Implement these 5 tips to ensure they keep clicking:

5. Make your content personal and relevant

Using variable data to show the recipient’s name doesn’t count. Tell them why you’re reaching out. If it’s to follow-up on their request for a white paper, ask if the information was beneficial and offer a few additional tips. Convince them what you have to say relates to them and their business challenges.

6. Use “you-focused” language

Keep the focus on your audience, not you. Instead of writing “Company XYZ is pleased to announce the debut of a new technology platform,” write “Our new technology platform can help you achieve 30% better results.” Use pronouns like “you,” “we” and “our” and tell your readers not what your product/service does, but the value it offers. Which leads us to the next point.

7. Promote benefits, not features

Sharing all the bells and whistles of your new high-tech product is great, but what does that mean for your audience? Why should they care that your widget has a 50 gigahertz processor? Does it help them increase productivity by 25%? Does it help them save money on labor costs? Don’t just talk about features – talk about the value they offer.

8. Keep it short

Just because you aren’t constrained by the page size of a printed piece doesn’t give you license to cram an entire story into a single email. People more than likely will scan your message for the main points and then decide if they want to take action. Make it easy for them. Break up your copy with key message subheads and give your story a single focus. Readers should be able to walk away and know exactly what you were telling them.

9. Put “action” in your call to action

What do you want the reader to do? The more active your verbs, the better. Can they watch a video? Download a free white paper? Calculate their savings? Design your call to action so it stands out against the rest of your email. Colorful buttons and clear, simple instructions are eye-catching and compelling.

So there you have it. 9 tips for better emails. Have any of your own to add?

Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.

As Corey Eridon wrote on the HubSpot blog, one of the most important parts of a compelling email is a compelling subject line. If it’s interesting, the reader will want to learn more. If it’s not – to the digital trash bin you go. Your excellent email copy will be for naught.

Here are 4 tips to help you write a more powerful subject line:

1. Use action language

Tell the reader what they’ll be able to do when they read your email. “Download,” “learn,” “watch,” – etc. If you want to promote your new webinar, “Register today for our new Sales Strategy Webinar!” is much stronger than “Company XYZ presents new Sales Strategy Webinar.”

Numbered lists are another powerful way to boost open rates. People just respond better to finite parameters. Take the title of this blog post, for example. It would also make a good email subject line. Much better than “Write more compelling emails.” That doesn’t indicate what the reader’s going to get. “5 tips” does.

2. Get segment-specific

You are segmenting your emails, right? According to eMarketer, highly segmented emails have 39% better open rates. Not only should your content be tailored to each different audience, but your subject line should be, too. If you’re selling a food ingredient, the emails you send to purchasing and marketing will be very different, because these audiences care about different things.

To purchasing, you might promote “4 ways to reformulate and cut costs,” while to marketing you might promote “3 things you need to know about package claims.” Trying to talk to everyone is effectively talking to no one. Make your messaging relevant.

3. Clarity trumps catchy

Write a clear, direct subject line first – and then go back and punch it up if necessary. Don’t sacrifice clarity for cleverness. The two can exist in harmony – but make sure the reader knows that they’re going to get when they open your email.

4. Make promises you can keep

Rather, make sure your email content pays off the promise you make in the subject line. Don’t employ a grandiose subject line just to drive up your open rate when you’re delivering mediocre content. Readers get irritated when they don’t receive what they expect. And irritated readers quickly become former readers.

Tune in next week for tips 5-9 to learn how to craft a compelling email message, so you can keep your readers clicking!

Every new product or service starts at the bottom. When you’re first to market, you enjoy an automatic competitive advantage – there’s no one to compete against. But as your space becomes more crowded with “me toos,” you must keep pushing your messaging up the ladder to maintain that competitive edge.

Think of the best-known brands in the world. Apple. IBM. UPS. Nike. Nike wasn’t the first to offer cushioned athletic shoes, but to stand out among 50 other shoe-makers, they had to push their messaging up the ladder beyond features and benefits (Impact-resistant mid soles! Breathable side panels!) and to an emotional level that they (and only they) could own.

People buy Nikes because Nikes are designed for people who take their sport seriously. Because “Just do it” empowers them. That’s emotionally compelling. No competitor can touch it.

That’s not to say that the emotional rung of the ladder is right for your offering right now. What matters is where you are relative to the competitors in your space. If everyone else is talking about features, you need to talk about how your features offer customers a tangible benefit. If the competition is promoting the value their offering brings customers, you need to connect yours with an emotional appeal.

