Marketing

January 1: New Year's Day #NewYearsDay
January 2: Science Fiction Day #ScienceFictionDay
January 4: National Trivia Day #NationalTriviaDay
January 5: National Bird Day #NationalBirdDay
January 11: Human Trafficking Awareness Day #HumanTraffickingDay
January 13: National Sticker Day #NationalStickerDay
January 15: National Hat Day #NationalHatDay
January 20: Cheese Lovers Day #CheeseLoversDay
January 21: National Hugging Day #NationalHuggingDay
January 24: National Compliment Day #NationalComplimentDay
January 25: Opposite Day #OppositeDay
January 28: Data Privacy Day #PrivacyAware

February 2023 Social Media Holidays

February 1 - 28: Black History Month
February 2: Groundhog Day #GroundhogDay
February 2: World Wetlands Day #WorldWetlandsDay
February 4: World Cancer Day #WorldCancerDay
February 5: National Weatherperson’s Day #NationalWeatherpersonsDay
February 7: National Send a Card to a Friend Day #SendACardToAFriendDay
February 8: National Boy Scouts Day #BoyScoutsDay
February 9: National Pizza Day #NationalPizzaDay
February 11: Inventors Day #InventorsDay
February 13: World Radio Day #WorldRadioDay
February 14: Valentine's Day #ValentinesDay
February 17: Random Acts of Kindness Day #RandomActsOfKindnessDay
February 18: National Battery Day #NationalBatteryDay
February 20: World Day of Social Justice #SocialJusticeDay
February 20: Love Your Pet Day #LoveYourPetDay
February 21: International Mother Language Day #IMLD

March 2023 Social Media Holidays

March 2: National Read Across America Day #ReadAcrossAmerica & #DrSeuss
March 3: World Wildlife Day #WorldWildlifeDay
March 4: National Grammar Day #NationalGrammarDay
March 6: National Dentist's Day #DentistsDay
March 7: National Be Heard Day #NationalBeHeardDay
March 7: National Cereal Day #NationalCerealDay
March 8: International Women's Day #BeBoldForChange
March 8: National Proofreading Day #NationalProofreadingDay
March 10: National Pack Your Lunch Day #NationalPackYourLunchDay
March 10: National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day #NWGHAAD
March 11: National Worship of Tools Day #WorshipOfToolsDay
March 12: National Girl Scout Day #GirlScoutDay
March 14: Potato Chip Day #NationalPotatoChipDay
March 14: Pi Day #PiDay (To go the extra mile, post this at 1:59, as Pi equals 3.14159...)
March 15: World Consumer Rights Day #WorldConsumerRightsDay

March 16: National Freedom of Information Day #FreedomOfInformationDay
March 17: St. Patrick's Day #StPatricksDay
March 18: Awkward Moments Day #NationalAwkwardMomentsDay

March 19: National Let's Laugh Day #NationalLetsLaughDay

March 20: International Day of Happiness #InternationalDayofHappiness
March 20: World Storytelling Day #WorldStorytellingDay
March 20: First Day of Spring #FirstDayofSpring
March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination #RacialDiscriminationDay
March 21: World Poetry Day #WorldPoetryDay
March 22: World Water Day #WorldWaterDay

March 23: National Puppy Day #NationalPuppyDay
March 25: Tolkien Reading Day #TolkienReadingDay
March 26: National Spinach Day #NationalSpinachDay
March 26: Purple Day #PurpleDay

March 30: Doctor's Day #NationalDoctorsDay
March 30: National Take a Walk in the Park Day #NationalWalkInTheParkDay
March 31: World Backup Day #WorldBackupDay
March 31: Transgender Day of Visibility #TDOV

April 2023 Social Media Holidays

April 1 - 30: National Stress Awareness Month
April 1: April Fools Day #AprilFools
April 2: World Autism Awareness Day #WAAD
April 3: Find a Rainbow Day #FindARainbowDay
April 4: Hug a Newsperson Day #HugANewsperson
April 6: National Walking Day #NationalWalkingDay
April 7: World Health Day #LetsTalk
April 10: National Siblings Day #NationalSiblingsDay
April 10: Encourage a Young Writer Day #EncourageAYoungWriterDay
April 11: National Pet Day #NationalPetDay
April 12: International Day of Human Space Flight #InternationalDayOfHumanSpaceFlight
April 15: National Tax Day #TaxDay
April 16: National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day #PJDay
April 17: Haiku Poetry Day #HaikuPoetryDay
April 18: National Columnists' Day #NationalColumnistDay
April 20: National Look-Alike Day #NationalLookAlikeDay

April 21: National Administrative Professionals Day #AdministrativeProfessionalsDay

April 22: Earth Day #EarthDay2023
April 23: National Picnic Day #NationalPicnicDay
April 23: World Book Day #WorldBookDay
April 25: National Telephone Day #NationalTelephoneDay
April 25: World Malaria Day #EndMalariaForGood

April 29: International Dance Day #InternationalDanceDay
April 30: National Honesty Day #NationalHonestyDay
April 30: National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day #AdoptAShelterPetDay
April 30: International Jazz Day #JazzDay

May 2023 Social Media Holidays

May 1: May Day #MayDay
May 1: International Workers Day #IntWorkersDay
May 3: World Press Freedom Day #WPFD2023 #PressFreedom
May 4: Star Wars Day #StarWarsDay & #Maythe4thBeWithYou
May 4: International Firefighters Day #InternationalFirefightersDay
May 5: Cinco de Mayo #CincoDeMayo

May 6: National Nurses Day #NursesDay
May 9: Europe Day #EuropeDay

May 12: National Limerick Day #NationalLimerickDay
May 15: International Day of Families #FamilyDay
May 16: Love a Tree Day #LoveATreeDay
May 17: International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia #IDAHOT2023
May 21: National Memo Day #NationalMemoDay
May 24: National Scavenger Hunt Day #NationalScavengerHuntDay
May 28: Hamburger Day #NationalHamburgerDay
May 29: Paperclip Day #PaperclipDay

May 31: World No-Tobacco Day #NoTobacco

June 2023 Social Media Holidays

June 1: Global Day of Parents #GlobalDayOfParents

June 5: World Environment Day #WorldEnvironmentDay

June 6: Higher Education Day #HigherEducationDay
June 8: World Oceans Day #WorldOceansDay
June 8: Best Friends Day #BestFriendsDay

June 14: World Blood Donor Day #GiveBlood
June 14: National Flag Day #FlagDay
June 19: Juneteenth (Freedom Day) #Juneteenth
June 20: World Refugee Day #WithRefugees
June 20, 21, or 22 (Depending on the Year): First Day of Summer #FirstDayofSummer
June 21: National Selfie Day #NationalSelfieDay
June 21: World Music Day #WorldMusicDay
June 21: International Yoga Day #InternationalYogaDay

June 27: National Sunglasses Day #NationalSunglassesDay
June 30: Social Media Day #SMDay

July 2023 Social Media Holidays

July 1: National Postal Worker Day #NationalPostalWorkerDay
July 2: World UFO Day #WorldUFODay
July 4: Independence Day (United States)
July 7: World Chocolate Day #WorldChocolateDay
July 8: National Video Games Day #NationalVideoGamesDay
July 11: Cheer Up the Lonely Day #CheerUpTheLonelyDay
July 12: Malala Day #MalalaDay
July 15: Give Something Away Day #GiveSomethingAwayDay
July 17: World Emoji Day #WorldEmojiDay
July 18: Nelson Mandela International Day #MandelaDay
July 30: International Day of Friendship #DayOfFriendship

August 2023 Social Media Holidays

August 1: Respect for Parents Day #RespectForParentsDay
August 2: National Coloring Book Day #NationalColoringBookDay
August 8: International Cat Day #InternationalCatDay
August 9: National Book Lovers Day #NationalBookLoversDay
August 10: National Lazy Day #LazyDay
August 11: National Sons and Daughters Day #SonsAndDaughtersDay
August 12: International Youth Day #YouthDay
August 12: World Elephant Day #WorldElephantDay
August 13: International Lefthanders Day #LefthandersDay
August 15: National Relaxation Day #NationalRelaxationDay
August 16: National Tell a Joke Day #NationalTellAJokeDay
August 19: World Photo Day #WorldPhotoDay
August 19: World Humanitarian Day #WorldHumanitarianDay
August 20: National Lemonade Day #NationalLemonadeDay
August 26: National Dog Day #NationalDogDay
August 26: National Women’s Equality Day #WomensEqualityDay

September 2023 Social Media Holidays

September 4: National Wildlife Day #NationalWildlifeDay
September 5: International Day of Charity #CharityDay

September 6: Read a Book Day #ReadABookDay
September 8: International Literacy Day #LiteracyDay

September 11: National Day of Service and Remembrance #911Day

September 12: National Day of Encouragement #DayOfEncouragement
September 15 - October 15: Histrongic Heritage Month #histrongicheritagemonth
September 18: Civic Day of Hacking #HackForChange
September 19: Talk Like a Pirate Day #TalkLikeAPirateDay
September 21: International Day of Peace #PeaceDay
September 21: Miniature Golf Day #MiniGolfDay
September 22: Car-Free Day #CarFreeDay
September 22: Hobbit Day #HobbitDay
September 22 or 23 (Depending on the Year): First Day of Fall #FirstDayofFall
September 26: National Pancake Day #NationalPancakeDay
September 26: European Day of Languages #EDL2023
September 27: World Tourism Day #WTD2023
September 28: World Rabies Day #WorldRabiesDay
September 28: National Good Neighbor Day #GoodNeighborDay

September 30: International Podcast Day #InternationalPodcastDay

October 2023 Social Media Holidays

October 1: International Day of Older Persons #UNDOP
October 1: International Coffee Day #InternationalCoffeeDay
October 1: World Vegetarian Day #WorldVegetarianDay
October 2: International Day of Nonviolence #InternationalDayOfNonviolence
October 3: National Techies Day #TechiesDay
October 4: World Animal Day #WorldAnimalDay
October 4: National Taco Day #NationalTacoDay
October 5: World Teachers Day #WorldTeachersDay

October 10: World Mental Health Day #WorldMentalHeathDay
October 11: International Day of the Girl #DayOfTheGirl

October 14: National Dessert Day #DessertDay
October 15: Global Handwashing Day #GlobalHandwashingDay
October 16: World Food Day #FoodDay
October 16: Bosses Day #BossesDay
October 17: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty #EndPoverty
October 20: World Statistics Day (Held every 5 years; it will next be celebrated in 2025) #StatisticsDay
October 21: Reptile Awareness Day #ReptileAwarenessDay

October 24: United Nations Day #UNDay
October 25: Greasy Foods Day #GreasyFoodsDay
October 30: National Publicist Day #NationalPublicistDay
October 30: Checklist Day #ChecklistDay
October 31: Halloween #Halloween

November 2023 Social Media Holidays

November 1-30: National Novel Writing Month #NaNoWriMo
November 1: National Authors Day #NationalAuthorsDay
November 1: World Vegan Day #WorldVeganDay
November 1: National Cook For Your Pets Day #CookForYourPetsDay

November 3: National Sandwich Day #NationalSandwichDay
November 4: National Candy Day #NationalCandyDay
November 8: National Cappuccino Day #CappuccinoDay
November 8: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine (STEM) Day #STEMDay
November 11: Veterans Day #VeteransDay
November 13: World Kindness Day #WKD
November 14: World Diabetes Day #WDD
November 15: Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day #CleanOutYourRefrigeratorDay
November 15: America Recycles Day #BeRecycled

November 16: International Day for Tolerance #ToleranceDay
November 17: International Students Day #InternationalStudentsDay
November 19: International Men’s Day #InternationalMensDay
November 20: Universal Children’s Day #UNChildrensDay
November 21: World Hello Day #WorldHelloDay
November 26: National Cake Day #NationalCakeDay

November 29: Electronic Greeting Card Day #ElectronicGreetingCardDay
November 30: Computer Security Day #ComputerSecurityDay

December 2023 Social Media Holidays

December 1: World AIDS Day #WAD2023
December 3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities #IDPWD
December 4: National Cookie Day #NationalCookieDay
December 5: World Soil Day #WorldSoilDay
December 6: Microwave Oven Day #MicrowaveOvenDay
December 8: Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day #PretendToBeATimeTravelerDay

December 10: Human Rights Day #HumanRightsDay
December 10: Nobel Prize Day #NobelPrize
December 11: International Mountain Day #InternationalMountainDay
December 21: Crossword Puzzle Day #CrosswordPuzzleDay
December 20, 21, or 23 (Depending on the Year): First Day of Winter #WinterSolstice
December 27: No Interruptions Day #NoInterruptionsDay
December 31: New Year’s Eve #NYE

Examples of Social Media Holiday Posts

Ready to get inspired? Check out some of our favorite examples of social media holiday posts below.

1. December Holidays — HubSpot

In this post from HubSpot’s very own social media team, we created a holiday gift guide for marketers — one of our buyer personas and also a group of people we very much love (we create software products just for them, after all! Shout out to Marketing Hub). This is one example of how you can make a social media holiday post relevant to your target audience while integrating light humor.

2. Valentine’s Day — Afterlight Books

Afterlight Books is a romance book box subscription service that hit the nail on the head with their Valentine’s week campaign. You read that right — they turned a social media holiday into a social media week. Not only is that delightful for their loyal subscribers, but it also capitalizes on one of their main selling points. All of their books are romantic, so it makes sense to make a big deal out of the most romantic holiday of the year!

If your product or business aligns with a specific holiday, feel free to go all out on your campaign.

3. Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month — Spotify

For Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Spotify featured a diverse panel of artists who are of Asian and Pacific Islander descent. In the spirit of the holiday, the brand also asked each artist why representation matters to them, which not only uplifts API voices but also honors what heritage months are all about.

Whenever you make a social media holiday post, consider tying the content you’re publishing very closely with the essence of the holiday.

4. Mother’s Day — Mark and Fold

Stationery brand Mark + Fold kept it simple with this Mother’s Day post, which reminds their followers to order a long-lasting gift for the wonderful mothers they know. This post features minimal photography and embodies the brand’s professional, polished tone (with a bit of sass, of course). It’s a great example of how to keep it simple — no need to go over the top, especially if your brand is more understated in nature.

5. First Day of Summer — Brown University

If you’re looking for an example of a no-fuss social media holiday post, look no further than this example from a university. It celebrates the first day of summer, which for most students means a welcome break from school. To encapsulate that spirit, it includes an image of an empty, peaceful, and quiet green (which is, in fact, called the Quiet Green).

With a brief Instagram caption and a dedicated branded hashtag, this social media holiday post is both effective and simple, and absolutely worth imitating if you’re not sure what to post next but know that another holiday is coming up.

6. Halloween — Meta

For its Halloween post, Meta published a reel titled “Haunted House: Trick-VR–Treat,” which effectively advertises its VR headset product. It also encapsulates the spooky spirit of the holiday by inviting viewers to join them in a virtual haunted house created by Eli Roth. This is an excellent example of how to tie a holiday post into an experiential marketing campaign.

7. December Holidays — JetPens

Let’s be honest: December is chock-full of social media holiday opportunities, so it warrants a second example on this list. JetPens, an online stationery store, delighted its followers with a gift wrapping tutorial (which is just about the hardest thing to do) featuring a few of its stationery items. What a win!

The brand both advertised its products and provided useful information to its followers. Consider taking a similar approach with your posts, where you both honor the holiday and help out your viewers.

8. National Pink Day — Crumbl Cookies

Crumbl Cookies won the social media holiday game with this post about National Pink Day. Its brand color is pink, so it created a giveaway campaign to celebrate the holiday and invited their followers to tag others for a chance to win. This is a great example to follow if your brand colors align with any one of the national color holidays.

Just remember that many of those holidays are aligned with a specific cause. For instance, Purple Day (March 26th) is designed to raise awareness about epilepsy, while National Dress in Blue Day (first Friday in March) aims to raise knowledge about colon cancer.

Social Media Holidays Will Help You Grow Your Brand

Partaking in social media holidays will help you create a stronger brand voice and share posts about trending topics, helping you earn more followers in the long run. While it's not important to celebrate every single social media holiday, being aware of the holidays can help you brainstorm ideas for your marketing and implement fun, themed posts into your social media content calendar.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in January 2017 but is updated annually for comprehensiveness. The most recent update of this post was June 2023.

21 Email Newsletter Examples We Love Getting in Our Inboxes

lkolowich@hubspot.com (Lindsay Kolowich Cox) — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

When you’re constantly inundated with social media, news, and emails, every day can seem like a case of information overload — trying to parse what’s important is a challenge.

Subscribing to the right email newsletter can deliver the information you need. Done well, an email newsletter with a purpose is like a trusted source helping you cut through the clutter.

In this blog post, we provide tips and tricks for creating a newsletter that delivers value to subscribers and include examples of exemplary newsletters, explaining what makes them work.

The curation serves to level up the journalistic quality of your content, which results in two things:

Increases the value you provide.
Improves your authority and credibility in your audience's eyes.

When people first start doing email marketing, they often assume they need an email newsletter. However, newsletters are only effective when done well.

"It'll have everything our customers care about, all in one place," they rationalize. "Our list will be different — people will actually look forward to getting our newsletter," they argue. "Since we're only sending it once a month, it'll be a breeze to put together," they say.

And while all of those things may become true for a few lucky individuals, lots of email newsletters flop. They become an uninteresting mush of content people automatically ignore, archive, delete, or straight up unsubscribe from. And this isn't great for you, your metrics, or your company's success.

So if you're thinking about creating an email newsletter, keep on reading. In this post, we'll cover:

Ideas to make your newsletter an effective one.
Design tips that help ensure a great reading experience.
Examples of newsletters that are crushing it (to draw inspiration from).

Email Newsletter Ideas

Email newsletters can include a weekly round-up of blog posts, case studies regarding your product or service, upcoming company events and webinars, or even a behind-the-scenes look at your company.

Of course, you don't want to create a newsletter just to create one — instead, you should thoroughly research what your audience might prefer and what your company is well-suited to offer.

You're in luck if you're looking for general email newsletter inspiration. Here's a list of some of our favorite ideas for email newsletters:

Round-up of popular or recent blog posts or videos.
New job openings at your company.
New case studies or product launches.
Membership/customer deals and promotions.
New best practices or tips.
Industry news.
Quotes.
Recent survey results related to your industry.
Internal employee news, including anniversaries, promotions, and birthdays.
Listicles (e.g., "10 Best Vacation Spots of 2020" if you work for a travel publication).
A team spotlight with pictures and bios.
Photos or stories customers have shared.
Behind the scenes at your company or interviews with company executives.
Monthly business recap.
New training opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and answers.
Upcoming webinars or recordings of past webinars.

Next, let's explore some newsletter designs to inspire the aesthetic of your newsletter.

Featured Guide: Email Newsletter Design Examples Lookbook

Learn how to build an email newsletter from scratch, and see dozens of email newsletter examples from real businesses with this free guide.

Email Newsletter Design

While you can get creative with the structure of your email newsletter, the general anatomy typically includes:

Your logo or masthead.
A featured image and other eye-catching visuals.
Top stories.
Additional content and promotions following.
An email footer with social links and subscription information.

From a design standpoint, your company's newsletter should truly reflect your brand.

For instance, if your website features a minimalist design and clean, plain black-and-white text, you don't want to create a super colorful newsletter, which might confuse new subscribers.

However, there are a few best practices you can employ to ensure your design is up-to-par regardless of your audience's preferences:

Clean, crisp images (no blurry images).
Text (use same text throughout), company logo, and icons.
Try filters, memes, or videos.
Make the call-to-action (CTA) clear and obvious — and just have one (e.g., "Click here to shop" or "Click here to read").
Create a hierarchy with a CTA early on.
Mobile-responsive.
Test the length of your newsletter to ensure it's not too short or too long for your audience.

Of course, the design of your newsletter will depend on your brand, as well as the message.

For instance, you might want to create a colorful, attention-grabbing newsletter if it largely focuses on visuals of new products — alternatively, if it's a round-up of recent blog posts, perhaps you try a more minimalist look to mimic the appearance of a letter.

You'll want to A/B test whichever design(s) you choose to ensure they resonate with your audience.

I'd also recommend looking into pre-made templates if you're not familiar with designing emails. If you're a HubSpot customer, you'll have a bunch of pre-made templates in the email tool.

However, if you're still unsure about your newsletter design, there's nothing better than looking at examples for further inspiration.

Take a look at the following newsletters that knocked it out of the park, and consider using some of their design elements as inspiration for your own.

[List Snippet]

Each newsletter on this list is fabulous for different reasons. Some have exceptional design, some have exceptional copy, some have exceptional CTAs — but all are exceptional at solving for their subscribers' needs.

1. The Hustle

The Hustle is a daily newsletter that promises "business and tech in 5 minutes or less."

While there are a ton of business and tech newsletters out there, what makes The Hustle remarkable is its tone at the intersection of informational and hilarious.

Take two of their most notable headlines from 2021 as an example:

"Inside the world’s most booked Airbnb."
"How Bob Ross paintings became a coveted investment."

What we like: Despite targeting the business and tech culture, The Hustle often uses informal language such as “dude” or “damn” in its newsletter pertaining to millennials. Plus, the use of puns and smart humor in the headings and content makes this email newsletter the favorite of startups and entrepreneurs.

The Hustle also allows subscribers to customize the content they receive to fit their interests (see the "Snippets" section in the example above).

The majority of The Hustle’s readers are hoping to scale their startups or are looking for a business idea. The witty tone blended with knowledgeable insights makes it one of the most effective and most-read email newsletters in this competitive niche.

Further, the newsletter is structured with the best stories at the top. And the best part: The stories don’t start with dull and boring titles but captivating ones.

The formula of great content + unique tone + personalization works well for The Hustle's audience as they've grown to more than 1.5 million subscribers.

The Hustle stands out from others in terms of its style and unique content. It doesn’t target only startups and entrepreneurs but has also grabbed massive eyeballs from company execs, growth managers, salespeople, and marketers.

Best for: That said, it isn’t just limited to the tech niche. SaaS businesses can also imitate this type of email newsletter to address industry problems, potential solutions, and benefits to reach out to the masses.

2. Atlas Obscura

Atlas Obscura’s newsletter does more than provide travel recommendations — it also delivers compelling stories about the world to your inbox.

Atlas Obscura is a perfect email newsletter guide for frequent travelers who want to explore off-beat locations around the globe.

What we like: With stories like “Spotting Squid in the Tides of Oahu” and “Dreaming of Spaghetti and the Sea,” the Atlas Obscura newsletter is a portal for exploration.

They do an excellent job of writing attention-grabbing headlines and finding unexpected, delightful details — library apartments, haunted coffee, and 19th-century skulls are just a few examples.

Their unique value proposition lies in the quirky subject and the short but captivating headlines like “Deadly Shortcuts” and “World’s Oldest Edible Ham.”

What’s most appealing about this newsletter is the style and story plots. As a reader, you won’t feel dull peeking into any of the mysterious travel tales.

Combining interesting stories, captivating photos, and incredible destinations, the Atlas Obscura newsletter reels in the reader.

Along with the interesting content that they cover, one thing that sets Atlas Obscura apart is its flexibility in choosing newsletter types. The site offers six different types of newsletters, including weekly, daily, or twice a week.

It’s a win-win situation for both the readers and newsletter provider.

Best for: Atlas Obscura is a great inspiration for businesses with large audiences and a wide variety of topics to cover. Notice how they have categorized the topics based on locations, archives, and even podcasts.

Businesses covering such large topics can segment their audiences by allowing them to navigate the resources that they want to read.

3. Buffer

Buffer does a great job at keeping the newsletter concise, making it easy for readers to get the knowledge they need with a skim.

They understand that readers want to catch up on the fast-paced and ever-changing social media landscape, so they break down the newsletter into easily navigable sections and short phrases.

What we like: The newsletter is packed with information without feeling overwhelming due to its simple and organized structure.

