💡 Content ideas.

Why you should diversify your marketing, tips for improving international shopping experiences, and more. April 12, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Good morning, it’s Tuesday. How many languages can you say “good morning” in? We haven’t polled The Crew, but judging by our global team, we’d probably sound fluent in several languages… or just unusually excited about mornings. If your customers are international, it might be worth making your website fluent in a few languages, too. More on that in today’s newsletter. E-COMMERCE The Etsy strike has a lesson for marketers about single-channel advertising [article-image] When Etsy announced transaction fees were increasing from 5% to 6.5%, sellers weren’t happy. And now, [more than 14,000 sellers are going on strike](. It’s not the first time Etsy riled their users. [AliExpress resellers have been running over legit merchants](… and apparently, they’re getting away with it. Why we care: Remember iOS14 updates? We’ve seen how a small change in company policy can snowball into an Etsy-like problem before, affecting sellers and advertisers worldwide. And we don’t want you to lose your audience. The solution? Don’t rely on one marketing channel, even if it consistently pulls amazing results. Instead, diversify your channels and invest in first-party data collection. And if you’re running ads… ADVERTISING Want to make ads that work? Try flaunting your imperfections BeReal is [Gen Z’s new favorite app](, and the way it works is pretty simple: BeReal encourages users to send one post every day to their friends to show exactly what they're doing in real time. “Authentic” social media apps are on the rise: It’s not just BeReal. Many people have started using TikTok and Snapchat, because unlike Instagram, they’re places where you can show the real you in candid, spontaneous moments. The data backs this up: In Q1 2022, TikTok was [the most downloaded mobile app in the world](, and The Snapchat Generation 2022 report shows that users put a premium on authenticity. What about ads? A few days ago [we featured a report]( that showed that user-generated content ads outperform conventional ads by up to 50%. User-generated ads, unlike “conventional ads,” are authentic, which makes them more credible and relatable. The Crew’s takeaway? If you want your ads to work, don’t try to be perfect. Be candid. Embrace imperfection. And flaunt some of those flaws. SPONSORED BY CAMPAIGN MONITOR Don’t be the company that sleeps on this high ROI channel [article-image]( Yeah, email marketing usually takes the spotlight when it comes to conversion and repeated purchases. It’s hard to beat that 36X ROI… or is it? Watch what happens when you combine your email list with [SMS marketing](. Why? SMS texts have a 98% open rate on average. And 90% of SMS messages are opened within the first 3 minutes. Plus, the average response rate is 45%. With text messages, you can cultivate a direct relationship with your audience while creating an urgency that’s hard to replicate in a crowded inbox. SMS marketing is immediate: You hit send → And the conversions roll in.. There’s more: Customer data can be shared between your SMS and email lists to create an even more personalized experience. Ready to tap into the potential of combining SMS and email? [This April 28th event from Campaign Monitor will show you how.]( [“Save my spot right now.”]( UX 6 ways to delight international customers and boost your conversions [article-image] If your brand sells products to multiple countries, a simple way to make customers happy and boost conversions is building a translated version of your store. This is useful especially when you sell complicated products that require more explanation. Let’s say you’re an American business that sells supplements globally. Your Italian or Spanish users might prefer reading the ingredient list in their own language, even if they speak English. Not everybody understands jargon or colloquial phrases! Not only does this give them a smoother experience… … you also show them your unique value proposition and selling points in the language that speaks to them most. So if you manage a multilingual website, or plan on building one, Feifei Liu from the Nielsen Norman Group has [6 tips for optimizing the experience of your international users:]( Save users an extra step. If you can track users’ country and language based on the browser’s preference settings, remove friction from their experience by showing the relevant language version. On desktop sites, position the language switcher in the top corners so that users can find it immediately. On