Note: This blog was originally published 12/24/2015, updated 12/22/2017. As 2017 winds down, lots of people (us included) will be out of the office celebrating the holidays with family and friends. Here are some really funny, clever and snarky out-of-office messages sent this year, courtesy of HubSpot Blogs (full article here). By the way, … [Read more...] about 17 Funny Out-of-Office Emails for the Holidays
Minneapolis online marketing
4 Lessons on Digital Marketing from Wonder Woman
In case you've been avoiding all social media, news media and word of mouth: Wonder Woman is currently smashing her way through the box office, with no signs of slowing down. There are a few lessons we can take from the success of everyone's favorite crime-fighting superheroine. Sure, Wonder Woman is generally fighting supervillains and not the … [Read more...] about 4 Lessons on Digital Marketing from Wonder Woman
What Should My Marketing Budget Be? [Infographic]
The online marketing landscape is a bustling market. One the left, merchants trying to sell you services for an arm and a leg. On the right, merchants promising the same services for pennies. Business owners know they need to be marketing, but with all the noise they aren't sure how much they should spend on online marketing. Or, worse, they're … [Read more...] about What Should My Marketing Budget Be? [Infographic]
What and How Often Should You Post on Social Media? [Infographic]
by Azure Collier, Constant ContactWhen I’m hosting Constant Contact’s social media webinars, I get a lot of questions from small businesses and nonprofits on social media best practices.One of the things I hear most often is “What should I post on social media and when should I post it?”That’s why we created this cheat sheet.In this cheat sheet, … [Read more...] about What and How Often Should You Post on Social Media? [Infographic]
Five Facebook Advertising Features You Haven’t Tried Yet
As 2016 marches on, now is the perfect time to re-strategize your social media campaigns. You've probably tried Facebook advertising already, but have you tried video ads? Did you know you can pinpoint-target a specific market (say, women in their 40s who drive a Prius and watch detective shows)? Mike Bird and Webbiquity highlight five Facebook … [Read more...] about Five Facebook Advertising Features You Haven’t Tried Yet
Email Design Best Practices: How to Design the Perfect Email in 2016 [Guide]
by Ryan Pinkham, Constant ContactFirst impressions matter. And when someone opens your email, what they see is going to determine what they do next.Following email design best practices ensures your email looks good and delivers real results.If you’re using an email marketing service like Constant Contact to do your email marketing, you’re in … [Read more...] about Email Design Best Practices: How to Design the Perfect Email in 2016 [Guide]
The What, When, and Who of Successful Emails [Infographic]
Jason Fidler, Constant ContactHere at Constant Contact, we’re always uncovering new data to help you create effective email campaigns.Whether it’s providing the best time to send emails based on the industry you’re in, or taking a look at what types of content result in the best click-through rates, we work hard to ensure that small businesses and … [Read more...] about The What, When, and Who of Successful Emails [Infographic]
15 Last-Minute Holiday Email Ideas to End 2015 with a Bang
by Ryan Pinkham, Constant ContactLet’s face it.No matter how hard you try, it’s difficult to ever be completely prepared for the holiday season.Hopefully you’ve prepared your store or office to make sure you’re providing the best experience to customers.But what about your marketing?A tool like email marketing makes it quick and easy to promote … [Read more...] about 15 Last-Minute Holiday Email Ideas to End 2015 with a Bang
3 Ways to Automate Your Email Marketing this Holiday Season
Bria Sullivan, Constant ContactThe holidays are a busy time for your business.And with so much to do, you may be wondering how you’re going to keep up with your growing list of marketing responsibilities, while also keeping your business running smoothly.When it comes to your email marketing, one of the best ways to save time while still driving … [Read more...] about 3 Ways to Automate Your Email Marketing this Holiday Season
5 Ideas to Make This Your Most Profitable Holiday Season Yet
Ryan Pinkham, Constant ContactIf the holidays are a busy time for your small business, you know how important the next few months will be.Consumers are expected to spend big this holiday season. If you want them to shop small, you need to plan ahead.Luckily, there are simple steps you can take to set your business up for success.Here are five … [Read more...] about 5 Ideas to Make This Your Most Profitable Holiday Season Yet
How a Small Business Made $67,000 from One Cyber Monday Email
Miranda Paquet, Constant ContactWhen Heath Bowman, owner of Southeastern Underdeck Systems, sent out an email last year on Cyber Monday, he wasn’t expecting anything groundbreaking. “Our Cyber Monday offer was our first email with Constant Contact,” Heath explains. “To be honest, I really wasn’t expecting anything from it. I had never run a … [Read more...] about How a Small Business Made $67,000 from One Cyber Monday Email
The Best Time to Send Black Friday Special Offers
