With a lot of our tasks shifting to online: grocery shopping, schooling, doctor appointments, it’s no surprise that event planners and companies have found a way to adapt to this new way of living to bring together audiences through virtual conferences.…
The post How to Plan a Virtual Conference appeared first on Seer Interactive.
Contributors: Tim Moorhead, Tracy McDonald, Forrest Schaffer, & Rachel Venner
In the age of automation and smart bidding, does the “best practice” of segmenting keyword match types (Exact, Phrase, and Broad / BMM) by campaign or ad group really improve performance?…
The post Keyword Match Types: Aggregation vs. Segmentation appeared first on Seer Interactive.
I asked Sam Parr, the founder of The Hustle, an email newsletter with curated business and technology news, how he has grown his list to over 1 million subscribers. "It's fricking hard," he told me.
The post 1 Million Email Subscribers ‘Fricking Hard,’ Says TheHustle.co Founder appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.
Our mission since 2005 is to publish content to help ecommerce merchants. What follows are the 10 most popular articles that we published in July 2020. Articles from early in ...
The post July 2020 Top 10: Our Most Popular Posts appeared first on Practical Ecommerce.
This week, Robert Rose asks why anyone needs content marketing, talks about businesses making it rain for content marketers, and discusses culture in content. Plus, he shares an oldie but a goodie on 10 ways to do engaging content. Continue reading
The post Wants vs. Needs: Is the Debate Even Necessary? [The Weekly Wrap] appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.
WebProNews
Starlink Satellites Ruin Astronomy Photos
A Space X Starlink satellite is being blamed for ruining photos of the NEOWISE comet.
Space X, Amazon and a number of other companies are racing to deploy networks of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed internet access. Unfortunately, however, they may have a significant downside.
Astronomers have warned that tens of thousands of objects orbiting the planet could have a disastrous impact on efforts to observe the universe. Many of the satellites are highly reflective, possibly creating light interference. Even ones designed not to be reflective, can still physically interfere with line-of-sight if their orbit takes them between an observer and the object being observed. It appears those concerns are not without merit.
According to The International Business Times, astrophotographer Daniel Lopez was recording pictures of NEOWISE when Starlink comments passed in from of the comet. The end result was photos with light streaks from the satellites, effectively blocking a good shot of NEOWISE.
As more and more companies gain permission to launch satellites, this issue will need to be addressed. Otherwise, astronomers may find their profession exponentially more difficult.
Starlink Satellites Ruin Astronomy Photos
Matt Milano
WebProNews
Google Fails to Stop Full-Blown EU Fitbit Investigation
It appears Google’s efforts to prevent an investigation into its Fitbit acquisition have been unsuccessful, with the EU ready to launch a full antitrust probe.
Google recently announced a deal to purchase wearable maker Fitbit for $2.1 billion. Almost immediately, the deal drew scrutiny from US and EU officials over concerns about data privacy. Given the vast amount of health data Fitbit has access to, officials were concerned about Google now having access to it. In addition, there were concerns Google might use that data to unfairly gain an advantage over its rivals.
The search giant has worked to assuage those concerns, vowing not to use the data in its advertising business. It appears those concessions were not enough, however, as CNBC is reporting the EU is planning on launching a full investigation.
Google has repeatedly said the deal is about the devices, rather than the data. Apple has a commanding lead in the wearables market, and Google is eager to become more competitive. A successful Fitbit deal would help it do just that.
Google Fails to Stop Full-Blown EU Fitbit Investigation
Matt Milano
WebProNews
US Warns Brazil Over Looming Huawei Decision
US officials are not letting up on their campaign to isolate Huawei, as they are now threatening Brazil with “consequences” if the country chooses Huawei.
The US has been engaging in a campaign to isolate and contain Huawei, a firm believed to represent a security threat. While all Chinese firms are required to cooperate with the government, Huawei is seen as having unusually strong ties to Beijing and Chinese intelligence. As a result, US officials believe the company could serve as a means for Beijing to spy on governments and companies around the world.
The US’ efforts recently forced the UK to reconsider its decision to include Huawei in its 5G plans. Australia and New Zealand have both already instituted bans, after deeming Huawei a threat. That leaves Canada as the sole member of the ‘Five Eyes’ countries that has not yet made a final decision on whether to include or ban Huawei.
Now the US is ramping up pressure on other countries, including Brazil.
“I wouldn’t say there would be retaliation, but there would be consequences” said Ambassador Todd Chapman, according to The International Business Times when speaking of a possible decision to include Huawei.
US Warns Brazil Over Looming Huawei Decision
Matt Milano
WebProNews
FCC Green Lights Amazon’s Kuiper Satellite Plans
Amazon has received the green light to move forward with its plans to launch a satellite constellation to provide internet access.
Amazon announced Project Kuiper last spring. The project is aimed at launching a satellite constellation in low earth orbit (LEO) to provide internet access to underserved communities around the world.
In a 5-0 vote, the FCC has approved Amazon’s plans, giving the company the go-ahead to move forward. Initially, Kuiper will involve some 3,236 satellites.
