Tag Archive for: Email Marketing

How To Get The Most Out of Your Outsourced Digital Marketing Relationship

 If you’ve made the smart decision to partner with a marketing agency, you’re on the right track to accelerating your business growth. But to truly maximize the potential of this collaboration, there are certain steps you can take to set yourself up for success (spoiler alert: this includes communication, patience, consistency and yes, timely approvals for content – pretty please!) 

In this blog, we’ll guide you through a series of essential strategies and best practices that will help you foster a thriving partnership with your outsourced marketing agency. From clearly defining goals and expectations to establishing transparent communication channels, we’ll cover all the crucial elements that contribute to a successful outsourcing relationship. Let’s dive in!

Set Yourself Up For Success: The Foundation of a Thriving Partnership

Clearly Define Goals and Expectations: The Roadmap to Success

Take some time to define your goals and expectations. Do you want to increase brand awareness, boost conversions, or expand into new markets? Lay it all out and share it with your marketing agency. With a shared vision, you’ll be cruising towards success in no time.

Communicate Your Brand’s Voice and Values: A Unified Front

Share your brand’s personality, tone, and values, so they can create content that hits all the right notes. A unified front will resonate with your target audience and create a memorable brand experience.

Establish a Transparent Communication Channel: Keeping the Conversation Flowing

Communication is key to any successful relationship. Establish a transparent communication channel with your agency, whether it’s through email, project management tools, or regular video calls. Keep the conversation flowing. Share updates, ask questions, and provide feedback. The more you communicate, the better your agency can understand your needs and deliver exceptional results.

Provide Necessary Resources and Information: Sharing is Caring

Provide your agency with access to relevant data, customer insights, and industry knowledge. Share your brand guidelines, creative assets, and any other resources they might need. By equipping them with the right tools, you’ll empower them to create marketing campaigns that hit the bullseye.

Being an Active Participant in Your Own Success

It’s time to break down the walls between you and your marketing agency and embrace collaboration. You bring your industry expertise and deep knowledge of your target audience, while they bring their marketing prowess and creative genius. By working together as a team, you’ll unlock new ideas, innovative strategies, and out-of-the-box solutions that will propel your business forward. So, let those creative juices flow and let the magic happen!

Actively Engage in Strategic Discussions: The Power of Brainstorming

Strategic discussions are like electric storms of ideas, where sparks of brilliance fly around. Don’t miss out on the fun! Actively engage in these discussions with your marketing agency. Bring your unique perspective to the table, ask questions, challenge assumptions, and explore new possibilities. Together, you’ll uncover hidden opportunities and forge a path towards marketing greatness.

Be Patient – Organic MarketingTakes Time

Patience, grasshopper, patience. In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, it’s easy to expect instant results. But here’s the reality check: organic growth takes time, my friend. So, let’s take a deep breath and embrace the art of patience.

Understand the Nature of Organic Marketing: Planting Seeds for Future Success

Organic marketing is like nurturing a beautiful garden. You plant the seeds, water them, and patiently wait for them to bloom. Similarly, organic marketing requires consistent effort, valuable content, and genuine engagement. It takes time for your brand to gain visibility, build trust, and establish a loyal following. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a thriving organic presence.

Set Realistic Expectations

Managing expectations is key to maintaining your sanity in the world of marketing. Set realistic goals and timelines based on the nature of organic growth. Understand that it may take several months or even longer to see significant results. But rest assured, with a solid strategy, consistent effort, and a sprinkle of patience, your hard work will pay off in due time.

Embrace Consistency and Long-term Growth: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Consistency is the secret sauce to organic success. Stay committed to delivering valuable content, engaging with your audience, and nurturing relationships. Keep showing up, even when it feels like progress is slow. Remember, every interaction, every piece of content, and every effort

Respect the Agency’s Expertise: Collaborate and Trust for Mutual Success

When you partner with an outsourced marketing agency, you’re tapping into a wealth of knowledge and experience. To get the most out of this dynamic relationship, it’s crucial to respect their expertise and foster a collaborative environment for mutual success.

Recognize the Agency’s Knowledge and Experience: Trust the Experts

Your marketing agency brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. Recognize their strengths and value their expertise. Trust that they have the skills and knowledge to guide you towards success.

Be Open to New Ideas and Strategies: Embrace Fresh Perspectives

One of the benefits of working with an outsourced marketing agency is access to fresh ideas and strategies. Be open to their suggestions, even if they challenge your current thinking. Embrace their unique perspectives and explore new possibilities for your marketing efforts.

Trust Their Recommendations and Insights: Follow Their Lead

Your marketing agency has your best interests in mind. When they make recommendations or provide insights, trust their expertise and follow their lead. Remember, they’re working towards the same goal as you: success for your brand.

Approve Your Content (Please…We’re begging.)

We’re begging you, please, make timely approval a priority. Your marketing campaigns rely on the smooth flow of content creation and deployment. Delays in approval can disrupt the momentum and effectiveness of your initiatives. So, be responsive and proactive in reviewing and approving the content. Your agency will be eternally grateful, and your marketing engine will run like a well-oiled machine.

By embracing the content approval process, you play a crucial role in maintaining the quality, consistency, and success of your marketing efforts. So, grab your red pen, don your discerning marketer hat, and let’s give that content our seal of approval. Pretty please, with a cherry on top!

