Industry News
If you’re reading this, you’ve likely found a topic you could talk about for hours — and now you’re ready to launch a podcast. The good news: Spotify is becoming a go-to destination for podcasts. In 2021, Spotify listeners spent 78% more time listening to podcasts than the year before. Even better news: it’s relatively easy to start a podcast on Spotify — no fancy equipment or advanced skills required. Here, we’ll cover everything you need to know about podcasting on Spotify, and how to upload your next episode to the platform. How to Meet Spotify’s Podcast Requirements The first step to starting a podcast on Spotify is making sure you meet its podcast requirements. Here’s a quick rundown. Your podcast should have: A title along with relevant details (i.e., category and primary language). Cover art in a 1:1 ratio and PNG, JPEG, or TIFF format. The higher the resolution
Picture this: you’ve crafted a brilliant email campaign with just the perfect messaging. You hit send and wait for clicks to start rolling in. But nothing happens. Worse, your bounce rate sky-rocketed. Bad news: your email reputation might have taken a hit. Good news: you can fix your email reputation with these steps. In this blog, we’ll cover: What is email sender reputation? What is domain reputation and sender score? Why has my email reputation gone down? When should I fix my email reputation? How to fix your email reputation What is email sender reputation? Your email sender reputation is a score that an Inbox Service Provider (ISP) gives your organization. It is based on: The number of emails your organization sends How many subscribers engage with emails from you (based on actions like open, reply, forward, delete and click) How many recipients mark your emails as spam or otherwise
Black Friday is coming up and competition will be hotter than ever! Make your business stand out with a top-notch Black Friday marketing strategy. Read on to find out how. Black Friday is almost here! That means big sales and the start of the holiday shopping season. Get the most out of this event with a Black Friday marketing strategy. Reach customers with winning Black Friday emails and social media campaigns. Entice holiday shoppers with irresistible offers. For both ecommerce and small businesses, Black Friday is a major sales opportunity. In 2021, Black Friday drew in over 150 million shoppers — but winning their attention isn’t easy! Stand out from your competitors with a solid Black Friday marketing strategy. We’ve put together a list of Black Friday marketing ideas to get you started. What Is Black Friday Marketing?12 Black Friday Marketing Strategies That Boost SalesPlanning Your Black Friday Marketing Campaigns
Here is the scenario. Maybe you’ve just gotten a bounce message that looks like this:Aug 25 11:20:24 s1 postfix/smtp[26906]: 98299221BB: to=, relay=gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[142.250.141.27]:25, delay=1.2, delays=0.04/0.77/0.2/0.21, dsn=5.7.1, status=bounced (host gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com[142.250.141.27] said: 550-5.7.1 [206.125.175.2] Our system has detected that this message is not RFC 550-5.7.1 5322 compliant: duplicate headers. To reduce the amount of spam sent 550-5.7.1 to Gmail, this message has been blocked. Please review 550 5.7.1 RFC 5322 specifications for more information. j6-20020a637a46000000b0042b3a763e76si3563504pgn.127 – gsmtp (in reply to end of DATA command))Or perhaps it looks like this:Aug 25 12:48:59 s1 postfix/smtp[14180]: C90492056B: to=, relay=aspmx.l.google.com[142.250.141.27]:25, delay=0.69, delays=0.08/0/0.39/0.22, dsn=5.7.1, status=bounced (host aspmx.l.google.com[142.250.141.27] said: 550-5.7.1 [206.125.175.2] Our system has detected that this message is not RFC 550-5.7.1 5322 compliant: 550-5.7.1 Multiple ‘From’ headers found. 550-5.7.1 To reduce the amount of spam sent to Gmail, this message has been 550-5.7.1 blocked. Please visit 550-5.7.1 https://support.google.com/mail/?p=RfcMessageNonCompliant 550 5.7.1 and review RFC 5322 specifications for more information.