“We have heard so many stories lately about people who are unable to do their job or complete schoolwork because they don’t have reliable internet at home,” said Dave Limp, Senior Vice President, Amazon. “There are still too many places where broadband access is unreliable or where it doesn’t exist at all. Kuiper will change that. Our $10 billion investment will create jobs and infrastructure around the United States that will help us close this gap. We appreciate the FCC’s unanimous, bipartisan support on this issue, and I want to thank Chairman Pai and the rest of the Commission for taking this important first step with us. We’re off to the races.”
Following the FCC’s decision, Amazon vowed to invest some $10 billion in the project, with the goal of creating jobs and investing in infrastructure. With this announcement, it seems Starlink may have some stiff competition to content with.
FCC Green Lights Amazon’s Kuiper Satellite Plans
Matt Milano
WebProNews
Apple Turns in Record-Breaking June Quarter
Apple released its earnings report for the June quarter, and it was good news coming out of Cupertino.
Apple smashed its previous June quarter results, thanks to strong growth in both Products and Services.
“Apple’s record June quarter was driven by double-digit growth in both Products and Services and growth in each of our geographic segments,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “In uncertain times, this performance is a testament to the important role our products play in our customers’ lives and to Apple’s relentless innovation. This is a challenging moment for our communities, and, from Apple’s new $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to a new commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030, we’re living the principle that what we make and do should create opportunity and leave the world better than we found it.”
“Our June quarter performance was strong evidence of Apple’s ability to innovate and execute during challenging times,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “The record business results drove our active installed base of devices to an all-time high in all of our geographic segments and all major product categories. We grew EPS by 18 percent and generated operating cash flow of $16.3 billion during the quarter, a June quarter record for both metrics.”
In addition to its strong results, Apple announced a four-for-one stock split. The goal is to make Apple’s stocks more accessible to a wider array of investors.
Under normal circumstances this would be an excellent quarter. Under the cloud of the global pandemic, the results are nothing short of spectacular.
Apple Turns in Record-Breaking June Quarter
Matt Milano
You’ve watched artists, performers and writers like Hugh McLeod, Amanda Palmer, Chase Jarvis, and Jeff Goins sell boatloads of creative work thanks to the platforms they have built from their blogs.
You tinker with your own creative projects and wonder if you could start a blog to promote them too.
But despite all the blogging advice out there, you sense that blogging for art is different.
You know you don’t want to be spammy, but have no idea how to use a blog to make money by selling those musical compositions, show tickets, short horror stories, family paintings with Fido, or handmade grandfather clocks.
The Internet has turned selling creative work on its head.
No longer can you simply get good at your craft and then find someone to champion you, manage you, or sponsor you.
Want a publishing deal? You better have built a solid fan base for your work first.
Want a chance at a record deal or even just make a decent side income from your work? You’ll need an engaged audience and good-sized list.
For today’s artist, building a tribe is non-negotiable.
But how?
Like a first date, you need something more to talk about other than just your work.
People connect with people. Your blog is the place where you give fans not only the emotional experience that attracted them to you in the first place, but also ways to get to know you as a person and artist.
Your audience expects to see a different side of you on your blog.
Your job is to find these hooks – the things that your people are most curious about. Perhaps what lens you used in a photo or what inspired you to write that song. Or hilarious personal stories from your travels. Or exclusive material not available to the general public.
And since artists learn from each other, you could help others by teaching what you know.
But the secret is to get fans, clients, and customers interacting with you on many levels.
Let them get to know you and what matters to you.
Let them into your world as an artist.
The theory’s nice. But how does this work in real life? How do artists succeed online?
The problem with theory – creative people are so diverse in their talents and interests that seeing how this advice applies to your own situation is difficult.
What works for a musician might not work for a painter. What delights the fans of a writer might be a complete turn-off for the fans of a filmmaker.
Even creative people in the same field might need to relate to their audiences in different ways.
But let’s say you do have some concrete ideas for your own creative blog; how do you know if they will work in practice?
What you need is some help from artists who’ve already blazed a trail and discovered what actually works.
Because some of those ideas might work for you too.
So check out the following list of excellent role models for tons of ideas.
And don’t just stick to your own field – cross-pollinate and explore ideas from other disciplines.
After all, great artists draw their influences from many places and you never know where your next killer idea will come from.
Hugh began blogging in 2001, long before most people had any idea what a weblog even was. He’s been a champion of blogging for artists ever since. Hugh has not only built an extremely successful business out of drawing on the backs of business cards, but he’s also had three best-selling books, all of which grew out of recording and sharing his thoughts on his work while he made it.
If you haven’t picked up Hugh’s books yet, do so sooner rather than later. He’s got great insight for all creative types. If you don’t mind straight talk, learn why most artists’ blogs fail.
Hugh MacLeod pointed me in Austin’s direction, and he’s definitely a great example to follow. Austin’s insights into his creative process are fascinating and guaranteed to draw you in. He’s written two best-selling books and is working on his third. Steal Like An Artist is a must-read for all creative types.
Austin speaks regularly on creativity and has been featured at SXSW, TEDx, Google, Pixar, and The Economist.
Michael is a writer and artist who has built a whole community around encouraging others to create every day, make drawing a habit, and build solid platforms to be viably creative.
