New Rules for E-mail Marketers
from ClickZ
While many people were enjoying those lazy days at the beach this summer, others were working hard to ensure that e-mail marketers would face additional challenges this fall. Most notable: two measures that have been topics of discussion on the Inbox Insiders, an e-mail marketing discussion list. More

Three eCommerce Tips for Improving the Usability of Your Online Store
from Zippy
Owning and operating an online ecommerce store can be a lot of work and the last thing merchants need is for people to abandon the site or shopping cart. Therefore, it is critical to have an online store with a great user experience that makes it easy for consumers to purchase products. Anything that complicates the process will reduce your chances for converting visitors into customers. To ensure your online storefront is optimized for your customers, follow these 3 simple steps. More

Social Media Marketing: Ignorance is Not Bliss
from Straight Up Search
Many people research products, services and businesses online before they make the decision to buy. You’ve probably done it yourself; logged onto that thing called the World Wide Web and searched for the product or service you’re thinking of buying. That being said, it’s crucial to have favorable results about your company when users look for your products in search engines – especially in social media networks like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. More

Can You Hire People to be Social For You?
from Small Business Trends
Customers like social media. They like having a way to engage socially with the brands they love. They like getting immediate answers to their questions. They like seeing the human element behind the brand. But what if you're a small business owner who either doesn’t have time to engage in social media or who, frankly, just doesn't want to? Is it possible to farm out the task to someone else? You can. But you maybe shouldn't. More

Is Your Social Media Content a Dead Zone?
from Maine Business' Social Media Mastery
Everyone wants a following on the web, everyone wants fans, people who are checking in to see what you are up to. Producing content helps to promote you, it helps to promote your business. But think about what you are providing, what amount of original content do you produce on a weekly basis? More

Book Exerpt: Social Media Helps Overcome Consumer Skepticism
from Practical eCommerce
Trust is a commodity in short supply nowadays. We consumers are increasingly skeptical of advertising messages that promise to make our lives easier, our bodies healthier, or our wallets fatter. Ours is a cynical age tainted by war, economic downturn, political unrest and an uncertain future. We are suspicious of hype and favor that which is real, even if it lacks the shiny exterior and pomp commonly associated with advertising. More

How to Find the Right E-mail Frequency Balance
from UTalkMarketing
With the amount of money consumers are prepared to spend shrinking, many marketers may be prompted to try to place more focus on their subscribers by upping the frequency and promotional content of their email marketing. Don’t make yourself look desperate! What a brand may see as increased e-mail frequency may well be seen by your subscribers as constant bombardment. More

Marketers, Media, Agencies Form Coalition
from Adweek
Unsatisfied with how media audiences are being measured in a multi-screen age, 14 of the nation's largest media companies, agencies and advertisers today launched the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement. More

Social Media Takes Bigger Slice of Advertising Pie
from UTalkMarketing.com
One of every five internet display ads is viewed on a social networking website as Facebook and MySpace become responsible for a very large chunk of web ads, according to a new report from comScore. More