mobile, place the language switcher button above the fold or in the menu. Make the language switcher recognizable even when the user doesn’t know the language of the interface. Use visual indicators like the national flag or the currency symbol to represent the switch. We’re out of room, [but you can read the other tips here](. SPONSORED BY SEMRUSH Outshine your competitors. Over-deliver for your customers. Underpay for marketing. [article-image]( Just because you rely on big data and advanced marketing tools doesn’t mean you should pay a big invoice. [With Semrush](, you can create advanced marketing strategies without breaking your budget. Analyze the competition. Improve your site health and rank higher in searches. Manage organic and paid social channels. All while saving hundreds of dollars each month. [“Let me try it for free.”]( THE CREW'S INSIGHTS How to find great content ideas on Amazon [article-image] If you’re anything like us, you mostly visit Amazon’s website to do some shopping. But did you know you can also find great content ideas? We got this tip thanks to [Max Bernstein]( who first posted it on [Insights](. He suggests doing something like this: - Find books in your niche on Amazon. - Look at the table of contents of some of the best books. - Take note of the most interesting chapter titles. - Sort your topics based on how much you know already, or note what research you have to do. In just a few steps you will find countless content ideas for your industry. And those ideas are likely good because you’re choosing them from good books. You don’t have to read the book, but you should share your personal take on the topic. Don’t plagiarize the authors you find. What other tactics do you use to get content ideas? Let us know, and we will share some of the best advice in our newsletter. ROUNDING UP THE STACK [INSIGHTS:]( The best marketers are always researching what successful brands are doing. Not easy when you have a packed calendar and an ever-growing to-do list. But when you join Insights, the research comes to you. [Learn more here.](* [ANALYTICS:]( Was Google Analytics 4 (GA4) acting weird with you yesterday? You’re not alone. Multiple Twitter users reported that some of their GA4 data disappeared… thankfully not forever. [SEO:]( It’s getting harder to dethrone top ranking pages on Google. Also, did you know that over half of Google search queries last year consisted of one or two words? Semrush recently published their State of Search report, and it’s eye-opening. [META:]( No more doxxing. Meta plans to end harassment campaigns by banning users from sharing private home addresses. That seems like a good thing. *This is a sponsored post. BRAIN TEASER I'm as small as an ant, as big as a whale. I'll approach like a breeze, but can come like a gale. By some I get hit, but all have shown fear. I'll dance to the music, though I can't hear. Of names I have many, of names I have one. I'm as slow as a snail, but from me you can't run. What am I? You can find the [answer here](. [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Airbnb is great, but have you tried doing hotels like this? [article-image] Most of us love to travel. But living in hotels for two years straight? Forgetta… Okay, actually, it doesn’t sound as bad as you’d think. Khalid Meniri, founder of the Selfbook app and a “permanent hotel resident,” [recently shared some fascinating “hotel hacks.”]( He’s got great insights like these: - Booking a place directly can give you perks you’d never hear about. - Hotels with pools open to non-guests allow you to meet locals and discover hidden local gems. Meniri tried it in Berlin and ended up in a private art gallery that was previously Hitler’s hiding bunker. Airbnb is great. But this almost makes us want to try booking hotels for a while… SHARING IS CARING Here’s a fun challenge: Prove you’re a marketer without saying you’re a marketer. It’s easy when you have these cool STACKED MARKETER stickers. All you have to do is get 10 people to sign up to our newsletter and they’re yours, free. Put them on your backpack, your thermos… whatever lets you show off your lifestyle. All you have to do is share your referral link below. Takes less than 30 seconds. [article-image]( [CLICK TO SHARE]( Or copy your referral link: [ [SUBSCRIBE]( | [INSIGHTS]( | [ADVERTISE]( You are receiving this email because you want to know what is going on in digital marketing. If you aren't thrilled about our emails, reply and let us know why. Or you can unsubscribe from all daily updates by clicking [here.]( Our postal address: Spectrum IT Solutions GmbH, Canettistrasse 1/Top 0107, 1100 Wien, Austria