Get on Camera (However Much You Hate It)

Lights, camera, action! We know that the thought of being in front of a camera might send shivers down your spine, but trust us, it’s time to conquer that fear. In today’s digital landscape, video content reigns supreme, capturing attention and connecting with audiences on a whole new level. 

So, why should you get on camera, even if it’s not your favorite thing to do? Here are a few key reasons:

Captivating Visuals: Video has a unique ability to grab attention and engage viewers. With eye-catching visuals, dynamic storytelling, and the power of motion, videos can leave a lasting impact on your audience.

Authentic Connection: Videos allow you to showcase your personality, passion, and expertise in a way that resonates with your audience. By putting yourself in front of the camera, you humanize your brand and create a genuine connection with your viewers.

Expanded Reach: In the age of social media and sharing, video content has a greater potential to go viral and reach a wider audience. Engaging videos are more likely to be shared, increasing your brand’s visibility and attracting new viewers and potential customers.

Increased Conversion Rates: Studies have shown that including video on landing pages or in marketing emails can significantly increase conversion rates. Video has a way of capturing attention, keeping viewers engaged, and compelling them to take action.

Highlight Humans: Take Pictures at Your Events

In the digital age, where everything seems to happen online, it’s important not to forget the power of in-person connections. Events provide a fantastic opportunity to bring people together, showcase your brand, and create memorable experiences. And what better way to capture those moments than by taking pictures?

When you host or participate in events, whether it’s a conference, trade show, workshop, or even a casual gathering, make sure to have someone dedicated to capturing the highlights. These photographs not only serve as mementos for attendees but also become valuable assets for your marketing efforts.

Sharing event photos on your website, social media platforms, and other marketing channels humanizes your brand and gives your audience a glimpse into the real people behind it. It adds a personal touch and helps build trust and familiarity with your audience.

So, don’t be shy to whip out your camera or hire a professional photographer to capture the energy, excitement, and human connections at your events. Let those pictures tell a story and make your brand come alive.

Get Sales Involved: Marketing Serves Sales – Let Them Talk to Each Other

Marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin, and their collaboration is crucial for driving business growth. By fostering a strong relationship between your marketing and sales teams, you create a seamless customer journey and maximize your conversion opportunities.

Encourage regular communication and collaboration between the marketing and sales departments. This can be achieved through joint meetings, shared insights and data, and even cross-training sessions.

Marketing can provide valuable information and resources to support the sales team, such as targeted content, lead generation strategies, and customer insights. On the other hand, the sales team can provide valuable feedback and insights from direct customer interactions, helping to refine marketing messages and strategies.

When marketing and sales work together harmoniously, it creates a powerful synergy that boosts the overall effectiveness of your business. It aligns your messaging, ensures a consistent customer experience, and ultimately drives revenue growth.

So, break down those silos, encourage collaboration, and let marketing and sales teams talk to each other. Together, they can unlock new opportunities, improve customer engagement, and drive business success.

Interested in Learning More About Outsourced Marketing?

Give us a call or shoot us a message to schedule your Brand Storytelling Session today.Read on to learn more about why organic marketing is especially great for financial services companies.

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The Linkedin Algorithm Explained: How to Make it Work for You

Welcome to the ultimate guide on how to make the LinkedIn algorithm work for you! If you want to improve your LinkedIn game and ensure that your posts get seen by the right people, you’re in the right place. And to sweeten the deal, we’ve got a free download at the end of this blog post (you’re welcome.) 

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the LinkedIn algorithm. We’ll explain how LinkedIn categorizes posts, how to avoid being flagged as spam, and how to achieve high-quality status. We’ll also share tips on how to make the most of the golden hour, when to post, how to encourage engagement, and what not to do.

By the end of this guide, you’ll have a solid understanding of how the LinkedIn algorithm works and be equipped with the knowledge to take your LinkedIn game to the next level. So, let’s get started!

When you post, LinkedIn puts it in one of three categories.

These categories are: 

  • ​​Spam
  • Low quality
  • High quality

How to Avoid Being Categorized as Spam

So, how can you avoid being flagged as spam? It’s easy, just follow these simple tips:

  • Use good grammar
  • Limit the number of links in your post
  • Tag no more than five people
  • Avoid posting too frequently (wait at least three hours between posts)
  • Don’t use engagement bait (like asking for likes, comments, or follows)
  • Avoid using hashtags like “follow,” “comment,” or “like.”

But, How Do You Achieve High-quality Status? 

That’s where things get tricky. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Only tag people who you know will respond to your post
  • Use around three hashtags, with one being broad, one slightly more niche, and the last very niche (for example: “#socialmedia,” “#b2bsocialmedia”)
  • Format your post for readability
  • Focus on niche topics instead of broad ones
  • Encourage engagement by asking questions
  • Avoid using outbound links (put them in the comments)
  • Use strong keywords to help your post get discovered.

LinkedIn Golden Hour

What’s the deal with golden hour, you ask? It’s not just a trendy Instagram filter – it’s the first hour after you drop a post on LinkedIn. And trust us, you want to make that hour count. 

LinkedIn measures the initial engagement to see if it’s worthy of moving on into other people’s feeds. If your post does well in the first hour, it’s much more likely to do well all day, week, or month. 

In other words, if you can generate some buzz in that first hour, you’re on your way to LinkedIn fame and fortune. But if crickets are chirping during the golden hour, it’s like your post has been condemned to social media purgatory. So don’t waste your time on lackluster posts – give them the golden hour treatment they deserve!