Regardless of where you stand on the ladder, you should be constantly evaluating your position to ensure it’s not only strong, but truly differentiated. If you can answer “no” or, “I’m not sure…” to any of these four tests, it might be time to re-evaluate.

1. Is it believable?

Can you deliver on the promise you’re making? There’s a lesson to be had in authenticity here. You can run the slickest ad campaign in the world, but if your customer receives a faulty product and can’t get a call back from customer service, your credibility is shot.

2. Is it relevant?

Do your customers care? If you’re good at something but it doesn’t matter to your customers, it’s irrelevant. Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about your customers.

3. Is it unique?

Even if competitors can offer the same benefit, if you’re the only one talking about it, it’s unique. Especially if you can translate that benefit into emotional value. FedEx is one of many companies that ships packages. But their “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight” position was the first to offer reassurance (and lead you to doubt your other shipping vendor).

4. Is it defendable?

The more narrow your position, the less vulnerable it is to competitive attack. But you must defend your position with sufficient marketing resources. If the guy down the street says the same thing, only louder and more often, your territory is in jeopardy.

If you answered these four questions with a resounding “Yes!” your competitive stake is in the ground. To keep it there, your communications must consistently support and reinforce your position. Staying ahead of the competition requires an investment – in planning, time and resources.

How do you fend off competitive threats in your business? Tell us in the comments below.

Back then, search engines ranked results by counting how many times the search terms appeared on a given page. A method that we all know does not equate to relevance. Google’s founders were after a better system that analyzed the relationships between websites – where a site’s relevance was determined by how many pages (and the importance of those pages) linked back to the original site. They invented said technology and dubbed it PageRank.

Annette Shaff / Shutterstock.com

Fast-forward to today. You visit Google’s home page, type in a search query and receive a few million results in 0.34 seconds. It’s like magic. Except that the results you see are a highly scientific combination of crawling, indexing and ranking.

Crawling

The more PageRank your site has (meaning the more websites that link to you and the more reputable those sites are), the more likely Google is to discover your site. Google used to crawl the web for 30 days, index those results for a full week, then push that data out for an additional week. In web-land, that’s an eternity. Today, Google uses varying levels of crawls (ranging from “deep” to “fresh”) to ensure their results are both comprehensive and current.

What that means for marketers: You can increase your chances of being crawled regularly by frequently updating your content and adding pages. And don’t forget about PageRank. An easy way to increase your “link juice,” or the number of reputable sites that link back to your site, is to become socially active. An inbound link from Facebook.com, for example, is as valuable as they come.

Indexing

After each crawl, the Google spider (called Googlebot) stores full-text versions of the pages it finds in Google’s index database. This index is sorted alphabetically by search term (not just individual words), and tells Google which pages contain words that match a given search.

What that means for marketers: Googlebot doesn’t just process content on a page – it also recognizes title tags and alt tags, as well. When you’re building your site or updating content and pages, keep these additional opportunities in mind.

Ranking

When you type in a search query, Google searches the index for matching pages and returns the results it believes are most relevant. Relevancy is determined by PageRank and about 200 other factors that try to balance a website’s reputation with how well it relates to what you typed in.

What that means for marketers: High-quality inbound links are critical to PageRank, but what about the other 200 inputs that determine where your site falls in the search results? In order to rank well, Google must be able to crawl and index your site correctly. Here are some best practices to improve your ranking, straight from the horse’s mouth.

Image courtesy of amctv.com

“Dissatisfaction is a symptom of ambition. It’s the coal that fuels the fire.” – Trudy Campbell

To that quote, we offer another: “A creative’s work is never done.” We’re perfectionists like that. And you probably are, too. Without the a fire in your belly – to improve on what you did yesterday, to grow – then you’re just treading water. In business and in life.

“Where am I supposed to conduct business?” – Pete Campbell

“In the crapper for all I care.” – Roger Sterling

In the ad business, especially in the 1950s, image was everything. It’s highly unlikely that even a smooth-talker like Pete Campbell could’ve signed a multi-million dollar contract with a client in the loo. Image still matters today, regardless of the industry you’re in. And not just image – but perception as well. How you present your company and brand, across everything from your lobby to your marketing materials to how your phones are answered, must be thoughtful and consistent. When perception and reality don’t align, you’re missing a huge opportunity to build equity and trust in your brand.