One thing worth noticing is its simple yet powerful design. At the core, it has a white background with basic fonts that are spaced and include bullets.

Furthermore, Buffer’s newly revamped email newsletter has a short yet powerful intro that covers an index of what’s included in this email.

Another noteworthy thing is their “zero-click content.” Instead of summarizing various topics with a “Read More” CTA, the email shares a single cover story with a large description and a CTA that says “Dive Deeper.” It’s a great way to interest your readers in a single topic instead of distracting them with multiple blog posts.

What’s most effective is their social media manager’s advice at the end that most businesses will love to turn their attention to.

Buffer’s newsletter is a perfect example of how to gain more subscribers using a simple design but powerful content and structure.

Best for: SaaS businesses that want to bring their visitors to their blogs can look up to Buffer’s newsletter strategy. Moreover, the latest trends and industry insights can interest the readers in further reading.

4. The Washington Post The 7

The news is overwhelming and trying to scroll through Twitter to catch up on what’s happening can lead to distractions. The Washington Post understands this and created “The 7” to break down the seven most important stories of the day.

The idea of the two supposed “dead media” — news and email — coming together to deliver something valuable makes this newsletter worth reading.

What we like: The newsletter is memorable because you can expect exactly seven stories to be sent to your inbox every weekday morning. And it takes merely three minutes to cover this 400-word newsletter.

The listicle format makes the newsletter skimmable. Under each story, they include bulleted points like “why this matters,” “why now,” and “the numbers” to get the point across succinctly. Complex news is made digestible.

What you’ll love most about this newsletter is its short yet informative and detailed articles. What sets this newsletter apart from others is its end goal, which is to get more readers to consume the content from the newsletter instead of jumping on the site.

Lastly, the heavy heading texts followed by thin fonts and a clear CTA make this newsletter sober yet effective.

Best for: Newsletters that are focused on delivering lots of succinct content to their readers should follow this example. Whether it’s news, blog posts, or stories, making your content easily digestible is key for a successful newsletter.

5. Phrasee

Phrasee’s weekly newsletter is as informative as it is delightful. They deliver curated articles accompanied by fun graphics, GIFs, and memes.

Their tone is personable and lively, almost like the newsletter could fit in on social media. With their unique and daring tone, they know how to stand out from the crowd.

What we like: What we love about this newsletter is its fun-filled intro. Notice how they start with homophones to engage their readers to read further.

In another newsletter, they use a crisp and engaging tone to update readers about the conference — “Some of the Phrasee team is off to Miami today for this conference. It's actually worked out quite well, as our CCO Stefan was able to break out his wardrobe from his heydey, 1986. Here's a live action shot of him on the beach.”

There is no hard selling or forced CTAs to get you to buy something. Instead, they share various topics from their blogs ranging from travel marketing to fearful GDPR.

Lastly, their logs change every time with different characters and memes.

Best for: Phrasee is a perfect example of a newsletter for ecommerce businesses that don’t want to hard sell but focus more on quality readers rather than quantity.

6. The New York Times Cooking

A picture is worth a thousand words, says the adage. This couldn’t be truer for newsletters — if your content lends itself to imagery, use it to your advantage like

The New York Times Cooking newsletter. The New York Times may be known for delivering news, but it also has a robust cooking section packed with creative, multicultural recipes that are beautifully photographed.

Highlighting new recipes from different chefs, The New York Times Cooking newsletter is never stale. They expertly include a variety of recipes so readers get value out of finding something new to try.

What we like: As you open the newsletter, you are welcomed with a mouth-watering image that will entice you to scroll down further.

The long blog text is engaging, personal, and conversational for the readers. However, the newsletter is shorter than other similar magazine newsletters. This email newsletter wins in its yummy visuals and enriching content.

Plus, the clean and uncluttered design makes reading more skimmable.

Best for: This newsletter styling is perfect for businesses that use more visuals than texts to engage with their readers. For instance, a graphic design or fashion company may want to display more visuals and appealing elements than text.

7. Quartz Daily Brief

The Quartz Daily Brief provides a rundown of must-know news, Quartz’s most popular stories, and other interesting highlights about the economy.

What we like: The newsletter is straightforward, like a brief, without being dry, with visuals like charts to help pique the reader’s interest.

Sections for need-to-know news, what to watch for, top reads, and surprising discoveries keep things organized. The breadth of material means the reader can choose from a variety of topics to further investigate.

Though the newsletter has no visuals, it doesn’t feel dry or boring for the reader at any point. What differentiates it further from similar newsletters is the lack of index or heavy font headlines.

Yet that doesn’t turn away the reader. The same-sized but bold text points out that the stories are addressed to the readers individually. Quartz Daily uses a formal yet provocatively interesting tone that allures readers upon first read.

Further, readers are tempted to read each section because of the engaging insights and enriching content. Lastly, there are not many links that distract the readers from scrolling further.

Best for: Here’s another great example of newsletters heavily focused on sharing written content, whether it is news, blog posts, or stories. Keep the focus on the content while making it easy for readers to navigate and consume.

8. Moz Top 10

Moz Top 10 is a semi-monthly roundup of top pieces of content about marketing. Essential to any marketer, Moz Top 10 links to key marketing content with actionable insights. The content is not just their own; they also link to external sources.

Moz Top 10 is perfect for busy marketers who would choose to discard the daily digests from their inboxes. Moz sends out a newsletter every two weeks with exactly 10 new stories to share.

What we like: From a design point of view, the newsletter resembles Moz’s styling and brand image. Readers can easily navigate the newsletter from its color palette.

To take things to the next level, Moz uses the first person to make the content more friendly. Finally, their end goal is not just to send visitors to Moz's blog but to add value for the readers.

The newsletter provides examples of digital marketing and SEO content, including how brands can take stands on issues and backlink index comparisons.

Best for: Personal and insightful newsletters like this can be replicated by digital marketing agencies that don’t merely aim to push traffic to their website. Consider sending targeted news on a regular basis with more time in between. This allows readers to find the value in your content without being overwhelmed.

9. Vox Sentences

Sentences is a nightly email meant to quickly get its readers up to speed on the best stories from the day. The content ranges from the day's top news to fun stories from all over the web.

What we like: What’s amazing about this nocturnal newsletter is its content curation. Instead of hopping on to different sources, readers can collectively read news from a single source.

They do a great job balancing their own content with external sources, and the stories they choose are always really high quality.

Just like Atlas Obscura, Vox Sentences offers various newsletters for its audiences. Before subscribing, they can get a sneak peek of what’s covered inside the newsletter.

What makes it most effective is the time they send out the newsletter. They understand that many audiences don’t prefer reading content in the morning, so why not evening or night?

Finally, the white background blends well with yellow CTAs to add a captivating flare.

Best for: This text-rich email newsletter style is perfect for businesses that have multiple categories and insightful stories to share among readers.

10. TheSkimm

If you want to stay up on what’s happening in the world and have some delightful writing delivered to your inbox first thing in the morning, look no further than TheSkimm.

It's a daily roundup of what's happened in the news in short, punchy paragraphs.

The best part? You don't have to click out of the email to read the news if you don't want to — although they do link to their sources if you want to read further.

What we like: As evident from their logo, TheSkimm puts more focus on women than men. That’s why this newsletter has more women subscribers between the ages of 22 to 34 than any other group.

What follows next is the curated content that’s skimmable and divided into nice bits and pieces. Finally, the newsletter uses fewer links and no screaming CTAs to direct their readers to the blog.

For your own email marketing, TheSkimm is the place to go if you're looking for writing inspiration or for emails without much visual content.

Best for: Businesses can learn the art of being engaging without any visuals or hard selling from this email newsletter. Businesses with a narrow niche but a large pool of content can leverage the styling and tonality of this email newsletter type.

11. Below the Fold

Below the Fold is a weekly newsletter from Acciyo that surfaces important and interesting stories that simply aren't making headlines due to the crowded, never-ending news cycle we all experience day in and day out.

Acciyo's editorial team handpicks great news stories that they believe deserve "front-page love" but are being beaten out by an "infinite scroll of breaking headlines" — stories that range from how investors are profiting from emergency room bills to how one Mexican company turned prickly pear into sustainable fuel.

What we like: The editors at Below the Fold “unfold” the news stories in the form of conversational storytelling. The newsletter establishes a relationship with readers using a friendly tone.

The long, crispy headlines set the initial stage for the readers to dive in further. Their editorial team collects information from various reputable sources to build the final content.

They understand the importance of using bold words and sentences. And that’s why they bold the sentences that matter most to readers.

Best for: The copy of Below the Fold offers a great example of how to share substantial content in a compelling way through storytelling. If you want to draw your readers in through stories, take a deeper look at this newsletter.

12. The Ringer

Remember Grantland, the sports and pop culture blog owned by ESPN that was started by sports journalist Bill Simmons? In October 2015, ESPN announced it would be ending the publication of Grantland.

Shortly thereafter, Simmons formed Bill Simmon Media Group and recruited a whole bunch of former Grantland staffers to launch a brand new newsletter in March 2016 called The Ringer.

Although The Ringer is written and run by many former Grantland employees, it's a different project than Grantland was.

Where Grantland focused on sports and pop culture, The Ringer branches out into other areas like tech and politics. Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, is among the contributors.

I like how focused they are on experimentation: "We want to have fun, take chances, analyze, theorize, obsess, and try not to take ourselves too seriously," said Editor-in-Chief Sean Fennessey.

Another differentiator? The Ringer's website was developed in partnership with publishing platform Medium — which means the newsletter reflects that clean, minimal design.

What we like: The Ringer is a one-of-a-kind newsletter for tech, sports, and pop culture. What we love most about this newsletter is its diverse content covering discussion forums and top stories from sports professionals.

The short snippets of text with external links provide value to the readers.

This type of email is great for engaging the audience in a discussion thread. Further, the “share and subscribe” button provides more value to the audience.

The editorial team at The Ringer uses a formal and informative tone to engage with its sports-buff audience.

Best for: This type of newsletter works well for businesses that have audiences interested in long discussion threads apart from spending some time on informative blogs and articles.

13. The Marginalian

The Marginalian (previously called Brain Pickings) is one of the most interesting newsletters out there. In fact, The Marginalian’s founder and writer, Maria Popova, calls it an "interestingness digest." It’s a record of the week’s most interesting articles and pieces focused on art, literature, and philosophy.

Every Sunday morning, subscribers get the past week's most unmissable articles about creativity, psychology, art, science, design, and philosophy — a wide variety of topics that appeal to a wide audience. At its core, it explores what it means to live a good life.

The Marginalian extends the marginal thinking of audiences with thought-provoking subjects. This long-text newsletter covers diverse topics with clear visuals.

What we like: What sets it apart is its conversational yet formal tone. While using casual phrasing, the editorial team at The Marginalian uses advanced vocabulary (so you might need a dictionary by your side).

From the design point of view, the newsletter closely resembles the website. Both the website and newsletter provide similar experiences in terms of font, color, and spacing.

The white background perfectly complements the yellow CTAs and red heading texts.

Best for: If you want to offer a seamless reading experience with a clear CTA at the end, The Marginalian is a great example of how to do this. Lead your audiences to the end with a few hyperlinks, finally offering them the click.

14. The New Yorker Recommends

The New Yorker Recommends is a weekly newsletter highlighting what their staff reads, watches, and listens to. It is packed with curated recommendations for books, movies, TV shows, and music.

The core strength of this newsletter lies in its content. Every week, the editors at The New York Recommends pick a topic from its archives and craft it into a story.

Having staffers select their own recommendations gives this newsletter a personalized, hand-curated feel that helps readers connect with the content.

What we like: What we love about this newsletter is its initial long-form story followed by a few recommendations at the second fold of the newsletter.

The newsletter is most effective as it first personalizes the tone and builds a relationship with its audience. Thereafter, they share the most popular recommendations, such as events and best books to read.

Just like National Geographic, The New Yorker Recommends has multiple newsletter options to choose from. Apart from the daily and weekly newsletters, they offer satirical or humor-rich email newsletters.

Best for: This type of newsletter example is perfect for businesses that have a large audience, even if it's a broad niche. Let’s say, a blog that’s focused on the reviews and recommendations for SaaS products can personalize the content and create multiple newsletters around different subjects.

15. Polygon Patch Notes

Polygon Patch Notes shares the staff’s picks for new movies, TV shows, video games, comics, manga, and tabletop RPGs. The newsletter also links to a free new game and highlights top stories on Polygon, ranging from reviews to guides.

The mix of curated staff picks and top stories in a simple format makes this an easy-to-digest newsletter.

Polygon Patch Notes also employs a personable tone, making the read relatable and fun rather than overly businesslike and bland.

What we like: There are a lot of things to love in this short newsletter. First, the starting sentence is concise yet engaging.

Second, they share top stories in a second person, conversational tone. The hyperlinks in the newsletter are natural and align well with the content.

Further, the blend of the brand's color palette with the light fonts makes it perfect to read for the eyes. Finally, what makes it most effective is the review and recommendation around a single show, game, or topic.

Best for: This design is great for newsletters focused on a niche topic, aiming to catch reader attention to direct them to your blog.

16. Apple News+ Audio

The mobile-first format for Apple News+ Audio capitalizes on people’s increasing reliance on smartphones — according to Pew Research Center, 85% of Americans have a smartphone.

What we like: The format is also interesting. Rather than solely delivering updates with text, subscribers can listen to audio. It makes sense, given that the newsletter highlights the best Apple News+ Audio stories. Including the icon with a link to listen makes it easy for subscribers to dive into a story.

Unlike other magazine and publisher newsletters, Apple News does not start with a captivating intro. Instead, they use visuals such as GIFs or images to grab the reader’s attention.

The newsletter shares news across various categories, including technology, sports, culture, politics, and economy. The best part: You can also find unread topics that are specifically curated for Apple News readers.

Though the heading is formal and to the point, the description gives enough of an idea to the reader about “why this story is worth reading.”

Best for: Businesses can imitate the audio feature from Apple's weekly digest. With over 68% of the US population preferring audio over text, it makes sense to leverage audio listening features in your newsletter.

17. Medium

Medium is a blog-publishing platform that has been continuously building momentum since its launch in 2012.

Publishing on the site has really picked up in the past few years, and nowadays, there are a ton of people publishing posts on the site every day.

What we like: Of course, that means there's a lot of content for the average person to filter through. To help bring great content to the surface, Medium uses email newsletters. And after I open this newsletter every day, I end up going to visit several Medium posts without fail. (Mission accomplished for Medium, right?)

Here's why: The newsletter feels pretty minimal. Because of the way that Medium uses colors and section dividers, they're able to give you a ton of content in one email without it feeling overwhelming.

Plus, they offer both a daily and a weekly version of the digest, allowing users to opt in for the email frequency they feel most comfortable with.

Best for: Digest newsletters can learn from this design, as it gives readers the option of how frequently they want to receive it.

18. The Strategist

From New York Magazine, The Strategist curates deals, shopping advice, and discounts.

The newsletter does a great job of including relevant shopping information, paying attention to the trends. The Strategist also includes a wide variety of products and services to shop for, casting a wide net.

What we like: The newsletter starts with different sections covering the best deals and discounts, followed by top stories from around the world.

The Strategist is a perfect example of an effective email structure with a simplistic design. The writing style is personal (second person) blended with relevant visuals.

Though the Strategist covers various discounts and deals, it doesn’t fluff the newsletter merely with the deals. Instead, they share stories about various social issues and topics about what’s going on around the globe.

Best for: The newsletter works well for ecommerce sites, deals, and discount retailers that release weekly offers for their audiences. Plus, the insightful news and stories offer relevant, valuable content to subscribers.

19. Voluum

Our next best newsletter example in the list comes from Voluum, an ad tracker tool for publishers. The monthly newsletter covers the monthly round-up in a casual and engaging tone.

The newsletter is an amazing example of how to engage the audience with subtle design. From the design point of view, the newsletter offers a simplistic white background with bold portions of text.

What we like: The newsletter kicks off with a delightful email opener line followed by humorous elements like GIFs or memes. What adds more value to the newsletter is the use of emojis that compels the audience to stop and read.

Finally, you will find a collection of the best and most valuable blogs from the month. The personalized CTA at the end helps boost conversions or convert more subscribers into site visitors.

This approach makes the reader feel like they’re going to gain something by clicking there.

Best for: Voluum is the perfect inspiration for SaaS businesses that want to give their audience every nitty gritty of what happened in the past month, including product upgrades, new features, the latest deals, and industry insights.

20. Workable

One of the best business newsletters is from Workable. One thing that distinguishes Workable from other brands is they use the same set of colors across social media, website, and email designs.

What we like: What we love most about this weekly newsletter is its personable tone. The readers receive emails from a personal email address. Plus, they also get to see the sender of the newsletter with an image at the bottom.

The tone of the copy is actionable and direct. In the first fold of the email, they address a problem, while the second fold of the email provides a potential solution with some recent trends and numbers.

The most effective element of this newsletter is its logo and vibrant images that tune well with the headings. The text in the newsletter is more conversational and approachable.

Finally, the CTAs in trademark green with concise text send out a loud and clear message without being pushy.

Best for: This newsletter is a great inspiration for businesses that want to send more readers to their blogs naturally. If they have a problem–solution email in mind, Workable is their best bet to learn from.

21. G2

The last on the list is G2’s monthly digest which is known for its consistent email design.

This email newsletter takes the readers to another level of personalization. Email personalization allows you to connect better with your readers, helping you achieve various goals from a single email.

What we like: The title of the newsletter starts with the reader’s name on a glossy blue background. What‘s worth noticing in the newsletter is the smart segmentation of sections that include blogs and articles, industry tips, and some amazing deals.

From a design perspective, the segmented sections create a clean and tidy newsletter.

The colorful deals section piques the reader’s interest as they scroll down. Though the newsletter is short, it conveys information and covers various topics succinctly.

In the footer, there are social media icons that can boost social media following. And a link to their help center makes this newsletter more valuable for readers.

Best for: Various ecommerce businesses can replicate the email structure and sections of this email newsletter, such as the customer insights, “leave a review” button and some valuable content at the end.

Creating an Email Newsletter Your Subscribers Love

Even though newsletters are one of the most common types of emails to send, they are actually some of the hardest to do right.

We hope these examples give you some quality inspiration so you can create newsletters your subscribers love to get in their inboxes.

How Duolingo Struck Social Media Gold with Unhinged Content

lalfred@hubspot.com (Lestraundra Alfred) — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Duo, Duolingo’s big green mascot, might be the most famous owl of the post-tootsie roll pop commercial era.

The language-learning app first established a TikTok presence in early 2021 and found its stride by sharing funny videos featuring the sassy owl Duo. Since then, Duolingo’s TikTok account has grown to nearly 7 million followers and accumulated over 147 million likes from various viral videos.

How did Duolingo do it? By embracing “unhinged” marketing.

What is unhinged marketing?

When brands take less of a polished, perfect approach to social, and embrace more chaotic conversational moments, it’s often referred to as unhinged marketing. If you see a social media post and think “How did that get approved?” it can likely be considered unhinged.

This approach was first popularized on Twitter when Wendy’s became infamous for “roasting” social media users and openly shading the competition. Since then, other companies including Popeye’s and McDonald’s found viral moments by sending sassy Tweets.

Unhinged marketing can be particularly effective at winning over Gen Z customers who prefer marketing that feels more real and less salesy. What may have been deemed unprofessional in the past is now considered more authentic and relatable.

With the introduction of TikTok and the rise of short-form video content unhinged content now expands beyond fast food companies sending mean tweets, and Duolingo has capitalized on it.

Duolingo’s TikTok Strategy

Since shifting from investing in TV ad spots to a focus on organic social, Duolingo has found its marketing stride. What has made Duolingo’s TikTok content so viral? Three key strategies:

1. Entertainment Over Selling

The content is funny and aims to entertain more than it aims to sell.

Duolingo’s TikTok started taking off when the content featured Duo, the app’s mascot. The content focused on Duo being a humorous character the audience could connect with, and it has kept people coming back for more to see what Duo would do next.

When using the app is mentioned, it’s done in a funny light, and the audience doesn’t feel overly sold to. In fact, Duolingo’s TikTok content that mentions the app often highlights the free version of the app.

Expert Advice on Choosing the Right Font

2. Hopping On Trending Topics

Scrolling through Duolingo’s TikTok feed, the brand is always on top of using trending sounds and hopping on current topics while they’re hot.

@duolingo Keep your friends close and your enemies closer 👀 #selenahailey #duolingo ♬ original sound - <3

One post from last fall features a cover image of famous rivals Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber. The post was shared shortly after the photos of the pair (which caused waves on the internet) first dropped and played up Duolingo’s one-sided beef with Google Translate. This video illustrates how the brand can hop on a then-trending topic while reminding the audience that it is still a language-learning app.

Another example is a recent post featuring Duo at the premiere of the Barbie movie dressed as the main character of the film which has been a trending topic on social media in anticipation of the film.

@duolingo honored Greta asked me to replace Margot #duolingo #languagelearning #barbie #barbiepremiere #barbiechallenge #barbenheimer ♬ original sound - Model Commissions OPEN - Diya

These types of posts keep the brand’s content fresh, which helps build trust with the audience.

3. Consistent Storylines

Duolingo’s account also does a great job of having consistent storylines for the audience to follow. This helps viewers feel more connected to the brand and creates a sense of belonging because consistent viewers are in on the joke. Here are a few examples:

Duo’s one-sided rivalry with Google Translate: Several videos (including the example above) feature Duo shading Google Translate and those who use it instead of learning a new language on Duolingo.
Duo + Dua Lipa: Another storyline is Duo’s “crush” on singer Dua Lipa. This gives the brand easy material any time Dua Lipa is trending.
The Duolingo legal team: There’s another running joke on the TikTok account that highlights Duolingo’s counsel trying to stop Duo from posting (a nod to the unhinged nature of the content).

It’s not all memes and funny videos — the marketing strategy has provided an ROI for the company. Duolingo’s daily active users are up 62% from last year and it continues to be among the top-downloaded Education apps.

When done right, a more relaxed, less corporate approach to social media can cement an authentic connection between a brand and its audience. The content doesn’t (and probably shouldn’t) have to consist of mean tweets and images of the company mascot in a thong to be effective, but a bit of personality and relatability can go a long way.

How to Conduct a Competitor Analysis — The Complete Guide

Daniel Doan — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Are you wondering why competitor analysis is important? Like sports teams study their opponents to find weaknesses, businesses can examine their competition to improve their SEO strategy.

By closely looking into your competitors, you learn what works and what doesn’t. Let’s get into it.

Table of Contents

What is a competitor analysis?
Competitor Analysis Template
How to Conduct Competitor Analysis
Competitor Analysis Report Best Practices
Competitor Analysis Example

What is a competitor analysis?

Imagine a competitor analysis as if you were going snorkeling in your competitor's SEO ocean. You get to explore how they've set up their SEO strategies and the keywords they're aiming for. Pretty neat. It's like having your secret map to find the treasure before your competition.

Simply put, it's like stealing a glance at the playbook of the top dogs in your industry. You get to see what they're doing with their SEO and use that intel to plan your strategies. It's quite an adventure if you ask me.

The Benefits of a Competitor Analysis

Now, let's look at why competitor analysis is your secret weapon.

1. Uncover new keyword opportunities.

Doing a competitor analysis opens up a treasure trove of keyword opportunities.

Think of all the keywords your competitors are ranking for that you might have overlooked. It's like finding a hidden treasure map.

2. Gain a deeper understanding of the SEO landscape.

A thorough competitor analysis provides a clear view of the SEO landscape.

What are your competitors doing right? What strategies are they using? These insights will help you to fine-tune your technique, giving you an edge in the SEO game.

3. Inform your content strategy.

Have you ever hit a roadblock trying to develop new content ideas? Not anymore! By analyzing your competitors' content, you can draw inspiration for your own.

Plus, you can identify gaps in their content that you can fill, setting you apart from the competition.

