Ishrat Pasha

Your computer and the way you use it is totally your business. But if someone sees 207,652 files on your desktop and sprouts growing out of your keyboard, they will take a photo of it. They will send it to the Twitter account Cursed Computer Setups. And people will make fun of it.

This fun little online project collects user-submitted pictures of everything computer-related, and even though the account was created only in February 2021, it already has nearly 80,000 followers. If you like Tech Support Gore, this content is also right up your alley.

More info: Twitter

#1

Image credits: CursedSetups

#2

Image credits: CursedSetups

#3

Image credits: CursedSetups

#4

Image credits: CursedSetups

#5

Image credits: CursedSetups

#6

Image credits: CursedSetups

#7

Image credits: CursedSetups

#8

Image credits: CursedSetups

#9

Image credits: CursedSetups

#10

Image credits: CursedSetups

#11

Image credits: CursedSetups

#12

Image credits: CursedSetups

#13

Image credits: CursedSetups

#14

Image credits: CursedSetups

#15

Image credits: CursedSetups

#16

Image credits: CursedSetups

#17

Image credits: CursedSetups

#18

Image credits: CursedSetups

#19

Image credits: CursedSetups

#20

Image credits: CursedSetups

#21

Image credits: CursedSetups

#22

Image credits: CursedSetups

#23

Image credits: CursedSetups

#24

Image credits: CursedSetups

#25

Image credits: CursedSetups

#26

Image credits: CursedSetups

#27

Image credits: CursedSetups

#28

Image credits: CursedSetups

#29

Image credits: CursedSetups

#30

Image credits: CursedSetups

#31

Image credits: CursedSetups

#32

Image credits: CursedSetups

#33

Image credits: CursedSetups

#34

Image credits: CursedSetups

#35

Image credits: CursedSetups

#36

Image credits: CursedSetups

#37

Image credits: CursedSetups

#38

Image credits: CursedSetups

#39

Image credits: CursedSetups

#40

Image credits: CursedSetups

#41

Image credits: CursedSetups

#42

Image credits: CursedSetups

#43

Image credits: CursedSetups

#44

Image credits: CursedSetups

#45

Image credits: CursedSetups

#46

Image credits: CursedSetups

#47

Image credits: CursedSetups

#48

Image credits: CursedSetups

#49

Image credits: CursedSetups

#50

Image credits: CursedSetups

#51

Image credits: CursedSetups

#52

Image credits: CursedSetups

#53

Image credits: CursedSetups

#54

Image credits: CursedSetups

#55

Image credits: CursedSetups

#56

Image credits: CursedSetups

#57

Image credits: CursedSetups

#58

Image credits: CursedSetups

#59

Image credits: CursedSetups

#60

Image credits: CursedSetups

#61

Image credits: CursedSetups

#62

Image credits: CursedSetups

#63

Image credits: CursedSetups

#64

Image credits: CursedSetups

#65

Image credits: CursedSetups

#66

Image credits: CursedSetups

#67

Image credits: CursedSetups

#68

Image credits: CursedSetups

#69

Image credits: CursedSetups

#70

Image credits: CursedSetups

#71

Image credits: CursedSetups

#72

Image credits: CursedSetups

#73

Image credits: CursedSetups

#74

Image credits: CursedSetups

#75

Image credits: CursedSetups

#76

Image credits: CursedSetups

#77

Image credits: CursedSetups

#78

Image credits: CursedSetups

Read more: boredpanda.com

Getting traffic to your site is nice, but there’s not much of a point if those visitors don’t convert.

There’s one tactic I use above all others to generate new leads:

A lead magnet.

They aren’t some newfangled tech trend. They’ve been an essential marketing tool for decades.

With lead magnets, you give people something for free in exchange for an email address and permission to send them more offers—for example, a free ebook or an SEO checklist.

However, not all lead magnets are effective.

Let’s take about how lead magnets work and explore how to create one that drives leads.

How Lead Magnets Can Grow Your Business

The lure of ‘free’ is compelling, according to Predictably Irrational author Dan Ariely.

He proved this by giving groups of people the option to select from different Amazon gift cards. Respondents could choose from receiving either:

1. A $10 Amazon gift card for free, or
2. A $20 Amazon gift card for only $7

If you were to look at that objectively, based on cold hard math, you’d see that the second option was the better value ($13 vs. $10.)

Check out the third column on the far right to see which one won:

It wasn’t even close! Everyone sampled chose the free $10 option instead.

Ariely calls this the Zero-Price Effect because humans don’t see the downside to something that’s free.

Ariely ran a related experiment. They staged a promotion for free tattoos and had people line up outside the store.

These people were waiting in line with full knowledge of what they were doing.

Yet when Ariely asked them if they’d be waiting to get the same tattoo if it wasn’t free, 68 percent of respondents said no!

In other words, people took time out of their busy schedule to commit permanent ink to their skin simply because it was free.

Good lead magnets, when done correctly, have the same effect (albeit without the same long-lasting effects).

They pass along a useful ebook, webinar, or email course, asking for very little (if anything) in return from visitors.

You leverage the power of free to kickstart the first step in your customer value optimization process.

Lead magnets are nothing new.

They get a lot of attention today because of how persuasive and powerful they can be.

One of the best ways to incorporate them today is with a content upgrade. People are already on your site, seeking something out.

Think about it:

They went to Google and typed in something specific to end up on your blog post.

A lead magnet sweetens the pot by providing additional insight on the same exact topic they were reading about.

Brian Dean used the content upgrade strategy to boost his conversions by 785 percent in one day.

Brian Harris of Video Fruit is seeing a 20-30 percent opt-in rate from blog posts where he links not one, not two, but three times to his lead magnet.

For example, the first comes right in the introduction:

Then he follows up that up with another two more for good measure down at the bottom:

The blog post goes through an in-depth analysis of how content upgrades can get you more leads. Then it distills those insights and actionable tips down so that you can easily start implementing the same tactics on your site (after downloading the lead magnet, of course).

If you want to see the same results, your lead magnet has to abide by a few rules.

The form or medium doesn’t matter necessarily. Instead, success typically comes down to a few >key ingredients:

1. Does your audience care about it?
2. Is there value to it?
3. Does it solve a problem and/or give the audience something they need?

So how do you figure those things out?

Let’s dive into what the best lead magnets have in common to find out.

How to Create Lead Magnets That Drive Conversions

Now that you know why lead magnets are important (to get you more leads!) let’s talk about how to create one that drives conversions like mad.

Find Out What Your Customers Want

Saying you need to “know your audience” sounds obvious and trite. However, it’s one of those things that everyone talks about, but no one seems to know how to do.

The big clue is in the reception. If your digital copies aren’t flying off the shelf when it goes live, your issue typically comes back to a mismatch with your audience.

Thankfully, this can be an easy fix if you know where to look.

Start by looking for what people are already paying for.

That might sound counterintuitive because lead magnets are free.

However, if someone is willing to part with their hard-earned cash for something, it’s a sure sign that they’re committed.

For example, one of my favorite places to start is the Kindle Marketplace.

Let’s say I’m about to create a lead magnet in an industry I know nothing about: cooking. (Seriously, nothing.)

I could guess or make a few assumptions about which cooking lead magnet would work best. Or I could head on over to the Kindle Marketplace and see what’s already working well.

It’s not just the topic you’re looking for at this point, but also the ‘format’ that resonates with an audience.

Here’s what I mean.

Go to the Amazon Kindle Marketplace look at the sidebar on the left-hand side. There, you’ll find all the book categories and then subcategories upon subcategories upon subcategories. (In other words, drilling down to find your niche and your audience.)

Here’s what the bestsellers look like in European cooking and food:

Ok, now we’re getting somewhere.

Most are unsurprisingly recipe books. However, that first one is especially interesting.

It’s a “cooking for two,” book which means the people buying it are looking for quick, no-fuss meals in smaller portions.

See?

That tells you a lot about the audience and what their preferences are. The Mediterranean one on the far right is another indication — those meals tend to be easy and healthy.

So these people might be looking for a new recipe cookbook, but that doesn’t mean they want some haute cuisine that requires working for hours in the kitchen.

Instead, these (presumably) busy people want something relatively quick and healthy.

Next, the trick is to put something together that’s like these examples but somehow different, better, or unique.

For example, let’s dive a little deeper into books reviews to see what they say.

Here’s a positive review to kick things off:

Awesome! Two of our assumptions are already being proved correct.

People like this example because it provides recipes that are “quick to prepare. “

Busy moms might be foodies. However, foodies probably aren’t going to be buying this book.

That completely changes how you might create, package, design, and even promote this ebook already.

Positive reviews are helpful to start with, but many times you can learn more from negative reviews. Check this out:

First, this book’s organization and table of contents aren’t up to snuff for this reviewer. They’re even giving you the answer here, too: “… organizing the dishes into categories or even providing an index.”