Black Friday is one of the most profitable shopping holidays, and retailers are busy planning their social media and email strategy. To help retailers make informed decisions about last-minute social media and email campaigns, Yesmail analyzed the performance of 50 top retailers’ email and social promotions in the week leading up to Black … [Read more...] about The Best Time to Send Black Friday Special Offers
28 Ideas to Jumpstart Your Holiday Email Marketing
Ryan Pinkham | Constant ContactIs email marketing part of your holiday marketing plans? If not, you could be missing out. Here’s why:Last year, Constant Contact customers sent 1.3 billion emails in the week leading up to Cyber Monday.Email marketing was the #1 driver of online sales on Black Friday 2014.Constant Contact customer Southeastern … [Read more...] about 28 Ideas to Jumpstart Your Holiday Email Marketing
10 SEO Mistakes You Can Avoid [Infographic]
Rank Better in Search - Avoid These 10 SEO Mistakes Did you know the top three search results 61% of all clicks? Or that 75% of search engine users never look past page one search results? Search ranking continues to be a vital component of any online marketing strategy. To improve your ranking through organic search, avoid making any of these … [Read more...] about 10 SEO Mistakes You Can Avoid [Infographic]
Email Marketing Myths and Misconceptions
by Ryan Pinkham, Constant Contact Email has never played a more prevalent role in our day-to-day lives. With today’s mobile technology, most people are never far from their email inbox, which is exciting news for businesses and organization trying to stay in touch with current and potential customers. But even in today’s hyper-connected world, … [Read more...] about Email Marketing Myths and Misconceptions
4 Ways to Make Your Call-to-Action Buttons More Effective
by Dan Shewan, Constant Contact Whether you’re preparing to send an email blast or running a paid search campaign, your calls to action can make or break the success of any digital marketing initiative.A persuasive, compelling call to action (CTA) can convince even the most hesitant prospect to convert, but there’s more to it than just a tempting … [Read more...] about 4 Ways to Make Your Call-to-Action Buttons More Effective
Making Sense of Google Analytics: 10 Tips for Small Businesses
by Jeremy Taylor, Constant ContactGoogle Analytics offers a truly extensive range of actionable data. It will show you who’s browsing your website, how they’re using it and how they found you. Without analytics, you rely on guesswork (and guesswork is a terrible business model).The problem is that it can be tricky to identify the metrics that … [Read more...] about Making Sense of Google Analytics: 10 Tips for Small Businesses
10 Tips for Handling Unsubscribes
In this informative article, HigherVisibility blogger Amanda DiSilverstro offers a variety of tactics to try to make the most out of "unsubscribe" requests.* * *10 Ways to Optimize Your Blog’s Unsubscribe ProcessFinding new readers to subscribe your newsletter or email marketing campaign is a top goal for any company, but it’s important to remember … [Read more...] about 10 Tips for Handling Unsubscribes
Facebook Announces ‘Dislike’ Button In Development
Over the years, Facebook has proven its ability to really understand its audience. While we appreciate Facebook's commitment to our wants and needs, there's one thing that's always been missing: the Dislike button. Because really, we can't like everything all the time, right?After years of refusal, Facebook recently announced that the … [Read more...] about Facebook Announces ‘Dislike’ Button In Development
What’s The Big Deal About a Little Mobile ‘Buy’ Button?
Google recently debuted a new mobile feature called "Purchases on Google," which makes buying products directly from mobile search advertisements easier for consumers. Consumers turning to Google for search on their mobile devices now see a "buy" button in select promoted results. When consumers click on the button, it takes them to a page where … [Read more...] about What’s The Big Deal About a Little Mobile ‘Buy’ Button?
Top Four SEO Trends for 2015
Google is now better able to reward high-quality Web content that is relevant to a search query, and less dependent on traditional signals, such as keywords, according to a recent report from Searchmetrics and detailed in this article by MarketingProf's Ayaz Nanji.Below are four key search engine optimization (SEO) lessons from the report, as … [Read more...] about Top Four SEO Trends for 2015
Increase Your Web Traffic with SEO for Your Images
by Jeremy Taylor, Constant ContactThree billion — give or take. That’s how many searches Google runs every single day. 40 percent of those return images.And with image searches becoming more commonplace, optimizing your images for search has become an essential tool for getting your business in front of new people.While it’s particularly crucial … [Read more...] about Increase Your Web Traffic with SEO for Your Images
Do You Know the 10 Best (and Worst) Performing Words in Email Subject Lines?
If you want to boost engagement with your email campaigns, it helps to say "thank you" in the subject line. In this new Marketing Prof's article, research writer Ayaz Nanji breaks down a recent report from Adestra on the best and worst performing words to use in your email subject lines.The report was based on data from more than 3 billion … [Read more...] about Do You Know the 10 Best (and Worst) Performing Words in Email Subject Lines?