4. Discover link-building opportunities.

Here's the cherry on top: competitor analysis can help you find potential link-building opportunities. You can see who's linking to your competitors' websites and identify potential sites to target for your link-building efforts. Neat, right?

We've discussed why competitor analysis is crucial, but how do we do one? That's where the SEO competitor analysis template comes into play.

Competitor Analysis Template

1. Company Name

This portion should list the name of the competitor. The company name provides an explicit identifier for analyzing the rest of the information.

2. Location

Location refers to the geography of the competitor's headquarters and any significant branches or areas where they have a presence.

The site can provide insights into local markets, resources, and the business environment that the competitor is operating within.

3. Target Customer

This area should outline the key demographics and psychographics of the competitor's customer base. It includes details such as age range, income levels, occupation, gender, interests, and other defining characteristics of their typical consumer.

4. Revenue

In this section, you will detail the competitor's revenue figures. The profit could be overall annual revenue, revenue by product/service, or any other significant measure. It gives you an idea of their business's scale and financial health.

5. Founded

Include the year and circumstances of the company's founding on the template. This information can give insights into the company's history, experience, and potential durability.

6. Strengths

This section should analyze the competitor's strengths. Strengths include brand recognition, innovative products or services, strong leadership, effective marketing strategies, etc.

7. Weaknesses

Here, you should detail any areas where the competitor may be lacking. Weaknesses could be poor customer service, high prices, weak online presence, etc. These weaknesses can provide opportunities for your business.

8. Brand Personality

Brand personality refers to the human characteristics or traits associated with a brand. It could be anything from being sophisticated, exciting, sincere, competent, or rugged.

Understanding a competitor's brand personality can give insights into their brand strategy and position in the market.

9. Mission

The company's mission statement outlines its purpose, values, and goals. Analyzing a competitor's mission can provide an understanding of what drives their business and how they view their role within the industry.

10. Services

In this section, list and describe the services the competitor offers. Include pricing, service features, and unique selling propositions in the services section.

11. Employees

The employees’ portion should include information about the number of employees the competitor has, the structure of their team, key leadership, and any notable talent or expertise they possess.

12. Product

Describe the products that the competitor offers. This section should include details about product features, benefits, pricing, packaging, and anything else that could provide a competitive advantage.

13. Marketing

Composing a comprehensive competitor analysis can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be.

To make things seamless and more organized, you might find this Competitor Analysis Template extremely helpful. It's a practical tool that can assist in structuring your research, making it more manageable and ultimately more effective.

How to Conduct Competitor Analysis

Step 1: Identify your competitors.

The first step in conducting an SEO competitor analysis is identifying who your competitors are. Companies that directly compete with yours sell similar goods or provide similar services.

In contrast, indirect rivals may not provide identical goods or services but still compete for the same customers. Use Google and industry-specific directories to identify these competitors.

Step 2: Analyze competitors' websites and SEO structure.

Once you have a list of competitors, visit their websites and analyze their structure, design, and content.

Please pay close attention to their keywords usage, site speed, mobile optimization, URL structure, and other SEO factors.

Step 3: Evaluate competitors' keyword usage.

A crucial part of SEO competitor analysis involves understanding the keywords your competitors are targeting. Then, use SEO tools to discover the keywords driving traffic to their websites.

Step 4: Analyze competitors' backlink profiles.

Backlinks are important ranking factors in SEO. Check the quantity and quality of your competitors' backlinks using SEO tools.

Evaluate their linking domains, the quality of these domains, and the type of content that is getting most of the links.

Step 5: Review competitors' social media presence.

Social signals can impact SEO, so evaluating your competitors' social media presence is essential. Look at their platforms, the frequency of their posts, their engagement, and how they integrate SEO with their social media strategy.

Step 6: Conduct a content analysis.

Content is a significant aspect of SEO. Analyze your competitors' content in terms of its quality, diversity (blog posts, videos, infographics, etc.), frequency of updates, and relevance to the target audience.

Step 7: Perform a SWOT analysis.

Now, compile all your data into a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.

SWOT should highlight where your competitors are outperforming you and where their vulnerabilities lie that you can potentially exploit.

Step 8: Develop your SEO strategy.

Develop your SEO strategy using the insights gained from your SEO competitor analysis.

This technique could involve targeting new keywords, improving your website's technical SEO, building high-quality backlinks, creating diverse and high-quality content, and enhancing your social media strategy.

Remember, SEO competitor analysis is an ongoing process. Search algorithms change, and so do your competitors' strategies. Therefore, regularly updating your analysis ensures you stay competitive in your industry.

And, of course, make sure to consider utilizing SEO competitor analysis tools like Website Grader. This invaluable tool provides comprehensive insights into a website's performance, SEO, and overall online presence.

Competitor Analysis Report Best Practices

1. Embrace simplicity.

Let's keep things simple, shall we? Refrain from cluttering your report with jargon. Instead, please keep it clean, clear, and to the point. Simplicity is all about making it a smooth read for anyone who picks it up.

2. Stay tidy and orderly.

Trust me on this one. The organization is your best friend when it comes to competitor analysis. Keep your data neat and unearth all the info you'll dive into. Don't shy away from charts, tables, and graphs. They're great visual aids!

3. Make it mean something.

Don't just list data. Interpret it. An excellent report goes beyond presenting facts—it tells you what to do with them. So, look at your data, find those gems of insight, and translate them into actionable steps for your team.

4. Keep it fresh.

You wouldn't read yesterday's news, right? The same goes for your competitor analysis. Businesses evolve, and so should your report. So make updating your report a regular habit. It's like staying one step ahead in a business marathon.

5. Buddy up for a review.

Have you encountered the quote, "Two heads are better than one?" So get a fresh perspective to look over your report. They might catch something you missed or offer a new perspective. Plus, it's always good to have a second opinion, right?

Remember, be passionate about your work! Let your love for your business shine through in your analysis. After all, you're its number-one fan!

Competitor Analysis Example

Let's conduct a hypothetical example using this template. For this example, let's say you own a fictional local coffee shop called "Java Hut." Here's how the competitive analysis might look in a table format using the "Java Hut" example.

	Java Hut	Starbucks	Peet's Coffee	Dunkin' Donuts
Location	Local city	Worldwide	Nationwide	Nationwide
Target Customer	Local community, hipsters	Broad consumer market	Coffee enthusiasts	Busy people on the go
Revenue	$100,000 (hypothetical)	$20 billion (approx.)	$500 million (approx.)	$1 billion (approx.)
Founded	2022	1971	1966	1950
Strengths	Locally sourced coffee, cozy atmosphere	Variety, convenience	Quality of coffee	Fast service, low price
Weaknesses	Limited marketing budget, one location	Higher prices, less community feel	Fewer locations than Starbucks/Dunkin	Lower quality coffee than competitors
Brand Personality	Warm, community-oriented	Efficient, professional	Passionate, artisanal	Fun, fast-paced
Mission	Serve quality local coffee in a community space	Inspire and nurture the human spirit	Deliver a superior coffee experience	Make and serve great coffee fast
Services	Coffee, pastries, community events	Wide range of beverages and food, mobile ordering	Quality coffee and tea, bakery items	Coffee, donuts, breakfast sandwiches
Employees	10	300,000	5,000	260,000
Product	Coffee, pastries	Coffee, tea, pastries, merchandise	Coffee, tea, food items	Coffee, donuts, sandwiches

Conducting a competitive analysis involves several steps, as highlighted in the creation of the table for the Java Hut example.

Identifying Competitors

The first step is identifying your key competitors. These could be local businesses if you're a local business, or they could be global corporations if you're in a broader market.

For the Java Hut example, we identified Starbucks, Peet's Coffee, and Dunkin' Donuts as competitors.

Establishing Categories for Comparison

Next, determine what aspects you want to compare. Our table uses categories like location, target customer, revenue, the company's founding year, strengths and weaknesses, brand personality, mission, services offered, number of employees, and the main product.

Research

Now, it's time to gather the data. This section might involve online research, personal experiences, and contacting companies directly.

You could also use industry reports, customer reviews, and social media to gather important data concerning your competitors.

In our Java Hut example, we hypothetically collected data on each competitor's revenue, number of employees, brand personality, and more.

Analysis

After filling out the table, you must analyze the data. Look for trends, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

For example, in our table, Java Hut might notice that it can differentiate itself with its locally sourced coffee and community-oriented atmosphere.

It might also see that it needs to expand its marketing efforts to compete with these well-known brands.

Strategic Planning

Use this analysis to inform your business strategy. If a competitor excels in an area in which your business is weak, consider how you might improve. If your company has a unique strength, consider how you can use that as leverage.

Monitor and Update

The market constantly changes, so updating your competitive analysis is essential. Monitor your competitors to see if they're changing strategies, launching new products, or showing any shifts in their business.

This process can help you understand your market better, identify opportunities and threats, and make informed decisions to help your business succeed.

Conducting A Competitor Analysis

So, there you go! You've just journeyed deep into the land of SEO competitor analysis. Pretty cool, right? It's like you've been on an epic digital safari, examining the mysterious creatures of the SERP landscape.

We've uncovered the big "what is a competitor analysis in SEO" question, explored the benefits, and even mapped out a template for you. Remember, it's not about outsmarting your competitors but learning from them.

Now you've got the scoop on how to do an SEO competitor analysis. You've got your magnifying glass to scrutinize their SEO strategies, the treasure map to their keywords, and even a spyglass for their backlinks. This isn't just data; it's pure gold.

The Best Fonts for Your Resume in 2023, According to HubSpot Recruiters

Caroline Forsey — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Besides your content, using one of the best fonts in your resume may help you get a recruiter’s attention. Studies have shown recruiters typically scan a resume for six to thirty seconds before deciding if an applicant is fit for a role.

With only a few seconds to demonstrate your qualifications for a position, every detail counts – including the font you use. The question is, what are the best resume fonts to pass the six to thirty-seconds scan?

We asked HubSpot recruiters to reveal the seven best fonts for your resume and what they consider in terms of design ‌so your resume can stand out in a pile.

Best Fonts for Resumes

Does Using The Best Resume Fonts Even Matter?

Worst Fonts for Resumes

Ideal Resume Font Sizes

Featured Resource: 12 Free Resume Templates

Download Now

Expert Advice on Choosing the Right Font

To evoke a sense of style, professionalism, and uniqueness, you must put effort and consideration into your font choice. When speaking with recruiters, it quickly became apparent that classic fonts are still the best options.

“I’m a big fan of the 'classics' for resumes – Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and Cambria. I’m a little old school, but I think they are the cleanest and exude professionalism,” said Johanna Fleming, a former senior recruiter at HubSpot.

Riley Kundtz, the former senior MBA campus recruiter at HubSpot, agreed.

“I find the classic formatting and Times font helpful when reading a dense resume from an experienced MBA candidate.”

Times New Roman has become a bit controversial lately. It was the go-to font for many years because it’s traditional and recognizable, but lately, some are opting against it.

“For me, it’s all about legibility and cleanliness – I prefer sans-serif fonts like Helvetica, which is modern and elegant, over serif fonts like Times New Roman,” says Glory Montes, a technical recruiter at HubSpot.

“Overall, I would just stay away from a font like Times New Roman; it’s overused and reminds me of long nights writing course papers in college,” adds Glory.

Georgia is one font The New York Times uses and is similar to Times New Roman. It’s a bit wider, making it easier to read.

Paulina Valdez Franco, executive recruiter at HubSpot, agrees with this take.

“My two favorite fonts are Helvetica if you're looking for a clean and classic look, and Georgia, if you want a more modern and fun look,” she said. “The latter is also designed to read well on screens.”

Helvetica is widely used in advertising and works equally well for text-heavy pages and documents.

A lesser-known font that’s a great option for your resume is Garamond, recommended by our current team lead of engineering recruiting at HubSpot, Rich Lapham.

“Recruiters have an idea of the skills they are looking for on a resume, so if you try a new style or format, it can be tougher for recruiters to find the information they are looking for,” he said. “Keep it clean and simple.”

Franco added that Arial and Calibri are great choices to play it safe.

Bridget LeMon, HubSpot's global emerging talent and university recruiting manager, echoes this.

“It's totally acceptable – and becoming more common – for candidates to stray away from the resume norms of Times New Roman and Calibri,” she said. “Avenir Next and Muna are two excellent font options if you are looking to break the status quo.”

Ultimately, you‘ll want to consider the position you’re applying for when choosing a font. To Glory Montes’ point, certain more creative roles might benefit from a unique font than Times New Roman.

1. Times New Roman

Times New Roman font has been popular for resumes for decades. This serif option is easy-to-read and communicates formality. Online, the font is uniform and accessible across various platforms and operating systems.

Advantages

Times New Roman has a classic and professional look, making it an excellent choice for applicants targeting corporate positions. Additionally, it is a standard font used in most word processors, making it an accessible option for any device.

Moreover, Times New Roman is easily readable in print and on-screen.

Best for: Word documents. PDFs can host unique fonts. However, a standard font will be helpful if your resume is uploaded as a Word document.

Disadvantages

The font's outdated look may not appeal to all industries, and some may consider it bland or generic. Additionally, this font may make your resume blend in with the rest due to its ubiquity.

Times New Roman is also a heavy serif font, taking up more space than other options.

2. Arial

Arial is a sans-serif font that has become popular for its clean and modern look. Arial's straightforward and minimalist design has made it a popular choice for applicants targeting creative positions.

Advantages

Arial offers simplicity, which allows your content to stand out. Arial's legibility in small font sizes, even in print, makes it ideal for applicants trying to fit all the necessary information in their resume on a single page.

Best for: Resumes submitted online, where readability is essential for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) used in recruitment.

Disadvantages

The font's overuse in branding and design has led to its association with a non-innovative style. This may make your resume less attractive to recruiters looking for unique personalities who can bring new ideas to their team.

Arial's uniformity may not suit industries such as graphic design or creative writing seeking to showcase creativity and flair.

Conversely, Arial may make the text appear less formal and inappropriate for specific job applications.

3. Avenir Next

Avenir Next is a modern typeface gaining popularity among designers and recruiters. Avenir Next's appearance is characterized by its geometric shapes, open contours, and strong lines.

Its clean, contemporary look has become a popular font choice for resumes.

Advantages

Avenir Next's sleek and modern design makes it an excellent choice for applicants targeting creative industries. Its clear, simple lines offer a sense of elegance, while its legibility gives recruiters a sense of professionalism.

What we love: Avenir Next is a scalable font. It maintains its readability even at small sizes, and its geometric shapes make it a perfect choice for digital resumes.

Disadvantages

Avenir Next may not be as widely recognized, which could make it difficult to read on some computer systems without the font installed. Further, Avenir Next is a premium font with a higher price tag.

This might not be affordable for some applicants.

4. Helvetica

Helvetica is a widely recognized and popular font used on resumes, particularly in the design industry. It’s clean, classic, and timeless. This font is popular with professionals, design enthusiasts, typographers, and Wes Anderson.

Advantages

Helvetica is easy to read and has a professional, straightforward appearance. The font‘s popularity means that job recruiters and hiring managers are familiar with it.

Helvetica’s clean lines give the resume a structured and well-organized look, making it ideal for those in finance, law, and business management.

What we love: The font is available in multiple weights, making it easier to differentiate headings and sections in the resume.

Disadvantages

The font's ubiquity in resumes may make it feel overdone and uninspired. With so many applicants using the font, your resume may struggle to stand out.

Helvetica‘s minimalist design can also work against you if your resume has limited content. This can make the resume look empty and as if it lacks substance.

5. Calibri

Calibri is a contemporary design, making it a popular choice for creating a visually appealing and easy-to-read resume.

Advantages

The font has been designed with legibility in mind, making it an excellent option for resumes.

Additionally, Calibri's modern look creates a sleek and professional appearance, making it ideal for job seekers looking to highlight their contemporary skills and qualifications.

Calibri is also lighter than other font options, making it an ideal choice for job seekers trying to fit their resumes onto a single page.

What we like: Calibri offers a sense of uniformity across different platforms, making it an accessible and reliable option for applicants.

Disadvantages

Calibri is one of the default fonts available in most word-processing programs. Your resume might not appear as unique and tailored to your personal branding as it would with a more distinct font.

The font can be perceived as informal, making it less than ideal for formal industries, like law or finance, where a more traditional look would be preferred.

6. Cambria

Cambria's classic design features elegant serifs, making it a perfect choice for job seekers. You can easily create a traditional, professional-looking resume that stands out.

Advantages

Cambria has a classic yet modern appearance. The font‘s serifs give it a timeless look that is perfect for job seekers in more traditional industries such as finance or law.

Additionally, the font is highly readable, even in smaller font sizes, which makes it an excellent choice for job seekers looking to fit more information on their resumes.

What we like: Cambria's generous spacing between characters and lines makes the resume much easier to read and stands out from other fonts.

Disadvantages

Some recruiters and hiring managers might view the font as old-fashioned or generic. Further, Cambria's heavy serifs may be problematic for those trying to keep their resume to a single page as it can take up more space than other fonts.

7. Georgia

Georgia is a traditional serif font that has been a popular choice for resumes due to its elegant and classic look. Georgia's unique design features distinguishable serifs that give it a professional appearance.

Advantages

Georgia's design is easy to read even in smaller font sizes, making it a perfect choice for job seekers trying to highlight their accomplishments in a limited space.

Additionally, Georgia can be customized, which makes it an excellent option for applicants looking to add their personal touch.

What we like: The font's design combines traditional and modern aesthetics, making it a versatile option for job seekers applying for a wide range of positions.

Disadvantages

The font's traditional appearance may not be suitable for applicants targeting creative or non-traditional fields, where a more contemporary font may be preferred.

Also, Georgia is a serif, making it difficult to read in small sizes on a digital screen. This might not be the best option for those mainly applying online.

Does Using The Best Resume Fonts Even Matter?

Most recruiters I spoke with were hesitant to offer a font. Instead, they focus on the content.

“I rarely pay too much attention to fonts,” said Heta Patel, a former HubSpot recruiter. “I'm more concerned to see a resume that’s formatted neatly – submitting a PDF is helpful with this, so your formatting doesn't shift.”

Sales Recruiting Manager Kelsey Freedman agreed.

“Honestly, I care little about the font of a resume, as long as it's clear and in PDF format," Freedman said. "I typically review a resume for 20 to 30 seconds, so a traditional font is good."

Freedman continued, "I would advise avoiding script font or bubble font, or similar fonts that are distracting.”

Ultimately, and as expected, your content still matters most. However, a clear font will help avoid any irritability you might cause a recruiter with a distracting, messy design.

“What I get most excited about is the content. Depending on the role, I look to see that candidates are sharing direct and compelling snapshots of their work,” said Ashley Hodder, a global recruiting manager at HubSpot.

“I look for indicators that show data orientation, autonomy, and thoughtfulness about business impact,” she said.

Worst Resume Fonts

While some recruiters may not have suggestions for the best fonts, many can agree on some of the worst ones.

“Anything that is cursive or too bubbly is too hard to read. For instance, I'd stay clear of Comic Sans,” says Holly Peterson, team lead for UX recruiting HubSpot.

Another resume font type to avoid is Script.

With text-heavy documents, Scripts, and any of their derivatives make text hard to read because they look like they’re written by hand.

They’re generally used in hand lettering and calligraphy for artistic projects and shouldn’t be present anywhere near your resume.

Ideal Resume Font Size

When asked which font size is best, Fleming said 12 is ideal. Most recruiters would agree.

Your text should be large enough to read comfortably without straining but small enough that there’s space to include all key elements, such as your objective, contact information, skills, and experience.

You can use larger font sizes for headings containing your name and section titles.

If your font is extensive, you can scale to 10.5 – but never go below it.

The critical takeaway is to make your resume clear and easy to read, which means keeping the font size around 12, sticking to classic fonts with modern twists, and forsaking your favorite script font.

Now that you know the best fonts for your resume, use these tips to write your resume and ignite your creative spark with this ultimate collection of resume templates.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The 24 Best Motivational Speeches Our Employees Have Ever Heard

Daniel Doan — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

It was halftime during one of my 7th-grade football games. And we were losing 14 - 0. With our knees planted in the grass, my team was quietly huddled, drenched in sweat and defeat. Suddenly, it was game over.

That's when our assistant coach burst into our circle and shattered our pity party, delivering one of the best motivational speeches I've heard to this day.

I can't directly quote him because he said some inappropriate things for a blog post (and, in hindsight, probably for a bunch of 13-year-olds too).

The point is he harnessed the power of words to rejuvenate a physically and emotionally drained team. And we came back clawing to win the game.

Motivational Speech

A motivational speech can come from anywhere or anyone, but it usually has a specific audience in mind.

Whether it's a graduation speech, an all-company meeting, a championship sporting event, or a conference keynote, these speeches are designed to change how their listeners see the challenges facing them in the future.

Like in sports, being motivated at work is crucial for your performance. This rings especially true when you have a looming deadline, an important meeting, or colleagues or customers depending on your performance.

Think about the last time you felt generally unmotivated. What brought you out of that feeling? Sometimes all it takes to get you going is a good night's sleep or witnessing the benefits of your labor.

Still, other times, you might listen to someone say something that resonates with you — that alters how you've been looking at a particular task or problem.

Motivational speeches and speakers can come in all different forms, but this is the one thing they have in common — resonance. They resonate with the right listener at the right time and in the right way.

Who knows, this article is doing some for you right now. (I can dream, can't I?)

We selected 24 of the best motivational speeches from business, sports, entertainment, and other fields to help you stay motivated no matter what your work throws at you. Watch these videos if you want to feel inspired by a project.

Trust me, I was wiping my eyes after I saw them. And while the messages vary from speech to speech, they can put you in the optimal frame of mind for tackling and crushing your next big challenge.

(Disclaimer: Some speeches may contain NSFW language.)

Elon Musk: "The Importance of Never Giving Up" (2020)

Angela Ahrendts: "Leading with Empathy" (2023)

Arianna Huffington: "The Power of Sleep" (2023)

Tim Cook: "Inclusion and Diversity" (2023)

J.K. Rowling: “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination” (2008)

Sheryl Sandberg: "Lean In" (2021)

Jim Carrey: Commencement Speech at Maharishi University of Management (2014)

Steve Jobs: "How to Live Before You Die" (2005)

Matthew McConaughey: "The Pursuit of Happiness" (2022)

Denzel Washington: "Fall Forward" (2011)

Vera Jones: “But the Blind Can Lead the Blind…” (2016)

Oprah Winfrey: "The Power of Self-Belief" (2020)

Charlie Day: Merrimack College Commencement Speech (2014)

Brené Brown: "The Power of Vulnerability" (2013)

Kobe Bryant: “The Path to Greatness" (2020)

David Foster Wallace: "This Is Water" (2005)

Carol Dweck: "The Growth Mindset" (2020)

Al Pacino: "Inch by Inch" (1999)

Satya Nadella: "Empowering Others" (2023)

Sylvester Stallone: Speech from Rocky Balboa (2006)

Will Smith: Speech from The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Mel Robbins: "The 5 Second Rule" (2020)

Angela Duckworth: "The Power of Grit" (2020)

Kurt Russell: “This is Your Time” (2004)

The Best Motivational Speeches of All Time

1. Elon Musk: "The Importance of Never Giving Up" (2020)

Theme of Speech: Perseverance and Resilience

Elon Musk's "The Importance of Never Giving Up" speech about perseverance and determination is decisive.

In this speech, Musk emphasizes failing and learning from failures as keys to success. He recounts his life and career, demonstrating how he overcame challenges.

One key takeaway from Musk's speech is his advice to adopt a growth mindset.

Musk encourages listeners to view setbacks as learning experiences. He also highlights the value of perseverance, persistence, and taking risks.

Elon Musk's word serves as an upbeat reminder that perseverance, patience, and the desire to attempt things repeatedly in the face of difficulty are essential for success.

"If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you, you should still do it."

