February 2022 Summaries

During the slow season, businesses can focus on refreshing and preparing for peak demand by learning more about their customers to create targeted marketing strategies, finding ways to save money, optimizing operations, brainstorming new streams of income, cleaning and segmenting email lists, repurposing existing content, and taking a step back to assess progress. By doing so, businesses can maximize revenue and productivity during the busy season while maintaining a healthy bottom line.

Is your marketing copy in good health? As a freelance writer and daily reader of marketing copy, I see a range of marketing copy that suffers from various maladies—some acute, some chronic. Rarely are these conditions fatal to your business, but they keep you from fully flourishing. Most common marketing copy mistakes include vague marketing puffery, not making clear who you're talking to, and broadcasting rather than mind-reading. Vague marketing puffery leaves the reader wondering what you actually do, while not addressing a specific reader can lead to high bounce rates. Broadcasting messages without regard to whether your audience cares about them is also a common mistake that fails to answer this question that the reader always has: what's in this for me? A prescription for healthy marketing copy involves assuming too much about the reader and focusing on their needs, anticipating that they don't know anything about you or who you're addressing, and making sure your content is precise and clear while also being useful, entertaining, or engaging.

When working with multiple apps, marketers often encounter issues with date and time formats to avoid app scheduling conflicts and keep their team on the same page. To solve this problem, Zapier's built-in Formatter tool can be used to transform data into a uniform format. A formatter step can change dates and times by adding or subtracting time, comparing dates, or transforming the format of the timestamp received from an app. The process involves setting up a trigger, selecting the Date/Time action in the formatter step, and specifying the desired date/time format. Once set up, the formatter step will automatically transform the data for you every time your Zap runs.

Moosend's 10-year journey to becoming an industry leader in email marketing is a testament to the power of effective marketing strategy and execution. The company's focus on creating high-quality content, leveraging partnerships and guest posting, and using data-driven approaches like KOB analysis and search intent classification helped them achieve significant growth, including a 729.27% increase in registrations over three years. By combining complementary marketing strategies such as affiliate marketing, retargeting, and conversion rate optimization (CRO), Moosend was able to create a unified front and break down silo mentality, ultimately leading to their success. The company's approach emphasizes the importance of understanding audience needs and providing solutions to address them, resulting in a customer-centric culture that drives growth and engagement. By taking inspiration from Moosend's experience and adapting to their unique business needs, businesses can create effective marketing strategies that drive results.

To collect customer feedback effectively, businesses should send NPS surveys after each interaction, consider timing and ensure feedback doesn't get lost. To automate this process, Zapier can be used to integrate with CRMs, eCommerce stores, ticketing platforms, and other apps, sending interactions to the CRM automatically and storing feedback scores in a single platform for easy access by relevant team members. By setting up workflows that send surveys, update customer records, and store feedback scores, businesses can track each interaction in real time, measure experiences effectively, and improve sales, customer service, and customer loyalty.

PDF.co is a PDF toolkit that helps users automate various tasks such as parsing documents, splitting and merging PDFs, customizing PDFs, extracting data, and adding signatures. The company was founded by ByteScout in 2006 after listening to user requests for tools to automate PDF file and data extraction. Today, thousands of customers including NASA and BMW use the tool to extract data from documents and convert files into various formats. The product comes with a range of features, including an AI-powered Document Parser that can read invoices and other documents with ready-to-use templates. Users can also integrate PDF.co with Zapier to automate workflows with other apps and focus on more important tasks.

Zapier, a workflow automation platform, has released several new apps and integrations across various industries, including Invision Community, GoTo Connect, Formaloo, Crystal Ball, Flowdash, myRealPage, My Web Audit, Reflexion.ai, Connex, Swipe Pages, Campaignware, Hopscotch, Popl, ServiceBell, Likely.Ai, ApptiveGrid, nunify, and updates to existing integrations such as Textline, WooCommerce, Teachery, ActiveCampaign, thanks.io, and Holded. These new releases aim to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and provide more insights for businesses across different sectors.

Having multiple lead channels is critical for business growth, but manually tracking new leads across different places can be inefficient. Zapier's custom notification bots help streamline this process by sending notifications to team members or themselves at the right time and place, using various communication channels such as chat apps, email, SMS, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more. By automating lead outreach, businesses can nurture potential customers more effectively, making the most of every new lead that enters their funnel. With Zapier's workflow automation software, users can create custom notification bots to suit their specific needs, using a variety of features such as multi-step Zaps, path steps, and formatters.

