With the slew of emails you know your clients receive daily, it can be daunting to create something eye-catching and effective. Concentrate on the basics for the best results with your email marketing messages. You need to get attention in a crowded inbox, make a connection in your message and direct the recipient’s next move with your CTA:

It’s Oscar season, and excitement is in the air. When you reflect on all the great films you've seen over the past year, you are suddenly struck with an idea to add a video to your firm’s marketing repertoire. If you haven’t taken the video plunge, it is time to get off the sidelines and into the game.

What’s the best way to predict the future? Some say it’s to create it. From a business standpoint, that means using analytical information regarding client engagement to help shape the future. That’s how we amassed this list of nine branding trends, which you should incorporate into your 2014 marketing game plan.

Regarding social media channels, Pinterest tops the chart for using visual content as an inbound marketing tool. Visual content like an image or video can communicate a qualitative or quantitative viewpoint. They can show a vision or assist audiences with visualizing how to execute a plan. A series of images or a video can also show change. Combining this social media channel with a solid inbound marketing strategy will help your audiences see how your firm can use pictures to illustrate ideas and provide solutions.

As a professional services marketer, you tirelessly seek new ways to engage your audiences. It can get discouraging to perform traditional marketing methods, and I'd like to know if you are making a connection. You attend professional seminars and lectures that cover important points to consider. However, you can't find the right ingredient to bridge the gap from concept to an emotional connection with your audience.