2. Angela Ahrendts: "Leading with Empathy" (2023)

Theme of the Speech: Empathetic Leadership...

The "Leading with Empathy" talk by Angela Ahrendts emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence and compassion in leadership.

According to Ahrendts, leaders must view their employees as whole people with lives outside of work. Leaders can instill trust, respect, and mutual support in their employees and organizations.

Ahrendts emphasizes the importance of team mission as well. Leaders can inspire their teams by connecting them to a greater goal.

She believes that working together fosters creativity, innovation, and growth.

"Leading with Empathy" is a powerful reminder that leadership requires more than technical knowledge. To truly inspire and motivate their employees, leaders must understand their emotional needs and create a supportive, inclusive environment.

"Empathy is the glue that holds relationships together, whether they are personal or professional."

3. Arianna Huffington: "The Power of Sleep" (2023)

Theme of the Speech: Sleep and Productivity

The Huffington Post's founder, Arianna Huffington, emphasized the importance of sleep to overall health. In her 2023 speech, "The Power of Sleep," she discusses how sleep deprivation affects our health, productivity, and happiness.

Huffington observes that we have been taught to sacrifice sleep for success. She also mentions that well-rested employees are more creative, efficient, and effective.

To address these issues, Huffington proposes a cultural shift that recognizes sleep as essential to health and wellness.

She advises individuals and organizations to prioritize sleep, avoid technology before bedtime, and create a restful sleep environment. Sleep, according to Huffington, is a necessity, not a luxury.

By recognizing the importance of sleep, people and businesses can enhance their health, productivity, and general well-being.

Arianna Huffington's "The Power of Sleep" speech in 2023 emphasizes the importance of sleep and the dangers of sleep deprivation.

It promotes a culture where getting enough sleep is essential for health and well-being.

"Sleep is the Swiss Army knife of health, it does everything."

4. Tim Cook: "Inclusion and Diversity" (2023)

Theme of the Speech: Inclusion and Diversity

Apple CEO Tim Cook advocates for inclusion and diversity. He has been instrumental in the company's initiatives to advance fairness and equality inside its ranks and across the technology sector.

Cook has prioritized diversity and inclusion at Apple because he believes it is proper and necessary for innovation and business success.

Unconscious bias training, diverse recruitment, and employee resource groups contributed to his success.

Outside of Apple, Cook has advocated for LGBTQ+ rights and immigration reform. He has raised awareness of these issues and advocated for social change as a business leader.

Tech leaders and others have lauded Cook's commitment to diversity and inclusion. He has raised awareness of these issues, leading to significant change at Apple and elsewhere.

"Inclusion and diversity are not just buzzwords, they are fundamental values that drive innovation and creativity."

5. J.K. Rowling: “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination” (2008)

Theme of Speech: Failure

In J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard commencement speech, the Harry Potter author explored how two phenomena -- failure and imagination -- can be crucial to success.

While failure can help you understand where your true passion lies, and where you should focus your energy moving forward, imagination is what will allow you to empathize with other people so you can use your influence to do good.

“We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”

"You have to understand your own personal DNA. Don't do things because I do them or Steve Jobs or Mark Cuban tried it. You need to know your personal brand and stay true to it."

6. Sheryl Sandberg: "Lean In" (2021)

Theme of the Speech: Gender Equality and Leadership

Sheryl Sandberg's 2021 talk, "Lean In," encourages women to lean into their careers and leadership roles. She urges women to stand up for one another and themselves to overcome societal and cultural hurdles.

Sandberg highlights the need to have distinct objectives and goals and be prepared to take calculated risks to achieve them.

She also underlines how crucial it is for more female leaders to advance diversity and gender equality across all industries.

Sandberg's speech also emphasizes collaboration. She urges women to mentor other women and look for sponsors and mentors themselves.

The "Lean In" talk by Sheryl Sandberg emphasizes women's voices and perspectives in all aspects of society.

To remove barriers and foster more inclusive and varied workplaces and communities, Sandberg urges women to pursue their professional ambitions with confidence and with the help of their communities.

"We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women's voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored."

7. Jim Carrey: Commencement Speech at Maharishi University of Management (2014)

Theme of Speech: Taking Risks

Jim Carrey might make a living as the goofiest comedian around, but in 2014, he combined classic Carrey humor with unforgettable insight at Maharishi University of Management's graduation ceremony.

Jim Carrey opened his speech dishing punchlines, but he eventually opened up about his upbringing and the role fear plays in our lives. You can actually hear the amazement in the students' reactions in the video above.

“I learned many great lessons from my father -- not the least of which is that you can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.”

8. Steve Jobs: "How to Live Before You Die" (2005)

Theme of Speech: Life and Career

Considering the YouTube video of Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford commencement speech has 24 million views, it's likely that you've seen this one already.

In the speech, Jobs plays on two themes: connecting the dots (anecdote: how taking a calligraphy class helped inspire the design of the Mac) and love & loss (anecdote: how getting fired from Apple helped inspire his greatest innovations).

Perhaps the most memorable part his speech comes at the end, when he quotes the (now-famous) lines from the final issue of his favorite publication, The Whole Earth Catalog:

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

9. Matthew McConaughey: "The Pursuit of Happiness" (2022)

Theme of the Speech: Discovering True Happiness and Fulfillment in Life.

In "The Pursuit of Happiness," famed actor and motivational speaker Matthew McConaughey provides his enlightened viewpoint on obtaining true happiness and fulfillment.

McConaughey presents a genuine and approachable study of what it means to live a fulfilling life through sincere storytelling and personal anecdotes.

The speech discusses the significance of authenticity and remaining true to oneself. McConaughey encourages people to define their success rather than succumb to social pressures or external expectations.

He stresses aligning our behaviors and decisions with our fundamental values and passions.

McConaughey expresses his conviction in the power of thankfulness and the importance of living in the present moment. He encourages people to create a grateful mindset, recognizing the blessings and possibilities surrounding them.

By appreciating the present and finding joy in the journey, individuals can experience more profound happiness and fulfillment.

"Happiness is not a destination. It's a state of mind, a journey, and a choice we make every day."

10. Denzel Washington: "Fall Forward" (2011)

Theme of Speech: Failure

In his 2011 UPenn commencement speech, Denzel Washington highlighted three reasons why we need to embrace failure in order to be successful. First, everybody will fail at something at some point, so you better get used to it.

Second, if you never fail, take that as a sign that you're not really trying. And third, at the end of the day, failure will help you figure out what path you want to be on.

“Fall forward. Here's what I mean: Reggie Jackson struck out twenty-six-hundred times in his career — the most in the history of baseball. But you don't hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs.

Fall forward.

Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that? I didn't know that—because #1,001 was the light bulb. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.”

11. Vera Jones: “But the Blind Can Lead the Blind…” (2016)

Theme of Speech: Perseverance

Last year at INBOUND, Vera Jones told a moving story about the life lessons she's learned from raising her blind son.

She explains how having faith in your future and letting it lead you toward your true purpose will help you overcome blinding obstacles.

She also discusses how following your passion and trusting your vision develops empathy, which is a critical leadership skill.

“Passionately play your position no matter how bad things get. You are significant. Why we are here is not for our own glory. Ultimately, we're here to lead and serve everybody else. By doing that, we encourage others to do the same.”

12. Oprah Winfrey: "The Power of Self-Belief" (2020)

Theme of Speech: Self-Belief and Confidence

Oprah Winfrey's 2020 speech "The Power of Self-Belief" emphasized the importance of self-assurance. She attributed her success to her unwavering self-assurance.

According to Oprah, self-belief is not about being arrogant or overconfident. She stresses the significance of overcoming self-doubt and fear, which can prevent people from reaching their goals.

Oprah used personal stories to demonstrate how self-confidence has aided her in life and work. She encouraged her audience to believe in themselves and to embrace their inner strength.

The Power of Self-Belief" reminded us how important it is to have faith in ourselves and our ability to succeed.

"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams."

13. Charlie Day: Merrimack College Commencement Speech (2014)

Theme of Speech: Taking Risks

Best known for his role in the sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, actor Charlie Day had lots of wisdom to share during the 2014 commencement speech at his alma mater, Merrimack College.

Day explained to the audience how college degrees are inherently valueless, since you can't trade them in for cash. Instead, it's you, your hard work, and the risks you take that provide real value in life.

“You cannot let a fear of failure or a fear of comparison or a fear of judgment stop you from doing the things that will make you great. You cannot succeed without the risk of failure.

You cannot have a voice without the risk of criticism. You cannot love without the risk of loss. You must take these risks.”

14. Brené Brown: "The Power of Vulnerability" (2013)

Theme of Speech: Failure

The video above is an animated excerpt from researcher Brené Brown's speech, "The Power of Vulnerability." In the speech, Brown explores how our fear of not being good enough (among other fears) drives us to shield ourselves from our own vulnerabilities.

The alternative to wearing this emotional suit of armor: Embrace vulnerability through empathizing with others.

"Empathy is a choice, and it's a vulnerable choice. Because in order to connect with you, I have to connect with something in myself that knows that feeling."

15. Kobe Bryant: “The Path to Greatness" (2020)

Theme of the Speech: Embracing Dedication, Perseverance, and a Relentless Pursuit of Greatness.

Bryant emphasizes setting ambitious goals and working tirelessly to achieve them. Through captivating storytelling and personal anecdotes, he reveals the sacrifices and relentless effort required to excel at the highest level.

Bryant's speech is a testament to the power of hard work, discipline, and a growth mindset in attaining greatness.

The speech also explores embracing failure as a stepping stone to success. Bryant shares how setbacks and challenges can fuel personal growth and resilience.

He encourages individuals to embrace failure, learn from it, and use it as motivation to push beyond their limits.

Bryant's speech goes beyond the realm of sports, offering valuable insights and life lessons applicable to all areas of life.

His relentless pursuit of greatness and unwavering commitment to excellence inspires individuals striving to achieve their goals and dreams.

"I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I'm like, 'My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don't have it. I just want to chill.'

We all have self-doubt. You don't deny it, but you also don't capitulate to it. You embrace it."

16. David Foster Wallace: "This Is Water" (2005)

Theme of Speech: Life and Career

From the opening minutes of David Foster Wallace's 2005 Kenyon College commencement speech, in which he questions commencement speech conventions, it's clear that Wallace has some serious wisdom to share.

The crux of his speech: Many of us are oblivious to our own close-mindedness. We picture ourselves as the centers of our own, individual universes, instead of seeing the bigger, more interconnected picture.

“If you're automatically sure that you know what reality is and who and what is really important, if you want to operate on your default setting, then you, like me, probably won't consider possibilities that aren't annoying and miserable.

But if you've really learned how to think, how to pay attention, then you'll know you have other options.

It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer hell-type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred — on fire with the same force that lit the stars: love, fellowship, the mystical oneness of all things deep down.”

17. Carol Dweck: "The Growth Mindset" (2020)

Theme of the Speech: Cultivating a Growth Mindset for Personal and Professional Development.

In "The Growth Mindset," Carol Dweck, a renowned psychologist, and author, delivers an enlightening speech on the power of adopting a growth mindset for personal and professional growth.

Dweck's extensive research on mindset and achievement provides the foundation for her impactful message.

Dweck explains the difference between a fixed mindset, where individuals believe their abilities are fixed traits, and a growth mindset, where individuals believe their abilities can be developed through effort and learning.

She demonstrates how a growth mindset fosters resilience, learning, and innovation through relatable stories and compelling examples.

Dweck's speech resonates with individuals seeking personal and professional development, as she provides insights into how adopting a growth mindset can positively impact all areas of life.

Her research-based approach and engaging speaking style make "The Growth Mindset" an inspiring resource for individuals striving for continuous growth and improvement.

"The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even when it's not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset."

Famous Short Speeches With Inspirational Takeaways

18. Al Pacino: "Inch by Inch" (1999)

Theme of Speech: Teamwork

Yes, this speech is from a football movie (Any Given Sunday), but trust me: This isn't your stereotypical rah-rah-go-get-'em sports speech. It's deeper than that. It's about life, and loss, and ... gosh darn it just listen to Al Pacino.

He's pouring his soul out!

“Either we heal as a team or we're gonna crumble, inch by inch, play by play, till we're finished. We're in hell right now, gentlemen, believe me.

And we can stay here and get the $&#@ kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell, one inch at a time.”

19. Satya Nadella: "Empowering Others" (2023)

Theme of the Speech: Empowerment and Collaboration

Satya Nadella's 2023 lecture, "Empowering Others," emphasizes the importance of leadership that empowers others rather than focusing on personal success.

He emphasizes the importance of leaders cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging in which everyone feels respected and able to accomplish their best work.

Nadella also discusses the significance of technology in positive development. Some of society's most important issues may be resolved by technology, but proper development and application are required.

According to Nadella, empathy and emotional intelligence are essential for outstanding leadership. He suggests that Leaders listen to and understand. their team members' needs and motivations.

Leaders can develop a culture of trust and collaboration that will help the team flourish.

Satya Nadella's "Empowering Others" provides a special message about leadership in the current day. By emphasizing diversity, empathy, and responsible innovation, Nadella encourages audiences to strive for excellence while being mindful of their impact on others and the world.

"Success is not just about what we achieve individually, but what we enable others to achieve."

20. Sylvester Stallone: Speech from Rocky Balboa (2006)

Theme of Speech: Never Give Up

I had to put this one next since it plays along the same themes as Denzel Washington's UPenn speech. In the scene above, from the 2006 film Rocky Balboa, the title character (played by Sylvester Stallone) is having a heart-to-heart with his son.

The advice he gives him: Don't let your failures or the adversity you face slow you down. Keep. Moving. Forward.

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.

You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”

21. Will Smith: Speech from The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Theme of Speech: Don’t Let Them Bring You Down

Here's another speech from the big screen, this time from the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness.

In the scene above, Will Smith's character explains to his son why he shouldn't pursue basketball (because he'll end up being "below average") before having a major change of heart.

“Don't ever let somebody tell you ... you can't do something. Not even me. All right? You got a dream. You gotta protect it. People can't do something themselves, they want to tell you can't do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.”

22. Mel Robbins: "The 5 Second Rule" (2020)

Theme of the Speech: Action and Overcoming Self-Doubt

The "The 5 Second Rule" speech by Mel Robbins promotes action to achieve goals and overcome concerns and doubts.

When confronted with a decision or action that needs to be completed but you are hesitating or procrastinating, countdown from 5, and then act. According to Robbins, this method breaks habit loops that keep us unhealthy.

Counting down and taking action may assist us in overcoming uncertainty and self-doubt and moving toward our objectives. For success, Robbins also promotes mentality and self-talk.

She believes that to realize our potential, we must consciously reframe negative thoughts and limiting beliefs.

Mel Robbins' presentation "The 5 Second Rule" is a practical and efficient technique to overcome procrastination and achieve goals.

Robbins inspires listeners to take command of their lives and achieve by emphasizing attitude, self-talk, and positive actions.

"You are never going to feel like doing the things that are tough, difficult, or uncertain, but you have a choice."

23. Angela Duckworth: "The Power of Grit" (2020)

Theme of the Speech: Spirit and Perseverance

Angela Duckworth examines the significance of perseverance and resilience in achievement in her book "The Power of Grit." According to Duckworth, grit—passion and determination—is essential for long-term success and overcoming obstacles.

Duckworth addresses grit and mentality, believing that people who view challenges and setbacks as opportunities for growth rather than threats will develop resilience and determination over time.

She advocates for a growth mindset, which believes people can acquire intelligence and other qualities through hard work. Duckworth places a premium on rigorous practice to achieve skill and mastery.

She recommends soliciting feedback, setting challenging goals, and intentionally improving abilities and succeeding. Angela Duckworth's "The Power of Grit" illuminates long-term achievement.

Duckworth emphasizes attitude, focused practice, and resilience to urge listeners to acquire grit and pursue their passions with tenacity.

"Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality."

24. Kurt Russell: “This is Your Time” (2004)

Theme of Speech: Inspiring and Believing in Your Team

The Miracle on Ice is still considered the biggest upset in Olympic hockey history. And for good reason. The Soviet Union won six of the last seven Olympic gold medals, and the U.S. team consisted only of amateur players.

It was obvious the Soviets were better. But, in the movie Miracle, which told the incredible story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, Kurt Russell's character — Coach Herb Brooks — knew that this game was different.

The U.S. was better than the Soviets that day. And his speech conveyed such a strong belief in his team that they pulled off one of the greatest sports moments of the 20th century.

“If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game… Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can!

Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players, every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time.”

Want more? Read How to Motivate Yourself When You're Absolutely Exhausted.

404 Error Pages: The Ultimate Guide

rleist@hubspot.com (Rachel Leist) — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Chances are you’ve landed on a 404 error page before. Whether you’ve arrived on a 404 error page because of a simple typo or because you were seeking a page that no longer exists, most people find being unable to find what they’re looking for to be a frustrating experience. A major part of running a successful website is staying alert for errors like broken pages or slow performance. However, sometimes there are problems you just can’t avoid, and 404 errors are among them. The good news? With a little ingenuity, you can transform your 404 error page into a marketing asset.

A 404 occurs when a user requests a page on your website that doesn’t exist, thus throwing a 404 error page and prompting users to return to the right place. No matter how many resources you throw into ensuring your website is as seamless as possible, there’s always a chance users will end up on a 404 error page. Here’s what you need to know about 404 error pages, how to fix 404 error pages, and even some examples of creative examples that will help mitigate the frustration of landing here.

What is a 404 Error?
How to Fix 404 Error Pages
The Best 404 Error Web Page Examples

What is a 404 Error?

First things first: What even is a 404 error? This standard HTTP error message code signals the website you were trying to reach couldn't be found on the server. It's a client-side error, meaning either the webpage was removed or moved, and the URL wasn't changed accordingly, or the person just typed in the URL incorrectly. There are also other reasons a 404 error might pop up, including a problem with DNS or an error with caching.

For the most part, you can configure your server to create a customized 404 error page. (If you use HubSpot, click here to learn how to customize your 404 page in HubSpot.)

Some customized 404 error pages include a hero image, witty description, site map, search form, or basic contact information. Our 404 error page also includes more links visitors can click — which is a valuable add as it keeps them on the website.

How to Fix 404 Error Pages

There are a few ways to fix 404 errors on your website and ensure your visitors land on a viable page where they can find the information they need. Let's walk through some of the best ways to tackle fixing a 404 error page.

Redirect to a functional page.

Perhaps the best way to handle a 404 error is to redirect your visitors to a functional page on your website. This keeps the visitor on your site, which is a major plus. However, remember the goal of a successful 404 error page is to reduce visitor frustration. Therefore, redirecting visitors to the ecommerce portion of your site when they're seeking an information page about your team probably isn't the best fit.

Ensure you don't have hyperlinks leading to deleted pages.

If you have a blog on your website and your posts feature hyperlinks to pages that have since been deleted, visitors reading the posts will experience a 404 message popping up. By looking through your blog posts (or other pages) and ensuring that your hyperlinks are up to date, you can reduce the likelihood that visitors will have a pesky 404 error message on their screen anytime soon.

Mention that clearing caching can help.

Another quick-and-easy solution? On your 404 error page, you can mention to visitors that sometimes, caching issues cause these messages to appear. Therefore, you can suggest that visitors simply clear their cache to resolve the issue efficiently.

Note frequent spelling mistakes.

As we mentioned earlier, sometimes the reason why error pages pop up is because visitors are incorrectly typing in the domain. If you notice that visitors often misspell the path that leads to your pages, you may consider redirecting that misspelling to the desired page.

The Best 404 Error Web Page Examples

The good news? Your 404 error page is an opportunity to make a memorable impression on your visitors when they don’t land exactly where they hoped.

Over the years, websites have found different ways to inform visitors of a 404 error and channel them back to the right place, some simply, some creatively, and some hilariously. Here are some 404 error page examples that delight.

Page Not Found: Creative 404 Error Pages

1. Pipcorn

While a 404 page can easily stick out from a website, Pipcorn’s error page aligns perfectly with the rest of the site’s branding. There’s a visually appealing animated background, a friendly text prompt directing visitors to search the website, and a piece of popcorn used as the “0” in “404.”

2. Spotify

Music streaming giant Spotify has covered its bases with a clever 404 page. With a witty pun and a light-hearted record animation, the website briefly entertains and then sends visitors back to the page they came from. Or, they can easily navigate to the FAQ or Community page.

3. Genially

One simple way to ease the tension on your 404 page is to add a quick “Oops!” message — it helps your site feel more personable as you guide users back to the right place. In the case of Genially’s site, the page also includes a nifty illustration paired with some playful copy.

4. Adobe

As you would expect, Adobe’s 404 error page is useful and visually pleasing. One of the most unique things it does is offer easy access to Adobe’s most popular products.

5. Clorox

The 404 page for Clorox cleaning products rotates between three lighthearted photos to signal to visitors that they’ve made a misstep. It’s a smart use of branding to add a brief delight moment while helping out lost users.

6. Duma Collective

Other times, you might not need a witty blurb — just tell visitors that there’s no page at the address and let them move on. Entertainment consulting agency Duma Collective does just this with its error page, though it’s complemented by a background image for some minor flair.

7. Bitly

If you enter an incorrect Bitly link, you’ll be taken to Bitly’s 404 page. We assume this happens a fair amount, which is why the 404 page gets straight to the point. It explains what might have gone wrong and prompts users to visit the Bitly homepage if that’s what they’re after.

8. Ikea

Ikea’s 404 page is similarly minimalist but still manages to sneak some smart branding in there. This example shows that your error pages don’t need to be elaborate to get the point across, but there’s nothing wrong with injecting some fun, either.

9. Moxie Design Co.

Sure, “blew up the Internet” might be a bit hyperbolic, but it tells visitors that Moxie Design Co. doesn’t take itself too seriously with small slip-ups like this one. Also, a search bar is conveniently placed at the bottom to send you on your way.

10. McKissack & McKissack

Ah, the classic “we lost the page” trick. Again, an easy way to present a 404 without alienating your audience. If you’re an agency like McKissack & McKissack that manages many client interactions, clear and concise copy is essential for all your site’s pages, including error pages.

11. CSS Tricks

Ever ripped away a website's wrapping to see what's underneath? That's the concept that CSS Tricks was going for in their 404 error page. This is both witty and reminiscent of what the website is all about: Smart use of page styling.

12. Good Old Games

For other websites, you unwrap the front end and there's … just the vast emptiness of space. This page is a clever reference to GOG Galaxy, which is Good Old Games’ native video game client. Thankfully, a little video game character is there to give visitors a place to report an error if they want.

13. Myriad

Video agency Myriad has opted for a quirky, on-brand 404 error page design that mimics the classic SMPTE color bars that appear on old tapes and TVs. It’s a funny throwback to older technologies while representing the more modern problem of a nonexistent web page.

14. KonMari

Known for her popular cleaning and organization methods and brand, Marie Kondo has brought a similar feel to her website’s 404 page. The copy briefly and humorously harkens back to her tidying philosophy — a small but well-branded detail that fans will recognize.

15. BrandCrowd

Not only is the illustration on this error page detailed and engaging — the copy is clever, too. We love the reference to the Semisonic song "Closing Time:" "You can click anywhere else, but you can't click here."

16. Hot Dot Productions

Hot Dot's error page stays true to its tagline, “the intersection of new technologies and design.” The page is animated by hundreds of tiny dots that change direction in response to where you move your cursor. It's mesmerizing and a great showcase of the agency’s design capabilities.

17. OrangeCoat

If you're going to give an error message, why not entertain the user for a few seconds while you help them out? Following a friendly greeting, OrangeCoat offers a flowchart that actually helps users figure out why they reached an error page in the first place.

18. Ervin & Smith

This 404 page does more than redirect users back to active pages. Instead, Ervin & Smith’s 404 page invites you to scroll down and learn why you need a digital marketing agency, and why to choose Ervin & Smith in particular, capped off with a contact form. True to its mission, this agency shows that any page can be a conversion opportunity.