When it comes to managing inbound marketing efforts, technology plays a crucial role in lead management. HubSpot's Marketing Hub, particularly its Professional or Enterprise editions, offers robust marketing automation workflows that can manage key concerns such as tracking leads, creating qualified leads for sales teams, and nurturing those leads through various stages of the customer lifecycle. By setting up these workflows, businesses can automate tasks, personalize content, and send targeted notifications to sales teams, ultimately streamlining the lead management process and driving more conversions.

The no-code movement has gained significant popularity over the past few years, with Gartner predicting it will account for more than 65% of app development activity by 2024. Zapier is launching its first National No-Code Day to celebrate this growth and encourage users to share their achievements. The company is also launching a contest where individuals can showcase their innovative uses of no-code tools, with a grand prize of $25,000 and strategy calls with industry leaders. By participating, entrants agree to be used in Zapier's marketing materials.

A software tool called Mural is being promoted as a valuable addition to the toolkit of visual thinkers, designers, and problem-solvers who prefer a collaborative approach to work. It offers various templates for different purposes, such as creating a blank canvas online whiteboard, developing a to-do list, creating a mood board, hosting team warm-ups, developing customer journey maps, storyboarding videos, designing websites, and planning server configurations. Mural's features include the ability to add text, shapes, icons, frameworks, images, and more, making it an effective tool for remote collaborative work and visual thinking. The author suggests using Mural when a textual narrative can't help, as it can stimulate visual thinking and open up new approaches to old problems.

Twitter ads offer a unique opportunity for businesses to reach their target audience, especially those who are active on the platform. By leveraging Twitter's advertising options, including Promoted Ads, Follower Ads, and Takeover Ads, companies can drive engagement, increase brand awareness, and drive action. To maximize ROI, advertisers should use Twitter Ad Features such as polls, conversation buttons, app buttons, branded hashtags, and notifications to engage users. Effective targeting is also crucial, with options like demographics, audience types, lookalike audiences, and conversation topics. Selecting the right campaign objective and promoting high-engagement posts can further enhance ad performance. Additionally, using keyword exclusion features can help avoid wasting ad spend on irrelevant targets. With its unique platform and features, Twitter ads are definitely worth considering for businesses with a strong presence on the social media giant.

As a writer who doesn't design, the author uses Figma, a vector graphics editor and prototyping tool, to create various projects beyond its typical use cases. They discovered that Figma can be used to build a portfolio, create 3D assets for product visualization, store files in a organized manner, facilitate team puzzle-solving, and even storyboard videos and scripts. The author found these alternative uses through experimentation with the tool's plugins, templates, and community resources, highlighting Figma's versatility and user-friendliness despite not being a traditional design tool.

When it comes to deciding who should be allowed to send emails on behalf of a company, businesses can benefit from collaboration between multiple teams. The key factors that impact email responsibilities include company size and growth, send frequency, team structure, and workload. To effectively share email responsibilities, companies can create templates and style guides, set up a place for collaboration, implement content bumpers to maintain messaging consistency, and establish an "in case of emergency" plan to handle mistakes. By implementing these strategies, businesses can ensure that their marketing efforts are efficient, effective, and customer-centric.

At Zapier, the author created a weekly Wordle competition by automating the process of collecting scores using Email Parser and Google Sheets. The author set up a 2-step Zap that triggers when a new email is received with Wordle scores, which then creates a new spreadsheet row in Google Sheets. To recreate this process, users can follow the steps outlined in the shared Zap, including creating an Email by Parser account, training the parser to select specific text, and mapping the parsed data to the desired fields in Google Sheets. Once set up, users can share their Wordle scores with friends and family, who can email them to the designated mailbox address, which will then send the scores to the Google sheet, displaying a leaderboard of competitors' best Wordles and other statistics.

As a QA manager turned programmer, I've learned that involving QA from the start can prevent rework down the pipeline, ensuring projects are completed to the required specifications. Effective communication between developers and QA is key, as QA must ensure programming can successfully recreate issues found during testing. Setting project-specific cutoff dates for release can also help teams manage their workload and avoid last-minute rushes. Additionally, programmers should thoroughly test their code before sending it to QA and keep track of common errors to address them proactively. By working together and anticipating problems, developers and QA can streamline the software development life cycle and make the process smoother for everyone involved.

