9 Must-Read Marketing and E-commerce Gems: The Top Posts from October

Well, it’s that time again, Big Thinkers, to round up the top posts from last month based on what you read and shared the most. Without any further ado, be sure to check out these 9 must-read marketing and e-commerce gems, the top posts from October:

1. Leading off is the most popular post from October, which asks “Will E-commerce Kill Retail?” Spoiler alert: No… but it’s complicated. Check out the whole post to find out why.
2. The next post on the list uncovers “The Little-Known Factors Behind E-commerce Growth in 2015.” Millennials, mobile, and payments all play pretty key roles in driving e-commerce forward next year. Happily, the post goes into some detail around what you can do about these trends.
3. Episode 95 of Thinks Out Loud, our weekly podcast asks a very important question: “What the Hell Just Happened to Google?” If you plan to market your business using search, mobile, or the Internet at all in the next few years — and you do — you really need to understand what’s happening here.
4. Another post that uncovers the trends connecting e-commerce, mobile, and Millennials for the coming year is “The Demographic Realities Driving Mobile Commerce.” Good stuff and highly popular among your fellow Thinks readers.
5. Next up, we’ve got a handful of posts from the E-commerce Link Digest series, all of which ranked in the Top 10 by themselves. These include a set of “11 Must-Read Trends and Tips,” these “6-Plus Incredible E-Commerce, Mobile, and Marketing Posts,” and “8 Potentially Game-Changing Trends,” all of which ranked well in the top posts for last month.
6. Thinks Out Loud returns to the list at number 6, this time with Episode 92, “Setting Next Year’s Digital Strategy.” With just a couple months left before the end of the year, you’ll want to check it out when you get a moment.
7. Email continues to play a huge role in marketing and e-commerce. And that fact likely plays a huge role in the popularity of these “7 Key Tips for More Effective Email Marketing.”
8. Continuing the strong run for Thinks Out Loud in this month’s list is “When It’s All E-commerce Goes Wrong,” episode 94 of the weekly podcast.
9. Finally, another email-related posts rounds out this past month’s top posts, this one that says, “Want Better Email Marketing Results? Think Mobile.” Really good read.

If you’re curious what else is popular on the blog over the last couple of months, check out this list of “8 Crucial Marketing and E-commerce Posts: The Top Posts from September” and “In Case You Missed It: 10 Posts from the Archives.” Both were highly popular in their own right and well worth catching up with.

Plus, you won’t want miss the slides (and video) from my latest webinar, “Digital Marketing Directions: Three Key Trends Driving Your Marketing Next Year” for your reference:

If you’re interested in learning even more about how customers changing behavior shapes e-commerce and marketing, register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” While it’s targeted specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons apply to just about any business. You can get your free copy of the report here.

Finally, you might also want to check out some of our past coverage of the mobile, local, social web and how to make it work for your business, including:

• What Your Customers Expect from Mobile and E-commerce in 2014
• The Secrets Behind “It’s All E-commerce” for 2014
• Should Marketers Really Trust Google in 2014?
• The Zen of Digital Marketing Strategy
• 7 Steps to E-Commerce Heaven
• Today and Tomorrow: Mobile and The Changing Customer Journey
• Mobile Makes E-commerce Even More “Frictionless”
• Your 2014 Internet Marketing New Year’s Resolutions – Thinks Out Loud Episode 56