19. DayCloud Studios

… or, your 404 can just be a place for visitors to enjoy your website for a minute, as can be seen on the website for DayCloud Studios. Moving the cursor around the screen reveals a 404 message illuminated by lasers shooting from a cat’s eyes. Because why not?

20. Headspace

Another instance of a website smartly incorporating its brand messaging into a 404 page — guided meditation app Headspace makes an effort to calm users, encouraging us to take a deep breath, then return to the main site.

21. Wildwood Bakery

Some websites thus far have integrated clever branded copy in their pages, while others have hosted full-blown online games on theirs. But, there’s nothing wrong with a brief push back in the right direction. Wildwood Bakery’s exquisite site keeps things short and sweet (literally).

Page Not Found: Funny 404 Error Pages

22. Astuteo

Design agency Astuteo’s 404 page is a perfect balance of elegant visuals, humor, and helpfulness. The minimal layout gives users the information they need alongside another amusing visual metaphor, a sinking cargo ship and a fleeing figure.

23. LEGO

There are few words needed on LEGO's 404 error page — the character’s expression makes everything clear. Plus, fans of the LEGO movie franchise will enjoy the fun reference in the copy.

24. Magnt

In this funny error message, Magnt pokes fun at the fact that, yes, they could have broken something — or, you just can't type. The visual serves as a quick way to quickly illustrate their point. Plus, it’s effective, as it reminds visitors to check their URLs and make sure they’ve spelled everything right.

25. IconFinder

IconFinder's error page is simple but delightful. The company’s mascot wearing a robe and appearing weary is a relatable nod to lost visitors. No worries though, since the site lists some of its links to visit down below.

26. GitHub

The line "These aren't the droids you're looking for" refers to Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi mind trick on Stormtroopers in Star Wars Episode IV, and it's become a well-known phrase used to tell someone they're pursuing the wrong course of action. GitHub plays on this famous line in their 404 error message.

27. Patagonia

Patagonia’s custom 404 page captures the brand’s vibe perfectly. We love the cheeky text that reads “Please try sticking the landing on another page.”

28. AMC Theatres

You might have been to an AMC movie theater before, but you’ve hopefully never seen their website’s 404 page. The website makes use of a quick, funny, and relevant one-liner before it sends you back to the right place.

29. Bruno

It’s no coincidence that creative agencies are great at coming up with cool 404 pages. Here’s another one from the creatives at Bruno that plays off the 2000 cult comedy classic Dude, Where’s My Car? No, it has nothing to do with the company or website, but it’s sure to get a chuckle.

30. NPR

At first, NPR's error page seems like nothing special. But keep reading and you'll see how they cleverly link to some of their great stories about lost people, places, and things, like a piece on Amelia Earhart and one on Waldo. This might just make lost users feel a little less alone.

31. Medium

Medium takes a similar approach to NPR’s 404 page, recommending articles about getting lost and losing things. Check these articles out if you have time — they’re quite good reads.

32. HomeStarRunner

HomeStarRunner.com, home to a Flash-animated cartoon series, has had a series of hilarious 404 error pages over the years. The most recent features characters from the cartoon series in a scene that could've come straight out of one of their episodes. If you turn the sound on when you load the page, you'll hear their character Strong Bad — known for yelling phrases out loud — saying, "404'd!"

33. Blizzard Entertainment

Here's a simple idea that ends up looking slick: Blizzard Entertainment's 404 page features an animated character lost in an actual blizzard and some humor that World of Warcraft fans will appreciate.

34. Hello Big Idea

A quick trip around marketing and social media experts Hello Big Idea’s website will tell you what you need to know about its bold and blunt style of copy. And, of course, its 404 error page is no exception.

35. HubSpot

It happens to us, too! This is the message we put up to tell our site visitors that there are some website issues. Our goal was to stay true to HubSpot's brand voice by being as empathetic and helpful as possible.

Turn a 404 Error Page Into a Delightful Moment

Nobody wants to land on a 404 page — they’re annoying and unexpected. However, you can’t really avoid them, so it’s always a good idea to have a 404 page to fall back on for your website.

And, from a user experience perspective, your 404 page should be a small speed bump, not a brick wall. The right design can be the difference between a frustrated bounce and a possible conversion, so why not make it fun?

Editor's note: This post was originally published in December 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How to Rebrand as a Content Creator and Stay Relevant [Expert Tips]

esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago) — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

When it comes to the term "rebrand," most people think of major company rebrands like Dunkin' or Lego. However, companies aren't the only entities that may find themselves in need of a change.

Sometimes, content creators will need to rebrand, too, especially if the creator's interests have changed or the creator needs to keep up with the latest consumer trends or adhere to new platform guidelines.

If you want to rebrand, you may wonder how to rebrand as a creator and remain relevant. To get some insight, I spoke with creator, blogger, and YouTuber Lisa De La Cruz, who recently went through a rebrand herself.

Here's her story and tips for creators looking to switch up their content.

Why a rebrand?

The Challenge of Rebranding as a Creator

How to Stay Relevant Through a Rebrand

Why a rebrand?

As I mentioned earlier, there are many reasons a content creator may choose to rebrand. In De La Cruz's case, the COVID-19 pandemic plays a role in her decision to change her content.

"I rebranded because, at the height of the pandemic, the content I was creating was very local," she says, recalling her content that was geared toward her hometown of Reading, PA. "And due to regulations, I couldn't continue interviewing people in person. It also wasn't making me happy anymore."

De La Cruz began shifting her focus toward the anime and manga industry to find her spark and keep creating amid pandemic restrictions.

She would interview voice actors, cosplayers, and anime enthusiasts for her podcast, The Wonder of Anime, and review anime and manga for her YouTube channel and blog of the same name.

"I had slowly started shifting my content in this new direction, and it was really making me happy," she says. "I realized this is a topic where I can interview people from all over because I don't have to see them in person. I can use Zoom."

The Challenge of Rebranding as a Creator

Of course, pivoting to a different niche as a creator isn't easy, especially if your followers aren't interested in your new direction.

"There definitely was a change in my audience because, at the time, most of my audience was local, and they were not fans of anime," De La Cruz says. "So I definitely had a drop in audience in the beginning."

Fortunately, De La Cruz's platform grew as she continued in her new niche.

"If I know myself and know the heart of what I'm doing, then I know this is true to me and I just have to push forward that way," she says.

How to Stay Relevant Through a Rebrand

So, how did De La Cruz grow her platform post-rebrand, and what can you do to make your rebrand a success? Here are some expert tips she says can make for a smooth transition.

1. Consider appealing to an untapped market.

"The new type of content that I was making was unique in the sense that I was covering things that didn't have much of a spotlight," she explains, "such as an old series or nostalgic things that people may have forgotten about."

Over time, De La Cruz says her content began to attract anime and manga enthusiasts who were happy to see her shine a light on cult classics.

"I tapped into a new audience and a specific niche that hadn't been touched on," she recalls. "I think that really helped because people were excited to see someone give representation to a series they enjoy but isn't often talked about."

2. Know why you want to rebrand.

While creators must keep up with the latest consumer trends, De La Cruz warns shifting trends and numbers shouldn't be your sole motivator.

"Really think about why you want to rebrand," she says. "For me, it wasn't about growing a different audience — I just wanted to stay true to what I like and am passionate about. I would warn against switching because of numbers."

Viewers are very perceptive, and De La Cruz says they'll know if you're rebranding just to stay in the spotlight. Doing so can foster distrust and make your brand seem inauthentic — and authenticity is invaluable in branding.

In fact, 88% of consumers say authenticity is key when deciding what brands they like and support.

3. Go all in.

"Go 100% in. If you are in-between and you're teasing your audience by doing some old stuff and new things at the same time, you can lose people and confuse people," she says. "That could be a turn-off to your audience."

De La Cruz says if you do a pivot, make it a hard one.

"I find it helps establish your new audience because you're not giving people false hope that you're still going to create your previous style of content."

4. Communicate your rebrand to your audience.

Depending on how long you've been a creator, your audience may have followed you for years before you rebranded your platform.

De La Cruz says it's important to respect the relationship you've built with your viewers and to keep them in the loop of your new era.

"There is a relationship between you as a content creator and the audience consuming your content," she says. "Sometimes doing a hard pivot without making it clear can feel distrustful to your audience, especially if they didn't see it coming."

De La Cruz suggests making a clear statement to show appreciation and to allow your audience to decide if they want to follow you on your new journey.

This statement can come in a YouTube video, a social media post, an email, or a newsletter.

Above all, De La Cruz says to be confident in your decision.

"Your rebrand is likely something you've been thinking about and weighing on you for some time, so be confident that your rebrand will do as well as your previous content," she explains.

"You need to believe it so your old audience and newcomers will believe in it and follow your new journey."

How to Get Sponsored on Instagram (Even if You Currently Have 0 Followers)

Caroline Forsey — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

It's no surprise you want to become a paid Instagram influencer, but the idea of getting your posts sponsored might seem laughable if you’re just posting pictures of your brunch instead of skydiving pictures in Australia.

You’re probably more marketable than you think, as Instagram is a popular channel for influencers to partner with all kinds of businesses to post all kinds of content across topic areas for all types of influencers, from micro-influencers to viral celebrities.

Here, we're going to show you everything you need to do to get sponsored on Instagram. Keep reading to get started or click the links below to jump to a specific section of this article.

Table of Contents

How to Get Sponsored on Instagram
What's a Sponsored Instagram Post?
Using #ad and #spon Hashtags
How to Disclose Paid Partnerships on Instagram
Things to Consider Before Accepting an Instagram Sponsorship
Pros and Cons of Instagram Sponsorship

1. Define your brand.

You'll see the best engagement if you're able to define your niche. Do you want to post food and health-related content or focus on fashion? Whatever the case, it's important to establish your brand.

In addition to the type of content you post, branding has a lot to do with your overall aesthetic. How do you want to style your posts? What's your messaging? To further solidify your brand, you might want to consider creating a cohesive feed theme (use these feeds for inspiration).

Consistency is key. A good influencer's posts are distinguishable and unique— a user flipping through their feed should be able to recognize the content as belonging to one influencer. Trust builds as a user continues to see the same influencers' content.

Additionally, you might want to connect your Instagram brand with any other online presence. Creating a website with similar aesthetic and messaging is a good way to do this — the more you unify your social media accounts, the easier it will be for brands to distinguish how you can help them.

2. Know your audience.

Knowing your audience is critical for convincing a brand to work with you. It's mutually beneficial for you, as well — if you understand your audience, you're can correctly identify which brands will see the most success from using you as their sponsor.

Start by gathering the basics — what is the gender, age, and geographical location of your core demographic? Which of your posts do they like the best? What times of day do they respond best to content, and what can you infer from this?

The demographic information you gather will help you pitch partnerships with brands. Brands want to know who they can reach if they work with you. Explaining, "You'll be reaching thirty-something, working women, primarily from New York, who often use Instagram first thing in the morning and prefer fitness content" is certainly more powerful than saying, "You'll be reaching women."

3. Post consistently.

How frequently you post on social media will depend on several factors: how the platform works and the ecosystem on each platform you choose.

Posting frequently on Instagram is important to getting brand sponsorship because it shows you maintain a presence on the platform. Instagram is algorithm based, so a high frequency isn’t as defining a factor as sharing quality content, especially since the algorithm ensures that users don’t see too many posts from one single author at once.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, suggests sharing a couple of in-feed posts per week and a couple of stories per day.

According to our State of Social Media in 2022 report, the best time to post on Instagram are mid to late evening, specifically from 6 PM -9 PM, 12 PM - 3 PM, and 3 PM - 6 PM. The best day to post is Saturday, and the worst is Monday.

Besides this research, figuring out the best posting schedule on Instagram requires looking at your profile analytics and seeing when you get the most interaction and engagement with your content.

4. Use hashtags and geotags.

Instagram hashtags make your content discoverable, so they're necessary for growing your following. You can use up to 30 hashtags per post, but Instagram recommends creators use no more than three to five hashtags per post.

You also want to use hashtags as relevant to your content as possible and ensure they aren’t broken or banned.

It's critical you choose hashtags that aren't too broad. #Healthyliving, for instance, has over 20,000,000 posts, while #healthylivingtips only has 13,000. The less competition, the easier it will be for your content to get discovered.

When you peruse a hashtag's page, you can also get a deeper sense of what types of content your post will be up against. #Healthylivingtips might typically feature posts with food recipes, while your post is about cycling — this could defer you from using that hashtag.

Location tags are equally important, but for a different reason. Geotags can help people find you if they're interested in a certain location. This helps you gain more followers, and it also helps you appeal to brands that are interested in reaching a certain demographic. For instance, maybe a boutique sees you often post fashion tips from the California area, and they're looking to appeal to people in that region — it's a win, win.

5. Tag brands in your posts.

Okay, now you're officially ready to begin reaching out to brands. You've defined your brand and audience and have created quality, authentic posts. Now, you should have a pretty good idea of what types of businesses would benefit from a partnership with you.

It's important to start small. If you're interested in skincare, don't go straight for Estee Lauder -- instead, try tagging small skincare start-ups you've seen across Instagram already. Engage with your audience by responding to comments like "Where can I get one?" or "How much?" the brand will soon see you've proven yourself a suitable sales partner.

6. Include contact information in your bio.

Consider your bio a chance to signal your interest in becoming an influencer. Include an email or website so they can reach you, and include a press kit if possible.

For instance, @brittany_broski doesn't waste her bio space and includes her email in her bio.

Furthermore, you should use a website or blog as your chance to expand on your brand and demonstrate your versatility. Consider adding a Press Page to your website, so brands can take a look at your services. Once you begin sponsoring brands, you can add them to this page so brands can see you have influencer experience.

7. Pitch paid sponsorships.

There's nothing wrong with reaching out to brands and offering your services. With the right pitch, you might be able to land some gigs without waiting for brands to find you.

Look for brands that clearly invest time and money into their Instagram presence. You might start by researching what similar influencers in your industry already sponsor. Remember, it's okay to start small. Working with smaller brands will allow you to build a portfolio.

Once you've curated a list of brands that might want to partner with you, send them an email. In your pitch, clearly and briefly outline who you are, what you do, and any achievements you have in the field that make you an expert. Then, explain why you're a good fit for the brand, and include data such as follower count and average engagement rate.

Alternatively, you might consider sending a brand a DM straight from Instagram. It's certainly more relevant to the job you're vying for, but it might get lost if a brand get hundreds of DMs a day.

8. Join Instagram's creator marketplace.

The creator marketplace helps brands find influencers to partner with on Instagram. As an influencer or creator, you can join the creator marketplace to get your content and profile seen by brands looking for people like you.

You can indicate which brands and interests are relevant to you so you are contacted by people relevant to you, and you can easily message brands in the Partnership Messaging inbox.

9. Know your worth.

Make sure you know how much you're going to charge when brands reach out to you. HubSpot Blog Research found that marketers typically pay between $501 and $10K for nano, micro-influencer, and macro-influencers, with $10K+ budgets reserved for mostly mega influencers.

While you'll want to have a minimum set, you can negotiate to encourage brands to pay more. Perhaps for $300, you'll throw in five Instagram Story posts, and a link in your bio to their website for 24 hours. You can use other Instagram features to sweeten the deal. As you grow, you'll be able to charge more.

What's a Sponsored Instagram Post?

There are two main types of sponsored Instagram posts: A brand creates a post and pays Instagram for access to a custom audience, and a brand that pays an influencer or creator to share content that features the brand/business in some way.

Here's more detail on each type of sponsored post:

Promoted Posts & Ads

Just like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, Instagram comes with a native ad management platform. Advertisers can use this tool to customize a target audience — using attributes like age, sex, location, and interests — and invest a specific amount of money to getting their post in front of Instagrammers who identify with this audience.

The thing to remember here is that the advertiser is making and publishing the post. They're paying Instagram for the audience they want access to, but the post is theirs to create.

Paid Sponsorships

Paid sponsorships happen between a brand and an influencer or realtor on Instagram. The creator will have a brand and an audience that is relevant to the business.

Think of it like social media product placement; just like a business might pay a TV show to have their brand of soda on the countertop in the series finale, they can also pay a person on Instagram to hold that same soda in a picture on their Instagram feed.

There are numerous influencers for each industry. Here's a big list of today's known influencers and the types of audiences they attract.

Using #ad and #spon Hashtags

Brands have come under fire in the past for working with influencers but not making it clear that the influencers were paid to share content.

Department store Lord & Taylor, for instance, settled charges with the FTC in 2016 after paying 50 influencers to wear a dress in their posts without hashtagging #sponsorship or #ad.

Instagram prefers that influencers mark paid sponsorships as paid partnerships so their audiences know the intention behind the post. It's critical your followers know if you're getting paid to promote a product. Ethics aside, it could destroy your account's credibility if you're caught, and lose everything you've worked hard to build -- namely, an authentic, trusting community.

In 2017, Instagram released a paid partnership feature to combat this issue — if you tag a brand in a post and the brand confirms the relationship, the ad will be marked at the top with a "paid partnership" label. This also helps the brand gather data regarding how well the campaign is performing.

If you truly don't want to post #ad or #spon, there are some ways around it — for instance, Airbnb created the hashtag #Airbnb_partner, to signal a paid partnership without using the word "ad".

When in doubt, adhere to Instagram's policies. You can read Instagram's branded content policies in full here.

How to Disclose Paid Partnerships on Instagram

It’s a best practice to disclose paid partnerships to followers so they know that you and your partner will profit from the engagement you bring them. You can easily disclose partnerships with brands for Feed, Stories, Live, Reels, and videos.

Note: This feature is only available for business and creator accounts, and the steps are the same for desktop and mobile devices.

Add Paid Partnership Label to Instagram Feed Posts

Upload your content and add your preferred caption and any filters or effects, then tap Next.
Tap Advanced settings.
Toggle Add paid partnership label underneath Branded content.
Tap Add brand partners to search for the brand and add them to your post. You can add up to two brands.
Optional: If your agreement with the brand allows them to use your content to run ads, toggle Allow brand partner to promote into the on position.
Tap Done to post your content.

Get started with HubSpot's free drag-and-drop builder!

Add Paid Partnership Label to Instagram Stories

Once you’ve uploaded the story and added elements like text or a filter, tap the tag icon at the top of the screen.
Tap Add paid partnership label.
Tap Add brand partners and search for the brand you’re working with. You can add up to two brands.
Optional: If your agreement with the brand allows them to use your content to run ads, toggle Allow brand partners to promote into the on position.
Tap Done to post your Story.

Add Paid Partnership Label to Instagram Reels

After you’ve uploaded your Reel and edited it to your choosing, tap Next.
Tap Advanced Settings.
Toggle Add paid partnership label into the on position.
Tap Add brand partners and search for the brand you’re working with. You can up to two brands.
Tap Done to post your Reel

The video below shows the Paid Partnership label in a sponsored Reel from Yes Williamsburg.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Yes Williamsburg (@yeswilliamsburg)

Add Paid Partnership Label to Instagram Live

Note: When you’re Live, you can only tag brands you have approval from

When you go live, tap Details

2. Tap Add brand partners and search for the brand you’re working with to add a tag to your Live.

Things to Consider Before Accepting an Instagram Sponsorship

1. The brand's audience.

Before accepting an Instagram sponsorship, the most important thing to do is make sure your connection to the brand is there, which is why it’s important to work with brands in your niche. For example, if you’re a fitness influencer, it would make sense to partner with athletic wear companies or local fitness studios, but not relevant to partner with a travel agency.

Research the brand and look at its Instagram presence, the type of content shared, and the audience that engages with the content to see if it aligns with your brand and interests.

2. A brand's partnership eligibility requirements.

Brands have their eligibility requirements when they partner with influencers, so you should always review their criteria to ensure you meet their qualifications and that their capabilities don’t have unrealistic expectations for you and your processes.

3. The fine print of your contracts.

Protecting your content and ensuring the brand won’t misuse it is essential. You can read the fine print of your contract and partnership to see exactly how your content can be used, and you can register for a DCMA account to make sure it's protected by copyright law and can’t be misused.

4. Instagram’s partner monetization policies and guidelines.

To use Instagram’s Monetization and Promotional tools on Instagram, you have to meet a few specific requirements.

Reside in a country where monetization and promotional tools are available.
Adhere to and comply with all community guidelines.
Comply with content monetization policies.
Refrain from sharing misinformation.
Only monetize authentic engagement (you can’t monetize artificial views or engagement)
Comply with payment terms
Must have an authentic presence

You should also be familiar with rules and laws created by the Federal Trade Commission (or the equivalent in your country). Not complying with requirements and being transparent can cause significant legal issues and may make it harder for you to engage in partnerships in the future.

5. The type of content you can monetize.

All content that helps creators and publishers earn must follow specific rules:

You can’t monetize static videos, static image polls, slideshows of images, looping videos, text montages, or embedded ads.
You can’t monetize engagement bait, where you incentivize people to click a link or respond to a post through likes or comments, soliciting engagement,
You can’t monetize content that is misinformation, misleading medical information, unoriginal content, or drugs.

6. Payment amount and payment terms.

It’s always important to evaluate the offers to make sure you’re compensated fairly and in alignment with your rate, partnership requirements (like how much content you share), and the effort you put in to create the content.

If payment doesn’t align with your level of work, you have the right to negotiate a rate that matches what you’ll have to do, or you can step away if they don’t compensate you against your rate.

Pros and Cons of Instagram Sponsorships

Pros

Building trust - Working with reputable brands can build your credibility with your viewers and audience because you work with a source they know, and the trust builds even higher if you recommend a product or service they purchase that positively impacts their life.
Expanding your reach - Partnering with a brand expands your reach to your partners' audience, helping you grow your awareness and draw in new followers eager to hear from you.
Monetization - Partnering with brands can help you monetize your platform and get paid for the posts or campaigns you run and are already an expert at creating.

Cons

Loss of authenticity - Sponsored content can feel inauthentic to viewers, especially if the content seems too sales-y. Since consumers prefer authentic content over all else, they may be skeptical of your ads.
Legal issues - If you don’t comply with legal requirements and Instagram’s content monetization and sponsorship requirements, you risk non-compliance and losing the ability to use the Instagram feature or even the platform.
Time-consuming - Sponsored partnerships can require a lot of time and effort to coordinate and create content, which can detract from your other content creation efforts.

Over to You

Getting sponsored on Instagram can be challenging — it takes time, effort, and perseverance. But if you work hard to differentiate yourself in the industry, and connect on a personal level with your followers, it can be extraordinarily rewarding.

6 Best Free Website Builders to Check Out in 2023 [+Pros & Cons]

Caroline Forsey — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In my half-decade as an SEO content marketer, I’ve spent a good chunk of my time either testing or working with any number of free website builders: CMS Hub, WordPress.com, WordPress.org, Wix, Weebly, Webflow, you name it.

These website builder tools have been essential for me to publish content, either for my current employer or for my side projects. I’ve therefore been able to get well acquainted with their capabilities over time.

But if you’re new to the website builder game, you might be confused about where to start. What is the best choice if you don’t know how to code? Which one would give you the most bang for zero bucks? And which options include a good domain name, versus a garbled, messy subdomain?

I’m going to cover that and more, but first, let’s go over the basics.

If you’ve been considering building a website for some time, then you’re likely familiar with the options you have. The most common method is to buy a web hosting plan and a domain name, and then install your preferred CMS on your website, such as WordPress.org or Joomla.

The problem with that option is that when you install WordPress or Joomla out of the box, it comes with no handbook or content. When I’ve used this method before, I found that my website was literally like a blank page, which meant that unless I hired a developer or spent a lot of time building it, the end result would look quite unfinished and unprofessional.

When I was testing out free website builders such as CMS Hub or WordPress.com, I found that I was able to shorten my workflow considerably. The themes came with placeholder text and images, for instance, that made my website feel more complete than if I’d started with an out-of-the-box CMS.