Good ideas! These are the little details that you or I wouldn’t have thought of because we might not be experts on cooking already.

However, a little bit of research has already revealed a few nuggets of wisdom.

Then, this reviewer goes on to complain about some of the editing and attention to detail towards the bottom.

Easy — let’s also have a subject-matter expert help edit this work to ensure accuracy (critical in cooking) is on point.

Use Audience Feedback to Refine Your Lead Magnet Idea

Now let’s take this one step further by simply asking the audience which versions of our idea they’d prefer.

For example, write up a simple blog post that explains what you’re thinking about creating and ask for ideas or improvements.

This does two things at the same time:

1. It helps you get feedback to incorporate into the creation of your lead magnet.
2. And it helps you ‘seed’ the market so that people are already primed to download it when you push the lead magnet live.

Soliciting feedback from people who aren’t yet on your email list can help you better understand how to get them on the list eventually. Here’s what I mean.

Take this post on how an Instagram user-generated more than $300,000.

If you take a close look at the comments section of the post, you’ll find a couple of readers asking about how the Instagram user made her lists.

Multiple people are now requesting the same information in the comments, which means there must be built-in demand for this information.

Lead magnets are ‘free,’ but users still have to part with their precious contact info. They won’t do that for just anything.

So you need to create content that interests the audience.

Let’s check out Google Analytics to see which pages (and topics) are performing best:

Start by segmenting all your posts into categories.

Sometimes your site already has this done if you included categories in your URL string. For example, Unbounce uses the category “PPC” in this blog post:

So you can search for URLs in your most popular content that feature PPC.

You’ve now painstakingly compiled insight into what your customers want. Your next job should be insanely easy at this point: Give them what they’re asking for!

Being Specific About The Value

Picture someone on your site reading your perfectly crafted blog post about the latest trends in European cooking when a pop-up appears offering a printable “Be a Better Cook” guide.

Huh? That generic printed piece of paper is going to make them a better cook? How?

No, thank you.

What if it was a printable checklist on the “Ten Top-Rated Dinner Recipes from France and Italy?”

Now imagine you visit the landing page for Digital Agency Day because you want to see when the upcoming date is to make sure you don’t miss any of the great information.

You’re hemming and hawing about signing up for the live event because you’re not sure if you’ll be able to make it.

Then an exit overlay catches you before leaving, suggesting you sign up to receive the recordings when ready:

Ok, that’s something you can get behind.

It’s specific and relevant, so it immediately makes sense.

So you’ll probably hand over your email.

It’s no surprise that this example resulted in a 19.03 percent conversion rate increase.

People aren’t going to sign up for something they don’t think is useful.

For example, check out this 9-part lesson from Brennan Dunn:

It targets a massive pain point for freelancers (“charging what you’re worth”).

It’s incredibly detailed and in-depth (“9-lesson course”).

There’s social proof that proves its value (“20,000 other freelancers”).

Brennan could easily charge for something like this, and people would still buy it.

It’s that good.

Checklists or cheat sheets can provide immediate value by giving people something they could put to use right now.

A longer multi-part course (like this example) or in-depth ebook can provide that long-term value people will reference for weeks (and months) to come.

Side-step these three issues, and you won’t just churn out another cookie-cutter lead magnet.

Instead, you’ll create a marketing asset that kicks off a long, profitable relationship with a new customer.

Design A High-Quality Lead Magnet

Remember the complaint on the first cookbook a few minutes ago? The poor organization and presentation detracted from the content and overall experience for that reviewer.

Now imagine what happens if you gave your email to get a downloadable guide filled with poor image quality and lots of typos. Same thing, right?

Unsubscribe.

The goal here is to get these users to move on from the freebie and eventually make a purchase. You can’t do that without attention to detail. You also need to show your value.

Check out this checklist from Bryan Harris of Video Fruit.

Looks pretty snazzy, right? Not just another boring rundown filled with typos.

Don’t have the design skills or staffing to get this done? Hire a professional from Dribbble or Behance.

If you need a little extra help to enhance your own work, check out Beacon.

You can even hire a pro on Fiverr to do this for you, or you can do something similar by using a simple Google Doc.

Lead Magnet Frequently Asked Questions

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a free offer businesses offer in exchange for contact information from prospective leads. Examples include an ebook, discount code, free course, or checklist.

What makes a great lead magnet?

A great lead magnet must be valuable to your target audience. Aim to solve a problem or make their job or life easier in some way. For example, a business coach might offer “10 things to do before your next job interview.”

How much does a lead magnet cost?

They should be free to your leads. For businesses, the costs should be for research, creation, and distribution. These consts can vary widely based on the lead magnet and resources available. For example, if you have an in-house marketing team and graphic design person, the costs would be minimal.

What are the best types of lead magnets?

The best lead magnet is one your users find valuable, which can vary by industry, business model, and target audience. Common examples include ebooks, white papers, webinards, checklists, work sheets, coupon codes, and short courses.

{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “FAQPage”,
“mainEntity”: [
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What is a lead magnet? “,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “A lead magnet is a free offer businesses offer in exchange for contact information from prospective leads. Examples include an ebook, discount code, free course, or checklist. ”
}
}
, {
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What makes a great lead magnet?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “A great lead magnet must be valuable to your target audience. Aim to solve a problem or make their job or life easier in some way. For example, a business coach might offer “10 things to do before your next job interview.” ”
}
}
, {
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “How much does a lead magnet cost? “,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “They should be free to your leads. For businesses, the costs should be for research, creation, and distribution. These consts can vary widely based on the lead magnet and resources available. For example, if you have an in-house marketing team and graphic design person, the costs would be minimal. ”
}
}
, {
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What are the best types of lead magnets? “,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “The best lead magnet is one your users find valuable, which can vary by industry, business model, and target audience. Common examples include ebooks, white papers, webinards, checklists, work sheets, coupon codes, and short courses. ”
}
}
]
}

Lead Magnets Conclusion

Lead magnets are one of the best ways to gather audience insight, generate leads, and even start the nurturing process to make the ultimate conversion (to revenue) easier.

Once they’ve signed up for the useful, relevant, and high-quality freebie, you establish yourself as a thought-leader on that topic and create a new customer relationship.

This means they’ll think of you when they need more information. They’ll come back for more. And they’ll come back to buy.

The good news is that these aren’t difficult to create, either. You need to take the time to dive deep into what your customers want and what they don’t want.

Then all you have to do is give them exactly what they’re already asking for.

What is your favorite lead magnet example?

Have you ever wondered why quotes have become so popular nowadays? They are literally everywhere: billboards, social media, etc. The secret to inspirational quotes is in the motivation they bring to our lives. These sayings from famous people, successful entrepreneurs, and politicians have a positive effect on our mood and help us to stay motivated. Some quotes can even inspire us to do something we would never have previously dared to do.

But…do they really matter or are they just fashionable? First, inspirational quotes are good for brainstorming. When you’re trying to find a solution to a tough situation, writing a college essay, or simply searching for ideas for your next Facebook post, a good quote may steer you in a direction you haven’t thought of yet.

Second, most quotes are said or written by people who are successful in their lives and have achieved great heights. Their reputation gives you a reason to believe in these words. When you read quotes from someone who inspires you and who is an authority figure for you, you get a dose of motivation that can encourage action.

Third, inspirational quotes help you focus on results rather than the process. The sayings of famous people capture your imagination. They offer bite-sized creativity and take little time to read (unless you spend all day swiping your Instagram feed).

Fourth, motivational sayings help you to stay positive. They can even help offset feelings of sadness.

In the infographic below, you will find 46 inspirational quotes by social media influencers, young entrepreneurs, YouTubers, and TED speakers that will inspire you.  Check them out!

Read more: addicted2success.com

Friends fans have been waiting for this historic moment for so long. It was announced that all of the original cast and co-creators would reunite in a special unscripted show over a year ago. It was delayed twice, first in March 2020, and then in August 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the time finally came and it was released on May 27, 2021, on HBO Max.

Twitter exploded with reactions ranging from just being happy to see the cast together after all those years to getting really emotional. All in all, the wait was worth it, as it seems that fans of the show enjoyed the reunion. If you’re a fan too, check out these tweets that sum up everyone’s emotional state.

More info: Twitter

#1

Image credits: reignwomenn

There are probably very few people who haven’t seen at least an episode of Friends or at the very least, haven’t heard of them. But if there are some, then they should know that Friends is a ’90s comedy TV show that lasted for ten seasons and depicted the everyday lives of six good friends, following them from the beginning of their 20s to their 30s: seeing them grow as people, succeeding and failing in their careers, relationships, raising children.

To understand how popular it was, you only need to look at pop culture at the time: it influenced music, fashion, hairstyles—everyone was getting ‘The Rachel’ hairstyle. It even had an influence on the English language. For example, in the spoken English, the intensifier ‘very’ was the most common, but with the show, intensifiers like ‘so’ and ‘really’ started to be used more.

