Marketing & Advertising
The marketing of an ecommerce business is paramount to its success. Our coverage includes insights on email marketing, content marketing, pay-per-click advertising, social media marketing — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest — affiliate marketing, video advertising, and much more.
Content Marketing | Email & Text Marketing | Google Ads | Influencers & Affiliates | Social Media-
Social Media
12 Examples of Brands in the Metaverse
January 25, 2022 • Sig Ueland
Metaverse is the blending of digital and physical experiences. The term first appeared in a 1992 novel. Now brands are in the metaverse, engaging consumers creatively.
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Email & Text Marketing
5 Ways to Promote a Paid Newsletter
January 24, 2022 • Armando Roggio
Many creators publish a paid newsletter. But getting subscribers is not easy. It takes aggressive promotion, such as the five ideas in this piece.
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Influencers & Affiliates
4 Successful Influencer Marketing Campaigns
January 23, 2022 • Carolyn Mara
We explained influencer marketing and its key tactics in our recent 8-part series. This post reviews examples from four merchants of influencer marketing success.
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Social Media
93 Mobile Games of Zynga
January 18, 2022 • Sig Ueland
By acquiring Zynga for $12.7 billion, Take-Two Interactive is receiving a huge bench of programmers, millions of users, and (at least) 93 popular mobile games, which we've listed here.
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Email & Text Marketing
How to Set Up a Paid Newsletter
January 16, 2022 • Armando Roggio
The creator economy refers to podcasters, writers, musicians, and similar who are compensated directly for their work. Paid newsletters are one of those methods. We explain the concept and how to get started in this piece.
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Google Ads
Setting Up Google’s Performance Max Campaigns
January 13, 2022 • Matthew Umbro
Google's Performance Max campaigns are the latest iteration in the company's emphasis on automation and machine learning. It's worth testing Performance Max despite the lack of reporting transparency.
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Content Marketing
5 Content Marketing Ideas for February 2022
January 11, 2022 • Armando Roggio
Content marketing drives search engine rankings and inbound traffic. Every month since 2014 we've published a list of content ideas for ecommerce merchants. This February 2022 installment includes topics such as National Freedom Day, Bob Marle's birthday, and more.
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Social Media
The Best Ecommerce Content for Pinterest
January 10, 2022 • Carolyn Mara
Pinterest may be the best social media platform to introduce products and drive online sales. We explain how to use boards and pins for ecommerce in this must-read piece.
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Social Media
The Risk of Social Media Marketing
January 4, 2022 • Armando Roggio
Ecommerce marketing decisions are difficult. Advertising, search engine optimization, social media, content marketing — all involve communicating a message to an audience. But depending on the channel, the marketer may not control the message, its distribution, or even the audience.
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Social Media
5 Social Commerce Must-haves for 2022
January 4, 2022 • Carolyn Mara
Social media is upending global ecommerce. In China, the world's largest ecommerce market, online buying is a social experience, with live-streaming, in-app purchases, and content. Elsewhere, Facebook's impact will only increase given its massive size, native data collection, and growing set of ecommerce tools. Here are five social commerce must-haves for 2022.
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Marketing & Advertising
11 Outstanding Digital Media Campaigns from 2021
January 3, 2022 • Sig Ueland
Reviewing the best digital marketing campaigns from established brands can generate ideas for your own efforts. Here is a list of outstanding digital marketing campaigns from 2021. The campaigns feature social justice, celebrity endorsements, personalized products, contests and games, augmented reality apps, and the metaverse.
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Google Ads
Google Ads: How to Set Up Account-level UTM Parameters
January 3, 2022 • Armando Roggio
UTM parameters can help marketers track the performance of Google Ads to individual campaigns, ad groups, and keywords. Unfortunately, manually creating tracking parameter strings takes time and is error-prone. Instead, automate the process. Turn on the account-level Google Click Identifier, set up account-level UTM parameters, and use a script to create ad-group-level custom parameters.
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Social Media
The Best Ecommerce Content for Facebook
December 21, 2021 • Carolyn Mara
Facebook is the king of social media for businesses. Billions of consumers learn of brands and products via the platform. In this post, I’ve collected seven types of content on the world’s leading social platform for merchants to stand out, connect with an audience, and grow a following.
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Social Media
Social Media Demographics by Platform
December 14, 2021 • Carolyn Mara
Social media marketing can make or break an ecommerce company. But knowing which social site to focus on is often difficult. To that end, I've compiled critical audience demographics for the leading social platforms. What follows will hopefully assist in identifying the best options for your business.
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Google Ads
Setting Up a Google Ads Dynamic Search Campaign
December 13, 2021 • Armando Roggio
Setting up a Google dynamic search ad is straightforward. Even a novice can have a campaign up and running in a few minutes. This article is a step-by-step guide.