Like others on this list, you’ll see Michael’s work in many formats, including courses, books, an online forum, and podcasts as well as his blog.
Amy is a writer and illustrator from Malaysia who has been sharing creative ideas, tutorials, business guidance, and courses since 2008 at her site.
She is a prolific blogger and her personality definitely shines through in her writing. You can’t visit her site without feeling happy.
Abbey started blogging in 2007, posting a painting a day. Since then she’s attracted over a half million visitors from 100 countries to her site. She has an unassuming and generous style that endears her students and readers to her.
Her work is beautiful and her blog commentary centers around her experiences while creating each piece – stories about the objects she paints, what part of the world she’s in, and the people she paints with. She’s been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, and Seth Godin’s Linchpin.
Art is Ed’s third career, which probably explains why he is a prolific blogger on many blog topics, including business, technique, styles, equipment, traveling and much more. Over the years, he’s been a musician, teacher, software engineer, high-tech manager, and Internet media executive.
His artistic career grew out of his desire to leave a legacy to the world that would be longer-lasting than his technical work could ever be. I’d say he’s succeeding, not only with getting his paintings out into the world, but also with his engaging and thought-provoking writing style.
Dan has an incredible resource-packed blog for independent painters at Empty Easel. You’ll find practical, technical tips on the art side, and a goldmine of solid advice on the business side, including how to sell online, how to use blogging to increase your art sales, and how to make the most of SEO for artwork.
Empty Easel is a popular site that attracts over a quarter million page views each month.
Lisa did not begin painting until she was 31 years old. She worked outside of the art establishment and shares her learning process and growing collections on her blog.
Her site is now filled with her cool artwork and illustrations, but she also features other artists’ work and throws in some relatable personal experiences, history, current events and how-to’s as well.
Lucy Chen embraced painting as an adult; she enrolled in her first art class at age 29. Lucy was born in Southern China and now lives in Australia.
She explores cross-cultural tension and identity in her work, and aims to encourage all her readers to live expressive and creative lives through her blog.
If Hugh MacLeod is the poster boy for blogging success, then Amanda Palmer has got to be the poster girl. She is a master of fan connection, raising a record $1.2 million through Kickstarter for her recent CD.
She’s spoken about her experiences at TED and has been interviewed and covered in the press countless times. Love her or hate her, she’s open about her strategies and values – which means we can all learn something from her.
Bob is a prolific author, musician, pop-art painter and former stand-up comedian. He knows artists’ business and marketing challenges inside and out, and his mission is to help them on their paths.
Bob uses several methods to get his messages out to the world – you’ll find traditional blog posts and YouTube videos as well as podcasts and all his many books – one of which was featured in the movie School of Rock with Jack Black.
Cari is a vocalist and songwriter who has performed on top stages including CBGB’s, the Bluebird Café, the legendary Bitter End, Carnegie Hall, Town Hall (where she got a standing ovation), and the Apollo Theatre.
Her writing is full of hard-won experience and practical, down-to-earth advice to help you achieve the same levels of success, whatever that means for you. Her always-positive, yet still no-nonsense approach is worth studying and emulating regardless of your field.
Joy is a talented songwriter with an eclectic musical style and captivating voice. She’s also passionate about helping her fellow artists with marketing.
Joy blogs at her artist’s site as well as at Grassrootsy. She is generous in sharing her experiences and opinions for her readers’ benefit and she’s not afraid to take a stand. You know what things Joy values in life and art and I like that about her.
Mark’s passions are music, guitars, and telling stories, and he blends these wonderfully in Rock and Roll Zen. Mark has great narratives from his years on the road, and he knows how to tell them in ways that will encourage you to excel at whatever creative endeavor you choose.
Read this blog for stories that entertain and inspire, and for advice you can apply immediately to developing your own story and memorable brand.
Praverb chose his rap name well – you’ll find loads of wisdom in both his blog and his music. Praverb writes about marketing, branding, increasing fan engagement and much more.
He puts his MBA background to great use with well-researched and thought-out posts, all written in an accessible style. He’s got amazing compilations of resources and connections for Do-It-Yourself musicians – especially rappers and hop-hop artists – including blogs, social media tips, and podcasts. His advice and analyses are spot-on and helpful. Nice guy and smart blogger who’s invested in his readers’ success.
FuNkwoRm is a music producer who loves hip-hop and decided to do something about it through his blog. You’ll find great indie business advice, reflections on the industry, and technical tips and interviews, as well as MP3s and videos of featured independent artists. FuNkwoRm also encourages artists to blog, which is how I found him and what made me an immediate fan of his work.
Ari has been a full-time musician for over five years and has over 500 shows to his credit. He’s opened for some major acts and played some impressive music festivals. His blog tackles the nitty-gritty details of making an indie music career work; from protecting yourself against instrument theft and getting 250 people to a CD release, to clearly explaining the ins and outs of song publishing, royalties, and more. Ari’s done a great job of building his audience through guest posting (which is how I found him.)
If you know anything about Sci-Fi fans, you know they are extremely loyal and even fanatical. Wil has tapped into this trait of his fan base to great success. He is an actor, author, blogger, podcaster, avid Twitter user, and self-proclaimed champion of geek culture. Wil’s been blogging since 2001 and has won numerous awards, including Lifetime Achievement Bloggie and Best Celebrity Blogger.