#2

Image credits: capfriends

#3

Image credits: DrYusraMemon

And even 17 years since Friends ended it is still very popular. If you like numbers, in 2018, it was watched for 54.3 million hours combined, which is 62k years! And that’s only on Netflix.

You could say that the plot wasn’t something new, so why did the show have such huge success? Part of what makes Friends special is that the situations are relatable. And it’s relatable for people in different life stages. The characters are so different that you are bound to connect with someone.

#4

Image credits: khayaliipulav

#5

Image credits: dalgageciyodum

#6

Image credits: im_giuliaa

Because people relate with the characters, when they see them go through difficult times and turn out on the other side, it gives them hope in their own lives. The show reflects the real world but presents it in a more light-hearted way. It’s reality, but a bit better.

Also, genius is in simplicity. The show is about friendship, but a magical kind of friendship, so for some, the show was what they would have wanted. An ideal, a fantasy that is real enough to make you believe that it is possible in their world too.

#7

Image credits: allana_mb

#8

Image credits: divineysl

#9

Image credits: anistonily

There are more reasons why the show got so big and is still going strong to this day, proof of which is the Friends fever on Twitter. People went crazy when the special finally aired, because it was the first time when all the main cast members could come together at the same time.

However, various critics were saying that the reunion special was not all good. Many were saying that the host was asking banal and superficial questions. There were also opinions that there was too much filler and cameos with the most random people. But they couldn’t deny the great chemistry and friendship between the actors that was still there and that the nostalgia was real.

#10

Image credits: gorjessicaaa

#11

Image credits: tmlinson13

#12

Image credits: EdonaaKrasniiqi

If you haven’t watched Friends: The Reunion, also known as The One Where They Get Back Together, there were a few surprises. The main one was that Rachel actually had a crush on Ross from the beginning of the show. She said, “I remember saying one time to David: ‘It’s going to be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is on national television.’ And sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop.” And then added, “We channeled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel.”

#13

Image credits: HookedonFriends

#14

Image credits: sallystillwaits

Have you seen the reunion and does the show Friends have a special place in your heart? Do you have any fond memories relating to it? Share your opinions about the show and your reactions to the reunion down in the comments. And don‘t forget to upvote the tweets that make you say ‘same.’

#15

Image credits: emanuelbulija3

#16

Image credits: mrsgilmoredanes

#17

Image credits: beyzzakb

#18

Image credits: Amalmurali_

#19

Image credits: dearjenaniston

#20

Image credits: vvilkshake

#21

Image credits: anistonily

#22

Image credits: alwayscourteney

#23

Image credits: MarryellenZ

#24

Image credits: hiddlouistan

#25

Image credits: funtimesonli

#26

Image credits: sushis***420

#27

Image credits: forANISTONN

#28

Image credits: fran_topaz

#29

Image credits: anistonily

#30

Image credits: diellzakaba

#31

Image credits: limitless1245

#32

Image credits: avjzl

#33

Image credits: AryaAR2408

#34

Image credits: ell_bee6

#35

Image credits: FriendsReunion1

#36

Image credits: delphicoracle_

#37

Image credits: spcreationsx

#38

Image credits: brokeNbrave98

#39

Image credits: BeshAlturaikii

#40

Image credits: itsfasih10

#41

Image credits: owaististic

#42

Image credits: cimbomssoldierr

#43

Image credits: im_giuliaa

#44

Image credits: hiddlouistan

#45

Image credits: wynifique

#46

Image credits: anistonily

#47

Image credits: JediZombieMedia

#48

Image credits: mhenniee

#49

Image credits: jjbowerslaugh

#50

Image credits: OfficialPLT

#51

Image credits: anistonily

#52

Image credits: padfootsclaws

#53

Image credits: its_taironical

#54

Image credits: goddessdelrey

#55

Image credits: mc_nayjen

#56

Image credits: Euueff

#57

Image credits: enigma6442

Read more: boredpanda.com

Is outbound marketing right for your business?

How do you decide which strategies are going to help you grow your brand?

If you’ve got questions about outbound, then you’ve come to the right place.

What Is Outbound Marketing?

Outbound marketing is where you (the business) initiate conversations with your customers to attract them to your brand. For example, TV commercials, cold calls, paid ads, and direct mail are all examples of outbound.

Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is when your customer initiates a conversation with you. For example, they visit your website, read an ebook, or download a white paper.

The goal for outbound marketing is to actively build authentic relationships through engagement, targeted communications, and putting your company in the right place at the right time. 

There’s no denying that inbound marketing has grown in popularity in recent years (and with good reason, as it produces tremendous results.) However, outbound still takes up 90 percent of marketing budgets due to the high cost per outreach.

To improve your ROI in outbound, you need to allocate your budget to the methods that work for your brand. Below, we’ll cover some strategies to try, but first, let’s talk about its relevancy.

Is Outbound Marketing Still Relevant Today? 

Every business owner loves to cut costs. When you, as a consumer, immediately delete a sales promotion email from your inbox without looking at it, you might wonder why that business would continually persist with an outbound strategy.

The likelihood is, they’ve built a huge mailing list and their promotions go to every single email address—paying no heed as to whether each customer is directly their target audience or not. 

Why? They’ve invested in building a mailing list, and outbound marketing is still an extremely useful tool. It’s amazingly good at driving brand awareness (as long as your emails aren’t repetitive enough that a customer ends up hating you), maintaining brand relevance, and introducing products to new audiences. It helps you be at the forefront of your customer’s mind, for recommendations, word of mouth marketing, and lead generation. 

Inbound marketing is great, and especially for smaller and low-budget businesses, but if customers don’t know your products exist in the first place, they can’t search for something they aren’t aware of. 

Outbound marketing guarantees you reach people. You won’t be shouting into the void. Blogs are great for SEO and hoping Google’s Algorithm will take pity on you, but when you pay for a TV ad in a half-time break of a popular show: you know it’s going to be seen.

It can be expensive, but, when done correctly, it still provides a good ROI and is still relevant today as a complement to inbound marketing. 

7 Outbound Marketing Strategies to Try

Most marketing success comes through a combination of different strategies. Whether it’s inbound or outbound, there are lots of different ways to reach your target audience, and often it will take lots of different strategies to achieve your goals. 

Here are seven outbound sales strategies you can use to boost your marketing. 

Outbound Marketing Strategy Number #1: Cold Email

Email seems to have been around a long time now, but it’s still bringing in an incredible ROI for marketers. 

We’re all accustomed to receiving newsletters from websites, but we tend to forget about an important part of outbound strategy: cold email.

Cold emails are unsolicited emails you send out to prospects. You’re initiating the interaction, so it firmly fits in with the principles of outbound marketing. 

“Everybody hates receiving unsolicited emails, spam is the worst.” 

Well, what if your cold emails didn’t feel like unsolicited emails? What if they were highly personalized, respected your customer’s time, and actually offered value to them beyond a product that can fix “all of life’s problems?”

Outbound marketing doesn’t have to be pushy, impersonal, sales-based spam. It can have all the creativity of inbound marketing. Using your understanding of your target audience, you can craft cold emails that get responses and create leads. 

Here are some things you will want to concentrate on with your cold emails:

• cleaning your list: make sure you’re reaching live emails
• engaging subject lines: earn the click
• personalization: make people feel like they’re not the millionth person to receive this email
• offering value: you want something from them, what can you offer in return?
• A/B test everything: subject lines, signatures, CTA’s, interval between each email, the time you send each email, and, of course: the copy itself

Small details make a big difference, for example, 30 percent of people open an email based on the subject line, so make sure you’re optimizing every aspect of your outbound marketing.

Outbound Marketing Strategy Number #2: Direct Mail

First, I recommend “cutting edge technology” with emails, and now I’m telling you to send people letters through the mail?

Well, yes!

So much of our lives might have moved online, but we still exist away from the internet and we still receive mail. As it turns out, we still enjoy seeing something in the mailbox with our names on it, and this is an effective way of using outbound marketing. 

This scientific study found brand recall is 70 percent higher among participants exposed to direct mail than an online ad. It may not have the fancy analytics, and you may not be able to put a GIF on it, but it’s certainly a good way to gain traction for your brand, and can still be relevant to your ethos, voice, and how you want to present yourself.

Just take a look at KitKat’s amusing example: 

Estimates for the average ROI from direct mail vary a lot, and, like with most outbound marketing, it’s all about how good your campaign is. 

With direct mail, it’s important to:

• Remain targeted with your approach and segment people based on past purchases, location, demographics, etc.
• Be creative and make your ad stand out amongst the crowd.
• Include a way to track the success of the campaign (unique discount codes are a great way to see which customers are responding).

It might not seem like it fits with the digital age, but direct mail is still a useful outbound strategy.

Outbound Marketing Strategy Number #3: Search Ads

Paid search ads can be seen as a cross between inbound and outbound marketing. While the targeted user has likely actively searched for information related to your products, you’re still artificially placing your brand in front of them in a way more reminiscent of outbound marketing.