Compared to marketing emails, a single transactional email can have a significant impact on business. If a customer doesn’t get your newsletter, they might miss your latest sale. But if a customer doesn’t receive a transactional message, you’ll likely lose them as a customer. For any online business, transactional emails are critical in many ways. They’re not only vital for the success of transactions but also foster a positive customer experience and brand loyalty. That’s why a transactional email service that guarantees your messages get delivered is so important. To help you make the right choice, we vetted an extensive list of tools and picked the five best transactional email service providers for various business goals and budgets. What Is a Transactional Email Service? A transactional email service is an application that sends automated, business-to-user emails triggered by specific events on a website or in an app. These emails are
Welcome to Breaking the Blueprint — a blog series that dives into the unique business challenges and opportunities of underrepresented business owners and entrepreneurs. Learn how they’ve grown or scaled their businesses, explored entrepreneurial ventures within their companies, or created side hustles, and how their stories can inspire and inform your own success. White-owned businesses receive an average of $18,500 in outside equity at funding, compared to just $500 for Black-owned businesses. On top of that, it can also be challenging for Black entrepreneurs to find mentorship, resources, and even community with other business owners with their shared experiences. Thankfully, there are cities where Black entrepreneurs, past, present, and future, thrive and have access to the resources and support they need. Read on to discover five of the top cities for Black entrepreneurs. Top Cities for Black Entrepreneurs 1. Washington, D.C. Sometimes called the Chocolate City, Washington D.C. was the first majority
Are you finally giving TikTok a shot? If you’re new to the app, there are a few mistakes you’ll want to avoid at all costs. While some can apply to any social media platform, most are specific to TikTok and its audience. 1. You’re not joining trends. When I think of TikTok, trending sounds and challenges immediately come to mind. That’s what the platform’s known for, after all. In fact, many see TikTok as the fun, unfiltered, uninhibited friend to the more uptight, polished Instagram. With this in mind, succeeding on the platform does mean using special effects, dubbing trending sounds, adding popular music, and taking part in challenges and dances. Of course, it’s essential that you set brand guardrails to ensure you don’t participate in anything that may hurt your credibility. In addition, not every trend will align with your messaging or brand values – in that case, skip
Inflation has been a big topic of conversation in recent months, with the cost of just about everything going up. From gas to groceries to household goods. As a result, many companies are notifying customers of price increases. If that sounds like your company, keep reading to learn how to address price changes and key things to avoid. How to Address Price Changes 1. Be truthful. A 2022 survey by Gartner revealed that nearly 40% of consumers want detailed and honest explanations for price hikes. Specifically, they want clarity – no jargon, blame, or redirection. In recent years, consumers have asked for more transparency from brands. Back in 2017, a report by Nosto (formerly Stackla) revealed that authenticity is one of the main factors impacting consumers’ purchasing decisions. This authenticity builds trust, which is key to maintaining customer loyalty. In fact, a 2022 Edelman report shows that trust ranks above
If you’ve watched the news recently, it seems that the possibility of a recession has captured everyone’s attention. Americans have already seen signs like the inflation of rent, gas prices, groceries, and other necessities that pre-existing wages can’t meet. But, still, some experts say that we could still avert a recession – and if we don’t – a recession might not last as long as 2008’s. With all these changes and newsbites in mind, business decision-makers might wonder how their potential customers are reacting. And, if their spending habits could be changing in the near future as a result? While we don’t know if we’ll head into a recession, this post aims to help brands and marketers prepare to continue to meet consumers where they are – even in uncertain times. To give readers insight on how spending behaviors are or could be shifting, we surveyed more than 200 U.S.
That’s right, 21 years ago (yesterday), is more or less when Spam Resource first hit teh interwebs. I invite you to celebrate with a beverage of your choice. Pictured: Murray is enjoying a Best Patio Pils by 18th Street Brewery on the patio at Jarvis Square Tavern, our favorite bar here in Chicago. (And by the way, Chicago, coincidentally, is not quite the hellhole that some dumb guy portrayed it as recently.)