The end of year is a time for reflection, especially when it comes to your marketing tactics and campaigns. What worked well for you this year? What new things do you hope to pick up, or focus on more intently? If there’s one thing that’s certain about successful marketing strategies this year, it’s that content marketing, blogging in particular, rocked 2013! Blogging is more important than ever, and this “2013 Blogconomy” infographic via ignitespot makes it very clear why:

• Interesting content is one of the top 3 reasons people follow brands on social media.
• 82% of consumers enjoy reading relevant content from brands.
• In 2013, small businesses with blogs generated 126% more leads.

At VerticalResponse, we would also like to reflect upon our own blogging efforts this year: In 2013, we produced more than 500 blog posts of original content. The topics ranged from social media, SEO, content and email marketing to website development and more. All that writing paid off, as we also won a Gold Stevie Award for best blog content/writing at the 2013 International Business Awards. We work hard to ensure we’re providing relevant, educational and interesting content for our readers every day. With that, here are the best VR Marketing blog posts of 2013 that you, our readers, loved the most.

Copywriting/Content Marketing/Blogging

• Journalism 101 – What Bloggers Need to Know (this was technically published mid-December of 2012, but it was one of our most beloved articles well into 2013, so we added it to the list.)
• Copywriting Cheat Sheet: How to Write for Email, Social and the Web [Infographic]
• Writing for the Web – It’s Not What You Learned in English Class
• Are You a Content Thief and Don’t Know It?
• 11 Smart Content Marketing Tools for Every Budget

Email Marketing

• The Surprisingly Best Times to Send an Email Marketing Campaign
• You Had Me at Hello – 5 Types of Subject Lines to Engage Your Audience
• The Dissection of a Bloody Good Email Newsletter
• 3 Emails Your Business Should Be Sending
• 3 Simple Mistakes You Might Be Making with Email Design

Marketing

• Customer Loyalty: 3 Ways to Create a Cult-Like Following
• 7 Stellar Social & Email Marketing Blogs You Should Be Reading
• Infographics Are Hot, Your Boring Data is Not
• Quick & Savvy Competitive Analysis – Where to Start
• The Psychology of Color & Marketing – What Actually Works?

Social Media

• Want Better Facebook Engagement? Stop What You’re Doing
• 5 Facebook No-Nos that Turn Off Customers
• Top 6 Social Media No-Nos to Avoid
• A Beginner’s Social Media Marketing Plan
• How to Compel & Not Repel Customers on Facebook [Infographic]
• The Ultimate Twitter Profile [Infographic]

SEO/SEM

• 5 Google AdWords Tips for a Small Budget
• Local SEO: Who Are You?

Tools:

• 5 Cool Photos Apps to Make Your Images Pop
• Make Your Website Rock: 3 Cool Tools
• 3 Free Photo Editing Tools That’ll Give Your Pics Sham-Wow

Website Development

• Neuromarketing: How Your Brain Sees Your Website
• Simple Mistakes You Might Be Making with Your Homepage

While you’re at it, check out 2012’s 20 hottest blog posts for kicks, too. Have a favorite blog post of your own? Share with us in the comments!

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