How I Tested the Best Website Builders

When trying to find the best website builders for this post, I considered workflow to be the most important factor. Is it easy to set up a website from the start, or do you need extensive time and experience to do it?

Chances are, if you’re looking for a free website builder, you’d like the set up to be painless and seamless. For that reason, I chose tools that had:

The standard required features: placeholder content, blogging tools, SEO tools, and templates and themes
A fully free option with strong capabilities out of the box — no need to upgrade at every turn
A relatively easy workflow from signup to completion

With that, let’s go over the absolute best website builders I’ve used and tested before.

1. Best Free Website Builder for Growing Businesses: HubSpot Drag-and-Drop Website Builder

I use HubSpot’s drag-and-drop website builder (inside CMS Hub) as a content marketer on the HubSpot blog team, and have used it for two of my side website projects.

Hands down, this is one of the best website builders available for free — not only because of the ease of signing up, but also because it includes built-in tools for a handful of other functions, such as marketing and sales.

The website creation process is so easy, anyone could do it — mainly because the setup dashboard includes an interactive checklist for you to build your site step-by-step. I loved this signup workflow when I was building a few side projects. It’s one of the best in terms of user- and beginner-friendliness.

Once you install a free theme, you can right away start customizing the site with your preferred colors and fonts. At the top of the page is a bar that shows you where you are on the setup workflow, which is supremely useful for skipping between tasks. Note that this is only active during the onboarding phase.

After you’re finished, you’re taken right back to the user guide, where you can begin exploring HubSpot’s suite of tools for business. You also have the option of connecting a custom domain, which is free. All you have to do is buy the domain through a domain registrar such as GoDaddy, then go through the domain connection process.

This might be the most difficult part of signup due to the verification step. But you can always move forward with a free HubSpot domain name, which looks like this:

[randomly generated token].hs-sites.com

It’s not beautiful, and definitely my least favorite feature, so I’d recommend moving forward with a custom branded domain.

Now, it’s time to edit our site. The website editing process is a little more compartmentalized than in other tools. Whereas others might right away take you to the page editor, HubSpot takes you to the entirety of its suite dashboard, allowing you to access its marketing, sales, and service tools in addition to its website tools (located under the “Marketing” menu).

To access it, simply go to Marketing > Website > Website Pages.

Then, click Create. Something I loved here was the option to create either a website page or a landing page. This makes HubSpot a great fit if you’re using your site to drive leads in any capacity.

After you create your first page, the process is then easy and familiar. You can choose a template, but be sure to install a theme first (which is part of the setup workflow).

The free themes and templates are very good, and there are plenty of options in the HubSpot marketplace. That said, most themes are business-oriented; if you’d like to build an artsy or eclectic website, other website builders include more "fun" designs.

One thing I loved was that you can switch between themes and mix and match them. Other tools don’t allow you to use different themes on the same site, so if you’re concerned about limited design options, CMS Hub is a great choice.

Once you’ve chosen your template, you’re ready to begin editing. CMS Hub pulls in demo content so you can see what your page will look like when you’re finished. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve used a template on WordPress, only to get a fully blank page with the “Hello World!” heading. The demo content is a definite plus.

Finally, the drag-and-drop page builder is nothing to scoff at. The page builder works based on modules, which you drag onto the page. It then creates a live element you can edit directly, allowing you to see your changes in real time, as opposed to having to open a preview tab.

Another thing I loved is that it’s easy enough to use for a beginner, but also gives developers the ability to create advanced custom modules and tinker with the site’s source code. For instance, in your settings, you can upload a custom CSS stylesheet.

Here’s the impressive part: For all of its simplicity and user-friendliness, HubSpot’s website builder is more than equipped to handle business-level demands, with marketing, sales, and service software already built-in. Most of those are free to use at the basic tier, allowing you to send an email a month, for example, and use HubSpot CRM without paying a single cent.

Of course, it comes with everything you need to build a website, including content management system (CMS) tools, themes and templates, security features, and a built-in content delivery network (CDN) to ensure pages load quickly. Overall, I can’t recommend this tool enough for any type of business that wants more than a basic website builder.

Core Features

CMS tools
Themes and templates
Built-in security features (malware scanning, website monitoring, and web application firewall)
Free SSL certificate
Ability to connect to a custom domain

Advantages

Includes web hosting
Personalization (thanks to HubSpot’s CRM)
Security
Responsive themes and templates

Disadvantages

The free version displays HubSpot's branding
If you want to build custom modules and templates, you’ll need to learn HuBL, HubSpot’s templating language

Pricing

A limited free plan is available. The premium CMS plans with additional features start at $23 a month when billed annually.

Brands Using HubSpot

2. Best Free Website Builder for Beginners: WordPress.com

I can’t count the number of WordPress.com sites I’ve built for fun. It’s easy to sign up, it’s free, and its included domain name is not as ugly (and more recognizable) than others on this list. “Brandname.wordpress.com” has a nice ring to it, right?

First, though, I’d like to point out that WordPress .com is different from WordPress .org. WordPress.com is a free, fully-hosted website-building service, whereas WordPress.org is a content management system you can install on your website.

If you’re looking for a simple free website builder, WordPress.com is the way to go. But if you have a little bit of website development knowledge and are willing to learn the ins and outs of WordPress hosting, WordPress.org is a great choice.

For this list, though, I recommend WordPress.com. Why? It’s an all-in-one option that doesn’t require you to buy separate WordPress hosting or test out different WordPress page builders.

It’s not as customizable as WordPress.org, but it’s more than sufficient for beginners, bloggers, and hobbyists. Due to the free tier’s limitations on bandwidth and lack of CDN, business owners should probably consider another tool.

Just like CMS Hub, setting up your website on WordPress.com is very easy. As it guides you through the setup process, WordPress will ask you about your goals and immediately prompt you to choose a free theme for your website.

The themes are modern and mobile-optimized — I was surprised to find that I liked quite a few of the designs. When I’ve used WordPress in the past, I found the themes lackluster, but it seems to have updated its library.

From there, WordPress will take you to an abbreviated checklist that’s similar to HubSpot’s. By the time you’ve picked your theme, you’ve already completed the first three steps. All you have to do is publish your first blog post, edit the website’s design, and launch your site.

Keep in mind that the site is still in the bare minimum stages — you still need to go into the dashboard and add pages and content. Unfortunately, on the free version, you can’t install plugins, including the HubSpot WordPress marketing plugin.

Now, let’s talk about the drag and drop page builder. WordPress.com’s is much more minimal than other options on this list, and that’s because it primarily includes plain content formats such as paragraphs, headings, lists, and tables. It’s also not a live editor; if you want to see your chances on the page, you have to preview it on another tab.

That said, its simplicity makes it a great option for beginners just starting to build their first website — no need to fiddle with complicated modules.

If you are looking for more built-out modules — such as banners, headers, pre-built sections, and more — you’d be better off with a website builder that offers these options on the free tier, such as HubSpot’s CMS Hub or Webflow.

Core Features

Large collection of themes
Mobile-friendly and optimized for SEO
Managed website hosting and security

Advantages

Customizable
Flexible
Mobile and desktop apps available

Disadvantages

The free version displays ads
More limitations compared to WordPress.org
Although intuitive, it’s more difficult to learn than other drag-and-drop builders

Pricing

A limited free plan is available. Premium plans start at $4 a month when billed annually.

Brands Using WordPress.com

3. Best Free Website Builder for Ecommerce Websites: Weebly

Weebly is a classic website builder that offers a unique bundle of web hosting, domain registration, web design, and built-in ecommerce functions. This last feature is of note. For instance, on WordPress, you’d have to install an ecommerce plugin to start a shop, and even on CMS Hub, you’d need a third-party integration.

On Weebly, you can open up a store as part of the sign-up process. For that reason, I highly recommend it if you’d like to build an ecommerce website. This website builder is already integrated with Square, a popular online payment gateway.

As part of my test, I chose to create a website for an online store. What I liked about this part of Weebly’s setup is that it’s so simple — you don’t have to go on and on about your goals or the type of website you’d like to build.

During the next few phases, you’ll be able to choose a name for your store, as well as designate the type of products you’ll be selling. I’m not sure what this step is for — it must be for metadata or for Wix’s tracking purposes, but it’s good to fill out either way.

As with CMS Hub and WordPres.com, you’ll be prompted to choose a theme. If you’re setting up an ecommerce website, Weebly will automatically sort the themes so that you get storefront options first — no need to go hunting for them.

I did find the theme selection a little less diverse than other options on this list, but for a free ecommerce site builder, the options are reasonable.

As I was testing this website builder, I also found that it offers a nifty product listing tool that allows you to set up your inventory for sale immediately. I loved how easy and simple this was. It could make a great fit for someone who’s trying ecommerce out for the first time.

If you think Weebly will leave you without help or guidance, I have good news. Like the previous tools, it includes a checklist for you to work through so that you can set up your store correctly.

I’ve used Weebly before and have abandoned it due to a laggy page editor. During my test this time around, I found that the drag-and-drop editor is still somewhat laggy but more serviceable than when I was using Weebly for fun.

It includes the standard text, image, and rich content modules, with more variety and complexity than WordPress.com’s options. It also features helpful SEO tools and resources to get you started with an SEO strategy.

Core Features

Drag-and-drop editor
Integrated CMS solution
Free SSL certificate
SEO tools
Analytics and reporting

Advantages

Helpful SEO resource tools
Good selection of paid and free apps in the app center
The free plan has ecommerce functionality

Disadvantages

Limited choice of themes
The free and basic paid plans display ads
Limited SEO functionality

Pricing

A limited free plan is available. Premium plans start at $6 a month when billed annually.

Brands Using Weebly

4. Best Free Website Builder for Web Developers: Webflow

Webflow is a fantastic free website builder for those who have more coding experience and who’d like a more customizable website builder tool. Because of its ability to include multiple workspaces and multiple websites for clients, I especially recommend it for freelance web developers and agencies.

(And if you happen to be a fan of Adobe Creative Cloud, you’ll find that Webflow has a similar UX — another plus.)

Webflow is a winner when it comes to the setup workflow. Straightaway, you’ll have the option to build a website for your company, your clients, or yourself. I chose “Clients” to test its capabilities for freelancers and agencies.

Next, you’ll be asked to identify the type of website you’re building. Blog websites are an option, but if you’re planning to start a blog, I recommend CMS Hub or WordPress.com instead. Both of those offer powerful blogging options and a much more beginner-friendly interface.

I was surprised to see that Webflow includes different workspaces, something I didn’t run across in other tools (except CMS Hub, which allows you to have access to different portals). This makes Webflow an excellent choice for large teams where you might have different workspaces depending on permissions or job function.

The free theme selection in Webflow is, though limited, very good. I told the tool I wanted to create a portfolio website, and it automatically suggested a portfolio theme for me to try.

After you choose a theme, you’ll be taken straight away to the website builder. Webflow’s page builder is complicated and the learning curve is steep. While the tool does include a setup checklist, it’s not as simple to follow as others on this list.

For instance, right away, you’ll be prompted to change CSS classes — which can be daunting if you’re new to web development.

The actual page builder, though, is pretty familiar. You can add HTML elements such as sections, containers, divs, lists, buttons, headings, and so on. The tool does include more technical language, so you’ll encounter terms such as “V Flex,” which refers to a vertical flexbox.

I can see this being difficult for beginners and even intermediate users, so if you identify as either of those, you might want to opt for another tool. (Or you can use Webflow to learn web development terms!)

One thing I loved that could make Webflow a good fit for beginners is its inclusion of “Libraries.” If you’re at all intimidated by the language and the learning curve, you can simply import pre-designed components and sections without needing to tinker excessively with the tool itself.

Webflow includes a free domain for you to use, but it only publishes to a staging environment — another reason why this tool is such a great fit for developers. The only thing you’ll need to purchase when using Webflow is a domain you can publish your site to.

Core Features

A drag-and-drop website builder
Widgets to add features like maps and media
Third-party integrations

Advantages

Offers complete control over your site’s design
Drag-and-drop what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) builder
Responsive interface

Disadvantages

After building a website on Webflow, you need to transfer it to a content management system
Requires some knowledge of HTML and CSS to access full features
It has a complex free and paid plan structure
You need to sign up for both a Site and Workspace plan

Pricing

A limited free plan is available. Premium plans start at $12 a month when billed annually.

Brands Using Webflow

5. Best Free Website Builder for Local Business Owners: Wix

Wix is one of the most popular free website builders, and probably one of the first options you thought of when you first started researching tools. The easy-to-use, fully-hosted platform offers an easy drag-and-drop editor, an extensive collection of apps, and professional-looking templates.

I first used Wix in 2010-2013, when it was still just a simple website builder with a reputation for being laggy and poorly optimized. It’s now turned into one of the most robust options on the market.

Wix’s most noteworthy feature is its focus on providing all the tools necessary for business owners to get their business up and running online.

When you’re setting up your site, you will have the option of choosing the type of business you run. Unlike on other website builders, where this information is used for internal cataloging purposes, Wix creates a customized dashboard depending on the type of business you choose.

I set up a blog, an online store, and a brick-and-mortar shop, and all three had different checklists and integrated apps on their dashboards.

For this test, I chose to set up a local shop. Instead of right away taking me to the website builder, the Wix setup assistant tried to get as much information about “my business” as possible.

I was thoroughly impressed by the effort to get my business’ information in a beginner-friendly questionnaire. The information would later be used for Wix’s Point of Sale tool and on my website. This makes Wix a specially good fit for local businesses who want to set up an robust online presence, but don’t want to mess with different tools to do so.

Depending on your answers to some of the questions on the questionnaire, Wix will include different widgets, tools, and checklist items on your dashboard. For instance, below, I told the tool I wanted to accept online and in-person payments, send automated emails, and more—

—and when I went to my dashboard, Wix had created a checklist that allowed me to set up everything I wanted, including signing up on its Point of Sale tool. A local business owner would find this highly convenient and seamless. That said, the list can be overwhelming to look at.

I was maybe half an hour into the setup, and Wix had yet to prompt me to start designing my website. The first few steps in the checklist, in fact, all have to do with internal administration and finance.

That tells me that Wix wants to be the one administration portal for business owners to manage their online presence beyond designing a website.

When you do finally begin to set up your site, Wix gives you the option of either manually choosing a template or using Wix’s creation assistant. This is a unique feature I’ve yet to run into in my tests. It will likely be a game changer for local business owners who are short on time.

I chose the option for Wix to create a site for me. It then prompted me to pick a theme and began preparing home page designs based on my preferred aesthetic.

Since I chose “Fresh,” it then delivered earthy and clean designs. The selection is limited, but good for a local business.

After, you have the option of adding pages to your site with demo content already imported.

My least favorite aspect of Wix is the page builder itself. It’s cluttered, difficult to navigate, and overly complicated. That could potentially lengthen the learning curve on this tool.

Another aspect I found strange is that when you insert a new element, it doesn’t snap to the grid. Instead, it stays right where you place it. That means it could be difficult to reliably align different elements with the exact same amount of padding and margin. But if you don’t add new elements and simply edit the demo content, this shouldn’t be much of a problem.

Core Features

A drag-and-drop editor
A large collection of apps and templates
Analytics and reporting

Advantages

Easy to use
Large collection of apps and templates
Optimized for mobile

Disadvantages

The free version displays prominent ads
The premium plans are pricey when compared to others on this list
The only way to change templates is by creating a new site and transferring your premium plan to it

Pricing

A limited free plan is available. Premium plans start at $16 a month when billed annually.

Brands Using Wix

6. Best Free Website Builder for No-Fuss, Short-Term Websites: Google Sites

Google Sites is Google’s proprietary website builder and absolutely worth a spot in this list, if only for its ease-of-use and for the fact that it’s 100% free — no upgrade required. You can use it just as you would Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides. Simply go to sites.google.com, choose a template from the list, and start editing.

Google Sites offers different types of templates for employees, small businesses, individuals, and students. Due to the limited features and lack of integrations, I wouldn’t recommend this website builder for any type of business, whether freelance, local, small, or enterprise. Google Sites is simply too limited for a business’ demanding needs.

If you’d like to build a website for any other reason, though — for a project, a personal update, or an FAQ — Google Sites is a fantastic choice. Once you choose a template, you’re taken right to the editor, where you can start editing the demo content.

The interface is as seamless and familiar as you’d expect from Google. No overly complicated jargon and no overabundance of options, but what it does offer is plenty enough to build a strong site. The learning curve is very mild.

(In fact, the learning curve is so mild that I would actually not recommend this as a learning tool for those building a site for the first time. To truly learn how to create a website, consider a more robust tool that includes traditional web design elements.)

Like with any other Google tool, you can collaborate with others and limit permissions. That makes it a great option if you need to build a team site for any reason.

Once you hit publish, it will be published to a subdirectory of a subdirectory on Google’s domain. For instance, here’s the URL I published my site to when I was doing my test:

https://sites.google.com/hubspot.com/tinasmithphdtest/about

There is no option to connect a custom domain through the Google Sites portal, but you can always purchase a custom domain (I recommend using Google’s own domain buying service, domains.google.com) and setting up a 301 redirect.

Core Features

A drag-and-drop editor
The traditional Google Workspace interface
Analytics and reporting (through Google Analytics)

Advantages

Very, very easy to use
Simple to set up for current Google users
Optimized for mobile

Disadvantages

This is a limited tool for any sort of business need
The templates skew toward outdated
Custom domains can’t be connected via Google Sites; 301-redirect needed

Pricing

Free.

Brands Using Google Sites

No brands that I know of use Google Sites — this tool is best for personal projects.

Website Builder Features You Need

Choosing a website builder tool is easier when you know what you're looking for. Here are the features to look out for.

1. Themes and Templates

The above drag-and-drop themes are available in CMS Hub — sign up for free.

Having an assortment of fully customizable themes and templates on the website builder’s theme marketplaces makes it easier for users to change their site’s look.

In that sense, website builders should have theme options that cater to specific niches so users don't waste time creating new templates from scratch. For example, the website builders on our list have options for blogs, portfolios, ecommerce websites, and more.

Templates should be pre-structured and pre-populated with images, text, and other elements commonly found on websites. For example, every site needs a home page, about page, and contact page. All you need to do is pick one and replace the sample content with your own.

Themes and templates should be easy to customize — with multiple options for backgrounds, layouts, fonts, and colors.

2. Media (Video, Photo, Audio, and Graphics)

Solely having text on your website can be monotonous, so including different forms of media helps break up text and can help information stick. Fill out your website with highly engaging multimedia content and graphics to support vital information and engage users.

You can easily bring your website to life using visual aids and mediums like stock photos, vector images, background images, stock video footage, sound effects, and video editing templates. There are tons of websites that provide media resources that are free to use for content. Freepik is a well-known website that provides illustrations and images.

Many sites also incorporate icons into their sites like within the call-to-actions and resources sections. Flaticon is a great source of icons.

Using these resources will transform your website into something memorable and visually appealing, while also providing a user-friendly experience.

Some website builders offer more robust media capabilities, with multiple gallery layouts, customization options, and editing features.

3. WYSIWYG Editor

Besides an assortment of themes and templates, the best website builder tools make it easy for users to customize their websites with drag-and-drop tools and what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) editors.

There’s no need to learn how to code when you can update your site in a few clicks. Simply drag and drop elements to the page and see the changes implemented to your website immediately.

4. Malware Scanning

Security is a top consideration when choosing a website builder.

Security features vary depending on the website builder tool you select, but consider it a keeper if it offers malware scanning. Automated malware scanning allows you to address threats before they progress into something catastrophic.

5. Web Application Firewall (WAF)

A web application firewall (WAF) is another must-have security feature.

WAFs sit between your web server and the internet to protect your website from common attacks. You’ll be able to avoid SQL injections and cross-site scripting (XSS) by filtering, monitoring, and blocking malicious traffic from entering the network.

WAFs can come in the form of software-as-a-service (SaaS), and you can customize them to meet your website’s unique needs.

6. Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Besides site security, you should also consider optimizing for page speed. After all, it affects everything from customer experience to conversions and revenue.

According to Portent, a site that loads in one second has a conversion rate 5x higher than a site that loads in 10 seconds.

There are many ways to improve page speed, and a content delivery network (CDN) is one way to do so. CDNs store heavy and static content on distributed servers located worldwide and load the cached content from a location nearest to the user to speed up its delivery.

7. Web Hosting

What good are website builders when they can't get your website online?

Some solutions only offer website builder tools to make your site. You have to pay separately for web hosting services to get your site online.

The best website builders make it convenient to start websites by offering web hosting. Free website builders offer limited bandwidth and storage just for personal use. You can upgrade to shared, dedicated, or managed hosting for an additional fee.

8. Storage

Web hosting works by providing two services: bandwidth and disk space (or storage).

Most free website builders offer ample (limited) storage for a beginner site but require you to purchase additional storage should you need it.

9. Blogs

People often confuse websites and blogs with each other — they're similar but not the same.

A blog is a type of website that contains information about different topics. They're often updated with new articles or posts, while websites only receive updates when needed. In a nutshell, all blogs are websites, but not all websites are or have blogs.

Organizations build websites for different reasons: to sell, showcase a portfolio, or inform — and for those reasons, a blog can be helpful.

Blogs can help your website by:

Increasing visibility through SEO.
Generating new leads.
Building trust and loyalty.
Creating brand awareness.

Most free website builders come with basic blogging tools and post creation and comment management features.

10. SEO Capabilities

According to BrightEdge, 53% of traffic comes from organic search. If you want to bring in more traffic and views, your website needs to be search engine-optimized.

Most website builders help with technical SEO by offering free SSL certificates and supporting schema markup and XML sitemaps. They also support on-page SEO by allowing you to enter and modify URLs, meta tags, and image alt attributes.

11. Customer Support

While using website builder tools, you’ll likely run into a problem you can't troubleshoot. That’s where customer support comes in.

Customer support assists you with anything you need help with — technical, sales, billing, payments, or experiences. Depending on the website builder, assistance can come in any (or a mix) of the following channels:

FAQs.
Chatbot support.
Live support.
A knowledge base.
Video tutorials.

The best website builders keep a mix of channels and answer inquiries promptly.

12. Ecommerce Capabilities

Are you planning on selling physical or digital products in the future? Consider choosing a website builder with ecommerce capabilities.

There are dedicated ecommerce website builders, but these are often paid solutions with robust functionality such as apps for payment and shipping.

Free website builders often integrate with a third-party ecommerce application or support a simple built-in store.

13. Third-party Integrations

There’s nothing worse than realizing your existing tech stack doesn’t work with the website builder you chose. Thus, it’s crucial to consider whether a website builder allows third-party integrations.

Your website builder should integrate with external tools, such as email marketing, ecommerce, and social software.

14. Analytics and Reporting

Your website builder should also have an analytics and reporting function to measure important metrics like the site’s popular pages, bounce rate, average duration per visit, and more.

Alternatively, you can track your website metrics in an analytics and reporting tool. When you bring your web analytics together with other key funnel metrics like trials or activation rate onto a dashboard, you give everyone on your team the ability to explore your data and uncover insights.

Picking Your Website Builder

There you have it! Since most of these website builders are free, try out a couple if you're unsure of the best fit. In particular, take note of what you really want to get out of your site to ensure your needs will be met by one of these builders.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in November 2018 but has been updated for comprehensiveness.

20 Great Landing Page Examples You'll Want to Copy in 2023

lkolowich@hubspot.com (Lindsay Kolowich Cox) — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

While many landing pages look different and use a variety of exciting strategies to pull in audiences, they all serve one major purpose — to convert to the next stage in the buyer's journey.

Rather than serving as a basic advertisement that shows a customer a product, a landing page aims to engage and delight a customer by offering them something that relates to the product or the company's industry. When they fill out the form and receive a reward of interesting content, they might be even more likely to trust your brand and become a customer.

Quick tip: Want an easy way to add a form to your landing page? HubSpot’s free form builder tool can help you fill your CRM with leads from your website.