Let’s talk LinkedIn Golden Hour Do’s and Don’ts

Not sure where to start? We got you covered. 

Do’s

  • Post when your followers are most active online to increase the chances of them seeing it.
  • Get people talking by asking a question or encouraging discussion in the comments.
  • Boost your post’s visibility by engaging with other posts around the same time you share yours.
  • Stick to a consistent posting schedule so your followers know when to expect new content from you.
  • And most importantly, don’t forget to respond to anyone who engages with your post. It’s the polite thing to do!

Don’ts

  • Set it and forget it! Make sure to return to your post and engage with any comments.
  • Tag more than one person unless you’re confident at least one will respond within an hour.
  • Refrain from editing your post once it’s up. I’ve noticed this tends to weaken its reach.

If people are liking, commenting on or sharing your post,  you’ll make it through to the next filter (and appear in more feeds!)

So, you’ve made it past the first filter – congratulations! But your journey to world domination on LinkedIn is far from over. The next step is to get people to like, comment, and share your post. Think of it like getting a stamp of approval from your audience. The more love you get, the more likely you are to appear in even more feeds. Keep ’em engaged, folks!

If people mark it as spam, hide it from their feed, or just ignore it, LinkedIn is going to penalize your content.

To avoid having your content penalized by LinkedIn, it’s important to create high-quality content that resonates with your audience. This means knowing your target audience, understanding what they want to see, and crafting posts that meet their needs. It’s also important to avoid using spammy tactics like engagement bait or excessive tagging. Instead, focus on creating engaging and valuable content that encourages likes, comments, and shares. 

As long as it keeps getting engagement, your post stays in the mix and continues to be distributed in the feed.

On LinkedIn, there are three key factors that influence what appears in your feed. 

  1. Personal connections: To determine which posts are most personally related to members, LinkedIn considers factors such as who you work with/have worked with and who you’ve interacted with before.
  2. Interest relevance: The LinkedIn algorithm evaluates what groups you’re in, the hashtags, people, and pages you follow, and also looks at the language of the post, as well as the companies, people, and topics mentioned in it.
  3. Engagement probability: The algorithm evaluates the likelihood that you will share, comment, or react to a post, and takes into account timely feedback to content creators. The quicker a post starts raking in interactions, the more likely LinkedIn is to include it in the feeds of others. The more you interact with others daily, the more people will engage back, and the more likely you’ll be seen in other people’s feeds.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, understanding the LinkedIn algorithm is crucial for anyone looking to increase their visibility on the platform. The algorithm evaluates factors such as engagement probability, interest relevance, and personal connections to determine the relevance of content to its audience. By following the do’s and don’ts of the golden hour and creating high-quality content that encourages likes, comments, and shares, LinkedIn users can boost their engagement and increase their chances of appearing in more feeds.

Want to optimize your business’s LinkedIn page but not sure where to start? Download our freebie, here.
Read on to learn how to leverage your business using LinkedIn. Then, get in touch with our team to schedule your FREE Brand Storytelling Session.

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Social Media for Financial Services Companies

Social Media for Financial Services Companies

The use of social media in financial services is often disputed. Some believe that social media does not hold the same value for business-to-business (B2B) brands as it does in the business-to-consumer (B2C) market.

This, however, is not the case.

While it may be true that B2C companies are often more successful on social media than B2B companies, there are still a multitude of various reasons why building a social media presence benefits a financial services company.

Take it from our Social Media Team at Digital Storyteller: “A marketing strategy without social media is like a margarita without tequila. No one wants that!”

In this article, we’re detailing the key benefits of using social media marketing for financial services companies.

1. Strengthen Existing Relationships

One of the greatest benefits for all businesses to developing a social media presence is to strengthen their existing client relationships.

This may refer to:

  • Engaging with existing or past clients, or
  • Nurturing relationships with contacts that have yet to become clients

Either way, social media networks provide a platform to maintain relationships.

Email marketing and consistent calls are of course another option to nurture relationships! These methods, however, have the potential to get irritating rather quickly.

While blasting your clients’ inboxes with emails may lead them to the dreaded unsubscribe button, they may not feel the need to take such drastic measures when their level of engagement is the casual viewing of sporadic Instagram posts.

Social media provides a relaxed addition to your existing client nurturing process while additionally providing a platform to develop new relationships.

2. Build Trust 

In the same way that Google evaluates content for SEO purposes, viewers evaluate clients based on their authority and expertise. Developing a depth of content on social platforms provides potential clients an opportunity to review your level of expertise within your field.

Over time, existing clientele and prospective clients will likely begin to follow your accounts and engage with your content. Engagement with your content shows that you have a proven following and support system that trusts your business.

Read on to learn more about Instagram engagement.

3. Provide Customer Support 

Social media has turned into an easy, new line of communication.

It has become common for consumers to utilize social media to gain support and answers from companies rather than going through their traditional customer service channels. Various social media platforms provide space where clients are comfortable and familiar.

It is easier for a client to tag, tweet, or comment on a company’s latest post than it is to sit on hold with the customer service line for hours trying to solicit help… No, thanks!

Companies love to see their favorite clients and prospects engaging with them on a personal level through social media. Brands that engage and respond to their clients on social media have overall higher customer satisfaction ratings. 

It’s 2022, your clients are on social media—and your competitors are, too.

