Email Marketing No-Nos, Essential Buyer Persona Interview Questions, & How to Get Website Optimization Right ...This is THE LATEST!

The period of time between Christmas and the New Year is a strange little purgatory. On the one hand, remnants of Christmas dinner still linger in chilled Tupperware containers and pajamas remain the preferred indoor uniform at my household, no matter the time of day.

On the other hand, that sinking feeling that I will need to return to being an "adult" with "goals" and "direction" as we creep slowly toward the New Year is beginning to take hold. Ugh.

While some of my friends are content to begin boxing up Christmas decorations and tossing out their tree with the garbage at first light on December 26, I am still clinging to the last proverbial Christmas ornament, as if it were life raft.

See, the 10th Doctor also agrees with me.

If you're reading this and saying to yourself, "She understands me," I've got bad news and good news.

The bad news is we have to start acting like adults again, because 2019 is almost here. (I know, I know, it's awful.)

The good news is the three articles below can help you ease your way back into that goal-oriented, grown-up way of thinking -- and they pair quite well with the egg nog that's still in your fridge.

✨ Make Your 2019 Email Marketing Campaigns Sparkle by NOT Doing These Things

Sending emails may not be the most cutting edge, "razzle dazzle" marketing strategy out there, but newsletters are experiencing something of a comeback. Kind of like bell bottoms in the early '90s, but less awful and with more staying power. However, email is a tricky beast, because there are so many ways you can get it wrong. Thankfully, IMPACT Account Coordinator Lexie Ward is here with her big list of nine email marketing pet peeves to avoid in 2019.

⁉️ Here Are All the Questions You Need to Ask Your Buyer Personas

Inbound marketing doesn't work if you don't have well-research buyer personas. Period. At IMPACT, we ensure our clients have comprehensive buyer personas that deliver results by conducting buyer persona interviews featuring a select group of questions -- 30 questions, to be exact! In this article, IMPACT Account Supervisor Kaitlyn Petro shares everything you need to do before a buyer persona interview, as well as the 30 questions you need to ask.

🔎 The 5 Critical Steps of the Website Optimization Lifecycle

Once you hit the ye olde publish button on your new website, you might think, "OK, I don't need to look at that thing for awhile." Wrong. In order to stay current with trends and evolving consumer behaviors -- while also making sure your new website is driving the action you wanted -- you need to spend time optimizing your website. That's why IMPACT Account Supervisor Justine Timoteo has broken down the five different stages of effective website optimization you need to be following to ensure your website is a peak performer.

👀 ...When You're All Ears (& Eyes)

Throwback Thursday 💥

Take a dip in our very own virtual hot tub time machine with some amazing content goodness from our archives that you may have missed:

What is inbound leadership? Following many years of research, IMPACT COO Chris Duprey discovered inbound isn't just for marketers anymore. Leaders who walk the inbound path have shown time and again that their "How can I help?" posture and an obsession with their people results in higher rates of organizational success. Whether you're a current business leader or an aspiring future leader, Chris' guide to inbound leadership is a must-read. It's filled with case studies, personal anecdotes, and a roadmap for becoming an inbound leader.

Also, on this day in 1831, Charles Darwin embarked on his 'round-the-world, five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle -- during which, he worked on his theory of evolution.

🌎 IMPACTers on the Move

IMPACT Client Success Specialist Myriah Anderson will be a featured speaker for Sales Hacker's Accelerating Sales with Video: Lessons Learned from Those Seeing Success live web event on January 17. Limited spots are available, so snag yours today.