Challenges marketers face: Identifying the right technologies

Last week I took a look at issue #1 in 8 of the Top Marketing Challenges Marketers Face (And Their Solutions). This week I’m going to discuss #4, “Identifying the right technologies for my needs.” Obviously there’s no single answer to this problem because everybody’s needs are different, but here are some general guidelines. 1. …

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Troubles marketers face — calculating ROI

This article is worth your time: 8 of the Top Marketing Challenges Marketers Face (And Their Solutions). They compiled their list of challenges from a survey, and this is what they came up with. Proving the ROI of our marketing activities Securing enough budget Managing our website Identifying the right technologies for my needs Training …

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Q: How is the printed page like a tombstone?

A: Probably not the way you’re thinking. Today’s BoSacks email has this curious headline: “On PRIMEX and the Proven Haptic Power of Print.” Haptic has to do with the sense of touch, and the lesson in the email is that touch does more than you think — on an interpersonal level, of course, but also …

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Wanted: Suckers to provide content for Facebook

I’m still in Facebook detox right now, so take all this with a grain of salt, but I predict that in a few years publishers will look back on “Instant Articles” the way many of them currently look back on their decision to put content online for free. Both decisions will be seen as sucker …

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“The Membership Economy” by Robbie Kellman Baxter

Last year at the SIPA conference I heard Robbie Kellman Baxter speak on “The Membership Economy,” which is a model that is becoming increasingly popular, especially with online businesses. A simple illustration of the membership model is the difference between a video rental store and a Netflix subscription. The key points being … There’s a …

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Why a kindle book should never be more than $3.99

I’m coming to the conclusion that a kindle book should never be more than $3.99. Here’s why. The book isn’t really 44 cents, of course. There will be a shipping charge of $3.99, so the total cost of getting an actual paperback in your hand will be about $4.50. That’s almost always the way it …

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Could it be that we’re just no good?

The word on the street is that direct mail is dead, print is dead, magazines are dying and publishing in general is in decline. Nowadays, they tell us, everybody gets their information from Facebook and Twitter. Magazines and print are so last century. It's a plausible story. No one can deny that the world is …

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10 ways Amazon can improve Kindle Direct Publishing

Kindle Direct Publishing, or KDP, is the platform authors can use to publish their works to the Kindle. It has a lot of good features, but it could be a whole lot better. Here are some ways it could be improved. (1) Create a "source" query parameter so sales reports can show which marketing efforts …

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Curmudgeonly thoughts about Twitter

When it comes to using Twitter for business, I am generally skeptical. There are a few, narrow areas where Twitter makes sense, but for most businesses, it seems the only real purpose of Twitter is branding and customer service — i.e., to make sure people aren’t saying nasty things about you, and to pass along …

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