Journalists are looking for solid data to support their stories, which presents a unique opportunity for businesses to tap into ongoing press coverage by providing them with the necessary research. Data-driven content is informed by data and research collected using various methods, compiled into a story for the target audience, and shared with journalists via press releases or cold outreach. This approach positions the business as a source of unique information that journalists can get from them alone, offering several benefits including putting the brand in front of a highly targeted audience, providing a signal to Google that the website is authoritative and trustworthy, and building valuable relationships with journalists. To execute a data-driven PR campaign effectively, businesses should establish clear KPIs, try to secure dofollow backlinks, tell a story with their data, and use visuals such as infographics or charts to make the content more engaging. By doing so, they can increase their chances of getting featured in reputable news publications and driving traffic to their website.

Asynchronous client communication is a key strategy for improving client relationships and driving better outcomes by reducing friction and eliminating the need for live calls. By using tools like email, chat apps, team comment sections, video messaging, and automation platforms like Zapier, businesses can create efficient and effective asynchronous loops for gathering project research, presenting deliverables, and responding to client feedback. This approach not only improves productivity but also enhances the quality of communication between clients and teams, leading to increased engagement and satisfaction. By embracing asynchronous communication, businesses can thrive in today's fast-paced digital landscape.

The author's public relations journey began when they needed to increase their brand awareness as a life coach, leading them to pitch Arianna Huffington herself at HuffPost. Through research, outreach, and strategic planning, they secured media features, interview requests, and business growth, eventually starting their own PR agency to help other woman-owned businesses. The author explains that public relations agencies are often misunderstood and outlines what they do (media relations, research, strategy, execution) and what they don't do (guarantee media features, focus on sales). They also provide guidance on how to hire a PR agency, including researching their business model, experience in your industry, and budget.

Live chat is no longer just for customer support, but also for sales, lead nurturing, and customer engagement. To find the best live chat app for sales, I evaluated dozens of platforms and tested them to determine which ones are ideal for different use cases and budgets. The top seven live chat apps for sales are Tidio, HelpCrunch, Drift, Intercom, Zoho SalesIQ, LiveChat, and Freshdesk Messaging. These apps offer dynamic features such as personalized and targeted automations, integrations with existing tech stacks, productivity features like canned responses and co-browsing, reporting tools that track marketing/sales performance, and lead scoring capabilities to prioritize qualified leads. The best live chat app for sales will depend on your specific business needs, budget, and use case. Some apps, such as Drift and Intercom, offer automated personalization tools, while others like Tidio and HelpCrunch provide pre-built sales chatbots. LiveChat offers a la carte feature pricing, allowing businesses to start with the features they need and add more later. Freshdesk Messaging provides solid functionality for both sales and customer service, making it an ideal choice for companies needing a balance of both. Ultimately, the best live chat app for sales will depend on your unique business needs and goals.

Think about the last ad that stuck with you or was discussed en masse: you probably laughed, cried, or absolutely hated it—which made you rage-cry? Lots of businesses use humor to sell products or services. But plenty of people don't think humor is appropriate during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subjectivity of comedy makes it seem like a bit of a gamble for a marketer. When crafted with care, a well-placed joke or self-effacing quip has the power to unite, endear, or invoke solidarity. To write humorous copy without embarrassing your brand, it's essential to know your audience, have a clear premise, and craft solid setups before writing punchlines. Awareness of your brand identity and its boundaries is also crucial, as well as knowing what you can get away with in terms of humor. By following these tips, businesses can increase the chances of their humorous ad or copy resonating with their target market.

Orchard, a real estate company, was struggling with outdated customer profiles and inefficient lead management processes, which hindered their ability to provide personalized customer experiences. To address this challenge, they turned to automation tools like Zapier, which allowed them to streamline their lead funnel by automatically collecting new leads, sending cultivation emails, and handing new leads to the sales team. With Zapier, Orchard was able to save time compiling data and focus on communicating with customers, resulting in a more efficient customer experience and improved sales outcomes. The company's use of automation has also enabled them to scale their business while keeping customer needs at the forefront, allowing employees across departments to access customer data instantly and drive business growth.