Search ads are great for immediate success. 

With SEO, you write an article and watch as the search engines gradually start to rank it. When it does start to bring in traffic, it’s an amazing tool because you’re not paying for clicks, but it takes time and there’s no guarantee of success. 

When you invest in paid search ads, you give your brand an immediate presence in the SERPs, almost guaranteeing you traffic. Of course, you will be paying for each click which means the most important thing with search ads is optimization. 

Not only do your ads have to be on-point, but so do your landing pages (here’s how I make sure my landing pages are converting). 

Clearly set out what you’re trying to achieve with your paid ads and make sure everything is streamlined toward driving action from your customers. Small issues such as a clunky checkout page can hurt your conversion rate and make a big difference to your ROI on your search ads.

The average conversion rate for search ads on the Google network is 4.4 percent, but the hard work you put in might see you push well beyond this. 

Here’s my “Guide to Google Ads” to help you out.

Outbound Marketing Strategy Number #4: Social Media Ads

Billions of people are on social media every day. The average daily usage of social media is two hours and 25 minutes. 

In marketing, we talk a lot about reaching your customers where they’re hanging out, and the data shows this is overwhelmingly on social media. If you’re not running social media ads, then you’re missing out.

Social media is becoming more and more “pay to play,” increasingly making it an outbound tool. Paid social media is:

• more cost-effective than organic social media
• increases brand awareness
• boosts reach

The average organic post reaches just five percent of your followers, so you need a huge following to make a difference with organic social media. Paid ads on the other hand allow you to immediately reach a highly targeted audience.

One of the most powerful aspects of advertising on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn is targeting. These companies have an incredible amount of data on their users and you can use this to be extremely targeted, serving your ads to the people they’re going to have the most impact on.

Outbound Marketing Strategy Number #5: Trade Shows/Events

Marketing may have shifted focus from the physical world to the digital one, but that certainly doesn’t mean getting out and meeting people is a dead art. One of the best ways to get your brand in front of a targeted audience is by attending a trade show. 

This can represent a large upfront cost (on average it costs $100-$150 per square foot of floor space), but the exposure and new connections you make can be well worth it. 

Maintaining brand relevance is something that takes constant commitment, and having a stand at a major trade show is one of the ways you can do this. Just think of any major trade show, and you’ll expect the biggest brands to be there. For example, what would an international farming show be without John Deere?

It may seem like these companies are so big it doesn’t matter whether they attend a trade show, but they recognize that to remain relevant you’ve got to be visible.

When planning for a tradeshow, make sure you’re setting goals and managing your budget appropriately. 

Outbound Marketing Strategy Number #6: Cold Calls 

Outbound doesn’t always have the best reputation and cold calls certainly fit this picture. Despite this, the inescapable reality is cold calling works for many businesses. 

Sales and marketing are still about reaching new audiences and starting conversations and that’s exactly what cold calling allows you to do. Of course, there are good and bad ways of doing this, and you need to consider your approach carefully.

Again, it’s easy to look at cold calling and think it’s all about numbers. Sure, outbound relies on volume, but the most important aspect is still quality, in this case, the quality of the conversations you can have. 

This is why there’s a push away from scripted sales pitches towards approaches like SPIN selling where the focus is on helping the customer to solve their problems (if you’ve read my inbound marketing articles then you know this is something I talk about all the time).

If you’re thinking about using cold calling as part of your outbound strategy then keep these important points in mind:

• Invest in the right software: this will save you so much time and make you much more efficient.
• Think about your brand image: don’t be pushy, work on growing relationships.
• Research your prospect list: make sure you’re reaching a targeted audience.
• Respect people’s privacy: take people off your contact list when requested.
• Protect the vulnerable: look after your customers, especially the elderly, and put protections in place (such as a 30-day refund guarantee) to allow them to change their minds. 

Outbound Marketing Strategy Number #7: TV, Radio, and Print Ads

Online marketing has transformed the way businesses advertise, but traditional advertising is far from dead.

There are lots of online places you can advertise your business and continue to grow your brand. TV and radio ads may require a bigger investment than other forms. like PPC but they still bring in big results.

The average American might spend more than two hours a day on social media, but traditional TV consumption is even higher among the older generations:

• 50-64-year-old Americans watch an average of four hours and 59 minutes of traditional TV each day.
• Over 65s watch a massive six hours and 39 minutes.

Consumption of traditional media might be changing but it’s still there—and therefore it’s still a big opportunity for marketers. Make sure you understand your target demographics and are showcasing your brand with creative messaging and you can still see an excellent return on your investment.

Outbound Marketing Frequently Asked Questions

Outbound Marketing Conclusion

Outbound marketing is something that’s still relevant today. It’s a great complement for your inbound marketing and an excellent way to grow your brand. 

Marketing is a competitive field, and sometimes you can’t rely on people coming to you, instead, you’ve got to put your name out there and guarantee you’re getting exposure. In these cases, cold emails, search ads, social media ads, trade shows, cold calls, and traditional media ads can make a huge difference. 

The most important thing to remember is that many of the same principles of inbound marketing still apply to outbound. You still need to understand your target audience, and you’ve got to be able to provide value and help solve people’s pain points. 

If you can successfully do this, then outbound marketing can be an important part of your strategy. 

What’s your favorite outbound marketing strategy?

“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Read more: pinterest.co.uk

People tend to connect with news sources they trust. As an author, you could be that news source.

However, building a large following is not easy in a world where so many voices are clamoring for attention. That’s why you need to leverage all resources available for you to stand out from the crowd.

One way is to claim your Google News author knowledge panel.

What Is a Google News Author Knowledge Panel?

Google News author knowledge panels are information boxes Google displays at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) when a user searches for an entity. An entity can be a person, business, organization, or event.

Information that appears in your author knowledge panel is pulled from Google’s Knowledge Graph.

This is Google’s data bank, which features a system designed to understand facts about entities on the web and how they relate to each other. Knowledge Graph gets information from several different sources across the web, including (among others), reputable websites, Google My Business (GMB) profiles, Wikipedia, and social media.

Whenever source information changes, Google also automatically updates the author knowledge panel. To display the knowledge panel, search engines:

• receive a user’s query
• obtain search results for the query
• identify the first set of factual entities relevant to the query
• select the most relevant media to display in the knowledge graph
• verify that collected content is factual and relevant to the query

A knowledge panel features content such as:

• visuals (images and videos)
• your website and other third-party websites you appear on
• social media profiles
• contact details
• events
• facts about you or your business

Giving users a quick glimpse of who you are and what you do is essential in helping you build a solid online presence.

Why Should You Verify Your Author Knowledge Panel Account?

Verifying your author panel account is one way that can help you reach your marketing goals. Here are a few reasons why you should invest time and effort in verifying it:

Increases Search Visibility

One of the most significant reasons you should invest time and effort in verifying and managing your author knowledge panel account is that it helps boost SEO. When people search for a query related to you or your brand, the first thing they’ll see on the SERPs is a knowledge graph featuring information about you and your business. Of course, increased search visibility results in increased traffic to your site and, ultimately, an uptick in revenue.

Boosts Brand Visibility

Another reason to verify your author panel is that it’s a great way to increase brand visibility. Because knowledge panels occupy a significant portion of SERP real estate, they offer unmatched brand visibility. Knowledge panels display all kinds of media, giving you incredible branding opportunities. From your name to your social media handles to key website pages, you have an opportunity to present searchers with all branding assets in one place.

Helps With Reputation Management

Reviews play a crucial role in establishing your online currency. Unfortunately, not everyone will leave positive reviews about your brand or products. Negative reviews can tarnish your image. This is where an author knowledge panel comes to the rescue. Since it appears right at the top of SERPs, it helps establish trust with users, helping you with your reputation management.

Improves User Experience

Search engines are all about providing users with the best possible user experience (UX). Verifying your author knowledge panel helps do this. Fortunately, you also get to benefit from the positive UX as it helps drive traffic to your website.

How to Authorize Your Author Knowledge Panel Account

Now that you know what an author knowledge panel is and the many advantages of verifying yours, you need to know how to verify it. Claiming your knowledge graph is critical as it gives you more control of the information displayed in your panel. Let’s dive into how you can authorize yours.

1. Create or Sign in to Your Google Account

To verify your author knowledge panel, you first need to create a Google account if you don’t have one. To do this:

• Go to http://www.google.com/
• Click the “Sign Up” button.
• In the sign-up form, fill in all necessary details.
• Review and accept Google’s terms and conditions.
• Click the “Next Step” button. Your account is created! You can update your profile at any time.

A Google account is one of the ways Google uses to verify your identity and your association with the entity whose knowledge panel you want to manage.

2. Search for Yourself (or the Entity You’re Associated With) on Google

The next step in claiming your author knowledge panel is to search for the entity whose knowledge panel you want to claim. This could be yours as an individual or an organization’s knowledge panel.

