The holiday season is a great time to regroup from a busy year and catch up on all of those activities you keep putting off because you’re too busy running your small business. Many of us take this time of year to get ready for the year ahead, and part of that preparation is making sure we’re all caught up on our marketing reading. How many articles are sitting in your inbox with the intent of circling back around to it for a quick read?  10? 20? 100? We thought we’d make it easier for you and give you our suggestions on holiday marketing reading, including five articles to read before 2020. They cover a range of topics from video to storytelling to email marketing and more, so you’ll get a nice cross-section of topics to boost your small business marketing knowledge for the new year.

Make it personal: 5 rules of engagement for video ads that work

video adsIf you feel like you’re still behind the eight ball when it comes to effective video ads, this article by Think With Google is just for you! It’s a quick read and provides five easy steps to make sure you’re getting the engagement you need when creating video ads. The suggestions are straightforward yet spot-on, from making sure you’re providing helpful information to permitting you to use more tools in YouTube for more engagement. Check it out; you’ll be happy you did!

How to Do Brand Storytelling in 3 Successful Ways

Storytelling took off in a big way in 2019, but many small business owners still aren’t sure how to use this tactic to their advantage. Lucky for you, this handy article by Content Marketing Institute gives us three practical ways to weave storytelling into our marketing efforts, along with a clear, concise definition of what exactly brand storytelling is. Take the time to read this one; it’ll make a big difference in how you approach storytelling in your own marketing efforts.

29 Email Deliverability Tips You Must Know in 2020

Does it seem like it’s getting harder and harder to reach people by email?  You’re not imagining things. There are a host of things you may not even know about that can prevent your email from ever reaching someone’s inbox. With more stringent laws and increasingly sophisticated spam filters, it’s to your benefit to know everything that can affect your email’s deliverability. HubSpot’s awesome article gives you 29 things to consider to get your email delivered and read.

The 5 Most Important Social Media Trends to Watch for in 2020

Social media is an ever-changing animal and trying to keep up on trends of current channels, not to mention all the new channels out there can prove to be nothing short of overwhelming. Don’t despair! Hootsuite offers up these must-know trends for 2020 to stay in the know.

9 Bad SEO Habits to Leave in 2019

SEOThe end of the year is a great time to take a look at the bad habits we have and make a fresh start for the new year. Don’t worry, dumping these SEO habits won’t include giving up chocolate or your favorite happy hour drink, but it Search Engine Journal’s article on bad SEO habits will help you start fresh and get on the right track for 2020.

All five of these articles are fairly quick reads but will set you up for success in 2020 by upping your marketing game going into the new year. Take some time to knock out this holiday marketing reading, and you’ll hit the ground running for January 1st and beyond. Happy Holidays everyone!

Patty Hughes
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