iMedia Connection Blog

Recently I had a conversation with a marketer about email marketing that frustrated and baffled me. I'll explain the situation. Then, I need your comments to let me know if I am crazy or not.
It is possible that I am totally and utterly wrong.
I was talking to a marketer recently. This marketer told me that he only dared send his email list one email a month.
That's all.
Anymore emails and he was concerned about getting a bunch of unsubscribes from his email list. This fear of unsubscribes was so paralyzing for this marketer, apparently, that he wouldn't even consider sending another email out about a special speaking engagement he had.
Why?
Because it would violate his sacred one email a month rule this marketer apparently abided. Sending this 'extra' email would apparently cause his list to unsubscribe en masse and take to the streets with flaming torches of rage.
Obviously this marketer can do with his email list whatever he wishes. However, I have a few general thoughts on this whole exchange. Some may call what follows a rant.
1) You obviously think your email list sucks.
What are you implicitly saying about your email list if you're concerned that one extra email in a 30 day... Read more

In early January I came across a blog post by a guy named Todd Giannattasio. Todd is the owner of Tresnic Media, a marketing company based in New Jersey. Todd wrote a blog detailing what happened when he wrote 50 blog posts in 25 days. His traffic went up, his organic traffic went up, his referral traffic went up, his search queries went up.
Everything went up.
So, after reading this article, I thought to myself, "Self, we should do something like this at LogMyCalls. But perhaps, we should do it bigger and more CRAZY! Let's do 150 posts in 50 days."
We published 3 blogs each weekday on Blog.LogMyCalls.com from Feb 3 - April 13. This is blog number 151.
Weekly Results From Day 1 to Day 150
Blog Traffic Increase: 210%

Blog Organic Traffic Increase: 514%

Blog Referral Traffic Increase: 901%

Blog Direct Traffic Increase: 201%

Entire Site Organic Traffic Increase: 69%

Actual Business Results of All This Traffic
During the three month period of Q1 2013, we signed more new customers than in any other 3 month period in company history. Additionally, leads directly generated via inbound marketing and content increased by more than 800%.
We actually, believe it or not, stopped many of our paid marketing tactics because,... Read more

Last summer we wrote an article in Search Engine Journal entitled 'Why Did Google Destroy Keyword Call Tracking?' The article argued that because of Google's new privacy policies--policies that limit keyword data from being passed to marketers when someone is logged into a Google account--the usefulness of keyword (session-based) call tracking is extremely limited.
If that was true 9 months ago when we wrote that article. It is even more true now.
If our article back then heralded the end of keyword call tracking (which it did), then this article is written in the post-end-of-times zombie apocalypse world of keyword call tracking.
Why?
Well, back then Google was only blocking an average of 40% of the keywords coming through. For most of our clients, the number is now well over 60%. For BtoB companies, like LogMyCalls, the number is over 70%!!!!
That's right, Google Analytics won't show us 70% of the organic keywords that send traffic to our site!!!! So, do you think they're going to let call tracking companies marry those keywords to calls?
Uhhh...no.
If Google killed keyword call tracking last summer, this year they danced on the grave.
Google's increasingly stringent privacy policies combined with the public's increasing reliance on Google apps, tools, and properties--not to mention... Read more

Last week we had another wonderful guest webinar. Our presenter has helped thousands of companies generate revenue through social media marketing.
During the webinar an attendee asked a very interesting question: what is the most common problem with corporate social media strategies?
His answer: failure to plan.
Businesses fail to strategically set goals about their social media marketing. They simply don't know what they're trying to accomplish. Instead, businesses just start doing social media.
Businesses know they should do social media marketing. They know they need to post to Facebook and Twitter and Google+. They know they need to have a presence in these mediums. But they never actually stop to consider the most important question: Why?
Why do you need a social media strategy? Why do you need to be on social media at all? Most businesses never ask these questions.
That is bad.
So, what is your social media goal? Do you want to raise awareness? Do you want to build a community? Perhaps your only goal is to create a following? Or, is your goal to create leads and customers from social media?
Do you know the answers to these questions?
Research from Chief Marketer and other sources shows that most businesses don't have social media goals.... Read more