Josh is a cool, fun dude. He’s been acting steadily and impressively for over 25 years in some high-profile roles. His first big break was as Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He’s also brave and smart enough to challenge conventional wisdom on how we should prepare to go out onstage, for a job interview, or for a corporate presentation – really anything we do in life. He’s got the tools to help you shine brilliantly in whatever you attempt, and he cares. Check him out, seriously.
Eliot is a director from Los Angeles whose career was launched when he filmed a short documentary about a friend’s last hours with his dog, called Last Minutes With Oden. The video went viral with 30,000 views overnight and won two prestigious Vimeo awards. Eliot is now known as one of the most respected independent filmmakers in the business. His blog includes thoughts and quotes regarding film, society, and creativity as well as personal stories and observations – all of it poignant and fascinating.
Devin is a magician, corporate entertainer and keynote speaker based in Kansas City. He blogs about life, entertainment, inspiration, and humor, and even reveals the how-to’s behind a few magic tricks. Devin’s message helps everyone in his audience find and use their own magic – the unique gifts they bring to the world – in both business and life. Devin is an excellent example of combining your talents with your beliefs and values in order to create a great fan experience and raving, loyal fans.
For over five years, the Emmy-award winning Letterman writer Ted Greenberg has hosted his weekly one-man show, The Complete Performer, at the SoHo Playhouse in downtown Manhattan. After every Saturday night show, Ted drives one lucky audience group home in a New York City taxi. Ted’s blog includes reviews, festivals, comedy news and history, interviews, and video clips from his performances – tons of great comedy-related content that’s both interesting and fun to read.
NYC standup comedian Matt Ruby started blogging in 2006, and his site is packed with great stories, videos, podcasts, jokes and just plain interesting content. He’s got intelligent and humorous commentary on what makes material funny, his thought processes, and comedy in general.
Barry is a freelance ballet dancer, choreographer, and teacher who started blogging in 2004. Being a freelancer in an industry where most dancers are in companies is tough work, and Barry is open about sharing his experiences so that all his readers benefit. Barry is not afraid to take on difficult topics like standing up for yourself when “dancer’s code” says you should be submissive and when negotiating for a fair, living wage. You’ll find great insights for dancers and all independent artists there.
Sara is a former gymnast turned Irish dancer. She started dancing at 18 years old and began competing a little more than three years later. Since then she’s competed in two North American and two world championships. Her blog chronicles her personal journey as a competitor and educates readers with instructional videos and a glossary of Irish dance terms.
Like many other artists/bloggers on this list, Don is also a book author and instructs through video as well. Don helps dancers understand musicality so they can improve their skillset and engage audiences. In his posts, Don addresses questions that readers might otherwise be afraid to ask, like, “Why don’t more men ask me to dance?” The lesson? Don’t be afraid to tackle your readers’ fears head-on; it will help you stand out.
Jeff is a blogger, speaker, and the author of three popular books. He launched his most recent blog in 2010 in order to help other writers master their craft and overcome fear and resistance. His fast-growing GoinsWriter site has gained much attention and praise and won a Top-10 Blogs for Writers award in 2011. He takes serving his audience seriously, sees his writing as his art, and appreciates his blog readers as the patrons who support his art.
Hugh is the author of the New York Times and USA Today’s best-selling series, Wool. He first released the stand-alone short story in 2011. It became hugely popular, with fans begging for more installments. Wool eventually reached the Top 5 in science fiction on Amazon. Hugh has since sold film rights to 20th Century Fox and distribution rights to Simon and Schuster, although he has retained e-book rights. Hugh has also written the Molly Fyde series, about a girl from the 25th century who is constantly told she can’t do things because she’s a girl – so she does them anyway.
CJ has a fascinating background. She never trained as a writer, although she has always spun stories. She was an ER doctor at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh when a fellow intern was murdered. She began writing crime fiction to deal with the emotional horror. Soon other published authors began to tell CJ that her writing should be published. She ended up a finalist in a national writing competition and landed a publishing deal soon after. CJ now also mentors other writers at No Rules, Just Write.
Ed has been a full-time fantasy and science fiction writer since 2011. He’s published numerous short stories in both online and print magazines and has penned the Amazon Best-selling post-apocalyptic Breakers series and The Cycle of Arawn fantasy trilogy. His blog includes a great analysis on self-publishing, including e-book strategy, stores, and pricing.
Joanna self-published her first non-fiction book in 2008. She made a lot of mistakes in that first attempt, but she honed her writing skills, learned to market, and now helps other authors avoid the same traps at her blog The Creative Penn. Joanna became a full-time writer in 2011 and has had best-sellers in the Thriller, Crime, and Action Adventure categories. She’s also written a #1 Amazon best-seller How To Market A Book.
Johnny’s story is fascinating to me, which is why he’s one of my idols. (Not in a creepy stalker sense but in an admiring sense.) Johnny has transformed his online business several times – he started as a blogger building websites for people. He found his writing voice and built a solid platform with a super-loyal following, and he is a frequent guest blogger on major sites, including Smart Blogger. Now he’s helping others become legendary while at the same time writing captivating, humorous fiction novels and producing podcasts like crazy. His strategy worked for him, and I think we can all learn from it.
