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Last week we wrote a post about Marketing Automation. If you’re not familiar with this term yet, go back to last week and read up! Otherwise, keep going to see what the automated marketing cycle looks like and how it flows. By seeing how it works, you’ll understand how it can link all of your marketing efforts into a single process.

All set up

Marketing automation sounds like a boring topic, and you’re likely to want to skip reading this post in favor of stabbing your eyes out with a fork or something like that, but we encourage you to stick around!  Its actually pretty exciting stuff and it might just help you out a ton, but deciding whether it’s right for you and which platform to choose is complicated. Let’s take a look.

What the heck is marketing automation?

Many small business owners are so focused on mobile and social media marketing strategies that they’ve forgotten about some of the old school tactics that can still be effective. It’s easy to get tunnel vision because figuring out a well-rounded marketing plan can be really overwhelming and not knowing what to do makes it tempting to focus on only one thing at a time. But, we’re here to tell you that traditional marketing still has a place in this social media saturated world. It’s all about finding a nice balance between old and new.

Use paper. Paper is fun!

Happy February, GLAD WORKS friends! How many of you have kept your new year’s resolutions so far?  Have you been going to the gym consistently?  And, how are your business marketing resolutions going? Still keeping up with those too?  If so, good for you!  But just keeping up with it is only half the battle. Are you getting all that you possibly can out of your efforts?  

Let’s take a look!

1) Be consistent

Last week we talked about what email marketing is and what it can do for you. We also explained the differences and benefits of plain text emails and HTML emails. This week, for those of you who are already doing some email marketing, we’ve got a few resolutions for you to think about in the New Year. Let’s rock it hardcore in 2014!

(The good thing about these resolutions is that they’re a lot easier to keep than that one you made about cutting back on chocolate…)

1) Find out who is reading your emails

Email marketing is a hot topic right now. You may see articles about it all over the place in your travels around the Internet, but is it something you should consider? 

Absolutely! 

Any business can benefit from a great email marketing plan. Email marketing enriches business communications, targets key markets and is a cost-effective and paperless way to get in touch with your customers. Today we’re going to spend some time talking about what email marketing is and describe the differences between HTML emails and plain text emails.

Let’s dig in!

What is email marketing?

Last week we started this series by talking about how the name of your brand or product needs to reinforce the key elements you want to convey. We went over descriptive and meaningful names that clearly state what a business or product does. We also talked about names that are more abstract and tell a story about what the brand or product is about. Today, we’re going to talk about some current trends in naming. We’ll also touch on how to narrow down your list of potentials by making sure there’s a URL available with your name in it, and searching for other businesses that might be using that name already.

So, you’ve been interviewed on a TV show, or you’ve been invited to be a blogger on a popular website. Awesome!  Good for you!  No matter how much you promote your business to potential clients, there’s nothing like getting a little leg up from the media. Now that you’ve gotten the attention, how do you convert that into actual sales?  Read on, friends!

Use the coverage as an excuse to reach out

In the world of design and marketing, there’s a lot of talk about how color can influence consumer’s purchasing decisions. It doesn’t seem like it should make that much of a difference since a great product should speak for itself, right?  Ah, yes, but you’ve got to get the product into the consumer’s hand first!  That’s where the color of the packaging and of the product itself becomes really important. Color doesn’t only affect the buyer’s feelings toward the product, but also toward the store as a whole.

Can you believe it’s already time to think about seasonal promotions? The first official day of fall is on September 22^nd, which will be here before you know it. And after that, it’s the holiday season. We know you loathe thinking of this, but it’s time to face it. Do you have a plan for your seasonal and holiday promotions?  Don’t wait until the last minute to think about it because the time to get the ball rolling is now!  Here are a few ideas to help get you started.

A fresh look and a fresh promotion for fall