Topics, Trends and Techniques from Brooks Bell Interactive
Month: June, 2010
Test the Reciprocity Rule
Finally had the opportunity to start reading Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B Cialdini, PH.D. This is a national bestseller and, “For marketers, it is among the most important books written in the last 10 years,” says the Journal of Marketing Research. It discusses a plethora of ideas and hypothesizes that would be great to test in various online scenarios.
The one theory that has really stuck with me is the Rule of Reciprocation. Dr Cialdini’s describes the Reciprocity Rule as:
One of the most potent of the weapons of influence around us. The rule says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.
Of course, there are plenty of exceptions to the rule and the rule has many opportunities to backfire and contradict. However, I think that conducting tests that reference this concept is worth a go when trying to beat current controls.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 AT 9:30 am
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4 Ways the A-Team Can Help Your Marketing Programs
Is your marketing program losing steam? Is it underperforming? You may not think its a major problem for you right now but if you settle for mediocre results it will be. You need to jumpstart your program and get results quickly. And that can sometimes be done with a simple change to the way you write your headlines. If you are stuck with stale headlines, I’m here to tell you you need to go and watch the A-Team.
The A-Team? Seriously? How does the A-Team relate to writing successful headlines? Well first, let’s not ignore the fact that the A-Team can solve any problems. Remember the intro? “If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire… The A-Team.” Read the rest of this post »
5 Grammar Mistakes You Can’t Afford to Make
Even if you’re not a professional writer, just about every business professional does some level of writing. While Twitter, Facebook and AIM have redefined the way we communicate, the fact that it’s so easy to Retweet, forward or reply all means it’s more important than ever to keep your correspondence grammatically correct.
Here are some common grammar hang-ups that plague most people. Use it as a cheat sheet for your next correspondence.
Its or It’s
This has got to be one of the most common grammar mistakes and it’s actually pretty simple. Its is the possessive of “it” and It’s is a contraction of “it is.” Essentially when you can replace the word with “it is” or “it has” then you should use It’s. In every other case, use Its. Here’s an example: “It’s been a long time since I took the dog for its walk.”
Click Summit 2010 – The Peer-to-Peer Format Experience
Last week, Brooks Bell Interactive hosted the first annual Click Summit. Click wasn’t like most conferences I’ve attended. Aside from the fact that my company was hosting it and the food was amazing (since let’s face it, conference food usually leaves something to be desired…), the format was unique in that it brought together industry peers in a roundtable discussion.
Described more eloquently on the Click website:
Click isn’t about sitting in a room and being talked to. It’s about talking to each other. This is where exciting ideas are created and shared. It’s one big brainstorm; pulling together all the elements crucial for forming a new, better perspective. From topics in all areas in digital marketing strategy, you’ll have the chance to exchange knowledge and experience with some of the top minds in marketing.
Developing HTML Efficiently
To develop an HTML email you need to know how to code HTML. Beyond your basic understanding of good ole HTML tables, you also should understand and practice good image optimization along with the art of knowing what should be an image vs system text. Once you have all these down pat, then you’re done… right? Wrong!
There are plenty of little nuances you will pick up with your many years of experience. But what I want to talk on is the ‘art’ of building HTML emails. There are some little tricks and techniques you can use to speed up your process while still providing quality code.