Mailchimp's popularity can be attributed to its generous free plan, which offers a range of features including email design tools, comprehensive reporting, and analytics for individual subscribers. The brand's fun and relatable branding, which includes a quirky mascot named Freddie, has also contributed to its appeal. Additionally, Mailchimp makes email marketing easy to use, even for those new to the platform, with a modern drag-and-drop editor and access to hundreds of templates. Marketing automation features are also intuitive and straightforward, allowing users to control their audience's experience without requiring advanced expertise. Finally, Mailchimp offers an all-in-one marketing toolset that includes social media, landing pages, and website building capabilities, making it a versatile solution for small businesses and marketers alike.

Twitter's advanced search feature is a powerful tool for finding sales leads, tracking brand mentions, and exploring topics of interest. To get the most out of this feature, users can combine various search fields to narrow down results, including words, phrases, hashtags, languages, and users. The Filters section allows users to choose whether to see replies or Tweets with links, set minimum engagement levels, and view Tweets by a specific date range. Additionally, users can save their searches for later use and leverage Twitter's advanced search feature to supercharge their business and build authority in their niche.

Creating a successful Facebook business page requires a combination of strategy, content, and technical setup. To start, establish a basic strategy that outlines your goals, target audience, content type, posting schedule, and conversion objectives. Next, fill out your profile with essential information such as hours, location, website, contact details, and a call-to-action button. Choose the right page tabs to display on your page, considering only those relevant to your business. Advertising on Facebook can help boost visibility, but it's not mandatory; instead, consider paid content options and start small with a limited budget. To coordinate with Instagram, use automation tools or customize content for each platform. Explore additional features like Facebook Stories, Live videos, podcasts, shops, events, and automation tools to elevate your page. Finally, measure and adjust your strategy as needed by regularly monitoring metrics and using analytics to inform future content and feature choices.

When creating internal documentation, it's essential to strike a balance between providing enough detail for comprehension and avoiding overcomplication that makes the process obsolete. A straightforward approach helps readers quickly grasp complex processes, while using plain language replaces jargon to make information accessible to newcomers. Including broader context about each team within the documentation helps establish company culture and facilitates collaboration across departments. By adopting these strategies, internal documentation can be created that stands the test of time and serves as a valuable resource for both employees and the organization as a whole.

Zapier relies heavily on RabbitMQ for message queuing in their backend workers, which run on Kubernetes. To manage varying task loads, they previously used CPU-based autoscaling with Horizontal Pod Autoscale (HPA), but encountered issues due to blocking I/O operations in Python. This led to a situation where idle workers could accumulate a growing backlog of messages, causing traffic jams and delays. Zapier sought a solution that would scale their workers based on both CPU usage and message queue length, but found Kubernetes' native HPA lacking this capability. They eventually turned to KEDA as a more suitable solution for dynamic scaling.

Our jobs often dominate our lives, but what if we can shift this perspective? We don't have to let work define who we are or be our passion. Instead, we can view our job as "just a job," an exchange of labor for cold hard cash. This mindset allows us to use our job to learn new skills, improve personal fulfillment, and switch roles. We should also maximize the benefits package, build relationships with coworkers, and make the most of these connections. By doing so, we can turn our job into a valuable tool for achieving our personal goals, rather than just a means to an end.

Brittani, a Black professional with entrepreneurial goals, created Mogul Millennial, a media-tech platform that empowers and educates Black entrepreneurs and professionals, filling a gap in available content. To scale the business, she used Zapier to automate repetitive tasks such as sending automatic responses and updates for article pitches, and adding new subscribers to the correct email marketing lists. These automations have saved her time, allowing her to focus on creating smart content, talking to clients, and growing her subscriber base. With Zapier's automation tools, Brittani has been able to streamline communication internally and externally, making her business more efficient and less of a headache.

As a marketer, recognizing where you're languishing—whether it's in creativity, motivation, or connecting with customers—is crucial to moving from stagnation to growth. By identifying areas for improvement and being intentional about celebrating wins, brainstorming bad ideas, trying new marketing experiments, and reconnecting with your customer base, you can break free from the "meh" feeling associated with languishing and start flourishing in your work and life.