reason CNN has labeled 2012 "the year of NFC."


Take time today to get smart about NFC, if you want to stay ahead.


Disclaimer: I'm the marketing director for ITN International, which provides NFC apps and solutions to event producers worldwide.

How to Get More from Marketing Automation

Marketing and sales are notoriously independent.

But when the two team up, the results can be the stuff of legends.

One golden opportunity for teamwork between the two is the adoption of marketing automation.

Marketing automation uses software to qualify, score and nurture leads on an individual basis until each becomes “purchase ready.”

To pay off, marketing automation demands that marketing works with sales to perfect the “handoff” of purchase-ready leads; and sales works with marketing to perfect the “take-back” of not-yet-ready leads.

But merely introducing the software doesn’t mean marketing and sales, after years of acting like Lone Rangers, will suddenly partner up.

Mac McConnell, writing for Marketing Automation Software Blog, identifies three reasons organizations “get stuck” after adopting marketing automation—and how to tackle the issues:

Lack of fresh leads. Many organizations that adopt marketing automation soon discover they simply don’t have enough leads to fill the pipeline. In such cases, the marketing department should “go back to the drawing board,” McConnell advises, revisiting lead-generation activities that may have been discarded because they were thought to be low-yield. Tradeshows and rented direct marketing lists are prime examples. “Cast a wide net and revitalize tactics that have fallen out of favor.”

Lack of content. Other organizations can’t kickstart marketing automation because they don’t generate enough content—the gas that makes the engine run.  The correction here is simple: the marketing department has to get on the stick.  “Start working on fresh content that actually helps your buyer meet their goals, not yours,” says McConnell. Research reports are ideal. Buyers also crave short pieces, like checklists, executive briefs, industry overviews and glossaries.

Lack of a lead-scoring model. Marketing automation’s “secret sauce” is lead scoring, but many organizations never enjoy the recipe because marketing and sales can’t agree on definitions. The solution? Bring the two departments together, McConnell recommends. Insist they reach consensus on which attributes of a lead are important and which behaviors represent “buying signals.” That’s the only way leads can be scored.