Let’s talk through an example of when a landing page can be especially effective. If a business wants to sell an AI product that helps salespeople, they might create a landing page that offers audiences a free video on how to use AI in the sales industry. Interested audiences might offer their contact information in exchange for the valuable information. If they enjoy the video they've received, they might be more likely to respond to or purchase a product from a company rep who calls them.

Another quick tip: How about an AI product that helps with landing pages? HubSpot's Campaign Assistant turns your key value props into effective landing page copy in just a few clicks.

In another scenario, a publishing company that targets an audience of chief executives might create a landing page that invites audiences to sign up for a webinar hosted by an executive at a major company.

After giving their email address on the signup form presented on the landing page, the leads get an email with the webinar dates and log in information, as well as instructions on how to sign up for the publication's newsletter or subscription. If the user is pleased by the webinar, they might sign up for the newsletter or a subscription to keep up with similar publication content.

Although their purpose is simple enough in theory, actually designing a successful landing page requires some detailed planning and creative testing.

Even after launching your landing page, you'll want to pay attention to conversion rates to see how well it's doing.

To determine your conversion rate, simply divide the number of conversions a web page generates by the number of people who visited that page.

If your conversion rate isn't close to the average just yet, don't worry. Nailing those percentages can be a bit challenging at first, especially if you have a lot of regular page visitors. Luckily, there are a number of simple conversion rate optimization strategies that can help you boost your current rate quickly.

Regardless of what your business is selling or the conversion action you hope to instigate, it's helpful to get inspired by seeing what other great landing pages look like.

And because there's no one "right" way of designing a landing page, you'll want to check out examples from lots of different industries for different stages of the buying process.

Want to get inspired? Check out the great landing page examples below.

We don't have access to the analytics for each of these landing pages, so I can't tell you specifically how well they convert visitors, contacts, leads, and customers. But many of them do follow best practices while also implementing a few new experiments that could give you ideas for your own landing pages.

Great Examples of Landing Page Design

1. AirBnB

This AirBnB landing page is a one-stop shop for visitors curious about hosting. It features testimonials from current hosts, articles offering advice, and even a calculator to estimate your weekly average earnings based on your location.

If all this info convinces you to start hosting, the vibrant pink CTA in the header makes it easy to convert on the spot.

How to Implement This Yourself:

AirBnB's design style is clean and platform agnostic, which makes for a pleasant site for users on iOS and Android. Follow conventions on important elements like navigation, system iconography, contextual actions, and interactions for a similar experience.

2. Wix

Wix has turned its landing page into a creative playground with a stunning and captivating digital illustration that follows you down the page. It's not overwhelming or distracting — it's carefully balanced with white space and clear text.

We love the use of design to emphasize certain touchpoints on the page. For instance, the mountain's peak in the illustration points to the main CTA encouraging visitors to get started.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Explore your brand's color palette and story. Make it reflect your mission and identity in an eye-catching way that differentiates yours from competitors. And if you need guide, create a custom color palette for your brand here.

3. ExpressVPN

What do we love most about this landing page? It's not what it has, but what it doesn't — a navigation bar! By removing the navigation bar, ExpressVPN shines a spotlight on the primary CTA.

Why do we take an anti-navigation stance for landing pages? They tend to distract visitors and lead them away from the intended action. Not only is this a landing page design best practice, but we've also conducted A/B tests that show removing navigation links from landing pages increases conversion rates.

How to Implement This Yourself:

The choice to use a serif typeface speaks to ExpressVPN's established trust and authority. Differentiate your brand from the current trend of straight lines and rigid, sharp edges and try to find fluidity and warmth in your style.

4. Row House

Besides its sleek design, this landing page gets bonus points for the autoplay video in the background, which adds a degree of movement to an otherwise static page. Speaking of movement, the video shows people working out at Row House, which offers a great introduction to the brand.

If it suits your brand, try enticing visitors with a video component. It could be the difference between passive and active engagement.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Row House focused it's website design to be minimal and get people straight to sign up. When you design your own landing page, ditch a fussy design and focus on how you can turn prospects to customers quicker.

5. Codeacademy

I like this page because it's simple in both copy and design. The form on the page is simple and only requires an email address and password. Or, you can use your LinkedIn, Facebook, GitHub, or Google Plus login, shortening the conversion path even further.

The landing page also offers real-life success stories, testimonials, and other forms of social proof for visitors who need more information before creating an account. This helps make the potentially intimidating world of coding more approachable for beginners.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Lead your landing page design centered on value. Let your webpage be more of a blank canvas to showcase your satisfied customers.

6. Sunbasket

Sunbasket takes a competitive approach to its landing page, directly comparing its meal delivery service to its main competitor, Blue Apron. As you scroll down the page, a table highlights where Sunbasket's features exceed those of Blue Apron.

By comparing your products or services to another, you can highlight why yours is the clear winner. It's a smart way to provide "evidence" to potential customers as to why they should choose you.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Don't be afraid to show your cards in your landing page. If your product or service has more benefits than a competitor, call it out. Just make sure not to make false claims or talk down on other's in the market.

7. Curology

I'd argue that the top fold is the most important element of a landing page, alongside the CTA. Curology's top fold is clean, visually appealing, and to-the-point — and the copy is less than 50 characters long. Users immediately understand the offer and how it can benefit them.

Even if the brand is new to you, its message is loud and clear — regardless of your skin issues, Curology has a custom solution for you.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Make your landing page reflect how your customer will feel when they use your product. An open and clear visual of a room with plants and clean tile gives a pleasant impression that your audience may be looking for.

8. Breather

Here's another example of clever, delightful design on a landing page. As soon as you visit Breather.com, there's an instant call to action: indicate where you want to find a space. Plus, it uses location services to figure out where you are, providing instant options nearby.

We love how Breather used simple, to-the-point copy to let the visitor know what the company does, followed immediately by the CTA to select a city. The negative space and soothing color scheme also align with the product –– essentially, room to breathe.

How to Implement This Yourself:

You want to make customer signups as easy as possible. Place your CTA as a focal point and design your landing page in a way that guides users to click them.

9. Mailchimp

For starters, check out that sunny yellow background color — it's impossible to ignore. It's a bold departure from its more subdued home page, yet still on brand.

Besides the color, this landing page gets a shoutout for its CTA placement. It displays a consistent CTA ("Sign Up") not once or twice, but three times on the page. No matter how far down you scroll, you will see the same button.

This is a solid strategy since the CTA operates as a gateway for converting clients. It should be available to visitors as they move down the page — not just once on the top fold.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Soft colors are modern norm, but that doesn't mean your brand has to fall in line. Go against the grain like Mailchimp and make a bold landing page background with cool tone CTAs to compliment.

10. Paramount Plus

This landing page design has it all. It's visually appealing, interactive, and offers scannable yet descriptive headers – such as Peak Streaming, Peak Originals, and Peak Family Team. Plus, the background makes each fold look slightly different, creating a captivating scrolling experience.

The landing page also features a repeatable CTA ("Try It Free") and several strategically-placed content offers, culminating in multiple touchpoints for visitors to convert.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Don't be afraid to place more than one CTA on your landing page. Space them out appropriately and even experiment with the wording to see which get the most clicks.

11. CarMax

CarMax is ready to empower visitors to do their own research right on the landing page. It features a search bar that leads to a large database of cars and a calculator that allows visitors to estimate their ideal monthly budget.

For those looking to sell their car, it also includes a form that users can fill out to receive a quote.

It's clear CarMax wants the buying or selling experience to be as painless as possible. By translating the company's customer-centric approach on its landing page, CarMax effectively turns a universally dreaded event — purchasing a new car — into a straightforward process without gimmicks or barriers.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Sometimes you don't need to do a lot of convincing on your landing page. Instead of relying on text heavy monologue or testimonials, present customers with a means to get the information they want first, and then get into the details as they explore your site.

12. Edupath

Who is your landing page's target audience? While most of Edupath's website content is directed toward students, there are sections dedicated to advising parents on helping their teenagers through college applications and SAT preparation. The landing page below is in one of these sections.

When parents fill out their teenager's name, email address, and mobile number, a link to download the Edupath app is sent directly to them. The folks at Edupath know students are likely to do something if their parents ask them to — especially if it means they don't have to surrender their phones.

Plus, it's an easy, one-click process. This whole conversion path is a clever and helpful way to get the apps on more students' phones by way of their parents.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Optimize and simplify your conversion path for your target audience. In Edupath's case, parents have enough on their plates, so by making the landing page an easy step by step signup process. It leaves a great first impression — and even peace of mind.

13. Startup Institute

Visitors to your website won't hand over their personal information without knowing what they're going to get in return. On its landing page, Startup Institute makes abundantly clear what will happen after you apply by listing a Q&A right beside the form. It might prompt some people to say, "They read my mind!"

To avoid hesitancy to fill out a form, use your landing page to set expectations upfront. That clears the air, and can also weed out the people who don't take your content, product or service seriously.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Make your value known from the first page visit. If the product or service offering can be explained in a way that demonstrates value — instead of just listing features — then you'll have a better chance of converting.

Simple Landing Pages

14. Uber

People are flooded with information online. This is why creating a skim-able landing page is essential — like this one from Uber.

It features a black and white color scheme, short and easily-digestible sentences, and a simple form. The combination of these elements results in a professional and approachable page.

How to Implement This Yourself:

If your product or service doesn't target a specific or niche market, but instead a broad range of people, you should focus your web design on conveying a clear message over complicated design styles. Anyone can use Uber, don't drive any customers away.

15. Spotify

This landing page takes a dramatic detour from Spotify's classic green and black colors — and perhaps that's the point. It could be a way to signal to visitors that the page serves a different purpose from its other content.

Even though the landing page is relatively simple, the stark color contrast emphasizes the text and CTAs. To entice visitors even more, it lists the most played artist, song, album, and podcast of the year —all of which are available on Spotify. It's a creative way to promote its content library while attracting visitors to sign up.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Incorporate some original graphic design elements to your landing page to add to the visuals on your landing page. We've already discussed how important it is to display clear CTAs, but a visual indicator of what the product or service is like can further push prospects to convert.

16. Canva

Sometimes you need to admire a landing page for its attractive and straightforward design. Similar to the example above, this one features an abundance of white space that accentuates the text and balances the bright colors throughout.

To seal it off, the page ends with a FAQ section. If you suspect visitors will have additional questions about your products or services, you may want to include a similar section too. It lets potential customers better understand what you’re trying to sell them, and sends a message that you're open to questions.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Canva incorporates its product as a part of its landing page design, and so can you. If you want people to see the product range or capabilities of your service, show them upfront.

Product Landing Pages

17. Mooala

Playful isn't usually the first word that comes to mind when you think of dairy-free milk, but Mooala's bright and colorful landing page is exactly that.

This example illustrates how you can embrace simplicity while using relatively bold striking colors — like neon green — to highlight important headers and CTAs. To pull this off, stick with colors that correspond with your brand while also capturing the attention of visitors.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Mooala uses a distinct color story to off its product range, and it's done with earth tones intentionally. There's an added layer of trustability when your product/site design looks trustworthy, and for an organic product line, earthy tones add to that motif.

18. Nauto

When writing website copy for a product or service, a helpful rule of thumb is to expand on the benefits rather than the features. Such advice also applies to writing landing pages.

For example, instead of bombarding visitors with technical information, Nauto, a fleet safety platform, chooses to highlight its benefits with clear and engaging copy ("Your roadmap for fleet safety"). In doing so, Nauto makes its content offer more appealing.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Focus your landing page on what your product or service can do for the people that come across it. They need to know how it will improve their lives or processes, not the specs or minute details.

19. Rover

Putting your pets in the care of another person can be nerve-wracking. Which is why Rover, an on-demand pet care service, leans on social proof to build trust with visitors. The landing page includes testimonials from real clients and copy about its "Rover Guarantee" and 24/7 support. Of course, the cute pictures of animals help too.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Rover knows what its customer base is visiting its website for, and that's to easily book pet services. When you think about what your customer base is trying to accomplish, meet them with a solution as soon as they get to your landing page.

20. Gong.io

There are many intelligence platforms on the market, and Gong knows that. So how did it make its landing page stand out? By leading with a rotating wheel of value and statistics to back it up.

Gong is a revenue intelligence platform, and when you go into the site, you may be curious to know what all that means — you may want to see conversion analytics, sales training capabilities, or more depending on your business. Gong solves that need on its landing page by displaying messages such as ,"Turn customer interactions into strategic insights", "Turn customer interactions into team insights", "Turn customer interactions into strategic insights".

And to make it even more convincing, Gong adds a row of rotating statistics with each message. Customers want to know what they're reading is true, and stats give even more credibility to an already great offering.

How to Implement This Yourself:

Try out an interactive landing page. Look at different themes or code that can move automatically or with the viewer as they scroll your site to reveal more interesting and positive information about your product or service.

Ready to build your landing page?

Whether you’re using a landing page template or building one from scratch, it’s essential to keep these best practices top of mind. And remember to test your landing pages to improve their effectiveness.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in January 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

What is a Marketing Plan & How to Write One [+Examples]

cchi@hubspot.com (Clifford Chi) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:30:00 GMT

For a while now, you‘ve been spearheading your organization’s content marketing efforts. Your team's performance has convinced management to adopt the content marketing strategies you’ve suggested.

Now, your boss wants you to write and present a content marketing plan, but you‘ve never done something like that before. You don’t even know where to start.

Fortunately, we‘ve curated the best content marketing plans to help you write a concrete plan that’s rooted in data and produces results. But first, we'll discuss what a marketing plan is and how some of the best marketing plans include strategies that serve their respective businesses.

The purpose of a marketing plan is to write down strategies in an organized manner. This will help keep you on track and measure the success of your campaigns.

Writing a marketing plan will help you think of each campaign‘s mission, buyer personas, budget, tactics, and deliverables. With all this information in one place, you’ll have an easier time staying on track with a campaign. You’ll also discover what works and what doesn't. Thus, measuring the success of your strategy.

Featured Resource: Free Marketing Plan Template

Looking to develop a marketing plan for your business? Click here to download HubSpot's free Marketing Plan Template to get started.

To learn more about how to create your marketing plan, keep reading or jump to the section you’re looking for:

How to Write a Marketing Plan
Types of Marketing Plans
Marketing Plan Examples
Marketing Plan FAQs
Sample Marketing Plan

If you're pressed for time or resources, you might not be thinking about a marketing plan. But a marketing plan is an important part of your business plan.

Marketing Plan vs. Business Plan

A marketing plan is a strategic document that outlines marketing objectives, strategies, and tactics.

A business plan is also a strategic document. But this plan covers all aspects of a company's operations, including finance, operations, and more. It can also help your business decide how to distribute resources and make decisions as your business grows.

A marketing plan is an important subset of a business plan that shows how marketing strategies and objectives can support overall business goals.

Keep in mind that there's a difference between a marketing plan and a marketing strategy.

Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan

A marketing strategy describes how a business will accomplish a particular goal or mission. This includes which campaigns, content, channels, and marketing software they'll use to execute that mission and track its success.

For example, while a greater plan or department might handle social media marketing, you might consider your work on Facebook as an individual marketing strategy.

A marketing plan contains one or more marketing strategies. It’s the framework from which all of your marketing strategies are created and helps you connect each strategy back to a larger marketing operation and business goal.

For example, your company is launching a new software product, and it wants customers to sign up. This calls for the marketing department to develop a marketing plan that'll help introduce this product to the industry and drive the desired signups.

The department decides to launch a blog dedicated to this industry, a new YouTube video series to establish expertise, and an account on Twitter to join the conversation around this subject. All this serves to attract an audience and convert this audience into software users.

To summarize, the business's marketing plan is dedicated to introducing a new software product to the marketplace and driving signups for that product. The business will execute that plan with three marketing strategies: a new industry blog, a YouTube video series, and a Twitter account.

Of course, the business might consider these three things one giant marketing strategy, each with its specific content strategies. How granular you want your marketing plan to get is up to you. Nonetheless, every marketing plan goes through a particular set of steps in its creation.

Learn what they are below.

1. State your business's mission.

Your first step in writing a marketing plan is to state your mission. Although this mission is specific to your marketing department, it should serve your business‘s main mission statement. Be specific, but not too specific. You have plenty of space left in this marketing plan to elaborate on how you’ll acquire new customers and accomplish this mission.

For example, if your business's mission is "to make booking travel a delightful experience," your marketing mission might be "to attract an audience of travelers, educate them on the tourism industry, and convert them into users of our bookings platform."

Need help building your mission statement? Download this guide for examples and templates and write the ideal mission statement.

2. Determine the KPIs for this mission.

Every good marketing plan describes how the department will track its mission‘s progress. To do so, you’ll need to decide on your key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs are individual metrics that measure the various elements of a marketing campaign. These units help you establish short-term goals within your mission and communicate your progress to business leaders.

Let's take our example of a marketing mission from the above step. If part of our mission is “to attract an audience of travelers,” we might track website visits using organic page views. In this case, “organic page views” is one KPI, and we can see our number of page views grow over time.

These KPIs will come into the conversation again in step 4.

3. Identify your buyer personas.

A buyer persona is a description of who you want to attract. This can include age, sex, location, family size, and job title. Each buyer persona should directly reflect your business's current and potential customers. So, all business leaders must agree on your buyer personas.

Create your buyer personas with this free guide and set of buyer persona templates.

4. Describe your content initiatives and strategies.

Here‘s where you’ll include the main points of your marketing and content strategy. Because there is a laundry list of content types and channels available to you today, you must choose wisely and explain how you'll use your content and channels in this section of your marketing plan.

A content strategy should stipulate:

Which types of content you'll create. These can include blog posts, YouTube videos, infographics, and ebooks.
How much of it you'll create. You can describe content volume in daily, weekly, monthly, or even quarterly intervals. It all depends on your workflow and the short-term goals you set for your content.
The goals (and KPIs) you'll use to track each type. KPIs can include organic traffic, social media traffic, email traffic, and referral traffic. Your goals should also include which pages you want to drive that traffic to, such as product pages, blog pages, or landing pages.
The channels on which you'll distribute this content. Popular channels at your disposal include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Any paid advertising that will take place on these channels.

5. Clearly define your plan's omissions.

A marketing plan explains the marketing team’s focus. It also explains what the marketing team will not focus on.

If there are other aspects of your business that you aren‘t serving in this particular plan, include them in this section. These omissions help to justify your mission, buyer personas, KPIs, and content. You can’t please everyone in a single marketing campaign, and if your team isn't on the hook for something, you need to make it known.

6. Define your marketing budget.

Your content strategy might use many free channels and platforms, but there are several hidden expenses a marketing team needs to account for.

Whether it's freelance fees, sponsorships, or a new full-time marketing hire, use these costs to develop a marketing budget and outline each expense in this section of your marketing plan.

You can establish your marketing budget with this kit of 8 free marketing budget templates.

7. Identify your competition.

Part of marketing is knowing whom you're marketing against. Research the key players in your industry and consider profiling each one.

Keep in mind not every competitor will pose the same challenges to your business. For example, while one competitor might be ranking highly on search engines for keywords you want your website to rank for, another competitor might have a heavy footprint on a social network where you plan to launch an account.

Easily track and analyze your competitors with this collection of ten free competitive analysis templates.

8. Outline your plan's contributors and their responsibilities.

With your marketing plan fully fleshed out, it‘s time to explain who’s doing what. You don‘t have to delve too deeply into your employees’ day-to-day projects, but it should be known which teams and team leaders are in charge of specific content types, channels, KPIs, and more.

Now that you know why you need to build an effective marketing plan, it’s time to get to work. Starting a plan from scratch can be overwhelming if you haven’t done it before. That’s why there are many helpful resources that can support your first steps. We’ll share some of the best guides and templates that can help you build effective results-driven plans for your marketing strategies.

Ready to make your own marketing plan? Get started using this free template.

Types of Marketing Plans

Depending on the company you work with, you might want to create various marketing plans. We compiled different samples to suit your needs:

1. Quarterly or Annual Marketing Plans

These plans highlight the strategies or campaigns you'll take on in a certain period.

Forbes published a marketing plan template that has amassed almost 4 million views. To help you sculpt a marketing roadmap with true vision, their template will teach you how to fill out the 15 key sections of a marketing plan, which are:

Executive Summary
Target Customers
Unique Selling Proposition
Pricing & Positioning Strategy
Distribution Plan
Your Offers
Marketing Materials
Promotions Strategy
Online Marketing Strategy
Conversion Strategy
Joint Ventures & Partnerships
Referral Strategy
Strategy for Increasing Transaction Prices
Retention Strategy
Financial Projections

If you're truly lost on where to start with a marketing plan, this guide can help you define your target audience, figure out how to reach them, and ensure that audience becomes loyal customers.

2. Social Media Marketing Plan

This type of plan highlights the channels, tactics, and campaigns you intend to accomplish specifically on social media. A specific subtype is a paid marketing plan, which highlights paid strategies, such as native advertising, PPC, or paid social media promotions.

Shane Snow's Marketing Plan for His Book Dream Team is a great example of a social media marketing plan

A successful book launch is a prime example of data-driven content and social marketing. Using data to optimize your social strategy spreads more awareness for your book, gets more people to subscribe to your content, converts more subscribers into buyers, and encourages more buyers to recommend your book to their friends.

When Shane Snow started promoting his new book, "Dream Team," he knew he had to leverage a data-driven content strategy framework. So, he chose his favorite one: the content strategy waterfall. The content strategy waterfall is defined by Economic Times as a model used to create a system with a linear and sequential approach. To get a better idea of what this means, take a look at the diagram below:

Snow wrote a blog post about how the waterfall‘s content strategy helped him launch his new book successfully. After reading it, you can use his tactics to inform your own marketing plan. More specifically, you’ll learn how he:

Applied his business objectives to decide which marketing metrics to track.
Used his ultimate business goal of earning $200,000 in sales or 10,000 purchases to estimate the conversion rate of each stage of his funnel.
Created buyer personas to figure out which channels his audience would prefer to consume his content.
Used his average post view on each of his marketing channels to estimate how much content he had to create and how often he had to post on social media.
Calculated how much earned and paid media could cut down the amount of content he had to create and post.
Designed his process and workflow, built his team, and assigned members to tasks.
Analyzed content performance metrics to refine his overall content strategy.

You can use Snow's marketing plan to cultivate a better content strategy plan, know your audience better, and think creatively about content promotion and distribution.

3. Content Marketing Plan

This plan could highlight different strategies, tactics, and campaigns in which you'll use content to promote your business or product.

HubSpot's Comprehensive Guide for Content Marketing Strategy is a strong example of a content marketing plan:

At HubSpot, we‘ve built our marketing team from two business school graduates working from a coffee table to a powerhouse of hundreds of employees. Along the way, we’ve learned countless lessons that shaped our current content marketing strategy. So, we decided to illustrate our insights in a blog post to teach marketers how to develop a successful content marketing strategy, regardless of their team's size.

In this comprehensive guide for modern marketers, you'll learn:

What exactly content marketing is.
Why your business needs a content marketing strategy.
Who should lead your content marketing efforts?
How to structure your content marketing team based on your company's size.
How to hire the right people for each role on your team.
What marketing tools and technology you'll need to succeed.
What type of content your team should create, and which employees should be responsible for creating them.
The importance of distributing your content through search engines, social media, email, and paid ads.
And finally, the recommended metrics each of your teams should measure and report to optimize your content marketing program.

4. New Product Launch Marketing Plan

This will be a roadmap for the strategies and tactics you‘ll implement to promote a new product. And if you’re searching for an example, look no further than Chief Outsiders' Go-To-Market Plan for a New Product:

When you're looking for a marketing plan for a new product, the Chief Outsiders template is a great place to start. Marketing plans for a new product will be more specific because they target one product versus its entire marketing strategy.