The truth of the matter is: Brands are expected to have a social presence.

Giving your clients an additional outlet to contact you offers them the support and guidance they’re looking for.

After all, your product or service already serves to solve a problem that they’re facing. Why not fix another one by making yourself more accessible?

4. Humanize Your Brand 

In a sense, this goes along with the previously mentioned need for customer support. Making your brand available on social media is like positioning yourself as their friend. Social media platforms were created to connect friends and share experiences, so why can’t the same be the case with brands?!

Social platforms allow your brand to share a behind-the-scenes look at the people that make your brand what it is. For example, our co-founders, Andrew Marr and Amanda Rogers, each have their series of relevant videos that we share weekly.

Not only do these videos “share the secret sauce” behind our brand, but they also give our viewers insight into the faces behind the brand! Plus, who doesn’t love a chardonnay review!?

The same may also be the case with your brand. Finding a way to interact with your clients on an informal basis allows them to consider you a friend or peer. It creates a relationship of trust and mutual respect: Two things you definitely want in your client relationships.

5. Gain Insight

Lastly, being engaged on social media allows your brand to gain insight. Be it consumer or competitive insights, social media functions as a reporting platform. 

The way that consumers engage with your social media account can tell you about their buying behavior, likes, dislikes, and needs.

Instagram, for example, has transitioned its functionality to operate similarly to a search engine for users. Tracking the views of your page, accounts reached, post likes, comments, shares, and saves can provide significant insight into how your brand is performing.

Read on for our article “What is Going on With the Instagram Algorithm!?”

Similar claims can be said about your competitors. One of the benefits of public social media accounts is that you can track insight into your competitors’ content. As they provide content for their followers, you have a front-row seat to see what they’re doing!

A Final Word

If your brand is already on social media, there are additional ways to ensure that you are optimizing your channels. This is particularly the case for financial services companies interacting on social media.

Check out this article for additional tips on the use of social media for financial services companies!

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5 Signs You Need a Digital Marketing Agency

Digital Marketing Team optimizing marketing for business

How do you know if you need a digital marketing agency? The simple answer is: if you’re ready to focus on your business and do what you do best. Then, you can let a marketing agency do what they do best- help market your business. 

There are, however, more signs that your business is ready to partner with an outsourced marketing agency. 

1. You have a Reactive, Not a Proactive Marketing Plan 

Yes, there is a time and a place for a reactive strategy, but that time and place is not with your marketing. Why? Because reactive marketing doesn’t work. It’s a band-aid for a long-term problem. 

It usually sounds like this… “Oh s**t, we don’t have any holiday posts scheduled for tomorrow!” and/or “We need more leads, ASAP!” Last-minute posts made hastily are more prone to contain errors or be off-brand. 

At Digital Storyteller, we help create a proactive marketing plan for our clients through our content calendar that details an entire month’s worth of content.  This accessible and downloadable template can be customized to fit each client’s needs. It also helps our team stay aligned with deliverables. 

Need a Thanksgiving post? Boom added to the calendar. Celebrating an employee’s birthday? Bam! Added to the calendar. 

Trust us, this content calendar is the best thing since sliced bread. 

2. You’re Not Focused on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Are you focused on Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? If not, how are people supposed to find you in the black hole of Google?


Amazing blog posts paired with a stunning website can only get you so far without SEO. SEO is how you can tailor your content to rank for search engines like Google. For an in-depth review of SEO, read our article here.  

When you use SEO consistently and throughout your content and social media, you’ll see organic growth, keyword ranking, and a higher authority score. Hint- it’s what we see with our clients when we apply these same methods. 

3. Your Content Isn’t Consistent 

Be honest with yourself: Is your business posting content consistently? That could look like weekly blog posts, and at least 3 social posts a week. It won’t cut it anymore to post on social media when you feel like it. In today’s market, your audience is looking at how active you are. 

Posting consistent content helps build a better experience for your customers by building credibility and trust. You are seen as an authority in your field as well as a resource for people to go to. 

The audience we’ve built at our digital marketing agency knows to expect to see a new article a week along with social posts on our different social media platforms.

4. You’re Not Posting on Your Social Media Platforms 

Now that you know you need to post consistent content, let’s discuss where you should be posting this regular content. 

As an organic digital marketing agency, we believe in the value of blog posts on your business’ website. Each week, we announce our new blog post on social media platforms that work best for us: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. To find out which social media platforms your business should be on, read here.

We also use these social platforms to post relevant content that add value to our audience. Sometimes, we like to have a little fun with our social posts (okay maybe most of the time we do!)  

You’re Not Optimizing for Mobile

It’s 2022, everyone uses their phones for everything- unless somehow you managed to survive this long with just a flip phone. 

Everything you do, from emails, blog posts, website builds and social posts should be optimized for mobile. Think about it, we all live on our phones. According to research from Oberlo, 63% of Google’s United States organic search traffic came from a mobile device. 

It’s time to get with the times and be as mobile-friendly as possible. If not, you may lose customers who are frustrated with navigating something that is non-mobile friendly. 

A Final Note

If you find yourself committing one or more of these marketing no-nos, it’s a sign that it’s time for you to partner with a digital marketing agency. An outsourced partner has the resources to help your business grow, rank, find leads, and establish yourself as an authority in your field. 


Read on to learn about more benefits of outsourced marketing.