David is a pioneer in serialized fiction along with his partner Sean Platt. They are both fans of serialized TV series such as LOST, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad, and they became fascinated with bringing that same experience to fiction. Early on, David saw the opportunities offered by Amazon Kindle to allow writers to reach their fans directly, without needing a publisher. He hosts the Self-Publishing Podcast along with Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant, a great resource for anyone with a sense of humor who wants to learn the ins and outs of self-publishing.
Sean is a best-selling indie author, entrepreneur, husband, and dad. He’s co-founded two publishing ventures: Realm & Sands with Johnny B. Truant and Collective Inkwell with David Wright. With Johnny alone he has published about 1.5 million words in 2013. Sean and David began releasing serialized fiction on Amazon more than a year before Amazon launched its Serials program. Yesterday’s Gone has gotten more than 600 5-star reviews and placed in Amazon’s Top 100 Best Reviewed Fiction Books. Sean completes the triple threat in the Self-Publishing Podcast with David Wright and Johnny B. Truant.
Chase is as strong of a business guy as he is a photographer and director, and he shares his hard-earned wisdom and experience through his blog posts, videos, and interviews of the best creative entrepreneurs on the web. In addition to photography tutorials and examples, you’ll find great resources for branding, pitching your work as an artist, and building a creative career. Watch a couple of his featured concerts while you’re at it. Chase connects to his audience through multiple passions -you’ll surely find something you like there.
Maria is an interior design blogger, decorator, stylist, trainer, author and internationally sought-after color expert. Her down-to-earth, no-nonsense color advice and accessible, inspiring writing style quickly turned Colour Me Happy into one of the top-10 color blogs in North America with over 200,000 readers in 150 countries. Maria has done a fantastic job of using her blog to validate her expertise and build dominance in her niche. Read her posts on blogging as well – and kudos to Maria for encouraging her fellow designers to blog.
Joe has over 30 years of photography experience and has been called one of the 100 Most Important People in Photography. His photos have appeared in Time, Newsweek, Fortune, LIFE, Sports Illustrated magazines and many more, and he’s worked for National Geographic for the past 23 years. His work has taken him to 54 countries and all 50 states. He’s written two Amazon Top 10-sellers and he teaches workshops all over the world. Joe’s blog covers as much ground as he has in real life – check it out and learn by absorption.
Samantha has been an artist all her life. She recently published a book called Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction’s Most Beloved Heroines, which earned her much praise and recognition. She strongly encourages artists to blog and her own blog, Maquette, is an in-depth collection of thoughts on art, design, style, and craft.
Jasmine is an international wedding photographer from California. She started blogging in 2007 to “empower clients to become the voice of her brand”. Her blog features her photography, technical tips and discussions, and personal stories. Jasmine does a great job of showcasing content that both engages her readers and encourages comments, questions, and shares.
Hage Photo is an outdoor adventure, sports, and travel photography blog. This husband-and-wife team’s site includes stunning photos and the stories behind them. Their clients send them around the world to photograph remote and exotic places. The Hages obviously love being thrill-seeking, globetrotting nomads and have discovered how to get paid for it.
Karen is a blogger, photographer, speaker, and author of the best-selling Amazon book, The Beauty of Different. She’s won awards and recognition for her work from both the writing and photography sides, as well as in the mom-blog space. She is “wildly convinced that you are uncommonly beautiful,” and her blog definitely is that. Look to her site for great examples of combining personal stories with fantastic photos – including some submitted by her fans and followers.
Daymond grew up in Queens, NY, surrounded by up-and-comers like RUN DMC, Salt-n-Pepa and LL Cool J in an emerging hip-hop music scene. Daymond had an eye for fashion and the smarts to recognize a completely underserved market. He built the urban clothing brand For Us, By Us or FUBU, from the ground up. He’s since become a marketing and business mogul with a blog dating back to 2006 and two popular books to his credit. You may recognize him from the TV series Shark Tank.
Thomas started his blog in 2005, encouraged by his friend Hugh MacLeod. It is probably one of the earliest craft blogs. Bespoke, or custom-made tailoring for men, is a high-end service steeped in years of tradition. Thomas’s blog went behind the scenes and educated clients on the benefits and value of custom-made suits. For the first time, it allowed the world to see the skills, service, and people behind Savile Row tailoring and paved the way for future generations of new enthusiasts.
Shannon is a knitting and crafting/fiber expert as well as a writer with several books and a publishing company to her credit. Her blog is filled with stories, patterns, and material and technique advice. You can find archives of her call-in radio show podcasts and YouTube videos from her various classes and workshops on her site. Her blog stands out because it’s filled with personality and her obvious passion and expertise in her crafts.
Tilly is a former filmmaker who learned to sew, became obsessed with the freedom that comes from defining her own style, and never looked back. She discovered that much of the instruction on sewing was out of reach for beginners so she started blogging in easy-to-understand terms with loads of examples and descriptions. Tilly has built quite a following, garnered much press, and has been featured on the BBC television’s The Great British Sewing Bee.