The knowledge panel will appear at the top of the SERPs.

3. Claim Your Knowledge Panel

Once a knowledge panel featuring you or your organization is displayed, scroll down to the bottom of the panel. If no one has claimed that particular knowledge panel, you’ll find a “Claim this knowledge panel” button.

This will take you to a window where you will be asked to verify your author knowledge panel.

Clicking “Get Verified” will take you to a page where you’re asked to verify your identity using one of your social media profiles.

After successfully signing in, you can now start managing your author knowledge panel.

How to Get a Google Author Knowledge Panel

What happens when you search for your entity, and you don’t appear in a knowledge panel?

This usually happens when there isn’t enough factual information on the internet for Google to verify and add to its Knowledge Graph. As a result, it can’t generate an author knowledge panel.

You now might be wondering, “How do you build enough critical mass in Google’s Knowledge Graph for Google to recognize your entity?”

Get Featured on Wikipedia Page

Wikipedia is one of the trusted sources Google turns to when gathering information for its Knowledge Graph. One reason for this is the strict guidelines Wikipedia has put in place to ensure all pages published on the platform are accurate and contain no bias. Therefore, being featured on the platform hooks you up to one of the most reliable sources of information on the internet.

One of the best ways to be featured is to build Wikipedia backlinks. The easiest way to do this is by looking for and fixing broken links on Wikipedia. Use a tool like WikiGrabber to find pages that have broken links or need a reference.

Another way is to reach out to an independent Wikipedia editor to create a page for you or mention you on other pages.

Granted, getting featured on Wikipedia can be quite an uphill task. If you want an easier route, you can consider Wikidata. This is a data bank that feeds structured data to Wikimedia projects. Since Google shut down Freebase, their open-source repository that powered the Knowledge Graph, it also relies on data from Wikidata.

Leverage Your Website

Knowledge Graph also pulls information from websites. To leverage your website for building the necessary critical mass you’ll need, you must:

• Use schema markup: Schema markup, or structured data, helps Google understand what you and your website. Done well, it will point Google to all the corroborative data that serves as evidence of your authorship.
• Have a detailed “About Us” page: Your “About Us” page must explain who you are and what you do. Also, include links to relevant publications that can verify who you are and what you do.
• Piggy-back on your connections: If you have connections who already appear in knowledge panels, strategically mention them on your website, link to their entities, or add them to your schema markup.

Investing in an optimized website and well-structured content is an essential step to getting information about yourself pulled into the Knowledge Graph.

Get Yourself Featured on Third-Party Websites

Another way to build up enough critical mass to give search engines enough factual knowledge about you is to get featured in reputable publications. A few effective ways to do this is by:

• Guest posting: Publishing articles on authority news sites helps you create more digital assets to provide Google with data about you. It’s also a great way to establish yourself as a reliable source of information.
• Speaking at events: Both online and in-person events allow you to be mentioned on third-party sites, helping you collaborate on your authorship claims.

The more you appear on the web, particularly on reputable and relevant sites, the higher your chances of appearing in a knowledge panel.

Ramp Up Your Social Media Presence

Social media has become more than just a way to keep in touch with family and friends. It has become one of the ways you can prove your identity online. That’s why optimizing your social media profiles and being active is a great way to increase your Knowledge Graph.

Creating content that your audience will interact with and share will help boost your online presence, powering your Knowledge Graph.

Getting into the Knowledge Graph is essential to the generation of your author knowledge panel. Do everything you can to ensure you give search engines enough factual data about yourself.

Doing so will ensure that you are recognized as an entity worthy of a knowledge panel. Also, make sure to keep “feeding” the Knowledge Graph with updated information. This is essential in ensuring your knowledge panel is populated with the latest data on you.

Author Knowledge Panel FAQs

Before we wrap up this post, let’s briefly answer some of your burning questions concerning author knowledge panels.

How do I get an author knowledge panel?

While you can’t create an author knowledge panel for yourself, you can get one by being recognized as an entity by Google. You do this by increasing your Knowledge Graph on Google.

Where do I find my Google knowledge panel?

To find your knowledge panel, search for yourself on Google. A knowledge panel featuring all kinds of media and information on you will be generated.

How do you manage a knowledge panel?

Managing your knowledge panel involves you claiming and verifying your knowledge panel. Doing this grants you access and the right to manage your knowledge panel.

Can you edit knowledge panels?

Once you have claimed your knowledge panel, you can edit the information it displays by clicking on the “Suggest edits” link. Note, however, that you can only do this when you’re logged into your Google account.

{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “FAQPage”,
“mainEntity”: [
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “How do I get an author knowledge panel?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “While you can’t create an author knowledge panel for yourself, you can get one by being recognized as an entity by Google. You do this by increasing your Knowledge Graph on Google.”
}
}
, {
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Where do I find my Google knowledge panel?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “To find your knowledge panel, search for yourself on Google. A knowledge panel featuring all kinds of media and information on you will be generated.”
}
}
, {
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “How do you manage a knowledge panel?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “Managing your knowledge panel involves you claiming and verifying your knowledge panel. Doing this grants you access and the right to manage your knowledge panel.”
}
}
, {
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Can you edit knowledge panels?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “Once you have claimed your knowledge panel, you can edit the information it displays by clicking on the “Suggest edits” link. Note, however, that you can only do this when you’re logged into your Google account.”
}
}
]
}

Summary of Google News Author Knowledge Panel

The author knowledge panel is a great feature that makes it easy for users to find what they’re looking for on the internet. If you can harness its power, it’s also a great way to power your marketing strategy. From driving traffic to your website to brand awareness, claiming your author knowledge panel is a great business move you can’t ignore.

Remember, keep creating content on various reputable platforms to provide Google’s Knowledge Graph with current information to display in your author knowledge panel.

What has your experience with claiming your author knowledge panel been like?

There’s nothing like the sense of adventure you get while sitting comfortably in your car, winding your way down a scenic path, with a good song on the radio. Maybe you’ve got great company in the car, keeping you smiling throughout. Maybe you’re planning a stop at the world’s best roadside diner later on. Whatever the case—you’re brimming with joy and happiness.

However, that’s an overly romanticized view of driving. Everything up above doesn’t happen all too often. In reality, the world of driving is… well, it’s imperfect to put it diplomatically. Road raging jerks, impatient drivers who will zoom past you because you were adhering to the speed limits, clunky cars, and accidents that seem like they’re from a comedy show are just the tip of the iceberg.

The popular ‘Bad Drivers’ Facebook group shows us the utterly hilarious and sometimes totally bizarre side of driving and we’ve collected some of their very best posts to help speed your way towards the weekend. Check out the driving pics and memes about bad drivers below, remember to upvote the ones that you enjoyed the most, and tell us all about what you love and hate about driving the most in the comments, dear Pandas.

#1

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#2

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#3

Image credits: Bad Drivers

The ‘Bad Drivers’ Facebook group was founded over 3 years ago, back in January 2018. Since then, it has amassed a pretty large following with its driving-related content. At the time of writing, the online group had just over 595k members. In the last week alone, there were a whopping 8.7k new members.

The group had 374 posts in the last month, which averages to just over 10 per day. Though that number can vary wildly. For instance, within the last 24 hours at the time of writing, there had been 33 new posts shared by members of the group.

#4

“Park according to the rules”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#5

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#6

“Can’t*”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

The administrators and moderators ask that all members of the group be “kind and courteous” to one another and respect each other’s privacy. They’re very firm about there not being any bullying or hate speech, too. What’s more, any sort of self-promotion or spam isn’t allowed. The content has to be related to driving and, well, bad drivers in some shape or form. Random and irrelevant posts won’t get you much love on ‘Bad Drivers.’

#7

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#8

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#9

“This should be ticketable offense”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

Driving is just like any other skill—the more experience you have, the more effort you put into honing your abilities (and talents if you’ve got any), the better you’ll perform. So being a good driver is about putting in the time and improving slowly over time. There are no shortcuts because patience, perception, the ability to keep cool under stress, and being able to react quickly are what’s needed. You can’t cheat your way into that, so be prepared to put in a lot of hours behind the wheel before you feel confident.

#10

“When you want a pickup truck but can’t afford it”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#11

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#12

Image credits: Bad Drivers

Confidence, or rather overconfidence, can be very insidious, however. You can’t ever fully relax behind the wheel because that’s when accidents tend to happen. You always need to be aware of your surroundings. Texting someone while driving is way out of line. Leave your 101 unanswered Facebook messages and 13 emails for when you’re getting a cup of coffee or when you’re safely back home.

#13

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#14

“No disabled disc displayed and walked into the supermarket with the carpark only half full.”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#15

Image credits: Bad Drivers

It’s common sense that you shouldn’t drive when you’re sleepy or if you’ve had any alcohol. What’s more, you ought to adjust your mirrors properly every time you get into the car. Obviously, don’t forget to view your mirrors. And however fun the ‘Fast & Furious’ films might look, in reality, speed won’t get you anywhere but in danger if you lack the necessary skills and control. It’s always best to match the speed of the traffic and play by the rules. After all, you want to be a good driver, not a bad one. Right?

