The Data Driven Newsletter
​Harnessing Data to Drive Growth
​Volume 11.11.3
November 17, 2023

Reading time: 5 minutes

​

Hey Reader,

Here’s this week’s marketing news roundup, including what’s happening for Black Friday (with a chance for you to guess what our offer is… or be an early bird who gets the offer first).

🎄🎃 Christmas Decorations Before Halloween?!

Have you noticed that the Christmas shopping season starts earlier and earlier every year?

A few weeks ago, when I was out shopping for my David S. Pumpkins costume for Halloween, I saw Christmas decorations everywhere. Santa was out in full force. Jingle Bell's songs were on full blast.

Then, the other day, I had to tell my four-year-old son that Christmas is still 38 days away… Which led to screaming and tears while walking the halls of a Christmas-dominated Costco run.

Wait, we haven’t even gotten close to Thanksgiving yet!

However, many marketing teams seem to be operating on a different calendar. I don’t know about you, but I’ve already gotten 5-6 Black Friday offers this week… and a few more the week before.

It’s the same song and dance, except the music starts earlier. And that’s a challenge for Black Friday shoppers.

What if you pounce on an early offer and spend your entire annual Black Friday budget a week or two too soon… only to watch even better deals pass them by on Black Friday?

The smart Black Friday shoppers know that the best deals usually come out two days before Black Friday, but no earlier. And sometimes, these great offers sell out even before it’s officially Black Friday.

The “sweet spot” for the best deals lies in the two-day window between Wednesday (Thanksgiving Eve) and Black Friday itself.

Sadly, if you wait until late afternoon on Friday, most of the best deals will be gone.

Here’s your chance to lock in our limited quantity offer early.

🚨 [DDU Black Friday 2023] Join This Early Bird Group for Our Limited Offer

Well, what about Data Driven? Are we offering anything for Black Friday?

The answer is Yes.

But unlike other companies, we won’t reveal what we’re offering until November 24th, the official Black Friday date.

And we’re ONLY offering our deal to a limited number of our subscribers this year.

BUT… if you want to know what our offer is before the big date, you can join our “early bird” notification group to get a chance to purchase our offer two days sooner - on Wednesday, November 22.

All you have to do is go to the link below:

👉 Click to join the Early Bird group (you’ll be registered in one click)

If you’re in the early bird group, you’ll find out what our offer is on Wednesday, November 22.

Otherwise, you’ll see it in our email next Friday the 24th.

And that’s not all!

You can GUESS what our offer is going to be for a chance to get an extra 10% off.

If you guess both the product and price correctly, you’ll get another 10% off on top of the y-uuuge discount that you’ll already be getting.

We’ll even send you the checkout link right away, so you don’t have to wait until Black Friday.

Happy guessing!

🎙️ Business Unfiltered Podcast EP #28: The Power of Saying No

Do you have a hard time saying no?

Did you know that saying “no” can potentially transform your business by conserving scarce resources (including your time and attention)?

Declining projects that don’t much of drive your revenue is not failure, but strategic empowerment. But the art of refusal through priorities and the "no-yes barrier” is something that takes time to master.

Once you get it right, your selective filter ensures only the finest opportunities get through.

Keep in mind, though, that saying "no" also bears some risks. While it serves as a good defense against distraction, it can also enable procrastination.

So wield the word “no” with care and intention. Let discernment guide when to refuse or accept. Balance is key. Don’t forget the power of "yes" to foster growth and connection too.

Savvy entrepreneurs know when to say no firmly. And when opening doors serves them best.

Keep your vision clear.

​Listen to the latest podcast episode​

♟️ [Traffic] UGC With SEO? How This Marketer Does It

User-generated content (UGC) is a potent tool for SEOs to build trust, community, and increase website traffic. But the process of implementing a successful UGC strategy with SEO involves careful planning, optimization, and integration with other marketing channels.

Here are 7 steps to incorporate UGC into your SEO strategy:

1) Identify your main inbound UGC channels

2) Set up automation to support the volume you expect

3) Optimize your page elements like title tags and metadata for user-generated pages

4) Encourage users to share by including easy-to-use share buttons and CTAs on UGC pages.

5) Establish KPIs specific to UGC, including content engagement metrics like session duration and user interactions.

6) Use UGC like customer quotes, images, or entire posts across social media and email marketing.

7) Regularly review the performance of your UGC strategy and make adjustments based on data-driven insights.

Read more about it below:

​Learn more​

🎥 YouTube: Do you Need Server-Side Tagging?

Check out my video on server-side tagging from last year, and it’s still relevant today despite recent changes to the GTM platform.

If you answer YES to any of the following questions, then server-side tagging may benefit you.

• Have you experienced significant revenue loss due to marketing data loss?
• Is your business subject to strict privacy regulations like GDPR or CCPA, and do you engage in online advertising?
• Are you looking to future-proof your business's data tracking and analytics capabilities?
• Is your business growing, and are you looking to enhance your tracking systems to support this growth?
• Do you want to collect cleaner, more compliant data, especially in a privacy-focused environment?

Server-side tagging not only provides you with more accurate tracking but also is a more compliant approach to data collection and management under privacy regulations.

​Watch video​

See you next week!