How to Get Found Online
Miranda Paquet, Constant Contact Questions about Social, Search, and Online Listings Search and SEO1. How can I use keywords to get more people to visit my website?Start by making a list of terms (shoot for about 25) that are relevant to your business’s products or services. Think about the words a potential customer might use to find your … [Read more...] about How to Get Found Online
The Ultimate Guide to Growing a Massive Email List
Ryan Pinkham, Constant Contact How many of the people who visit your website or come into your store on a daily basis actually end up joining your email list?What if you could double, triple, or even quadruple that number?What would that mean for your business?Growing a massive email list may seem like a lofty goal, but remember: you already have … [Read more...] about The Ultimate Guide to Growing a Massive Email List
9 Expert Ways to Grow Your Email List with Facebook
Miranda Paquet, Constant Contact “We’re finding Facebook to be less and less of interest to us because of the way they changed their algorithms for how our posts work…we found out that without paying for their marketing program, it doesn’t work for us.” Like many small business owners, Chris Iousa is wondering if it’s time to call it … [Read more...] about 9 Expert Ways to Grow Your Email List with Facebook
Understanding The SEO Journey – Old vs New SEO
As an online marketing agency, SEO is a common topic of discussion around the BizzyWeb office. This recent blog post published on Webbiquity.com by guest author Jack Dawson is an informative and easy-to-understand explanation of old versus new SEO. * * * by Jack Dawson Everyone implementing SEO usually has the same question – how long before I rank … [Read more...] about Understanding The SEO Journey – Old vs New SEO
Create the Perfect Offer: 4 Questions You Need to Ask First
by Constant Contact Special offers have played an important role in how small businesses attract new customers and bring in repeat business since long before the term “online marketing” ever existed. Before email or Facebook, Twitter or Google, there were coupons in the local paper, annual sales at the local retail store, and news of special … [Read more...] about Create the Perfect Offer: 4 Questions You Need to Ask First
Extra! Extra! Dave Meyer Featured in New Business Minnesota
Projecting a great image to your customers is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to grow your business. If you use the right tools, you will present your company as a trusted resource and professional solution provider. It can seem daunting to create a professional-looking website, get your social media set up and generating leads, and … [Read more...] about Extra! Extra! Dave Meyer Featured in New Business Minnesota
BizzyWeb Achieves Master Certification with Constant Contact
Jen Meyer, Vice President of Marketing at BizzyWeb, has become Master Certified by Constant Contact®, Inc., the trusted marketing advisor to more than 600,000 small organizations worldwide. To achieve this Master Certification, the highest level of Constant Contact’s Solution Provider partner education, Meyer has completed a rigorous curriculum … [Read more...] about BizzyWeb Achieves Master Certification with Constant Contact
New Research Pinpoints The Best Days and Times to Post Content [Infographic]
Deciding when to post new content to social media channels can be a bit of a guessing game. "Never post on a Friday or Monday," say some. "Post content first thing Monday morning so people see it right away when they get to work," say others. It seems everyone has an opinion on the optimal day and time for best results. We were excited to … [Read more...] about New Research Pinpoints The Best Days and Times to Post Content [Infographic]
6 Ways to Promote Your Next Event
by Erik Mintz, Constant Contact With any event, whether it’s a class, seminar, open house, fundraiser or something in between, the ultimate goal is to get as many people as possible to attend. There’s no point in planning a free or fee-based event if no one shows up. To get the most out of your efforts, here are six ways to maximize registration, … [Read more...] about 6 Ways to Promote Your Next Event
3 Easy Steps To Blocking Annoying Facebook Content
Has your Facebook feed become clogged with content you just don't care about? Many Facebookers personalize their newsfeed so that only people and businesses they care about show up, making it a custom newspaper. However, if left to its own devices, Facebook feeds can get crowded. Here's how to customize your Facebook feed. Newsfeeds can get jam … [Read more...] about 3 Easy Steps To Blocking Annoying Facebook Content
5 Social Metrics And How To Track Them
Social media is an important part of business; this has become a well-known fact over the past 5 years. What isn’t exactly common knowledge, though, is how to track growth on different social channels. It sounds like an overwhelming and time-consuming task, but after reading this blog you’ll be ready to track your social presence. According to a … [Read more...] about 5 Social Metrics And How To Track Them
How To Use A Google Authorship Link To Get Found On The Web
We all have the same goal in the online world: get found on Google. Even more importantly, to end up on page one in online searches. There are a plethora of ways to end up at the top of a Google search, but the best way is to interact on the web via Google’s products; one of which being Google Authorship. Google Authorship makes your posts feel … [Read more...] about How To Use A Google Authorship Link To Get Found On The Web