“Clients are right all of a sudden? I don’t recognize that man. He’s kind and patient. It concerns me.” – Peggy Olson

Naturally, Peggy is referring to Don Draper, who is notorious for throwing dissenting opinions right out of the conference room – client or not. We find that collaboration (though a heavily over- and misused word) between client and agency produces the best creative results. We wouldn’t be doing our due diligence as a marketing partner if we simply took orders, or if we insisted clients take our way or no way. Meeting in the middle and arriving at a result that takes the best of everyone’s contributions is where strong solutions arise.

Did we miss any gems worth mentioning? What do you think of season five so far?

No matter what we sell, we’re all in the business of serving people. And in the B2B space, we’re talking important decision makers and products and services with bigger price tags. Which means there’s more at stake.

Sure, conference calls and instant messages are convenient, but as Rene Shimada Siegel points out in an article for inc.com, we’re only going to be successful if we truly get to know our customers and colleagues. Face-to-face. In person. Here are five reasons why real, live meetings trump virtual ones.

1. You’re off the record

In-person meetings give customers an opportunity to be candid – something that can be hard to do via email (where there’s always a digital trail) or if they work in a cubicle that lacks privacy. Grabbing lunch off-site or walking around the block can help them feel more free to share what’s on their mind, which will help you do your job better.

2. You can build a better business relationship

When you’re the one trying to keep a customer happy, you’re often focused on solving problems quickly and efficiently. It’s easy to forget about the person on the receiving end. Relationships are cultivated when people take time to share and learn more about one another, and that’s hard to do when conversations are compartmentalized by text or email. Meeting in-person allows you to chat about shared interests with your clients and further cement that interpersonal bond, which in turn makes your business relationship stronger.

3. You can make an impression

What is it about you and your company that makes people want to do business with you? Here at Tartan, clients and vendors alike love to stop by so they can meet our adorable mascot, Fergie. And when we go off-site for a client presentation, we like to bring along our trademark Tartan Tees for those attending. We’d be hard-pressed to successfully do either of those things with a GoToMeeting.

Until someone finds a way to send a t-shirt via Skype, you'll only get one of our snazzy tees if we meet face-to-face.

4. You can read body language

It’s terribly cliché, but true: actions speak louder than words. Seeing a client’s visceral reaction to new ad concepts is far more telling than reading it in an email. Being there in person allows you to perceive expressions and voice inflections that just aren’t visible when you’re only getting one sensory input (either the written words or just the audio). Responding to their concerns is easier as a result.

5. You can see where the action is

Seeing your clients in their natural habitat speaks volumes about who they are as an organization. Can you feel a buzz of energy in the air? Is the reception area bright and inviting? Understanding company dynamics will help you better meet their needs. Clients can learn the same things by coming to you, as well. Consider how your physical space represents you and your brand – is it giving the impression you want it to give?

As an organization with clients all over the country, we know in-person meetings aren’t always viable – for many reasons. And we rely heavily on many of the tools mentioned above to complete projects in a timely, cost-effective manner. But the importance of that face-to-face interaction can’t be overstated. In fact, it should be employed as often as humanly possible. Because at the end of the day, we’re people. Serving other people. And those people want to work with someone they can relate to – not just buy from.

Is meeting customers in-person a priority for your organization? Do you find it helps foster stronger relationships? Why or why not?

The problem with boiling down a purchase decision to price is the underlying assumption that all other things are equal. When purchasing is responsible for vendor decisions, they are focused on the bottom line. That’s their job. They aren’t necessarily concerned with why your product or service is different.

So, if you don’t want to compete on price alone, you need to sell beyond purchasing, by targeting two or three additional influencers in the company who will recognize your value and advocate on your behalf. The more allies you have, the better chance you have to close the sale. Here are four steps to help your sales organization influence more stakeholders:

1. Identify who else has influence

Procurement will always be part of the selection committee – that’s a given. But there are usually other individuals who have a say. You just have to figure out who they are. If you sell raw materials, it could be engineers or materials specialists. If you sell food ingredients, it’s probably R&D, a culinary consultant and marketing. For IT support, it could be the IT manager or operations manager. Do your research.

