By @JackieClews

Are you a content marketer looking to show results for all of your content marketing campaigns and collaborate easily but not quite ready to take on a more sophisticated project management software?

Whether you’re marketing an e-commerce or a service-based business to consumers or businesses, an easy trick to try is adding the most important stats to your editorial calendar so you can plan in advance and turn your calendar into a detailed analytics report, as well.

Two great tools to use are Microsoft Excel (as long as you can share it and edit in real time on the cloud) or Google Spreadsheets, which can be viewed and edited by all collaborators in real time.

By @AAAMarino and @JackieClews

We cannot argue with the fact that Thanksgiving is the biggest food holiday of the year. We also cannot argue the fact that once Thanksgiving is over, holiday shopping sets in. Retailers are ordering bulks of shipment, back stocking, and beginning their promotions for what is the biggest shopping day of the year. Shoppers are preparing to scavenge for sales, run around the mall and charge their computers.

You might think that GIFs are only used to show twerking fails or of a cat falling off a ledge, but there are actually some very useful instances for GIFs. Check your inbox. I bet that you have a few waiting for you right now. I constantly see animated GIFs that are classy, appealing, and eye catching that compliment the email’s message. Here are a few reasons why I think you should use them in your next email campaign.

Are you looking to get more sales, donations, or leads from your email marketing efforts? Then you need to know not just what gets people to open and click on your emails, but what types of content, calls to action, and other criteria gets your subscribers to buy, donate, or signup (convert).

Let’s face it. With everyone’s inboxes becoming increasingly overwhelming to manage, getting strategic about email marketing is a lot harder than it used to be.

Our first post in this email marketing series was about improving your subject lines to get more people to open your email by explaining Five Fashion Subject Lines I Love from a consumer’s perspective.

I recently went to Tootsies' top blogger event at their Plaza location in Dallas and felt incredibly uncomfortable- for all the right reasons.

It took less than five minutes from when I walked in past the glass doors (and was never greeted) to the man formally serving cocktails and horderves (that seemed to have a scowl) and then made my way upstairs to the evening gown section (I don't wear evening gowns that often as a 25 year old living in Frisco, Texas).

Email is becoming an increasingly popular online marketing technique - and subject lines are an important first step to getting your target audience to engage with your email.

So marketers can get some honest feedback on what gets me to open an email, I compiled a list of my five favorite fashion subject lines.

“Front Row at the Spring 2014 Runway Show”—ralphlauren.com

It seems like today you cannot escape the current trends. When this email appeared in my inbox I automatically clicked it because I imagined being front row, watching the models in all the current trends walk down a bright stage with cameras flashing in each and every direction. As soon as I read this subject for this email I knew I would open the email and be directed to the current styles. I then imagined myself wearing the brand and walking down the runway with cameras on me. This subject was a creative, direct way to catch my attention and make me wonder what Spring 2014 will look like.