When finishing up some of my 2009 reporting I took notice to my 10 blog posts that received the most views from last year. Because I still think that some of them are very relevant I want to share them with you one more time. So here they are the top 10 VR Marketing Blog posts of 2009 in order of popularity:

1. 29 Ways to Collect Email Addresses for Your Business – There are a ton of ways to get people to sign up for your email marketing offers. I’ve put together a list for you to read, so you know all of the ways you can be growing your list.

2. 50 All-Time Great Retail Subject Lines – Here at VerticalResponse we’re always being asked things like, “What is the best day to send email?”, “What are the real email marketing secrets?” and “What are great subject lines?”. I decided to focus this post on that last one, and offer some really great and proven-to-work subject lines that you can test out for your email marketing campaigns.

3. Writing Email Marketing Copy That Sells – Writing your email marketing campaigns can make anyone want to pull their hair out, especially if you’re trying to sell a product/service, or ask for a donation, either as part of your newsletter or the sole purpose of your email. You want to make sure you hit all of the highlights and make sure people SEE your offer. I’ve put together some ideas you can think about and put to work when writing copy that sells in your campaigns.

4. 10 Ways to Get More Clicks in Your Email Campaigns – We all want our recipients to open our email campaigns, right? But it’s what happens after the open we’re truly concerned about. We want our recipients to read our articles and take action whether it’s buying a product, service or donating to our cause. Here are ten easy actions you can take and put to work in your email marketing campaigns that might just get them clickin’.

5. How Not To Write a Subject Line – I was recently on an “email marketing resources” site and found some horrifying information that was being given on how to write a great subject line. We all know that one of THE most important parts of an email campaign is the subject line and everyone is trying to come up with the perfect one, but this resource for email marketing is wrong, wrong, wrong!

6. 9 Cool Things to Throw in Your Retail Packaging That Get People Talking About You – If you haven’t thought about how to go the extra mile for extreme customer satisfaction, now is the time. You’ve got an opportunity in your shipments to make a fantastic impression, so why not include a little something extra, especially in an economy where so many businesses are focused on scaling back? It doesn’t cost you much and this little bit could go a long way in getting your customers to come back again and again.

7. Motivate Employees to Get Email Addresses – Just Not This Way – I just read an article about a restaurant owner who wrote a nasty email (careful, this contains SEVERE  language, folks) to his employees for not collecting email addresses. In fact, if they don’t collect at least 20 emails a week, he’s planning on fining them $100, and if they don’t collect at least 20 emails in 2 weeks they’re fired. This was reported by an anonymous tipster, but the owner does admit sending it.

8. 5 Easy Things to Test to Get a Better Response in Your Email Marketing Campaigns – Testing something new or changing something seemingly small in your email campaigns can definitely tell you something about how your recipients will respond. You’ll either get more open & clicks or you won’t. But you won’t know until you try.

9. Designing Your Email for Mobile Devices – Many consumers are using mobile devices more than ever. They’ve done something on their mobile device whether it’s sending a text message, surfing the Internet, or checking email. So is your business addressing the needs of your mobile customers? I’ve researched and found some things you can be doing today to make your email a bit more mobile-friendly, that is, make it look better on your recipient’s mobile devices. Here are a few things to think about when creating your emails, if you have recipients who might be reading emails on their mobile devices.

10. The Wrong Way to Handle Unsubscribes – I got an email the other day from what appeared to be a non-profit organization requesting donations for their cause. Normally this would be fine, however I never signed up to receive their information, I’ve never heard of them and don’t know how they got my email address. On top of this there were no instructions nor mechanism to unsubscribe. They’re also asking for me to send them a check which enables them to care for people and their animals. Noble cause? Perhaps so, but not the right way to go about marketing. Icing on the cake? The email was written as if the dog pictured in the email wrote it. Thanks to everyone who commented and took part in all our blog posts from 2009. I look forward to writing more blog posts in 2010 and giving what I can to small businesses.

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