#16

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#17

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#18

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#19

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#20

“I have so many questions…”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#21

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#22

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#23

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#24

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#25

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#26

“Only in Tennessee do you put your woman out on the top of the car.”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#27

“It’s that bad out here”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#28

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#29

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#30

“More cyclists. Turns out they aren’t very good in cars either”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#31

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#32

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#33

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#34

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#35

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#36

“boy she high as hell”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#37

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#38

“P doesn’t stand for Parking”

Image credits: Bad Drivers

#39

Image credits: Bad Drivers

Read more: boredpanda.com

Twenty years ago, I had no idea we would be talking about eSports marketing. eSports was somewhat of an underground industry coveted by the most loyal fans. Today, eSports is a booming industry ripe for the taking by smart but strategic business owners who understand their audience. 

What Is eSports Marketing?

eSports is the projected 1,790 million dollar industry taking hold of Millenials. It’s competitive gaming where groups assemble teams and play against each other as they would in any other sport. They hold tournaments, and many professional gamers have large followings on gaming platforms like Twitch. 

Until recently, only brands like Red Bull and others associated with gaming were able to get in on eSports marketing. Things have quickly changed. Now, you have businesses from all niches, including Mercedes and Coca-Cola, wanting to get in on the action. Is it the right fit for your business? It might be. 

Why eSports Marketing? 

Why would a B2C business want to choose eSports marketing over another strategy? First, marketing in eSports allows you to reach a dedicated and engaged audience. The people who follow eSports are invested in it; they interact with professionals from the industry, and they take the sport seriously. 

Second, the cost of advertising is still relatively low due to the lack of competition. There aren’t many ads, and many of the big-name competitors haven’t reached the market yet, which means there are opportunities for smaller businesses to come in and display ads at a low cost. How do you use it? 

6 B2C eSports Marketing Strategies to Try 

Now that you understand the power of an eSports marketing strategy, you need to know how to implement it. In the following sections, I’ll break down actionable steps you can take to promote your business to the eSports market. 

1. Create In-Game Ads 

Investing in an in-game ad can be a unique, but powerful strategy. This is one sure-fire way to separate yourself from the competition, gather precise data about your audience, and help increase your brand awareness. 

Keep in mind that the depiction of the average gamer isn’t always accurate. People think that gamers’ ages skew much younger than they do. There are a lot of stereotypes, but the average gamer is actually 34 years old, owns a home, and has a family. Plus, more and more women are gaming, as well. 

Another advantage of in-game advertising is there are a number of display options. 

The example above from the Madden football game from EA Sports shows a GMC ad as if it was a real game. In the NFL, companies often sponsor certain segments of the game. In this case, the auto manufacturer GMC sponsored the “moment of the game,” which is a highlight of the best play of the game. 

You can also display your ad on virtual billboards and sidelines in games such as Madden, FIFA, and MLB The Show which are all part of the eSports world. 

2. Dynamic Ads

Dynamic ads in eSports are unique because they are only seen by viewers, and not the players. This presents an opportunity for you to reach a highly targeted audience because you know and understand the demographics of the people watching the sport. Much of that data is easily available to whoever wants it. 

For example, the popular eSports game, “League of Legends” uses dynamic ads in one of their battlefields. As players move through the battlefield, they’ll continue to see the game as-is. Meanwhile, viewers of the game are seeing advertisements increasing brand awareness for those who advertised. 

To implement an ad like this, you’ll need to contact the advertising and public relations teams of whatever game you want to advertise on. This is where the research and knowledge of your audience comes into play. Certain games have different audiences. 

For example, I’ve provided the names of a few different games in this article so far. We talked about Madden and League of Legends. These two games have a completely different audience with unique interests. It’s up to you to understand these games, even if you don’t play them, because that’s how you’ll target the right people. 

3. Partner With eSports Influencers 

Like any other industry, there are influencers. This strategy opens the door to more possibilities because you can piggyback on the following and audience of the influencer across a variety of platforms. If the influencer is on TikTok and Instagram, you’ll be able to take advantage of that audience as well. 

One of the reasons influencer marketing and gaming go hand-in-hand is because it’s engaging. These professional gamers actually talk to their audience, they engage on Twitch, they talk during their streams, and their audience respects them. 

Streaming has become social media for eSports, so by partnering with an influencer and getting them to promote your brand, you’re increasing brand awareness and also using the respect the gamer has earned to boost your brand. 

One great example of this is Bang Energy drinks. You’ll find these everywhere throughout the eSports world, but the advertisements seem so natural. It could be as simple as a gamer drinking it with the logo facing the screen for an hour. It brings awareness to the brand and influences the people who love that gamer to support it.  

Partnering with an influencer could be as simple as getting a shoutout during live videos. There’s no cut-and-dry way to implement influencer sponsorship. You need to reach out manually to big names in the industry until someone gets back to you. 

4. Sponsor a Team 

Another eSports marketing strategy is to sponsor a team. What does that mean exactly? It means that you’re responsible for some of the team’s expenses in exchange for the publicity. Companies that sponsor teams often get their logo on uniforms or the teams agree to consume their product exclusively whenever they’re on camera. 

As you can see in the above image, Red Bull, Puma, and Twitch are all sponsors of this team because their logos are on the uniform. 

This strategy is popular in sports of all kinds (even Little League) and is used to drive brand awareness. Will anyone see that shirt and immediately go out and buy a case of Red Bull? Probably not, but you’re keeping your brand fresh in the minds of people who purchase the product and that’s what larger companies pay for this type of advertising. 

If you’re a smaller company, I wouldn’t recommend this method because people may not know who you are. An ad where you can briefly describe your product or service would do better. The companies that advertise this way are already well known and want to remind consumers that their favorite brands support eSports. 

5. Create a Static eSports Ad 

Static advertising is the opposite of dynamic advertising. Rather than changing, these ads remain in the game forever and display to both players and the viewers. There are a few different ways for this to work. 

One strategy is with fictional brand advertisements. Think about “Buzz-Cola” from The Simpsons. Even though they call it a different name, we all know what reference they’re making so it serves its purpose. 

You don’t have to choose such a subtle ad though. Some games such as racing games will display full billboards of ads for real companies. These static ads do not change no matter what happens in the game, and generally don’t require an internet connection. 

Games like Fortnite, for example, have constantly changing dynamic ads because they are played online. A static ad would not require a connection and would likely be found in a story mode that is played offline. 

To get your brand in the game, you’ll have to contact the marketing and public relations department—-and you’ll also need a pretty hefty budget. It takes a long time for development, and there isn’t a solid way to measure the results of a static ad, since you can’t track impressions. 

6. Advergaming 

Advergaming is one of the most extreme eSports marketing strategies. This is when a game is specifically created with the intention of promoting a brand or product. Do you remember when Burger King came out with “King” based games for the Xbox years ago?

If your brand uses advergaming, you’re putting your business front and center. However, there are a few clear concerns with this strategy.  

First, for you to have any success, the game has to be fun to play. If the game is a flop, no one will play it and you might as well have flushed the money down the drain. 

Second, you’re relying on the marketing and promotional efforts of the company. Chances are, you’ll only be able to get a smaller engineering company to sponsor your game. 

Third, it’s going to cost a lot of money and take a lot of time because you’re producing a game from scratch. There’s probably a reason why Burger King only did this once. 

eSports Marketing Frequently Asked Questions

eSports Marketing Conclusion 

If you’re considering hiring an eSports marketing agency to help you, why not see what we can do for you? eSports is a booming industry among both young and old generations. 

Keep in mind that younger generations are finding entertainment in different ways. Streaming continues to grow, and, as a result, these people enjoy watching their favorite streamers the same way that older generations liked watching their favorite talk show host. 

To be successful, you need to take advantage of growing marketing trends, and eSports is right at the forefront of it all. 

How do you plan to take advantage of eSports marketing? Do you think it’s all hype?

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. – Harriet Beecher Stow

Read more: pinterest.co.uk

Are you struggling to scale up your paid ads?

Or even worse, are you struggling to get them working?

You see all these big companies running tons of ads, some even are spending millions of dollars… if they can make it work, you can too, right?

Well, today at 9am PST I am hosting a webinar that breaks down the ad secrets from the big brands that you can copy to sell more.

So, make sure you register, it’s free.

What will you learn?

At our agency, NP Digital we’ve worked with companies of all sizes… large and small.

And we’ve learned a lot of cool, unique strategies that are typically only used by the bigger companies. But what’s interesting is these strategies also work well for smaller brands that have smaller budgets… but they just tend not to use them.