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Google Ads
Reviewing Google Ads Performance at Year-end
December 12, 2021 • Matthew Umbro
It's necessary at year-end to review pay-per-click advertising performance. As with any managed channel, you should expect growth, such as more revenue, transactions, or unique visitors, among other metrics. The review should include broader industry and economic developments.
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Content Marketing
5 Content Marketing Ideas for January 2022
December 5, 2021 • Armando Roggio
Content marketing is the act of creating, publishing, and promoting articles, podcasts, and similar that attract, engage, and retain an audience of customers. What follows are five content marketing ideas almost any business can use in January 2022.
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Social Media
11 New Social Networks for 2022
November 29, 2021 • Sig Ueland
Here is a list of new and emerging social networks to explore in 2022. There are networks for developing professional relationships, messaging in real-time, sharing experiences in audio, and exploring augmented reality. Several of these networks offer ad-free environments with enhanced privacy.
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Social Media
The Best Ecommerce Content for Instagram
November 24, 2021 • Carolyn Mara
Instagram is a marketing powerhouse. But ecommerce merchants often miss the opportunity. Too many focus solely on sharing product images, not connecting with prospects. I've collected in this post seven types of content ecommerce merchants can use on Instagram to connect and engage with followers.
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Email & Text Marketing
Holiday Email Marketing Trends, Examples for 2021
November 21, 2021 • Carolyn Nye
It's the busiest time for email marketing. Retailers are preparing and sending their holiday campaigns. Most use proven, tried-and-true email tactics. In this post, I'll review a few email marketing examples in this 2021 season from leading retailers.
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Influencers & Affiliates
Defining Influencers and Creators Requires a Venn Diagram
November 16, 2021 • Armando Roggio
The difference between a "social media influencer" and an online "creator" may be no difference at all. Defining these terms has more to do with opinion or perspective than it does actual divergence.
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Google Ads
Structuring Google Ads Campaigns for Success
November 15, 2021 • Matthew Umbro
Google Ads has implemented many changes this year. Most involve more automation. The impact of these changes means advertisers may need to restructure their search campaigns.
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Social Media
Facebook Lead Ads Lowered CPA, Boosted Results
November 14, 2021 • Armando Roggio
When your marketing plan requires newsletter signups, event registrations, and resource downloads, Facebook lead ads may be a powerful tool at an attractive cost-per-acquisition. I have been a fan of this ad form for some time, but recently I tested it for a software-as-a-service company.
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Content Marketing
5 Content Marketing Ideas for December 2021
November 10, 2021 • Armando Roggio
Content marketing is a constant flow of planning and producing. And topics, even for search engine optimization, may be hard to find. So for December 2021 content, consider industry forecasts, helpful holiday how-to articles, New Year's resolutions, and a couple of uncommon holidays.
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Influencers & Affiliates
Influencer Marketing, Part 8: Analyzing Performance
November 7, 2021 • Joe Sinkwitz
You’ve made it to the end of my series on influencer marketing. To date, I've defined influencer marketing and addressed why merchants should use it. I've explained how to set goals, how to pick the right channels, and more. In this final, "Part 8" installment, I'll describe a process to analyze performance.
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Google Ads
How Content Drives Low-cost Ad Conversions
November 5, 2021 • Armando Roggio
Content marketing is often associated with search engine optimization since the two disciplines can work hand in glove. But there can be a strong affinity between content marketing and advertising, too.
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Marketing & Advertising
How Brands Succeed on Reddit
November 2, 2021 • Kaleena Stroud
Social platforms are key marketing channels for ecommerce sellers. Among those channels is Reddit, which is chock-full of reviews that attract shoppers. I addressed last month the benefits of Reddit to online sellers.
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Marketing & Advertising
Is Affiliate Marketing the Next Big Thing?
November 1, 2021 • Armando Roggio
Ecommerce trends, the burgeoning creator economy, and marketing tech are invigorating affiliate promotion, boosting the effectiveness of an already powerful digital marketing channel. Affiliate marketing is not new. It has been around since the earliest days of the commercial internet.
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Google Ads
4 Reasons to Use Dynamic Search Ads
October 27, 2021 • Armando Roggio
Dynamic search ads access your website content and deploy artificial intelligence to generate headlines, bids, and targeted search terms automatically. These easy-to-employ text ads are the Swiss Army knife of digital promotion: They work well in many situations.
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Email & Text Marketing
Digital Creators Need Email Marketing
October 20, 2021 • Armando Roggio
A list of engaged email subscribers is among the best promotional tools for creators who sell digital products. For many of those creators, it could also be a path toward earning a living. The creator economy has a problem.