Actionable Marketing Guide Newsletter

Published: Mon, 08/29/16

actionable marketing guide

Dear ,

There’s an emptiness on in my neighborhood.

People are away. They’re packing in vacation time before Labor Day, the symbolic end of summer. It’s time to relax in the sun, often with family before they get serious about work and school.

The weather’s perfect. It’s sunny and hot (despite the occasional thunderstorm.) My husband and I took off Friday afternoon for Brighton Beach for a few hours of beach time. I love the sound of the ocean lapping the shore.

Despite this, Back-to-School season is in full swing for retailers, parents and students.

We live within a mile of at least 7 colleges. Many of our neighborhood stores are school supply destinations. It isn’t just Staples and the local art stores, but also Bed, Bath & Beyond and Best Buy.

Total back-to school spending (K-12 and college combined) is projected to be $75.8 billion, up from $68 billion in 2015 according to NFR research. (Note: This is US data.)

This makes back-to-school the second biggest shopping period after Christmas.

Even if you don’t sell school related products, it’s useful to see the timing and how consumers shop.

Most customers start shopping 3 weeks to 1 month in advance.
They use an average of 3 websites.
65% of their spend is on apparel and electronics

Top Trends for 2016 Back-to-School and College Shopping from National Retail Federation

Actionable Marketing Tips:

Add a back-to-school related promotion or emailing. What marketer doesn’t need an extra promotion to achieve their goals? What can you position as a back-to-school offering? Welcome college students to the neighborhood or offer your B2B audience education (ebooks, webinars or mini-courses).
Examine how these consumers buy even if you’re a B2B marketer. Why? Because they use these buying habits for B2B products.

Talking of Back-To-School, next week is Content Marketing World!

Don your orange and join Joe Pulizzi to take your content marketing skills up a notch. It’s THE content marketing event of the year. (BTW—Here are some of my tips for maximizing a conference.)

Don’t think you need to improve your content marketing skills?

Consider that roughly 50% of content marketers don’t know what quality content looks like!

Check out what #CMWorld speakers say about content marketing.

If you’re still haven’t committed to attending CMW, I get it. It’s an investment. BUT if you change your mind, use this code VIP200. (This isn’t a sales pitch. I don’t make any money on this offer.)

BTW, if you’re going to be at Content Marketing World, please let me know. I hope to see you there.

Happy marketing,
Heidi

Heidi Cohen
Actionable Marketing Guide

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Join fellow marketers at the online mega-conference designed to inspire and empower you—Social Media Success Summit 2016, brought to you by Social Media Examiner.

Discover the best and newest ways to market your business on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest and Snapchat.

Find new ways to improve your content and measure your results with sessions on video, live video, visual marketing, analytics and marketing tools.

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RECENT POSTS ON THE ACTIONABLE MARKETING GUIDE

3 Essential Content Marketing Skills

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Heidi Cohen in Content Marketing | 2 Comments

Do You Exercise Your Content Marketing Muscles Regularly?

Are your content marketing skills in shape?

Before you answer, realize this is back-to-school and post-vacation season. It’s when people get back to work and gym routines.

Even if you’re an experienced marketer, your content proficiency may be a bit out of practice after the summer. Or you may be looking to enhance your skills. Continue reading

Content Marketing World Authors

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Heidi Cohen in Content Marketing | 3 Comments

Interviews with Content Marketing World Presenters

Books are the ultimate long form content marketing. They’re educational information audiences actively seek.

No one knows this better than the Content Marketing World authors!

Professionals often write books to establish their authority and influence. My husband discovered this by accident when he wrote the first book on HTML.

Continue reading

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Heidi Cohen was named a Top25 blogger by Blogtrepreneur.
45 Marketing Experts Share Their Authority Building Strategies
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