📈 Cultural metamorphosis.

LinkedIn reveals the most-shared content in 2022, Etsy breaks a new record, and more. December 19, 2022 [Read in browser]( [logo] [sponsor]( Happy Monday. What a weekend, and what a final! Congratulations to Argentina for winning its third World Cup. Of course, if you were rooting for France… our condolences. Can’t win them all. And while we’re on the topic of bittersweet events: we’re hitting pause on the newsletter for two weeks. Our last newsletter of 2022 will land in your inbox December 21, and we’ll be back January 5. LINKEDIN What content gets the most traction? [article-image] LinkedIn’s formula is simple: engaging content equals presence and opportunities. The platform just released a report on [the most shared content in 2022](, and it may help you get a better understanding of what attracts LinkedIn users. … It’s not career updates: LinkedIn says the past year “accelerated a massive cultural metamorphosis.” The top content pieces dealt with permanently changed private and work lives. The 23 most shared articles were divided into five categories: - Adjusting to the new reality of remote work, where users discussed the pros, cons, and future of working remotely. - The changing state of work culture, mostly influenced by the pandemic where new values were emphasized, including work life balance, inclusivity, diversity, and more. - An ongoing pandemic, with the most-shared articles on this topic being more “forward looking and philosophical” than previous year. - Empathy and leadership, especially content that focused on the importance of kind, empathetic, and capable leaders. - Opinions from thought leaders, especially from globally recognized people like Bill Gates, or industry leaders. You can see the individual top-shared pieces in the article. Why we care: Content marketers and advertisers could use these 23 articles as a benchmark for engineering campaigns that would resonate with the overall LinkedIn audience. One thing is clear: hyping your own accomplishments didn’t make the list. So if you really want to stand out, touch on important causes and share value. ETSY Downloads hit a hot streak Sometimes the best way to gauge a platform's success is to check the download charts. Etsy hit new records, with [over a million app downloads recorded in a single week]( on App Store and Google Play combined, reports Appfigures. Handmade in demand: Etsy has been trending upwards for quite some time. In 2020 it netted 300k weekly downloads; last year it was 400k. However, this year’s significant jump shows that the demand for handmade and vintage items is rising. Why we care: E-commerce marketers and retailers often overlook Etsy in favor of other marketplaces like Amazon or eBay. But with Etsy’s recent growth, you may want to consider putting it on the map for 2023. Speaking of hot streaks… SPONSORED BY EVADAV This new ad format gets a massive response rate and cosmic CTRs [article-image]( We were just looking at the numbers of an EvaDav campaign that used this ad format on October 30, 2022. It got 14,000 clicks at a $0.003 cost per click and 75% ROI. This same campaign got similar results for the entire month of October. What’s the ad format? In-Page, a pop-up banner ad. In-Page isn’t new, but [EvaDav brought it to a new level]( with more attention and lower CPCs. Advertisers love it, and here’s why: - It’s 100% attention-grabbing without being annoying. Inpage banners appear in front of the user while they’re browsing, but they occupy only part of the screen. - [Not subject to regulation by browsers.]( - Requires minimal involvement from advertisers. - Huge volume enables you to scale as hard as you want. [Find out more about In-Page banner ads on EvaDav.]( SEO How to become a featured snippet master [article-image] Why settle for any old spot on the first page when you can get the prized real estate? If Google’s search algorithm likes your answer to a query enough, it may slingshot a featured snippet of that summary to the top of the page – even if the page itself isn’t ranking. [As Chris Long writes](, optimizing your article to impress Google and earn featured snippets can be a quick win that brings you visibility and traffic. Chris has a few methods that may turn you into the snippet master… First, add a “What is” heading. The “what is” heading automatically signals to Google that the section can solve a reader’s problem. Ideally, it would be close to the top of the blog, making it easier for bots to find it and extract the “snippet” from that section. Use the “is” sentence structure. The clearer your answer, the easier it is for the algorithm to pick it up. If the heading says, “What is [keyword]?” then you should answer with “[keyword] is…” immediately after. For example: [H2] What is influencer marketing? [Paragraph] Influencer marketing is…” Define the entire topic in 2–3 sentences. Chris believes this is crucial. Your answer should summarize the entire section in the first paragraph of the section, following this order: - First sentence defines the topic. - Second and third sentences describe 2–3 must-know facts about it. Be short and