Here are some of the specific things we will teach you:

1. There are certain times of the year people will spend more, and it is easier to make more money from your ads during those times. (We will break down exactly when those times are.)
2. How to combine ads with other marketing efforts to generate a better ROI. (We will show you those other efforts and how to implement them step-by-step.)
3. How to leverage trends and benchmarks so you can make better decisions with your ads.
4. Different mobile strategies you can use that work well. This is important because the majority of Internet users are coming from mobile devices.
5. Tests you can run that have been effective in the past.

And the points I mentioned above are just scratching the surface. So make sure you register for the free webinar.  

Conclusion

I hope to see you on the webinar. I know I mainly discuss SEO, which is a great marketing channel, but you should also consider leveraging paid ads.

With paid ads, you can scale faster and see results quicker. It takes some time to get paid ads going correctly, but hey that’s what today’s webinar is all about.

And whether you are spending little to no money on ads or millions, there will be strategies and tactics that will benefit you.

So, make sure you register.

I look forward to seeing you today.

PS: If you just want my team to implement these hacks and manage your ads, go here.

Look, who said that every film director, screenwriter, every producer, all the managers and staff members think through all the little and more obvious details when making a movie? Well, nobody actually promised that, but it’s sort of a no-brainer.

The reality is often different, though. Take The Dark Knight, Avengers, Home Alone, The Return of the Jedi and many of our other all-time favorite films, scroll through this online Reddit community, and face the fact that far from everything there is picture perfect, let alone makes sense.

So today we’re diving into the worst, cringiest, most illogical, and ‘what on earth were they thinkin’’-kind of movie details that give the words ‘bad’ and ‘not smart’ a whole new meaning. Psst! Part 1 awaits right here around the corner!

#1 In Batman Begins (2005), Bruce Wayne Decides To Fight Crime After His Parents Are Killed. This Is Because Rich People Only Care About A Cause After It Affects Them Personally

Image credits: random_guy_somewhere

#2 In Wonder Woman (2017), Diana Is Able To Get To London From Her Remote Island In Only A Day Because She Is An Amazon, And Therefore Qualifies For Next Day Shipping

Image credits: random_guy_somewhere

#3 In The Fate Of The Furious (2018), Dwayne Johnson Says That Rubber Bullets Were A Mistake. This Is Because The Guards Should’ve Used Paper Bullets Instead To Defeat The Rock

Image credits: dontcommitnorespawn

#4 In Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), Barry Allen Breaks A Window By Merely Touching It. This Is Because Windows No Longer Supports Flash.

Image credits: Christopher-Nolan

#5 “Lincoln” Grossed Over $275,000,000 In Movie Theaters, Which Is Ironic Since Historically Lincoln Doesn’t Do Too Well In Theaters

Image credits: j0z-

#6 In The Cronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Peter, Susan, Edmund And Lucy Decide To Rule Narnia. This Is Because They Are British, And The Country Had Not Been Colonised Yet

Image credits: Rishur10

#7 In Dark Phoenix (2019) Charles Xavier Made His Students Wear An “X” On Their Chests So That The Enemy Would Aim At Them Instead Of Him

Image credits: pale_guy_

#8 In Return Of The Jedi (1983), Darth Vader Reveals He’s A Master Harmonica Player

Image credits: fletchDigital

#9 Wow! Did You Know?

Image credits: UnsharpenedSwan

#10 Vin Diesel’s Full Legal Name, Vehicle Identification Number Diesel, Was The Sole Determining Factor In His Original Casting For The Fast & Furious Franchise

Image credits: ObimoObinkimo

#11 Wow Who Knew

Image credits: Kamikaze_AZ22

#12 In Arrival (2016), Amy Adams Tries Her Best To Convince The Aliens She Is Not The Imposter

Image credits: random_guy_somewhere

#13 In The Order Of The Phoenix, Dumbledore Calls Voldemort By His Birth Name, Tom. This Foreshadows The Fact That J.k. Rowling Does Not Respect People’s Chosen Identities

Image credits: Both_Tone

#14 They Couldn’t See Eye To Eye

Image credits: SortaBad

#15 Actor Noah Ringer Hated Filming “The Last Airbender” So Much That He Tattooed A Huge Downvote On His Head To Symbolize How Much This Movie Sucked

Image credits: james-1990

#16 Even Hollywood Knows How Lawsuit-Happy Nintendo Is

Image credits: acestevensfilm

#17 The Same Woman Who Appears As A Background Extra In This George Clooney Scene In Ocean’s Thirteen (2007) Also Appears In The Background Of A George Clooney Scene In Gravity (2013)

Image credits: KscILLBILL

#18 In Avengers: Endgame (2019), Scarlet Johansson Throws Herself Off A Cliff So She Doesn’t Have To Be Part Of The Girl Power Scene

Image credits: random_guy_somewhere

#19 In Fantastic Four (2005) The Characters Represent The Four Elements: Fire, Earth, Invisibility, And Stretching

Image credits: captainmagictrousers

#20 In Midsommar (2019) The Action Takes Place In Sweden. You Can Tell That Because The Villagers Are Seen Using IKEA Kitchenware!

Image credits: rb_smooth

#21 In Baby’s Day Out (1994), Production Nearly Stopped Multiple Times After The Crew Ran Out Of Babies While Filming The Ledge Scenes

Image credits: sirsquid

#22 In The Matrix Revolutions(2003) The Humans Consistently Use The Metric System. Indicating That The Imperial System Got Thrown In The Trash Where It Belongs

Image credits: Mystre316

#23 In Order To Keep The Title Of The Movie Home Alone (1990) Accurate, Macaulay Culkin Had To Film All His Scenes At His House By Himself With No One Else On Set

Image credits: random_guy_somewhere

#24 The Fifth Element (1997) Has Absolutely Nothing To Do With Boron

Image credits: polyworfism

#25 In The Movie The Shining, If You Zoom Into Jack Torrance’s Green Knitted Tie You Can Spot The Hedge Maze Where He Got Lost And Died.

Image credits: d3333p7

#26 In Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), You Don’t Actually Have To Watch The First 1,983 Wonder Woman Movies To Understand The Plot

Image credits: LemonPartyWorldTour

#27 In Spider-Man (2002) Peter Parker Sold Pictures Of Himself For Money. This Is A Reference To How He Was The First Onlyfans Model

Image credits: pale_guy_

#28 In Doctor Strange (2016) Wong Doesn’t Find Any Of Strange’s Jokes To Be Funny. At The End Of The Film Strange Makes A Bad Joke And Wong Laughs. This Is Now Because Doctor Strange Is His Boss

Image credits: Swarley3

#29 In Joker (2019) We See Joker Wearing Red And Lifting His Arms To Take Flight. But He Couldn’t Fly Because, Despite The Actor’s Name, He Is Not A Real Phoenix

Image credits: pale_guy_

#30 In Pulp Fiction (1994), Marcelus Wallace Says He Is Pretty F***ing Far From Ok, Because Los Angeles In 850 Miles From Oklahoma, Which Is Pretty F***ing Far

Image credits: Boozdeuvash

#31 In The Fast & Furious Movies, Vin (Vehicle Identification Number) Diesel Doesn’t Drink Beer Because He Only Runs On Diesel

Image credits: pale_guy_

#32 In Back To The Future Part II (1989), Marty Mcfly Puts His Bare Sock On Wet Concrete. This Is A Reference To The Fact He’s A Goddamn Maniac

Image credits: thanksforhavingme

#33 In Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle (2017), Karen Gillian And Jack Black Face A Great Dilemma As They Find Themselves Stuck Between A Rock And A Hart Place

Image credits: HollyWill94

#34 Before Acting In Star Wars: Episode Iv – A New Hope (1977), Carrie Fisher Had Never Seen A Single Star Wars Movie

Image credits: DickyRuth

#35 Ellen Degeneres Plays A Forgetful Fish In Finding Nemo (2003) And Finding Dory (2016). This Is A Reference To The Fact That Elen Forgets To Be Nice To People

Image credits: reddit.com

#36 The Dump Truck From Cars 2 Previously Made An Appearance In The Incredibles (2004)

Image credits: pale_guy_

#37 In Watchmen (2009), The Patterns On Rorschach’s Mask Constantly Shift Around And Show Various Images Of My Parents Fighting

Image credits: AdvocateSaint

#38 The Reason Why The Dad In Pixar’s Luca (2021) Only Has One Arm Is Because Considering That The Movie Is Set In Italy In 1950, Disney Needed An In-Universe Reason As To Why He Didn’t Fight For Benito Mussolini In WWII

Image credits: Usurper_King_Zant

#39 In Avengers: Endgame (2019), Which Takes Place 5 Years In The Future, We See Korg Using A Playstation 4 Because The Playstation 5 Is Still Sold Out

Image credits: random_guy_somewhere

#40 In The Lion King (1994) They Used Wildebeests Instead Of Bisons For The Stampede Because The Name Bison (Bye Son) Was Going To Spoil What Happens Next

