Though I imagine most of us delete unread emails en masse from our inbox daily, email is still the one of the best mediums to capture both eyeballs and traffic. If you find yourself deleting permissioned emails this frequently, how do you think your contacts are responding to your email marketing efforts?

Email can be an effective direct marketing approach – how effective depends heavily on just how good your messages are. So when you’re creating your next email piece, here are some important points to focus on:

Avoid spam filters

Worse than a recipient deleting your email immediately is having it diverted to the spam folder before it even has a chance to be read. All reliable email providers offer spam checking software; don’t be afraid to use them to sort out potential issues. Not only can they  identify potential issues with your copy and subject lines, but they can also help you with potential spam triggers in your design (especially if you’re sending from templates) such as text-to-image area ratios. Whenever possible, make sure you’re mailing to a clean, permissioned list to avoid spam reports.

A headline that works

This is far easier said than done. However, consider a few focused characteristics for your headline to be effective:

• Is the message useful or valuable to the reader? Do they gain something from opening?
• Is it detailed? Does the reader understand what they are about to read?
• Does the message offer something unique or interesting enough to warrant opening?
• Is it timely enough to make the reader open it now?
• Is it brief? Don’t forget the value or the detail, but shorter is better.

Involving all of these components can be extremely difficult. When writing a headline, focus on the value and detail most importantly. If you can incorporate something truly interesting or unique, that’s excellent. Worry about adding urgency to the piece only when it’s useful, rather than forcing arbitrary time frames on it.

Make good use of the “From” field

It’s always important to make sure your recipient knows from whom and why they are receiving the email they are. Keep the name consistent during the duration of your send/campaigns. By doing so you build trust in your contacts that you are somebody they want to receive an email from (and it helps you avoid getting spam reports and  unsubscribes).

Have an effective CTA

Ideally you need your emails to have a single, clear call-to-action. I recently read a really informative article that speaks specifically about crafting a CTA, and here are some of the article’s main points to consider:

• Start with a verb. Get to the action right away, avoid hiding a “click here” in the bottom corner.
• Use numbers. Find a way to sound compelling or demonstrate value using digits.
• Stick to mostly nouns [subjects] and verbs. Adjectives and adverbs are far less valuable in a CTA.
• Keep it between 90-150 characters. It doesn’t have to be brief just for brevity’s sake.
• Go practical, not technical. Emphasize the benefits of the offer, not the complexity.

If you combine all of these features, you can turn a mediocre, mundane email into something that actually delivers results. Email is still one of the strongest mediums available for lead nurturing and both inbound and outbound marketing. It would be a shame if you weren’t making the most out of it.

What are some of the biggest challenges you were having with your email content? Do you find these email marketing tips make it easier or harder to generate content for your distributions?

Can an introvert working in solitude survive in today’s connected-24/7, share-everything social world?

Author Susan Cain contends in her recent New York Times opinion piece, “The Rise of the New Groupthink,” that can be the way to go even as today’s culture overlooks “the quiet part of the creative process.” According to Cain, the New Groupthink – continually collaborating in teams to think, learn, work and socialize without time to be alone – is transforming business, education, religious institutions and other areas to the detriment of creativity and innovation.

I’m a newbie at Canyon Communications but have more than 20 years’ experience in PR and journalism.

Even in my short time, I’m already impressed by the work environment that my fellow Canyonites have created here. It’s an ideal mix of having the room to work autonomously and develop top-flight B2B marketing communications resources coupled with the ability to have fun, exchange ideas and collaborate effectively within a team environment.

What that means for our clients is that they’re receiving the best of both worlds: talented individuals thinking and working on their own piece of the puzzle and then putting their collective expertise and creativity together to devise marcom solutions that deliver results.

Interestingly, Cain claims that brainstorming sessions are one of the worst possible ways to stimulate creativity. What’s your experience?

It’s great to know that there are some key leaders out there reading Canyon’s B2B Fishbowl. In fact, an ERP Analyst named Derek Singleton at Software Advice came to me with a great follow up from my most recent post on social media in B2B. He agrees that social media is an important part of any marketing strategy; however B2B companies have been apt to adapt this outlet, particularly manufacturing companies more so than B2C companies.

Derek informed me of an article he recently published on how manufacturers can use social media to win business. He found in Forrester’s report that only 30 percent of global manufacturers planned to increase social media spending in 2012. What about local manufacturers? He believes that small to

mid-sized manufacturers have the most benefit in building social media outlets compared to global manufacturers. Why? Read his article as he outlines tools to help small and mid-sized manufacturers generate brand awareness, engage/share information and gain more business:

• Think strategically when developing a social media plan
• Use Facebook and Twitter to brand your company and build an audience
• Promote your brand with YouTube or a blog (i.e. share a factory tour or customer testimonial)
  • Love this idea!!
• Expand your network to target sales prospects via LinkedIn

In response to my last post on the debate if social media works in B2B, I think this article proves that social media can be successful in B2B if you use the right tools in front of the right audience.

Big thanks to Derek for reading the Canyon B2B fishbowl and pointing out a helpful resource to our readers!

With the New Year comes the prime opportunity not only to make resolutions and goals of all kinds, but also to evaluate and assess all of those from the past year.  Somewhere on that list should be a review your website’s SEO campaign.  The internet marketing landscape can change fast, so taking the opportunity to revisit objectives, competitiveness, and performance for the coming year can pay huge dividends given that things have likely changed over the course of the year.

Performing an annual review of your SEO strategy is essential to the performance of your website(s), and there is no time like the New Year to do so. Inevitably through the course of the year, you’ve added to your site, little by little. This is a good thing, because it obviously means you were adding new content to take advantage of new and potential SEO opportunities. But as new trends and opportunities emerge, you may find adding content a little at a time may leave your site and overall strategy looking a bit pieced together.

Image credit of SEObook.com

While additions are great, every now and again we need to evaluate and assess whether everything is working together to enhance the original goal and focus. In the SEO game it’s easy to be focused on the overall metrics, but it is equally as important to take a look back to clean up things that may have slipped past us. Things such as over- or under-usage of target keywords, proper linking, etc., can use a quality assurance check now and then as more and more content goes up on your site.

Think of it like decorating a room. Maybe you wanted to have a contemporary Southwestern-themed room in your home. You paint, add furniture and the basic artwork that sets the tone you want. Then your family gets you Southwestern décor for Christmas and your birthday, or the Southwestern section at the Black Friday sale was too good to pass up.

Next thing you know, your room is filled with, albeit cute and attractive, an array of Southwestern décor. What you now have are several items that may all fit the genre, but do they not alter the original image you set out to create? Does that bright-colored poncho your sister-in-law bought you really fit the theme without stretching it?

By revisiting your site (or your room) and evaluating its performance and attributes against the focus and message you wish to present, you create the opportunity to pursue the best changes and strategy into the coming year.

So with this New Year, make it a point not only to evaluate your website’s performance, but also make sure you’re doing your best to meet and exceed your SEO goals.