concise, [like this snippet from Investopedia](. Match the snippet formats. Featured snippets come in three types: paragraphs, bulleted and numbered lists, and tables (though tables are more rare). So first, make sure your sections are optimized for these formats, otherwise Google won’t pick them up. Second, there’s a possibility a featured snippet for your desired query already exists. See which format it takes and try to optimize your content so it’s better and can “overtake” the existing one. And those are the most important bits. For more in-depth information, check out Chris’s entire article and get your optimization gear. Snip, snip! SPONSORED BY STACKED MARKETER PRO The psychology behind emails that sell – and emails that don’t [article-image]( Why is it that some business pros can send out one email and get a ton of clicks and sales… … While others send out email after email, and get no traction? We went through thousands of email campaigns sent by hundreds of businesses and categorized the [psychological principles used by the top 1%.]( [Join Stacked Marketer Pro for $7 and get The Principles-based Email Marketing Swipe File.]( THE CREW’S INSIGHTS Why cold email follow-ups are so important [article-image] So you’ve been working like a 110-pound Doberman, slinging cold emails left and right. You’ve put together a wonderful email and you’re getting some replies… But are you sending follow-up emails? You should be. If you’re not, this section of today’s newsletter is your reminder. In many cases, follow-up emails will net you just as many replies as your initial cold email will. Here are three simple rules for writing follow-up emails: The first rule: Keep your follow-up emails simple. A good rule of thumb is that your follow-up should be at least 2x shorter than your initial email. The second rule: Include an additional value prop about why the recipient might be interested in what you have. Remind your reader what’s in it for them—don’t follow up without providing any context. The third rule: Wait a few days before sending your follow-up email. Give people two, three, or four days before you reach out again. The same applies if you send more than one follow-up email, though you’ll see diminishing returns after the first one. Here’s an example: When we reach out to partner with potential content creators, we’ll send a follow-up like this: “Hey, Joe. Just following up on my email from earlier this week. I think a partnership might make sense here. When we partnered with [Similar Company] back in October, they got 450 new subscribers to their newsletter in a couple of hours. Would love to chat. Let’s talk!” Simple, effective, easy. Best of luck out there! ROUNDING UP THE STACK [SEO:]( Google loves high-quality user-centric backlinks. So quit tedious link-building practices and get premium backlinks from DR65+ websites like The Washington Post and Zendesk. NectarHR went from zero to 40,000 traffic per month. [Start reaching more people with dofollow.io.](* [BEREAL:]( Guess who uses this app the most? According to Insider Intelligence, BeReal’s users are 98% female in some countries and 58% female in the US. Also, most users are below 25. Can’t say we’re surprised… [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:]( A new debate is surfacing. Will ChatGPT, or a similar future AI-based language model, replace search engines like Google in the long run? Or will they work together in harmony? This article is a useful read if you’re in SEO or content marketing... [E-COMMERCE:]( If you’re running or plan to start a beauty e-commerce business or partnership, Shopify has good news for you… US shoppers alone are poised to spend $24.5B on beauty products. And that’s not the only wild stat in this article, either… *This is a sponsored post BRAIN TEASER I don’t have eyes, ears, nose, or tongue, but I can see, smell, hear and taste everything. What am I? You can [find the answer here.]( [poolside-logo] POOLSIDE CHAT Congrats to Britain for an unlikely World Cup record… [article-image] This year’s World Cup brought unforgettable moments, broken hearts… and broken records. Maybe the UK didn’t end up winning the cup, but there’s one record the entire country can be proud of: [For the first time in history, no British fans were arrested.]( Of course, this is also the first World Cup in recent history where alcohol was prohibited in and around the stadium. What a coincidence! SHARING IS CARING Know what’s easier than last-minute Christmas shopping? Sharing today’s newsletter with other people. It also makes you look insanely well-informed in front of other marketers... and might even help you build rapport with the right executives. Plus, you earn great rewards. Every time you share your custom link—and your friends and coworkers subscribe—you earn points toward exclusive content, merch, and more. Get started by hitting the link below! [article-image]( [CLICK TO SHARE]( Or copy your referral link: [ [SUBSCRIBE]( | [SM PRO]( | [ADVERTISE]( You are receiving this email because you want to know what is going on in digital marketing. 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