Image credits: pale_guy_

#41 In Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) A Bunch Of Random Dots Appear On Screen Before The Movie Starts. A Real Missed Opportunity For The Production Company

Image credits: AmagicFish

#42 Stranger Things Actor Finn Wolfhard Actually Appeared In Pulp Fiction (1994)

Image credits: pale_guy_

#43 Little Did You Know

Image credits: Bikefry666

#44 New Pixar Film, Luca, Teaches Children To Throw Garbage Into The Ocean So The Sea Monsters Can Have Cool Toys

Image credits: Rushtic77

#45 It Was Never Explained

Image credits: Jenings

#46 In ’lost In Translation’ (2003) You Can’t Hear What Bill Murray Whispers To Scarlett Johansson But If You Turn The Subtitles On You Can Tell He Says “Whispering, Indistinct”

Image credits: HuevoNegro

#47 In 2018, John Krasinski Had A Mental Breakdown Stemming From His Inability To Escape Being Known For His Role As Jim Halpert. He Didn’t Speak For Months, And His Wife Decided To Document His Breakdown, Calling It “A Quiet Place”

Image credits: PM_ME_UR_REPORTCARD

#48 This Scene In Toy Story (1995) Was Filmed In This Portion Of The Sky Over 25 Years Ago

Image credits: HellotoHorse

#49 Highschool Movies/TV Are Considered Highly Unrealistic. This Is Due To Characters Always Having A Top School Locker

Image credits: RayInRed

#50 Contrary To The Popular Belief, The Superpowers Of Gwyneth Paltrow In Iron Man 3 (2013) Weren’t Created By Cgi Nor Make-Up, Rather They Are A Side Effects Of Goop Products

Image credits: IrshamWindborn

#51 In Divergent (2014), The Character Four Blocks Light, Creating Darker Areas On His Face. This Is Four Shadowing

Image credits: whitearmednausicaa

#52 In Order To Prepare For His Role As A Rapper In The Movie 8 Mile, Marshall Mathers Pursued A Rap Career And Won 6 Grammys

Image credits: childish_jalapenos

#53 In The Hunger Games (2012), Peeta Disguises Himself As A Rock And No One Notices Him. He Was Taught This Trick By His Cousin, A Famous Wrestler Called Dwayne

Image credits: Tokyono

#54 In Black Widow (2021), A Bmw Is Shown To Have Functioning Turn Signals. This Is To Show That The Movie Is Fictional And Not Based On A True Story

Image credits: KitFristo

#55 Despite Being A Walker, Paul Walker Was Cast In The Fast & Furious Movies Because The Director Couldn’t Get Adam Driver For The Lead Role

Image credits: pale_guy_

#56 In 1917, Two Soldiers Must Embark On A Harrowing And Lethal Mission. This Was In Fact Inspired By My Grandfather’s Daily Trip To School

Image credits: HeLLRaYz0r

#57 You Might Have Missed That One

Image credits: thetoddberger

#58 In Wonder Woman (2017) Connie Nielsen Plays Jeff Bezos, The Leader Of The Amazons

Image credits: pale_guy_

#59 In Man Of Steel (2013) Superman Searches For Justice But Only Finds Just Ice

Image credits: pale_guy_

#60 If You Watch Spider-Man (2002) In Reverse, It’s About A Superhero Forced To Retire After Being Bitten By A Power-Nullyfying Spider, Then Having To Live With The Reanimated Corpse Of His Dead Uncle

Image credits: ToyVaren

#61 In 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Male Crew Travels To Jupiter To Expand Their Scientific Knowledge. This Is An Oversight, Since Boys Go To Jupiter To Get More Stupider

Image credits: Xechwill

#62 In Independence Day (1996) The Fighter Pilots Disobey A Direct Order And Fire Their Missiles At The Aliens, Even Though The General Specifically Said “Fire At Will”

Image credits: Squawk_7500

#63 Actor Oscar Isaac Was Cast In The Sequel Trilogy Because The Filmmakers Believed That Was The Only Way To Get An Oscar Associated With The Movies

Image credits: Teja-Stark

#64 In Spider (Hyphen) Man: Far From Home (2019), Jake Gyllenhal Can Be Seen In The Background Of Several Scenes. He Wasn’t Meant To Be There And Later Admitted He Just Enjoys Stalking Tom Holland

Image credits: KermitTheFraud92

#65 In The Movie “Fight Club”, The First Rule Is Not To Talk About Fight Club. Everyone That Watched The Movie Obeyed This Rule And Didn’t Tell Anyone Else About The Movie, Causing It To Become A Box Office Failure

Image credits: reddit.com

#66 In The Dark Knight (2008), The Serial Killer Antagonist, “The Joker,” Uses A Playing Card As His Calling Card To Receive Credit For His Victims. If We Zoom In, We Can See That This Card Is Actually A Joker Card That Comes With A Standard Card Deck. This May Be A Reference To The Character’s Name

Image credits: reddit.com

#67 In Avengers: Endgame, Thanos Tells Scarlet Witch “I Don’t Even Know Who You Are”. This Is Because He Can’t Figure Out Which Olsen Sister She Is

Image credits: Mysterio400

#68 In Polar Express, Billy Sings, “I Guess That Santa’s Busy, Cause He Never Comes Around.” This Is Because He’s Poor And Santa Doesn’t Visit Poor Kids

Image credits: 69tails8

#69 In Knives Out (2019), A Bunch Of Knives Are Hanging Out. This Is Why The Movie Is Called Knives Out

Image credits: Tokyono

#70 Martin Scorsese Named His Movie The Irishman To Trick Superhero Fans Of Batman, Superman Or Spiderman To Watch Real Cinema

Image credits: pale_guy_

#71 In Batman vs. Superman (2016) Henry Cavill Makes This Stupid Face. God He Looks Stupid

Image credits: KennKennyKenKen

#72 In Spider-Man 2, Mary Jane Says “Go Get ‘Em Tiger” To Peter. This Is Because She Doesn’t Know The Difference Between A Tiger And A Spider

Image credits: pale_guy_

#73 Before Shooting Started For Edge Of Tomorrow (2014), Tom Cruise Wanted Real Aliens On Set But The Producers Wouldn’t Allow It. So, He Became Executive Producer And Used His Scientology Connections To Invite The Aliens To Earth For Filming

Image credits: hand-drawn-noodles

#74 In Hitman (2007), The Final Scene Shows The Moon, Revealing Everything Took Place On Earth

Image credits: CudaRavage

#75 In The Matrix (1999), Neo’s Passport Expires On 09/11/2001. This Is Because His Passport Was Issued On 09/12/1991 And Valid Only For 10 Years

Image credits: RayInRed

#76 Disney Didn’t Get Permission To Use The Punisher Logo On Sid’s Shirt In Toy Story (1995). To Avoid Getting Sued, They Bought The Rights To Marvel Comics

Image credits: pale_guy_

#77 In Aquaman (2018), Willem Dafoe Was Cast As A Good Guy For Once, Making Him Dafriend Of Aquaman

Image credits: pale_guy_

#78 In Dark Phoenix (2019), Jean Grey Can Be Seen Wearing Grey, A Reference To The Fact That She Is Jean Grey

Image credits: Likestuff12

#79 In Mission: Impossible (1996), Only A Few People Spotted That The Mission Turned Out To Be Fairly Possible Despite Its Title. This Will Later Be Reused As A Inside Joke For The Next Movies

Image credits: SuperValou

#80 In Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter Wears Eyeglasses To Read. This Is A Reference To The Fact That Harry Potter Had Poor Eyesight. Confirmed By The Director In A Q&A

Image credits: SSj_CODii

#81 In Spider-Man (2002) Mary Jane Asks Spider-Man Who He Is. This Is Because Actress Kirsten Dunst Wasn’t Aware She Auditioned For A Role In A Spider-Man Movie

Image credits: pale_guy_

#82 In Rise Of Skywalker (2019), Dark Rey Has Bad Teeth Because She Is British

Image credits: sonicdivine

#83 “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” (2018) Wasn’t Originally An Animated Movie, It Had To Be Animated After No Actor Survived The Weight Gain To Play Kingpin

Image credits: trodrig21

#84 In Detective Pikachu (2019) Ninetales Only Has Two Tails Instead Of Nine

Image credits: pale_guy_

#85 In Forrest Gump (1994), Lieutenant Dan’s Post-War Scenes Without Legs Were Filmed First, Since Actor Gary Sinise Had No Legs When Production Began. His Pre-War Scenes Were Filmed Later On When He Grew Them Back

Image credits: squareroot4percenter

#86 Stan Lee Makes No Cameo In Parasite (2019), As A Reference To The Fact That It Isn’t A Marvel Movie, And He Is Dead

Image credits: SoupyLad

#87 In Forrest Gump (1994), Forrest Named His Boat Jenny Cuz Everybody Be Ridin It

Image credits: BasuKhangembam

Read more: boredpanda.com