2. Determine the pain of each different audience and craft value messaging that addresses their needs

Let’s say you’re an ingredient company and you’re targeting food manufacturers. Purchasing, R&D, culinary and marketing will each have very different pain points. Purchasing wants to manage costs. R&D is concerned with how the ingredient will perform on the production line and how it will behave in the finished product on the shelf. The culinary folks are focused on getting the flavor right. And the marketing department is interested in making label claims and offering products that are on-trend. One general message won’t speak to any of these challenges. Target your messaging and tell each audience how your offering addresses their individual pains.

3. Build relationships with these influencers and showcase your competitive difference

Don’t just target these stakeholders with emails and brochures – get in front of them and demonstrate your knowledge. But don’t make it about you. Tell them how your competitive difference can help them do their jobs better. This is what separates vendors from partners. Vendors sell a commodity, and they’re paid accordingly. Partners, on the other hand, understand the issues of the people to whom they are selling, and translate that knowledge into value. It often only takes one key influencer to champion your offering to purchasing. Find an influencer who is receptive to a partnership and you’re on your way.

4. Support purchasing by quantifying how your value will benefit their bottom line

The objective here isn’t to go around purchasing if they are your main contact already. Instead, support your purchasing contact by reiterating how your offering meets the needs of others in the organization and quantify your value wherever possible. Demonstrate how your higher price can actually save them money in the long run, in terms of time, money or labor costs, so they’ll see why you’re worth the price you’re asking. Or, point out the risks that come with choosing the lowest-price vendor. Putting a dollar value on the liabilities can be very compelling.

How do you move your sales pitches or help your sales organization get beyond purchasing? Share your tips below!

Osborn, frustrated by his employees’ lackluster ability to develop ad campaigns individually, started hosting group-think sessions, and was amazed by the improvement in both quality and quantity of ideas generated. Convinced that true creativity could only shine when unobstructed by judgment and criticism, he systematized and published his creative problem solving techniques and the term “brainstorming” was born.

Does group think really breed bigger, better ideas?

In advertising, brainstorming sessions (sometimes called concepting or ideation sessions) are a critical part of the process. It’s the starting point for every project that comes through the door. It’s how ideas and themes are brought to life. Or, is it?

As this Fast Company article suggests, brainstorming actually hinders creativity. Studies increasingly show that we’re better off working alone – that group dynamics and an “every idea is a good idea” attitude stifles each person’s potential. In groups, people tend to sit back and let others do the work. They instinctively mirror others’ ideas and often bend to the whims of the majority. That’s a frightening prospect in light of the growing number of workplaces transitioning to “open floor plans” and schools that keep pushing students to be “part of the team” and “work together.”

Making brainstorming better

Brainstorming is arguably a necessary part of the creative process. The adage “two heads are better than one” became an adage for a reason. So, how can we leverage the process to make sure we’re getting the most bang for our creative buck?

Don’t just focus on finding solutions – find problems, too

Most brainstorming sessions begin with a “there are no bad ideas” speech in the hopes that people won’t self-censor a potentially good idea before it ever escapes their mouth. It makes sense in theory, but most groundbreaking inventions didn’t materialize from a free-floating idea – they were a solution to a problem. Allowing criticism helps the group to refine and redefine ideas and problems, giving the mind more to work with. It facilitates better answers.

Create a physical space that allows for open encounters and quiet reflection

It’s a scientific fact that being in close physical proximity to fellow problem-solvers begets better solutions. But there’s a fine line. Too much togetherness breeds “me too” group-think. Too little, and people won’t feel comfortable challenging each other. Studies show that offices with open floor plans make workers hostile, insecure and distracted. People whose work is constantly interrupted make 50% more mistakes and take twice as long to get it done. So, how do you find balance? The key is offering spaces for group gatherings and for individual privacy – which highly creative types surprisingly prefer.

What’s your opinion on the brainstorming process? Valuable or bogus?

The concept of “story,” especially in the business-to-business realm, is often met with skepticism. The very word calls to mind fairy tales and works of fiction – hardly the stuff successful big-bucks marketing campaigns are built upon.

Story, as it relates to brands, however, should come from an intrinsically factual place. A brand story is akin to a company or brand’s DNA – communicating why it’s unique, what it stands for and the value it provides to customers. It’s like a mission statement, only bigger. It can’t be manufactured in a board room. It has to come from the essence of the company itself.

Which kind of stories does your brand tell?

