| An Online Marketer's New Year's Resolutions |
 The holiday season is upon us and most online and email marketing practitioners have already made their 2010 plans. With a new year on the horizon, now is a good time to reflect on the successes and key learnings from 2009, and to make some resolutions to keep our future plans on track. Therefore, I’d like to suggest a few New Year’s resolutions for online marketers.
These are not so much things we need to start doing, but rather things we need to continue doing with consistency to maintain and exceed our past successes. 1. Test, measure, analyzeIf we learned anything over the past year it’s this simple, indisputable fact: it’s always better to measure twice and cut once. This analogy doesn't only apply to those in the construction industry - it’s true for all of us. We marketers are far more agile and risk-averse if we test new programs, measure every aspect of them, and analyze the results. While this approach requires more time in the planning stages of an online marketing or email marketing program, it saves time, resources and money in both the short and long term. And, perhaps more importantly, this approach is more likely to yield actionable insights and better results. 2. Get (more) socialSocial media marketing has been hot for a few years now, and it caught on like wildfire in 2009. 2010 will be no exception. We can’t let the wildfire burn us. Instead, let’s harness social media and use it to our advantage in 2010. We’ll start small, pick the social media sites that make the most sense for our respective businesses, and integrate social media into our overall online and email marketing plans. The exponential impact of social media is an effective and efficient way to get more out of our marketing efforts in 2010 and beyond. 3. When everyone else stops, don’tIt sounds trite and simple, but it may be the best piece of marketing advice I have ever been given in my career: when everyone around you stops marketing, don’t stop. Instead, I was told, review your company’s objectives and make sure you stay in front of the people who are most likely to purchase from you over the long term. What comes of this type of review will vary from company to company, but the idea remains the same. That is, don’t stop marketing just because the economy is on a downward trajectory, or because your competitors aren’t spending as much on marketing. Do what’s best for your company. In most cases, that means staying the course and marketing in a smart way versus a “spray and pray” way. In my opinion, this is the approach we should always be taking no matter what the economic climate. So let’s be especially mindful of this concept in the New Year ahead. What are you resolving to improve or change about your online or email marketing program going forward? Share your resolutions in the ‘Comments’ section below. Here’s to a successful 2010! ### About the Author
Cathi O'Sullivan Mason is director of marketing programs for Lyris. Her team is responsible for executing programs that delivery quality leads to the sales team.
|
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