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Your Email Marketing Sucks… Here’s How to Fix It

person using laptop on email with email icons popping up

So, you’re a business owner, and your email marketing strategy sucks. It might be ineffective for a number of reasons. Perhaps:

  • Your business doesn’t have the bandwidth to have a consistent email marketing strategy
  • Creative copy isn’t your forte and your emails are boring
  • Or, you didn’t even know you were supposed to be focused on email marketing! (Of course, you have a lot of other things going on while running a business…)

Regardless of what the reason may be, poor email marketing isn’t going to cut it anymore. So, let’s talk about how to fix your email marketing.

What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing, according to Mailchimp, is “a form of marketing that can make the customers on your email list aware of new products, discounts, and other services.”

Why Is Email Marketing Important?

Email marketing is extremely important for your business. However, promoting products, discounts, and services isn’t the only thing email marketing is used for.

Email marketing is a great way to:

  • Incentivize customer loyalty
  • Educate your audience on the value of your brand
  • Keep clients and prospects engaged between purchases

And yet, according to Inc., 60% of small business owners don’t use email marketing. What a shame!

What Platform Can I Use for My Email Marketing?

There are a TON of platforms you can use in crafting a killer email marketing strategy. At Digital Storyteller, we work with a number of different customer relationship management (CRM) softwares to design, build, and optimize our clients’ email marketing strategies, including:

  • Hubspot
  • Constant Contact
  • Salesforce
  • Pardot
  • Campaign Monitor
  • Stripo

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

How We Create Kicka** Emails

Let’s take your email marketing strategy from meh to awesome! Let’s start off with an example.

Our Most Recent Email Workflow

So, we know we previously mentioned all of the different CRMs you can use… But, it’s not all about the software you use. In fact, what’s IN the email and as well as the CADENCE of your emails is more important than anything.

Here’s a sneak peek into an email workflow Digital Storyteller recently launched for ourselves. It’s a “prospect workflow,” a series of emails are sent to prospective clients to accomplish a specific goal (i.e. onboarding a service or purchasing a product). For us, in this case, it’s to onboard a new content client!

Below is a screenshot of the first email in our prospect email marketing series. The subject line was: “Why Would You Outsource Your Marketing?”

Digital Storyteller email marketing

This email received GREAT feedback, with over 600 opens and 48.6% of people read the email (“read,” according to HubSpot, is defined as contacts who have “opened and viewed [the email] for eight or more seconds”).

People responded directly to the number and we got some prospecting calls on the calendar as a result. Why?

  • The email was FUNNY (in our brand voice!)
  • It was punchy yet informative
  • It provided a call to action (“Find out more”)

Emails will look different for everyone as far as brand voice and what your call to action is (depending on what you’re trying to get the reader to do), but here’s what every email should include.

What Every Successful Email Should Include

There are a few elements to consider when crafting awesome emails. (No, it’s not as easy as just slapping something together! Well, it is… But that wouldn’t provide a great ROI, would it?)

Define Your Target Audience

A majority of cold emails get ignored.

This considered, the first thing you need to do is define your target audience. This concept goes further than just creating a list of who your ideal clients are.

You need to understand your target audience at their core. In our prospect email workflow at Digital Storyteller, we used a combination of Andrew Marr’s (the Owner and CEO of Storyteller!) existing LinkedIn database as well as the LinkedIn connections from his Kennected sequence (Kennected is a LinkedIn automation, messaging, and outreach tool that we use) to increase response rates.

Connecting with people prior to emailing them adds a human touch and is a great strategy to practice.

Read on to learn more about how to attract the ideal client.

Catchy Subject Line

For a cold email to get read, you need a catchy subject line.

Your subject line needs to be descriptive, short, and something your ideal client would want to open. Examples of subject lines that have worked for us?

One time we titled a prospect email “We think our clients are sexy…” And boy, was this email a wild success! People were shocked, and of course, opened the email… which then said:

“Get your mind out of the gutter – we mean we think our clients’ businesses (financial services) are sexy… At Digital Storyteller, we work exclusively with financial services companies. It’s our bread and butter.”

Now, we get that this type of subject line won’t work for everyone (we’re Jesters!) – but it works for our brand voice.

At Digital Storyteller, we believe marketing without a brand voice is like a margarita without tequila… Learn more about the importance of brand voice.

Preview Text

Preview text is the words that show up next to or beneath the email subject. It’s a sneak peek of the coming email. And do you know how important it is? Research shows that 24% of people look at preview text before deciding to open and read an email. So, use it to your advantage!

Personalization

Personalizing an email goes beyond just adding your prospect’s first name to the greeting or subject line.

According to Campaign Monitor, “personalization is when marketers use subscriber data within their email content to make the content feel tailor-made for the individual.” And the result? Personalization “is proven to increase open rates and drive revenue by as much as 760%.” Wowza!

You can take advantage of this by:

  • Adding your recipient’s name
  • Selecting images based on data and customer profiles
  • Personalizing offers and product recommendations
  • Mentioning a mutual friend or contact
  • Mentioning something your prospect has done in the world recently (i.e. business move, family trip, a conference they’ve spoken at, etc.)

Add a Strong Call to Action

Make it easy for your prospect to understand what you’re asking of them. Do you want them to follow you on social media? Do you want them to download a free PDF or brochure? Always be sure to add a clear, strong call to action (CTA).

Follow Up

When it comes to email marketing, it’s not a one-and-done thing. In other words, you need to include follow-up emails!