David is a designer and Amazon #1 best-selling author from Northern Ireland with clients from all over the world. His blog is filled with top-notch content about the business and craft of design, tackling tough topics like measuring the ROI on design, creating corporate identities, and building a business from scratch – great information and insights that are well worth checking out.
Tina is a designer from Switzerland who visited New York City after college and never left. Her blog began as a personal archive of ideas and inspiration, but eventually grew to well over a million unique visitors per month. Tina is a big fan of side projects. She has launched several of them into businesses which now allow her to be client-less: Tattly is a cool, design-friendly temporary tattoo company. She also runs Teux-Deux, a simple online to-do app, and launched a monthly breakfast lecture series called Creative Mornings, which now has 65 chapters all over the world.
Josh’s blog is filled with inspiration from all over the globe on art, design, technology, culture, marketing, branding, social issues and more. Josh consults and speaks on all these topics and advises startups in the gaming, social, and commerce arenas. He serves on the Global Agenda Council on the Marketing and Branding World Economic Forum. He’s been blogging since 2004 and in that time has accumulated quite a bit of fascinating content to share.
Blogging is revolutionizing the world of art, but many artists hesitate to start a blog because they don’t know how to approach it, don’t know how to promote it, or simply don’t understand what it could do for them.
And by failing to connect with a global audience, you could be condemning your creativity to a life in the shadows. Not to mention falling further behind as Google increasingly rewards high-quality, sharable content over SEO acrobatics.
As these 48 artists demonstrate, you can build a following online and use blogging to:
So you have no excuse now. Start building your platform as an artist.
These role models have shown it can be done – and how to do it.
Now is the time to join the ranks of artists who are thriving online through blogging. Artists who enhance the lives of people all over the world with their work. And who aren’t afraid to make a good living doing it.
So what are you waiting for?
Show us what you’ve got!
The post 48 Creative Geniuses Who Use Blogging to Promote Their Art appeared first on Smart Blogger.
Email marketing is the most efficient way to communicate and build a relationship with your audience. It allows you to speak with them directly through their inbox, at a time that’s convenient for them.
Email marketing is such a valuable tool for small businesses, in fact, 79% of small business owners say email marketing is important to their success.
Did you know that email marketing done right, can actually increase your revenue, create more loyalty between your customers and increase your brand awareness. Yet, despite the impact it can have on a business, only 46% of small businesses are using email marketing.
Why?
Maybe it’s the time it takes to build an email campaign. Or maybe you're simply not sure how. Maybe it’s the cost.
If you know what to look for with an email service provider, then these should no longer be a factor.
Here at AWeber, we want to see your business thrive. So to help, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of what to look for with a free email marketing service provider.
This is a bit of a tricky question because every business' needs are going to be different. So we’ll do our best to highlight the pros, cons, and main features of each online email marketing company in order for you to weigh what is most important to the success of your business.
Now that we’ve identified some free email marketing service providers, let's take a deeper dive into each one so you can make a decision that’s best for you.
I’ll admit, I may be a little biased when writing about AWeber, so I just let all the powerfully-simple extra features, award winning customer service, and world-class platform do the talking.
AWeber is one of the leading email providers, helping over 1 million small businesses successfully grow their business. And we’ve done it longer than anyone else (we were founded in 1998).
What makes this free version stand out above everyone else is our commitment to you. We truly care about the success of your business. When you open an account with AWeber, you get the same level of service we provide all of our customers. AWeber Free delivers powerfully-simple, industry-leading features at no cost to you. That’s right — no credit card and no payment with AWeber Free. Ever.
Plus, you get our Industry-Leading Deliverability. We are experts in making sure your message hits people’s inbox. We don’t outsource email processing, ensuring we control deliverability from end-to-end.
Need to move from another email service provider? No problem, we’ll migrate your contacts and email templates to your new platform. Plus, you’ll have access to 100s of email templates (and climbing), our easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor, and our landing page builder with free templates included.
And we don’t stop there. AWeber is constantly expanding our platform based on feedback we receive from our customers. Whether that’s to add more features to help your business grow or to create a better user experience.
Our mission is simple: to provide you with an easy to use email marketing platform that does 90% of the work for you.
AWeber has everything you need to start growing your business — for free. We offer marketing features in our free plan that actually matter to the success of your business, including:
With so many advantages it’s tough to narrow it down to just a few pros but I’ll give it my best shot. With AWeber Free, you have everything you need to create amazing looking emails AND landing pages, you’ll be able to automate your email marketing, and integrate with 100s of other businesses.
I can go on forever talking about the fanatic benefits and features that AWeber Free has available. But why go on when you can see for yourself. Sign up today for AWeber Free. No credit card, no commitment, no worries once you’re part of the AWeber family.
I’d be lying if I told you we didn’t have any cons with our free email services. We don’t offer email split testing on the free plan. Plus there are some other fantastic features that you will only have access to with our Pro plan. But we can’t give the farm away, even though we tried.
But the biggest con with AWeber Free is that you didn’t discover it earlier. Really, it’s that good.
When you think of email service providers, MailChimp is usually at the top of the list due to their brand awareness and how long they’ve been supporting small businesses. Overall MailChimp’s free email platform is solid. In fact, of all the email marketing platforms we evaluated, MailChimp may be the second best option.
