Frontline Perspectives

Most marketers know that having a database is important to their organization’s marketing efforts. But creating one, maintaining it and using it effectively are much easier said than done. To ensure you’re getting the most sales from your lead generation efforts, here are seven tactical things every marketer should do right now with their marketing database…followed by one piece of advice on strategy. Read more »

Last week, while working on a business letter here at MarketSense, we took a step back and asked ourselves if the old letter-writing rules still apply. Sure, a strong headline always adds value, but what about that pesky postscript? Traditionally, business letters mention the call to action three times, including once in the postscript, in hopes that the reader will notice at least one of them. But today, in the interest of brevity, is it better to mention your call to action in the body copy and be done with it?

The answer: It depends. Read more »

The new rules of social media series.

While on vacation this past week, I had the chance to finish Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and more) that Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business. As a long-time fan of Anne Handley of Marketing Profs, I was looking forward to hearing what she had to say about  maximizing your online presence. Read more »

From data sheets to newsletters to websites, we work on a lot of projects here at MarketSense that include sidebars. The same questions always come up: Should the sidebar go on the left or right? What should we put in the sidebar? Will anyone read it or care? Read more »

The Rolling Stones sang this well.  Life is full of unfulfilled dreams, wants and needs. And many of us get pretty darn crabby about it. For the sales and marketing teams:  “If we only had the resources to develop the website more, or the money to develop an SEM campaign, or hire five new sales people to develop the new verticals we’ve danced around.  And then there’s the video and green room that could take our video platform to a whole new planet.  We could be so much better, only if we hand X, Y, Z…” Read more »

With winter officially behind us, it’s time to think about getting active again — in your writing! Even if you aren’t a copywriter, you probably write something every day that would benefit from an exercise in active voice. Take a sprint through the following tips on keeping your e-mails, business letters and other communications fresh and engaging. Read more »

Gaining a prospect’s trust — and maintaining a customer’s — is key to making sales. But if you’re like a lot of busy marketers, you may be making some common writing mistakes in your various communications. Before long, it can make your company look less than professional … and that can erode your clients’ and prospects’ trust at a time when you need it most.

Read more »

We’re in the process of hiring right now, which means I’m spending a fair amount of time reviewing resumes. I’m continually amazed that the majority of people don’t include a cover letter with their resume. And those who do include one have serious grammar, spelling and clarity issues. What this means is that the majority (and I mean more than 75%) of these people have either made very little, or a terrible, first impression. And because of that, they’re not going to get to the interview stage. Read more »

If you’re like most people, you aren’t reading this. Read more »

A lot of marketing time and money is spent generating leads. And these leads often go directly to the sales team for follow up. If the leads don’t immediately turn into sales, the complaints start flying. Marketing generally complains that the sales team doesn’t follow up quickly and effectively, and sales generally complains that the leads aren’t worth the effort. And management is left to wonder why this is so difficult to resolve. Read more »