Not sure what this looks like? Get in touch with us today to learn more about mapping out your email workflows.

A Final Word

So, to recap, email is not dead and is very much a crucial part of your marketing strategy. With that being said, however, we know cold emailing isn’t easy—which is why we’re here to help. Interested in learning more about how we help our clients? Read on to see how we shorten sales cycles for our clients (using email marketing and more!)

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How Do We Help Our Clients Shorten Sales Cycles?

Woman conducting a work meeting

At Digital Storyteller, we market for financial services companies. This can encompass a lot of different types of businesses that offer different products or services. Think law firms, HR consultants, commercial real estate firms, wealth advisories, commercial insurance, and more.

We know, a little bit random… but we love it! Read on to hear more about why we chose marketing for financial services (hint: this industry is wildly underserved).

Working in the financial services industry means helping our clients might look a bit different from your typical B2C marketing agency. So, how do we help our clients?

Today, we’ve got Andrew Marr, CEO and Owner of Digital Storyteller answering that very question. It’s your lucky day.

But what is the main goal of a digital marketing agency? We’re going to hand things off to Andrew.

What is the Main Goal of a Digital Marketing Agency?

There’s one major goal, and it’s simple. That is to shorten the sales cycles of our clients.

What is a Sales Cycle?

A sales cycle is defined as “the repeatable and tactical process salespeople follow to turn a lead into a customer.”

This includes everything from the first encounter a client has with your business (whether it be through seeing your posts on social media or through receiving an email) to closing the deal and follow-ups.

sales cycle seven steps
A great illustration demonstrating sales cycles, courtesy of Snov.io.

How Do We Help Our Clients Shorten Sales Cycles?

Well, there are a lot of things we do to achieve a shorter sales process at Digital Storyteller. This might look like:

As you can see, there are a lot of different branches that come off of that tree.

The number one goal, however, for any marketing agency, is to use their toolkit to shorten sales cycles for their clients.

Want to hear some more of this Scottish lad ranting? Visit this page on our site that’s decked out, head to toe, with Andrew reviewing chardonnay. (We know, it’s kind of ridiculous—but we promise it’s entertaining!)

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Why Is Your Brand Storytelling Session Important? (And What Is It Anyway!?)

Brand Voice

Author Robert McKee once said, “Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world.” And he was right!

At Digital Storyteller, we begin all of our partnerships with a strong foundation—your very own ‘brand storytelling session’ (BSTS). After all, we’re an outsourced digital marketing agency, which means we will be creating content as if we were you. This BSTS is crucial in order to be able to do what we do best (…marketing!).

If a ‘brand storytelling session’ sounds a bit like another language, we’re sorry! We’ll explain. Better yet, Amanda Rogers, Owner and Chief Creative Officer at Digital Storyteller can give you the lowdown and answer all of your juicy questions, like why is your brand storytelling session important? And what the heck is it anyway!?

Let’s get into it.

What is Brand Storytelling?

Brand storytelling has become kind of a buzzword. People use it to mean all kinds of things. They use it to mean:

  • Branding that means something to you
  • Storytelling for individuals

What Do You Do During a Brand Storytelling Session?

In our Brand Storytelling Sessions, we do things a bit differently. We block out two hours on our calendar to zoom with you and get to know your brand at its core.

We know it sounds intense, but don’t worry. Our favorite description that a client gave us at the end of a Brand Storytelling Session was, “I was expecting a root canal and I got a massage.” Yay for free massages! 

For Digital Storyteller, the Brand Storytelling Session grew naturally out of questions we had to ask clients over and over again and the research we did to better craft clients’ websites, content, and content marketing strategies.

A brand storytelling session focuses primarily on finding out what your ‘brand voice’ is. In other words, what your brand archetype is. 

Brand Archetypes

What’s a brand archetype? We’re glad you asked. Brand archetypes are as old as Greek tragedy (sadly, we can’t take credit for making them up…) The 12 brand archetypes that we use at Digital Storyteller are:

  • The Innocent
  • Everyman
  • Hero
  • Outlaw
  • Explorer
  • Creator
  • Ruler
  • Magician
  • Lover
  • Caregiver
  • Jester
  • Sage

Don’t worry, we cover what all of these archetypes mean during your Brand Storytelling Session!

What Happens After Your Brand Storytelling Session?

We’re all for transparency. After your two-hour block, we have a comprehensive overview of:

  • How you talk about what you do
  • How you feel about your company name
  • What your brand archetype is

From there, we can start to build the kind of marketing strategy that is unique to your company.

The Timeline

A week after a Brand Storytelling Session, you will receive a well-designed deliverable.

A few days after that, we get on the phone and set a kickoff call, if you decide we’re the right fit for you!

After our one-hour kickoff call, we set weekly one-hour meetings for the first month of our partnership, followed by bi-weekly meetings following. 

Why Is a Brand Storytelling Session Important?

As we say at Digital Storyteller, marketing without a brand voice is like a margarita without tequila… Useless!

Defining your brand voice through a Brand Storytelling Session shortens your sales cycle because having a clear brand voice makes people feel like they already know you when they walk into a room with you.

It helps build trust, and it makes prospects feel at ease as they’ve heard your brand voice consistently across your website, content, and social posts.

When you pick a brand voice and choose a brand archetype, it’s about the way in which you speak, not what you’re talking about. 