You get access to several of MailChimp’s features with the free plan. However for those tools you receive access to, MailChimp puts a limit on what you can use.
Some of the key features you get with the free plan include:
You don’t last 20 years in business without knowing what you’re doing, and we’ll give it to MailChimp they have a very robust platform with several benefits with their free plan. Yes, it does have it’s limitations, such as saving most of their main tools for paying customers.
The marketing CRM tool is a nice touch that you won’t see with many other free platforms. You can also build and publish a basic website.
If you value customer support, then Mailchimp may not be for you. You’ll receive 30 days of email support once you sign up, but after that you’re on your own. You’ll receive no phone, no email, or no chat support.
Not everybody has a creative background and can build emails or landing pages that look amazing and can convert, so they rely on the templates provided by their email marketing provider. With MailChimp, you only have access to their “basic” templates.
And while MailChimp’s free plan has some advantages, MailChimp can quickly begin getting pricey as you begin growing your business and need more support and features.
ConvertKit is an email marketing service provider that’s built by a blogger for bloggers, although the platform is not limited to bloggers. The free plan starts at 100 subscribers for free, but that can jump to 1,000 through their referral program where you can earn an additional 100 subscribers for every referral who also signs up for a ConvertKit account.
On ConvertKit’s pricing comparison page they state their free tools as including:
The biggest pro that I can find with this platform is a tool that is not yet released. ConvertKit recently announced a brand new tool called ConvertKit Commerce. This feature will let you sell digital products right inside ConvertKit’s platform.
Outside of ConvertKit Commerce, there aren’t many pros to ConvertKit’s platform that you couldn’t find in other email service providers.
They provide free migration services, so if you need to move from another email marketing platform, they will assist in moving you to ConvertKit. But you will need to have 5,000+ subscribers for it to be worth their time and effort.
ConvertKit is a very basic platform. There are no drag-and-drop email templates or builders. In fact, you only have two templates to choose from — a plain text version and a very plain-looking HTML version. And with the HTML version, you are limited with what you can customize.
The free plan also does not include email automation, which can be frustrating if you want to begin cultivating a relationship with your clients by sending welcome or thank you emails.
While their landing page builder may be fully customizable, you have far fewer templates to choose from compared to other email marketing platforms such as AWeber.
And they outsource their customer support so it can take hours to days for you to get a response. There is no email or phone support, instead you leave a message in their app and someone will email you a response.
Overall, ConvertKit lacks the bells and whistles that you can get with most other free email marketing services like MailChimp and AWeber.
SendInBlue was actually founded as a digital agency. They switched to become an email marketing provider when they realized an opportunity to help marketers automate email marketing on a budget.
SendInBlue is a good tool for ecommerce marketers with customized triggers based on purchase behavior and the ability to import customer orders.
While SendInBlue has some very good email marketing features, many of those are only available with their paid plans. Here are some of the better features available with the free plan:
SendInBlue possibly has one of the best marketing automation tools. Their automation features are advanced and user-friendly. In fact, they are able to track your customers’ website behavior and trigger an email message at just the right time.
SendInBlue’s email builder is also a very easy and convenient tool to use. You have the option to use one of their 140 email templates, or you can build your email campaign with their easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor.
While SendInBlue is a solid email marketing platform with good tools, they still lack a number of features you can get with other email providers. And they save their core features for their paid customers. You need to be on the Essential plan to start getting some of the real, juicy features, such as A/B testing, more detailed reporting, and better support.
SendInBlue is also limited in the number of integrations with their platform.
Despite these limitations, the biggest con for the SendInBlue platform would have to be their daily email send limit. While you can have an unlimited number of subscribers, you can only send 300 emails a day, up to 9,000 for the month. This makes it nearly impossible to grow on the free plan before you need to upgrade.
MailerLite offers good value and a solid platform. Their email campaigns were easy to set up and use. They cater to small businesses, as roughly 90% of their subscribers have 50 employees or less.
The MailerLite free email plan includes access to features like automation, landing pages, and advanced segmentation. However, like other providers, some key features are gated and live chat and phone support are not available.
Some tools that you do get include:
MailerLite was one of the easiest to use platforms we evaluated. You don’t need a technical background to set up and send emails. And their email campaign reports are clear and easy to understand.
You also get full access to their marketing automation options which is a convenient option for those more sophisticated marketers.
They also have a popup creator which you can have set up and ready to go with just a few clicks.
While the reporting and email setup are really easy to use and navigate, their segments and grouping can be pretty confusing.
And like so many other email marketing platforms we evaluated, you can only build up to 5 landing pages. And they have a very limited number of email and landing page templates. If you don’t have a creative background, you may find this very frustrating.
If your main goal is to find a solid platform that is cheap once you graduate past the free plan, then MailJet may be for you. MailJet is one of the most basic email service providers that we researched, especially when it comes to their free email plan.
MailJet’s free email marketing features are very, very limited. Like SendInBlue, you won’t have to worry about upgrading your account as your subscribers increase, since you get unlimited contacts. However, also like SendInBlue, they limit you to a certain number of sends per day.
