Speeches aren't always fun. You've all had to sit through that long, dragged-out presentation that just couldn't seem to keep you awake. But when you come across a speaker who can really inspire and motivate you to change what you are used to doing, you realize that education can actually be fun and worth your time.

These six powerful industry leaders are here to help you take your business to the next level. And the good news is that you don't have to settle for just an online video to hear their full story. All of these incredible experts will be speaking at the INBOUND marketing conference in Boston from August 19-22.

1. Rand Fishkin, CEO & Cofounder, Moz

Manifesto of Content Strategy

May 10, 2012

“Inbound Marketing is a strategy because it leads to a lower cost of customer acquisition. You spend fewer dollars; you earn more customers; you build a scalable, repeatable, networked process.”

See Rand speak at INBOUND 2013 this year on “The Secret Ingredients of Better Marketing”!

2. Mike Volpe, CMO, HubSpot

A Love Story

December 5, 2012

“Wouldn’t it be cool if the marketing we made actually made people want to love us, not want to hate us and not want to block out our marketing? I think [...] we need to take a philosophical shift in how we think about marketing. And it’s not about getting in front of people’s faces...”

See Mike speak at INBOUND 2013 this year on “How to Build and Manage an Inbound Marketing Team” and “Be Like Mike: How to Report and Analyze Your Marketing Like HubSpot.”

3. David Meerman Scott, Marketing and Leadership Strategist

New Rules of B2B Marketing

April 25, 2012

“I call this concept 'brand journalism' because I believe that every brand [...] should be acting like a publisher, like a journalism site.”

See David speak at INBOUND 2013 this year on “Inbound Job Search.”

4. Ann Hadley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs

From Boring To Story

August 21, 2012

“I do believe that your content has the ability to change your business. Your story really has the power to transform your business.”

See Ann speak at INBOUND 2013 this year.

5. Brian Halligan, CEO & Founder, HubSpot

Inbound HR

May 13, 2013

“The problem is most companies -- their cultures match the Gen-Xers. Many companies match the Baby Boomers, like my dad. Almost none match the modern generation. I think there’s just such a radical change between these generations that companies need to completely rethink their cultures, completely rethink work, to match the way modern humans shop and learn.”

See Brian speak at INBOUND 2013 this year as a HubSpot Keynote.

6. Marcus Sheridan, President, The Sales Lion

7 Content Ideas to Blow Up Your Brand, Business and Sales

August 21, 2012

“We call it blogging, but I tend to not really like the word “blog.” Because the reality is that with a blog, do you realize that when most people hear the word “blog,” they don’t realize that that’s just a page of your website? We think it’s some separate entity. A blog is just a way to format information on your website.”

See Marcus speak at INBOUND 2013 this year on “Turning Inbound Objections into Client Conviction.”

This post was written by Lynelle Schmidt, one of our rockstar co-op interns.