Conducting a Brand Storytelling Session helps us to truly understand a client’s brand voice, their brand archetype, and helps us to be able to write in their voice.

Amanda, Founder and Creative Director at Digital Storyteller, put it best. “I can talk about something that’s highly consequential in a number of different brand voices. The way you speak about what you do is what sets you apart from your competitors… A Brand Storytelling Session is the uncovering of the way in which you tell your own unique story.”

If you couldn’t tell by Amanda’s spiel, a BSTS isn’t anything to be afraid of. Don’t believe us? Check out what one of our clients, Todd Regan, said about his BSTS. (P.S. He wasn’t excited!)

“Looking at the [brand storytelling session] appointment on my calendar, I thought this is going be so painful – it was the opposite, so insightful, valuable, and fun.” —Todd Regan Chief Operating Officer at Payroll Hub

A brand storytelling session is crucial for all of you out there who struggle to explain to your drunk aunt what business you’re in every Thanksgiving. If you’re not clear on what you do, how can your prospects and clients be?

Plus, we can’t—or any outsourced marketing agency, for that matter—accurately represent your brand until we truly understand who you are, your audience, and your goals. Our brand storytelling sessions answer all of these questions.

We’re so confident in our ability to surprise and delight you that your initial BSTS session and deliverable are free.

Interested in learning more about the importance of brand storytelling? Check out this article.

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The Eight Best Marketing Agencies in San Diego

Marketing Agencies

Marketing agencies today have more tools than ever to support clients in their marketing efforts. Content creation, website design, SEO optimization, the list goes on. But at Digital Storyteller, we have our eyes on a few agencies in particular. Here are the eight best marketing agencies in San Diego.

Digital Storyteller

Founded: In 2020 by Amanda Rogers 

Who We Are: An outsourced Digital Marketing Agency focused on Financial Services Companies

Where: Encinitas

Approach: At Digital Storyteller, we believe that marketing that is fragmented wastes money and time and reduces impact.  Our team takes a holistic approach to your messaging and content marketing.  

Services:

At Digital Storyteller, we take a holistic approach to digital marketing for financial services companies. Our in-house team offers a range of services from SEO analysis to content creation, sales enablement workflow creation to online reputation management, and everything in between.

We create monthly content through a content calendar focused on the target demographic, areas where clients want to be thought leaders, and keywords to rank for. Our blog articles, SEO work, and strategic sharing on social media creates engagement and improves search rankings.

Our email workflows are optimized for client engagement and prospect outreach, based on each client’s tier of retainer. We also use social media strategically to push content to platforms such as LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, with platform-specific strategies guided by our social media manager and implemented by our social team.

We also offer web builds using WordPress, hosted on Digital Ocean and managed within app containers. 

We believe that all elements of digital marketing need to work together, and we provide monthly reporting to show our clients how engagement with their email campaigns, site traffic, social following and engagement, and keyword rankings are building their online presence and creating trust and awareness to shorten sales cycles.

Reach out to our team to learn more.

REBL Marketing

Founded: 2008 By Reb Risty 

Approach: 

  • Start with your company objective and goals.
  • Develop a content strategy and plan for your business.
  • Create amazing content that makes your message sticky and your brand stand out from the competition.

Specialty: Strategic video content for all your marketing channels. REBL strives to help clients turn viewers into customers by writing and producing amazing video content that makes them stand out from the competition.

Services:

REBL offers a range of content marketing services for B2B professional services. Their services are designed to help businesses reach potential customers, build relationships with key stakeholders, generate leads, and establish an authoritative voice in the industry.

Their Brand Builder service involves working with clients to film once per quarter, minimizing the strain on their schedule and investing strategically in pre-production planning to capture all the necessary footage. After the shoot, REBL manages every stage of video production, including editing and production of three video topics/themes per quarter, which are then reconstructed into 12 shorter-length videos for ongoing, multi-channel application every week.

The Social Punch package is custom-designed to help businesses drive awareness, engagement, and leads on social media platforms. The package is based on a business’s specific needs, campaign calendar, target audience, platform, and other variables, and includes video content to promote engagement.

For businesses seeking a comprehensive range of full-length video production, REBL offers the Custom Package, which is priced according to their needs and offers a simple, clean execution style.

KWSM

Founded: 2010 by Katie Wagner after retiring from her TV news career

Where:

  • Orange County, CA
  • San Diego, CA
  • Atlanta, GA
  • Las Vegas, NV

Specialty: Boy, oh boy! KWSM does it all. While every plan is different, they specialize in creating customized digital marketing strategies that help clients get results through:

  • Social Media Management
  • Content Creation
  • Website Design and Management
  • Content Optimization (SEO)
  • Online Advertising
  • PR and Influencer Marketing
  • Video and Photography
  • Social Media Coaching
  • Speaking and Workshops

Their Mission: According to their site, “KWSM exists to help great companies make genuine connections with their customers. We believe good business starts with strong relationships, and the best way to build them is by sharing your story.”

Digitopia

Founded: In 2004

Where: Carlsbad, CA

Our Promise: “We promise to deliver strategic insights. We’ll be easy to work with. And, most importantly, we’ll never leave you in the dark.”

Their Approach: Digitopia uses the phrase process, platforms, people to guide their B2B digital growth strategies.

“We take the stress of inbound marketing off your plate allowing you to focus on all the other important parts of your job. Whether you need…

  • HubSpot help, or
  • Content and inbound strategies (that actually bring in traffic and leads), or
  • Online advertising purpose-built to optimize your spend

…we have you covered.”