Other features in the free plan include:
The pros for the free email platform are few and far between. There’s obviously the unlimited contacts, which is a big plus. They also have a very easy to use drag-and-drop editor which is great for a new user. Outside of that, we didn’t find too many pros that would separate MailJet from the competition.
One pro worth noting is a multi-user collaboration feature, which allows multiple users to work together in real-time on the same email. Think Google Docs. However, this is only available on the Premium or Enterprise paid programs.
MailJet is a very basic email service provider with no added benefits outside of email sending. Many of the other email marketing companies we reviewed have extra features such as a landing page builder or pop up builder. These extra features could be important as you look to grow your business and save money in the process.
And, as mentioned above, although you can have unlimited contacts, MailJet does limit the number of emails you can send in a day to only 200 or a max of 6,000 per month. You may find it tough to grow your business sending to only 200 a day.
If you’re looking for a platform with email automation options, but don’t need landing pages as an option for collecting subscribers, then it might be worth checking out Moosend.
Moosend is relatively new when it comes to providing free email marketing services. And the available features are on par with some of the more well known platforms.
Moosend’s free email marketing platform offers a number of features not offered on other free platforms. Marketing automation features like onboarding and abandoned cart sequences and list segmentation, a/b testing options and spam testing are available.
Moosend’s Drag-and-Drop builder and templates also help email marketers get started with email design without worrying about coding.
Moosend’s platform allows up to 1,000 unique subscribers on the free tier. However, when your subscriber count starts to climb, so does Moosend’s cost.
Other typically important features like the ability to send transactional emails and create landing pages are missing from Moosend’s free email platform. Phone support is also left out of the free plan, and is reserved for enterprise level users.
If you’re looking for a marketing automation platform that lets you do more than just email, SendPulse has options for you. SendPulse offers SMS messaging, transactional email capabilities, chatbots and web push notifications.
SendPulse has a good number of available tools, including:
SendPulse lets you send up to 15,000 emails to 500 subscribers. However, the free plan limits the number of sender addresses you can have. Plus, while SendPulse offers some cool features like its Automation360 tool and the ability to resend to subscribers who haven’t opened your messages, SendPulse limits the storage volume for files up to 20Mb.
In addition to the limited sender addresses and storage volume, SendPulse doesn’t allow you to bulk manage email addresses — i.e. you can’t export your mailing lists to Excel or other spreadsheets. And if you want to use SendPulse because of its SMS capabilities, you should know that you can only send 10 free SMS text messages through its free plan.
EmailOctopus has a solid sender reputation with emails being sent through Amazon SES. Once you move past the free version, EmailOctopus is fairly affordable, but you get what you pay for in terms of features. If all you need are basic email features, then this email marketing service provider worth considering.
They don't have a large number of features, but those they do have are solid.
Yes, EmailOctopus has one of the more generous free plans in terms of subscriber count. Free users can send 10,000 emails each month to up to 2,500 contacts, which is great if you want to send a weekly newsletter. Plus, with an easy-to-use WISIWYG email builder, creating good looking email newsletters isn’t difficult.
EmailOctopus’ simplicity — which some could view positively — is also one of its main downsides. Their feature set is extremely limited and their usability is not that strong. The tool also stores your statistics for only 30 days at a time.
So, if you want to take a more strategic approach to email marketing beyond weekly newsletters and analyze your email marketing results, it may be best to look elsewhere.
BenchMark provides a simple email marketing service, but that's just how they want it. They designed their email builder to be simple and straightforward. Their email editor is super easy to use, one definitely doesn’t need a technical background to use this feature.
They pride themselves on being international as they have a presence in fifteen countries around the world. Plus, from a useability standpoint, BenchMark gets it right.
If you are just starting out with email sending and have a very small email list, then the available features may work for you. However, compared to the competition, BenchMark’s available features on their free plan are very lite.
BenchMark’s biggest pro is their, as they put it, insanely simple drag & drop editor. And you’ll get no argument from me. This editor is as simple as it gets.
Automation Pro is a tool developed by Benchmark Email to create automations for your email subscribers. Automations are a set of elements or modules that automatically perform specific tasks based on your subscribers’ interactions with your emails and website. Within Automation Pro, automations can add or remove subscribers from lists or automatically send an email based on website activity, which are tasks that regular automations can’t do.
Their heatmap reporting is a nice touch for the more sophisticated marketer. And they have a basic, but solid marketing automation tool where you can set up simple behavior-based email campaigns.
As nice of a platform the BenchMark has to offer, they have their cons. For starters, you can only send 250 emails per month. I don’t know about you, but that’s not enough for me to send one email to my list.
The free plan is also missing a lot of key features needed to grow your business such as their landing page builder, more advanced email automation, and priority support.
We know, that’s a lot to take in. But putting in the time upfront to figure out what email marketing service is best for you will pay off in the long run. Just want a quick comparison of the most important features? Check out the table we put together at the top of this article.
Ultimately, make sure you choose a provider who has — and will — stand the test of time. While migrating to AWeber from another platform is painless, we can’t promise the same for the other guys. So do your due diligence upfront to make sure you’re choosing a platform that’s powerfully-simple and gives you the features you need now and in the future.
The post What to Look for with a Free Email Marketing Service appeared first on AWeber.
