According to a report by StrongMail, travel and hospitality companies don't use subscriber preferences or behaviors to target their offers in pre- and post-stay emails. This is a major mistake when running an email campaign. Only 30% of travel email marketers use their subscriber preferences, and doing so generated nearly twice as much revenue from their email programs than companies that send untargeted messages. Sending untargeted emails is a mistake that can cost your company, travel-related or not, out of a lot of potential business. Here are 5 more email marketing mistakes you might be making. Timing - Deciding on what day and what ...

While coupon clipping may seem like an activity for people who may be struggling to get by, wealthy people are more than willing ot use coupons to save them some money. Six out of ten adult consumers that have an income of $100,000 have redeemed a coupon in the past six months, according to a survey from Coupons.com. Also, 39% of these consumers have redeemed coupons they received form an online source, making them twice as likely as adult consumers with an income less than $35,000. Another factor that goes against the coupon clipping stereotype is education. Adults with college degrees are ...

Small businesses seem to be optimistic about business prospects in 2010, according to the third annual Signs of the Times Business Survey conducted by FedEx Office. When asked if there were any areas where they were considering increasing spending in 2010, 42% of the survey respondents selected marketing/advertising. Almost 90% of those surveyed found that printed marketing/advertising tools are either somewhat or very effective at driving customers to business. In terms of increasing communication, 44% plan on increasing communication with exisitng and potential customers via newsletters, direct mail, etc. More than 60% of those surveyed think that traditional marketing and advertising (e.g. newspapers, ...

Online research is becoming a regular part of the shopping experience. According to a study by e-tailing group and PowerReviews, 50% of online shoppers research online for at least half of their purchases, and 64% read online reviews before making product purchasing decisions. Online shoppers prefer online research because they feel it saves them more time than doing in-store research and it increases their confidence in the purchase, as opposed ot speaking to a knowledgeable salesperson. [caption id="attachment_1589" align="alignleft" width="635" caption="Source: the e-tailing group and PowerReviews"][/caption] More than half say they start their online research on a search engine, the next highest choice ...

On average, website visitors only read about 20% of the text on a page, according to a study from 2008 on web usability. With people only paying attention to such a small amount of your copy, it is important to make it all count. After cutting down the amount of copy on your website, here are some other ways to imrprove your website's readability. Clear and Simple Language Avoid using jargin and general information. Be specific and clear. Keep paragraphs short with one idea per paragraph. Use lists with numbers or bullet points to break up information. Organize Your Information Put the most ...

While it is important to have a website for your business that you like, you ultimately should be creating a website that appeals to your audience. You must learn to look at your website through the eyes of your audience. Even if your website seems perfect to you, it may not come across that way to your audience. This could mean you are pushing away potential customers from knowing about your business and what it can offer. When looking at your website, there are three things you should focus on from the perspective of a visitor. Usability Is your website easy to navigate? ...

If you haven't been paying attention to how your website is performing, you are losing valuable information. Paying attention to your web metrics can help you figure out exactly what is and isn't working on your website. Web metrics software is easily available and can provide you a lot of information. However, it can become overwhelming if you don't know exactly what the information is and means. Once you learn what your metrics is telling you, then you can use that data to manage your website. There are four basic ways to break down your web metrics: Traffic, Conversion, Performance, Maintenance. Traffic Website traffic ...

According to a survey by the e-tailing group, 59% of businesses surveyed are planning on investing more into e-commerce in 2010. This number is up from 36% in 2009. [caption id="attachment_1565" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Data from the e-tailing group's 9th Annual Merchant Survey"][/caption] The 9th Annual Merchant Survey also reported that 92% plan on an increase in Internet revenue, with most anticipating between 6% and 15%. With more businesses anticipating an increase with e-commerce, they must also work at using marketing that entices to both current customers and possible prospects in order to succeed. The majority of respondents reported, however, that the conversion rate ...

Having a blog on your business website is a simple way to increase traffic to your website, as well as improve your search engine optimization. However, it can be daunting to start a blog from scratch without any previous experience. Here are a few steps you can take before launching your business blog in order to help increase its chances of success. Describe Your Ideal Customer The purpose behind your blog is to increase traffic and bring your website to the people who will use your products and services. Defining who your ideal customer is, where they come from, and the type ...

Landing pages are an important part of a successful direct mail marketing campaign. The landing page, which is a web page directly related to your direct mail campaign, finishes the communication of your direct mail campaign. If you have your direct mail campaign lead to your main website, the potential customer may get lost in all of the information. It is better to lead them to a page that directly related to the information presented in your direct mail campaign. Here are 7 things you must do with your landing page to increase conversions in your direct mail marketing campaign. Have the layout ...

It is important when creating a presence for your business on the web to choose the options that work best for your specific business. It can be difficult to decide if you want to create a microsite, if you want to get multiple domain names, or to use your main website. Each option has strengths and benefits depending on what you are aiming to achieve, and the budget you have available. Microsite A microsite provides detailed information about a specific product or service that may not be available on the main website. By using a microsite, you can target specific keywords to make the ...