This story should provide the foundation for each and every interaction with customers and stakeholders. Everyone – salespeople, marketing folks, the C-suite and beyond – should understand and internalize that story, so every message is consistent with “who” the brand is.

So, how does this ethereal notion of “brand story” connect with executable tactics? Very simply: don’t write checks (read: stories) your company can’t cash.

For example, let’s say your CEO wants to do an entire campaign based on great service, when in reality, it’s sorely lacking. When the marketplace sees print ads touting your exceptional customer support, yet customers sit on hold for 30 minutes, your credibility is quickly lost.

In a better example, let’s examine McDonalds’ recent #MeetTheFarmers Twitter campaign, designed to promote the corporation’s commitment to using fresh produce from real farmers. It might have been successful, until McDonalds introduced another hashtag into the campaign: #McDStories, asking customers to share their heartfelt McDonald’s memories. And share them they did.

A Twitter storm erupted in a matter of hours, with people sharing horror stories of everything from fingernails in their cheeseburgers to hospital stays resulting from food poisoning. Not exactly the touching family stories McDonald’s was hoping for.

There are certainly many lessons to be had here – but the most important is authenticity. Owning what it is about your brand that keeps people coming back, not trying to force a manufactured message down their throats. McDonald’s is aware of the public perception about fast food. That’s why they created this campaign in the first place. But instead of honoring the real value they offer, they tried to invent it. The truth is, people come to McDonald’s because it’s convenient. Because it’s consistent. Because it’s fast and kids can eat it in the car. What they don’t come for is farm fresh produce and warm, fuzzy family memories.

Before you can tell your story, you have to listen to your customers’ stories. Be aware of what they’re saying, and participate in the conversation instead of simply diving in and trying to dominate it. Social media is the world’s biggest focus group, and the customer feedback is there for the taking. Listen. Take it to heart. Use it to make positive changes. Then, join the conversation and share honest, factual information that demonstrates how you’re addressing their issue(s).

Before you tell a story or send a message – in print, online or in person – consider this: can you look your customers in the eye when you say what you’re about to say? If not, think twice before you “speak.” If you can’t say something authentic, don’t say anything at all.

According to HubSpot, businesses that blog 20+ times a month generate five times more traffic than businesses that blog less than four times a month. That’s lead generation gold, right there. Especially when your blog helps funnel traffic through the buying cycle, by linking to audience-specific landing pages, email capture pages or additional resources. But if you’re not also measuring the performance of your content, you’re missing out on opportunities to make it even better.

Here are five of the 10 metrics HubSpot says bloggers should be tracking, and what you can learn from each:

1. Page Views/Traffic

Compare your blog posts side by side and see which ones have the most page views. Which ones have the fewest? Page views are a good (albeit unscientific) way to gauge which topics are most important to your audience. They can also help you identify patterns in your content. Which headline structure seems to work best? Do your readers prefer “top tips” posts or the ones in which you offer a personal opinion? Adjust your content accordingly and you’ll likely see better results.

2. Referral Sites

Referral sources will tell you how people are getting to your blog. If you’re getting a high percentage of visitors from organic search, it probably means you’re successfully optimizing for keywords your audience is searching. If traffic from social media is low, for example, you might want to consider allocating resources to better promote your blog socially. Tracking referral sites as you launch promotions will also help you determine ROI for one channel over another.

3. Calls to Action

Every post should have a call to action, whether it’s an offer, a link to additional information or something similar. What do you want the reader to do with the information you just shared? Evaluate which calls to action are the most successful, and consider featuring them prominently on your blog’s home page so they get even more mileage.

4. Bounce Rate

The bounce rate tells you how often visitors leave your blog without visiting other pages. While the bounce rate can sometimes be a good indicator of how appealing your content is, it’s not foolproof. For example, some people come to our blog expecting to find plaid kilts for sale (a future business venture, perhaps?) and leave once they figure out we’re a marketing agency. But working to decrease bounce rate is always a good goal. Consider adding a sidebar widget with your blog’s top posts or showing short previews of the posts on your home page (instead of the entire post) so visitors are more likely to find a topic that’s appealing.

5. Inbound Links

Inbound links are links from other websites and blogs that point to your content, meaning someone found your information useful enough to mention in their own content. Examining your blog’s inbound links can help you discover new audiences or potential partnerships, and can help you identify what content people find relevant.

Are there any other analytics you measure? What adjustments have you made to your blog as a result?