Brandetize

Founded: In 2001

Specialty: Strategy, lead generation, website, branding, sales conversions, technology and analytics, and more

What makes Brandetize different from other marketing agencies? Brandetize offers:

  • “Full-service customer lifecycle marketing
  • Customer focused, cohesive goals
  • We’re thinkers, not just doers
  • Strategy comes first, then we execute
  • Thoroughly seasoned staff of experts
  • Partnership model: Get results and write a check from the increase in sales
  • We don’t profit until you profit”

Raindrop Branding + Advertising

Founded: By Jacques Spitzer and Adam Wagner! (Raindrop compares these two to oreos and milk and peanut butter and jelly. In other words, they’re the perfect pair!)

Specialty: Simply put, Raindrop helps build your brand and build your audience. At Raindrop, “our goal with every client is to take you to your next level by helping new audiences to discover you, crafting deeper relationships with your core audiences and allowing you to confidently be the best version of yourself.”

Plus, their video production is top-notch! In fact, they have accrued more than 400,000,000 video views for their clients, been awarded two Emmys, and have produced the #1 performing Youtube ad of 2020.

The Story Behind the Name: It all begins with this quote: “True friendship looks like raindrops coming together on a window-sill; beautifully and effortlessly before your eyes.” 

As written on their site, “I think we can all agree; best friends are… well, the best. They are there for us, cheering us on, listening to us and helping us to live our best lives. We imagined that same level of trust, open communication and fun-loving spirit as the foundation for our work.

“The result is a truly special connection with our clients that we believe inspires even greater work. Being a Raindropper means partnering generously and creating strategically. We revel in the success of our clients and celebrate the collaborative culture that we share as a team.”

Power Digital

With Offices In… San Diego, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco

Who Are We? Power Digital is “a cutting-edge, nationally recognized digital marketing agency dedicated to elevating your brand through innovative marketing solutions, custom strategies, channel expertise, and flawless execution.”

Some Rules They Live By: Integrity, loyalty, trust, challenge yourself, find the solution, embrace change, don’t take yourself too seriously, and more as seen here!

What They Do: A better question would be, “What don’t they do!?” Power Digital offers:

  • Affiliate Marketing
  • Amazon Marketing
  • Content Marketing
  • Creative
  • CRO
  • Diligence
  • Email Marketing
  • Influencer Marketing
  • Organic Social
  • Paid Media
  • Paid Social
  • PR and Outreach
  • SEO
  • Web Development

3Q Digital

Founded: By David Rodnitzky out of a coffee shop in Pacifica, CA, in 2008

Their Motto: Infinite Possibilities. Infinite Growth.

Why They Rock: 3Q Digital is growing, growing, growing! With six U.S. locations, two international presences, and over 20 virtual locations, this marketing agency can work with you wherever you are!

3Q Digital Offers…

  • SEO
  • Conversion Rate Optimization
  • Programmatic
  • Analytics
  • CTV/OTT
  • Strategy and Planning
  • Digital Due Diligence
  • Creative
  • And more!

At the end of the day, there isn’t a hard and fast answer for which marketing agency you should use. Each company is unique! (But we think you should choose to work with us!) If you’re ready to take a look at what our outsourced marketing services would look like for you, contact our team at Digital Storyteller today.

We know we’d make a great team, we’re just waiting on you!

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What Is Web Accessibility and Why Is It Important?

What Is Web Accessibility and Why Is It Important?

We are not a one-size-fits-all society, nor are our websites. As our physical world becomes more aware of creating physical accessibility, we should also understand the importance of facilitating web accessibility as well.

As we spend more time surfing the web, learn more about how to increase inclusivity for people with disabilities. It’s just good practice, and it also benefits your company.

Read more
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Outsourced VS In-House Marketing: What’s Best For Your Business?

Outsourced VS In-House Marketing: What's Best For Your Business?

So you’re wondering what type of marketing you should implement for your business? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
The two biggest types of marketing are outsourced and in-house. Both want to promote your business to the best of their ability, but they have a few big differences. Learn more about the differences between outsourced and in-house marketing below!

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Top 10 Resources for Digital Marketers

person typing on laptop to find resources for digital marketers

So you want to market your business, but you’re not sure where to start?
We wanted to share our favorite resources that make us successful in our industry so you can be successful in yours.

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Save Money on Ads (So You Can Spend It on Wine)

Save Money on Ads (So You Can Spend It on Wine)

When you think of marketing, what do you think of? For many, it’ll include billboards, that one realtor’s face on a bus stop, or the not-so random ads when you’re scrolling through Instagram.
It’s actually much more than that. Yes, paid ads have their time and place to increase your exposure, but let’s let you in on a little secret: there’s a better way to market yourself, and it’s not by relying on ads.
I know, shocking. 

Read more
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Why You Should Conduct Site Audits

Why You Should Conduct Site Audits

You See a Doctor Every Year, Shouldn’t Your Site? The same way that your own health sometimes requires a little TLC or a trip to the doctor’s office for extra attention, your site does too.

Read more
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How to Organize Content

girl sitting in front of digital marketing sticky notes

We’ve talked time and time again about the importance of content marketing and why consistently producing strong content is an ideal marketing strategy. That being said, we know it can be easier said than done.

Here are all our best tips on how to organize content.

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