After reading this plan, you'll learn how to:

Validate a product
Write strategic objectives
Identify your market
Compile a competitive landscape
Create a value proposition for a new product
Consider sales and service in your marketing plan

5. Growth Marketing Plan

Growth marketing plans use experimentation and data to drive results, like we see in Venture Harbour’s Growth Marketing Plan Template:

Venture Harbour's growth marketing plan is a data-driven and experiment-led alternative to the more traditional marketing plan. Their template has five steps intended for refinement with every test-measure-learn cycle. The five steps are:

Goal
Projection
Experiments
Roadmap
Insights

This is a great option if you want to experiment with different platforms and campaigns.

1. Visit Oxnard

This marketing plan by Visit Oxnard, a convention and visitors bureau, is packed with all the information one needs in a marketing plan: target markets, key performance indicators, selling points, personas, marketing tactics by channel, and much more.

It also articulates the organization’s strategic plans for the upcoming fiscal year, especially as it grapples with the aftereffects of the pandemic. Lastly, it has impeccable visual appeal, with color-coded sections and strong branding elements.

Why This Marketing Plan Works

States clear and actionable goals for the coming year
Includes data and other research that shows how their team made their decisions
Outlines how the team will measure the success of their plan

2. Safe Haven Family Shelter

This marketing plan by a nonprofit organization is an excellent example to follow if your plan will be presented to internal stakeholders at all levels of your organization. It includes SMART marketing goals, deadlines, action steps, long-term objectives, target audiences, core marketing messages, and metrics.

The plan is detailed, yet scannable. By the end of it, one can walk away with a strong understanding of the organization’s strategic direction for its upcoming marketing efforts.

Why This Marketing Plan Works

Confirms ongoing marketing strategies and objectives while introducing new initiatives
Uses colors, fonts, and formatting to emphasize key parts of the plan
Closes with long-term goals, key themes, and other overarching topics to set the stage for the future

3. Wright County Economic Development

Wright County Economic Development’s plan drew our attention because of its simplicity, making it good inspiration for those who’d like to outline their plan in broad strokes without frills or filler.

It includes key information such as marketing partners, goals, initiatives, and costs. The sections are easy to scan and contain plenty of information for those who’d like to dig into the details. Most important, it includes a detailed breakdown of projected costs per marketing initiative — which is critical information to include for upper-level managers and other stakeholders.

Why This Marketing Plan Works

Begins with a quick paragraph stating why the recommended changes are important
Uses clear graphics and bullet points to emphasize key points
Includes specific budget data to support decision-making

4. The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County

This marketing plan presentation by a cultural council is a great example of how to effectively use data in your plan, address audiences who are new to the industry, and offer extensive detail into specific marketing strategies.

For instance, an entire slide is dedicated to the county’s cultural tourism trends, and at the beginning of the presentation, the organization explains what an arts and culture agency is in the first place.

That’s a critical piece of information to include for those who might not know. If you’re addressing audiences outside your industry, consider defining terms at the beginning, like this organization did.

Why This Marketing Plan Works

Uses quality design and images to support the goals and priorities in the text
Separate pages for each big idea or new strategy
Includes sections for awards and accomplishments to show how the marketing plan supports wider business goals
Defines strategies and tactics for each channel for easy skimming

5. Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau

Cabarrus County’s convention and visitors bureau takes a slightly different approach with its marketing plan, formatting it like a magazine for stakeholders to flip through. It offers information on the county’s target audience, channels, goals, KPIs, and public relations strategies and initiatives.

We especially love that the plan includes contact information for the bureau’s staff members, so that it’s easy for stakeholders to contact the appropriate person for a specific query.

Why This Marketing Plan Works

Uses infographics to expand on specific concepts, like how visitors benefit a community
Highlights the team members responsible for each initiative with a photo to emphasize accountability and community
Closes with an event calendar for transparency into key dates for events

6. Visit Billings

Visit Billing’s comprehensive marketing plan is like Cabarrus County’s in that it follows a magazine format. With sections for each planned strategy, it offers a wealth of information and depth for internal stakeholders and potential investors.

We especially love its content strategy section, where it details the organization’s prior efforts and current objectives for each content platform.

At the end, it includes strategic goals and budgets — a good move to imitate if your primary audience would not need this information highlighted at the forefront.

Why This Marketing Plan Works

Includes a section on the buyer journey, which offers clarity on the reasoning for marketing plan decisions
Design includes call-outs for special topics that could impact the marketing audience, such as safety concerns or "staycations"
Clear headings make it easy to scan this comprehensive report and make note of sections a reader may want to return to for more detail

Marketing Plan FAQs

What is a typical marketing plan?

Most marketing plans are documents that outline the following aspects of a business's marketing:

Strategies
Objectives
Target audience
Tactics

Each marketing plan should include one or more goals, the path your team will take to meet those goals, and how you plan to measure success.

For example, say a tech startup is launching a new mobile app. Its marketing plan would usually include:

Target audience or buyer personas for the app
Outline of how app features meet audience needs
Competitive analysis
Goals for conversion funnel and user acquisition
Marketing strategies and tactics for user acquisition

Featured resource: Free Marketing Plan Template

What should a good marketing plan include?

A good marketing plan will create a clear roadmap for your unique marketing team. This means that the best marketing plan for your business will be distinct to your team and business needs.

That said, most marketing plans will include sections for one or more of the following:

Clear analysis of the target market
A detailed description of the product or service
Competitive analysis
Strategic marketing mix details (such as product, price, place, promotion)
Measurable goals with defined timelines

This can help you build the best marketing plan for your business.

A good marketing plan should also include a product or service's unique value proposition, a comprehensive marketing strategy including online and offline channels, and a defined budget.

Featured resource: Value Proposition Templates

What are the most important parts of a marketing plan?

When you‘re planning a road trip, you need a map to help define your route, step-by-step directions, and an estimate of the time it will take to get to your destination. It’s literally how you get there that matters.

Like a road map, a marketing plan is only useful if it helps you get to where you want to go. So, no one part is more than the other.

That said, you can use the list below to make sure that you've added or at least considered each of the following in your marketing plan:

Marketing goals
Executive summary
Target market analysis
Competitive analysis
Marketing strategies
Tactics
Budget
Metrics

What questions should I ask when making a marketing plan?

Questions are a useful tool for when you‘re stuck or want to make sure you’ve included important details.

Try using one or more of these questions as a starting point when you create your marketing plan:

Who is my target audience?
What are their needs, motivations, and pain points?
How does our product or service solve their problems?
How will I reach and engage them?
Who are my competitors? Are they direct or indirect competitors?
What are the unique selling points of my product or service?
What marketing channels are best for the brand?
What is our budget and timeline?
How will I measure the success of marketing efforts?

How much does a marketing plan cost?

Creating a marketing plan is mostly free. But the cost of executing a marketing plan will depend on your specific plan.

Marketing plan costs vary by business, industry, and plan scope. Whether your team handles marketing in-house or hires external consultants can also make a difference. Total costs can range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands. This is why most marketing plans will include a budget.

Featured resource: Free Marketing Budget Templates

What is a marketing plan template?

A marketing plan template is a pre-designed structure or framework that helps you outline your marketing plan.

It offers a starting point that you can customize for your specific business needs and goals. For example, our template includes easy-to-edit sections for:

Business summary
Business initiatives
Target market
Market strategy
Budget
Marketing channels
Marketing technology

Sample Marketing Plan

Let’s create a sample plan together, step by step.

Follow along with HubSpot's free Marketing Plan Template.

1. Create an overview or primary objective.

Our business mission is to provide [service, product, solution] to help [audience] reach their [financial, educational, business related] goals without compromising their [your audience’s valuable asset: free time, mental health, budget, etc.]. We want to improve our social media presence while nurturing our relationships with collaborators and clients.

2. Determine the KPIs for this mission.

For example, if you wanted to focus on social media growth, your KPIs might look like this.

We want to achieve a minimum of [followers] with an engagement rate of [X] on [social media platform].

The goal is to achieve an increase of [Y] on recurring clients and new meaningful connections outside the platform by the end of the year.

3. Identify your buyer personas.

Use the following categories to create a target audience for your campaign.

Age:
Gender:
Profession:
Background:
Interests:
Values:
Goals:
Pain points:
Social media platforms that they use:
Streaming platforms that they prefer:

For more useful strategies, consider creating a buyer persona in our Make My Persona tool.

4. Describe your content initiatives and strategies.

Our content pillars will be: [X, Y, Z].

Content pillars should be based on topics your audience needs to know. If your ideal clients are female entrepreneurs, then your content pillars can be: marketing, being a woman in business, remote working, and productivity hacks for entrepreneurs.

Then, determine your omissions.

This marketing plan won’t be focusing on the following areas of improvement: [A, B, C].

5. Define your marketing budget.

Our marketing strategy will use a total of [Y] monthly. This will include anything from freelance collaborations to advertising.

6. Identify your competitors.

Use the following questions to clearly indicate who your competitors are:

Which platforms do they use the most?
How does their branding differentiate?
How do they talk to their audiences?
What valuable assets do customers talk about? And if they are receiving any negative feedback, what is it about?

7. Outline your plan's contributors and their responsibilities.

Create responsible parties for each portion of the plan.

Marketing will manage the content plan, implementation, and community interaction to reach the KPIs.

Social media manager: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]
Content strategist: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]
Community manager: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]

Sales will follow the line of the marketing work while creating and implementing an outreach strategy.

Sales strategists: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]
Sales executives: [hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations]

Customer Service will nurture clients’ relationships to ensure that they have what they want. [Hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations].

Project Managers will track the progress and team communication during the project. [Hours per week dedicated to the project, responsibilities, team communication requirements, expectations].

Get started on your marketing plan.

These marketing plans serve as initial resources to get your content marketing plan started. But, to truly deliver what your audience wants and needs, you'll likely need to test some different ideas out, measure their success, and then refine your goals as you go.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in April 2019, but was updated for comprehensiveness. This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure to learn more about how we use AI.

How to Create an Infographic in Under an Hour [+ Free Templates]

lkolowich@hubspot.com (Lindsay Kolowich Cox) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:30:00 GMT

Wouldn't it be great if creating infographics was as simple as writing text-based blog posts? Usually, it would take a lot of time, effort, and skill to make them — but that doesn’t have to be the case.

Considering the popularity and effectiveness of visual content in marketing today, you shouldn't throw in the towel just yet.

That's why we decided to do most of the work for you. With HubSpot’s Free Infographic Templates in PowerPoint, you can create high-quality, professional infographics in under an hour.

You can add your own content to premade outlines in a cinch. And if you need a helping hand, we’ll show how to personalize your infographic in PowerPoint in this post. Keep reading to learn how to make a memorable infographic with ease.

If you prefer watching, this video shows the process of creating an infographic, step-by-step:

1. Choose your desired infographic template.

First things first, you have to choose an infographic template appropriate for representing that data.

The important thing is to choose a template that specifically works for the type of data set/content you want to present.

As you saw pictured above, you can download our 15 infographic templates in PowerPoint and choose whichever template you'd like.

Choosing a template before creating a goal for your infographic can speed up your infographic creation process. First, it helps you visualize how you will organize and present your data. This can help you narrow your focus before you get into designing your infographic.

Next, infographic templates have premade sections or modules to help you structure your content. This makes it easy to understand how your information will fit within each section to give your infographic a logical flow and helps you create a better audience experience.

Starting with a template can also spark creative ideas for your infographic and inspire original ways to tell your visual story.

Other important qualities to consider as you choose a template include:

Whether your infographic is using quantitative, qualitative, or categorical data
How complex your data set is
Whether the infographic design elements align with your brand
Accessibility, including readability for all audiences

Some of your template options in the offer linked above include a timeline, flowchart, side-by-side comparison, and a data-driven infographic.

Types of Infographics

Here are some basic types of infographics. This list can help you choose an infographic template that suits the story you want your data to tell:

Side-By-Side Comparison Infographic

This infographic design can help prove the advantage of one concept over another, or simply explain the differences between two competing entities.

Flowchart Infographic

This design is perfect for presenting a new workflow for your organization, or how a linear or cyclical process works across your industry.

Timeline Infographic

This design can tell a chronological story, or history, of a business, industry, product, or concept.

Graph-Based Infographic

This design is suitable for content creators publishing a high volume of data and statistical information, making it a good fit for expert-level audiences, too.

Image-Heavy Infographic

This design caters to content creators who are trying to reveal trends and information from shapes, designs, or photography — rather than just numbers and figures.

Get Started With Campaign Assistant

Pro tip: Choose a template that offers a range of layout options for different types of information. A template with diverse layouts can help you create more visually engaging and informative infographics.

2. Decide on a goal for your infographic.

Once you have the template you want to use, it's time to get into the details. Without a clear goal, your infographic may include too much information or fail to convey your message.

Your goal should include the purpose of your infographic. Do you want to educate, persuade, inform, or inspire your audience?

An infographic can help you:

Quickly summarize complex topics
Simplify complicated processes
Highlight research or survey results
Condense long-form content, like blog posts or case studies
Analyze and compare different products or concepts
Boost awareness about a topic

And an infographic is for more than just presenting information. So, your goal should also include a desired action or response you want to elicit from your audience. Do you want them to sign up for a newsletter, visit a website, or take another desired action?

Critically thinking about goals for your infographic helps you align each infographic with larger marketing targets.

3. Identify the audience for your infographic.

Infographics don't sell themselves on design alone. They're ultimately about communication. You need to deliver "info" that's just as compelling as the "graphic," and to do that, you need to know the audience your infographic intends to reach.

According to Harvard Business Review, five possible audiences can change how you choose and visualize your data: novice, generalist, managerial, expert, and executive. Start by comparing your infographic's ideal reader with one of these five audiences — which one applies to your reader?

When thinking about the data you want to visualize, let the five audiences above dictate how advanced your data will be. For example:

A novice audience might need data whose meaning is more obvious at first blush.
A generalist may want to better understand the big picture of a concept.
A managerial audience might need to see how different groups or actions affect one another.
An expert might be more interested in getting into the weeds of your numbers and posing theories around them.
An executive has more in common with a novice audience in that they only have time for the simplest or most critical information and the impact it'll have on the business.

Once you've identified who your infographic is for, dig deeper into that persona. You should understand what interests that audience, what motivates them, and what specific information they need.

Then, think about how and where they'll see your infographic. Will it be on a website, shared on social media, or presented at a conference? Can you repurpose sections of your infographic for different channels?

The platform and situation should influence the design and format of your infographic. Keeping these details in mind will make your infographic stand out and make an impact.

Pro tip: Take audience awareness a step further by conducting research or gathering feedback from your target audience. These details make it easier to tailor your infographic to their specific needs.

4. Collect your content and relevant data.

Using the audience you've chosen above, your next step is to organize all the content and data you'll use in the infographic. You can either collect third-party data or use your own original data.

Choose your data.

Compelling data needs to be comprehensive enough to give your readers proper context around the data you're presenting.

When collecting your data, make sure you know what story you want to tell through this information. Data for the sake of data won't add value to your infographic at all.

Choose data that's interesting and gives a good understanding of the topic. You can compare numbers or look at trends over time to tell a story with your data.

For example, a spike in website traffic from one month to the next doesn't mean much — until, say, you reveal that traffic was on a steady decline over the previous three months. Suddenly you have a story of how you were able to reverse a downward trend.

Organize your data.

Make sure to organize the data in a way that makes sense and tells the story you want to share. Think about what data points are most important and create a structure that emphasizes that data.

For example, you may want to write a quick outline of your data story. Then, match your data points with each relevant section of your outline.

Cite your sources.

If you use third-party data, be sure you properly cite your sources — just like in any other good piece of content.

And, try to keep your infographic uncluttered by a ton of different source URLs. A great way to cite your sources is to include a simple URL at the bottom of your infographic that links to a page on your site.

You can also list the individual stats used in your infographic and their sources on a landing page. Try linking this page to an offer that includes your free infographic.

With these tips, your infographic will look clean and professional and people will be able to access the sources no matter where the infographic gets shared or embedded. It may even drive visitors back to your site.

Pro tip: Think about different types of charts and graphs to present your data. Look for chances to turn complex statistics or concepts into easy-to-understand visualizations.

5. Download your template to PowerPoint.

For the sake of time (remember, our mission is to create an infographic in under an hour), I'm going to create an infographic with PowerPoint.

This is the easiest tool to use because it's widely accessible software that's already on most computers, so you can work on your infographic even without an internet connection. The user interface is also familiar and user-friendly, making it easy for beginners.

This example is based on steps and best practices from our guide, How to Create Effective Inbound Marketing Campaigns.

I've picked the "World's Greatest Timeline" infographic template from our collection of infographic templates. This template is best suited for my data set since it will allow me to outline each step of the campaign creation process in chronological order.

If you're ready to get started, just open the infographic template in PowerPoint. This will create a new presentation based on the selected template. Then you can start customizing.

6. Customize your infographic.

This is the most time-consuming part — plugging in the content you already have. With the right template, this step will go fast. All you need to do is replace the placeholder text and graphics with your own information.

Come up with a catchy title, plug in your data/content, and adjust your font sizes and formatting. Feel free to switch up the graphics and colors, too, so they're relevant to your brand and the data you're providing. To customize the look of the infographic even more, you might add or change the colors or font styles to your liking.

In this example, you'll notice that I've inputted my text and changed the font colors to HubSpot's signature colors:

You're not limited by what the template includes, either. You can use the tools in PowerPoint software to create bar graphs, pie charts, and other visuals to support your data. (Note: Download our free infographic templates for a cheat sheet for using PowerPoint's various features and tools.)

As you customize, focus on visual hierarchy and readability. Remember, any visuals should support and enhance your data.

Pro tip: Use consistent visual cues such as icons, color schemes, or illustrations. This creates a consistent visual language for your infographic and reinforces your brand. If your business plans to use infographics consistently, think about creating an infographic-specific style guide.

7. Include a footer with your sources and logo.

Finally, include a link to your source (mine is here) and the company logo. This way, people will recognize your content if it gets shared on social media or embedded on other websites.

After all, one of the main benefits of creating infographics is their shareability. These details will also make your infographic feel more credible and authentic.

Pro tip: Contributor details or acknowledgments can also boost the trustworthiness of your infographic.

8. Promote and publish your infographic.

The only thing left to do is to publish and promote your awesome new infographic. A few recommendations for promotion:

Publish your infographic on your blog.

Publishing an infographic on a blog improves the visual appeal of your content. It also makes it easier for your audience to understand complex or new concepts, boosts SEO, and drives user engagement. Don't forget to include your list of sources.

Add a Pinterest button.

This will help visitors easily "pin" your infographic on Pinterest for quick sharing and added exposure. Think about adding a brief description or caption for Pinterest sharing. This increases your chances of engagement and can generate more interest from potential viewers.

Create and add an embed code.

This makes it easy for visitors to share your infographic on their websites, social media platforms, and blogs, as we did below.

Share This Image On Your Site

Please include attribution to blog.hubspot.com with this graphic. <a rel="noopener" target="_blank" href='https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/create-infographics-with-free-powerpoint-templates'><img src='https://blog.hubspot.com/hs-fs/hubfs/free_infographic_template_custom-1.png?t=1519094621186&width=1138&height=3412&name=free_infographic_template_custom-1.png' alt='free_infographic_template_custom-1' width='660px' border='0' /></a>

With the infographic complete and published, that’s a wrap. It won’t take you long to create some impressive infographics of your own once you get started — but before you begin, here are some guidelines you should keep in mind.

Tips for Creating a Great Infographic

1. The information you communicate matters more than its design.

You can make the most visually appealing infographic of the year, but if it doesn’t clearly communicate a purpose or message, then what’s the point?

Not to say that the infographic’s design is unimportant, but the information available on it should always be the priority. A good infographic tells the audience what they need to know, and is given adds more depth or dimension when coupled with a good design.

2. Know who you’re making the infographic for.

Speaking of the audience, you have to know the type of reader that’s looking for the information you have to offer. We already discussed the different types of audiences you write for, but we just wanted to reiterate it once more.

3. Avoid adding clutter to your infographic.

It’s easy to get carried away with icons, graphics, and word art, but if it’s becoming distracting to the reader, then it’s defeating the purpose of the infographic in the first place.

Keep your infographic looking clear and skimmable, the reader shouldn’t have to navigate it like a puzzle to find the information they need.

4. Ensure the visuals add value to your data.

Echoing our last point, the visuals that do make it to your infographic should be there to add value to the data beside it — this is the concept behind information design.

Whether it’s graphs, diagrams, icons, or real-life imagery, it should take the numerical value of information shared and contextualize it. This way there’s an emotional element behind the messaging than just bolding percentages.

5. Test for readability and user experience.

Before you share your infographic, make sure it's legible and accessible to a wide range of users. Test the font size, color contrast, and readability on different screens and devices. Think about usability factors like navigation and CTAs.

Share Your Professional Infographic Today

This whole thing took me under an hour to put together — much less time (not to mention more professional looking) than it would've taken if I'd started from scratch. Plus, it's less expensive than hiring a designer and using the resources you might want to save for larger campaigns.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in May 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure to learn more about how we use AI.

The Essential Artificial Intelligence Glossary for Marketers (90+ Terms)

fneedle@hubspot.com (Flori Needle) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 11:30:00 GMT

AI has transformed the business landscape, and while everyone can benefit from it, not everyone has the technological background to understand exactly how it works and what it does.

This piece is an AI glossary of all the essential terms and definitions you need to know to fully understand the technology you use.

A, B, C, D, E
F, G, H, I, L
M, N, O, P, R
S, T, U, V, W

Why Artificial Intelligence Matters for Marketers

Artificial intelligence is important for marketers because it can support crucial parts of the marketing process, like SEO research, campaign personalization, data analysis, and content creation. For example, a tool like Campaign Assistant uses text inputs (also called prompts) to help marketers seamlessly and quickly create copy for landing pages, emails, and ad campaigns.

And, when AI assists with key marketing tasks, it also saves you time that you can redistribute to focusing on optimizing your campaigns.

Read through the AI glossary below to learn more about how the AI tools you use work.

Artificial Intelligence Terms Marketers Need to Know

A

Algorithm - An algorithm is a formula that represents a relationship between variables. In machine learning, models use algorithms to make predictions from the data it analyzes. Social media networks have algorithms that use previous behavior on the platform to show them content it predicts they’re most likely to enjoy.
Artificial intelligence - Artificial intelligence is an area of computer science where machines complete tasks that would require intelligence if done by a human, like learning, seeing, talking, reasoning, or problem-solving.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) - AGI is the second of three stages of AI, where systems have intelligence that allows them to learn and adapt to new situations, think abstractly, and solve problems on par with human intelligence. We are currently in the first stage of AI, and AGI is mainly theoretical. Also called general intelligence.
AI analytics - AI analytics is a type of analysis that uses machine learning to process large amounts of data and identify patterns, trends, and relationships. It doesn’t require human input, and businesses can use the results to make data-driven decisions and remain competitive.
AI assistant - An AI assistant, usually a chatbot or virtual assistant, uses artificial intelligence to understand and respond to human requests. It can schedule meetings, answer questions, and automate repetitive tasks to save time and improve efficiency.
AI bias - AI bias is the idea that machine learning systems can be biased because of biased training data, which leads them to produce outputs that perpetuate and reinforce stereotypes harmful to specific communities.
AI chatbot - An AI chatbot is a program that uses machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to have human-like conversations. AI chatbots are popular on websites, apps, or social media sites to handle customer conversations.
AI ethics - AI ethics refers to humans needing to consider the implications of using AI and ensuring its use in a way that is harmless to users and anyone that interacts with it. As AI is a growing field, AI ethics is constantly evolving and being researched.
Anthropomorphize - Anthropomorphization is when humans assign qualities to AI systems because of how they replicate human abilities. It’s one of the reasons why people think AI is sentient, but experts and scientists say that any assumption of human qualities is because models do what they’re programmed to do. Enzo Pasquale Scilingo, a bioengineer at the Research Center E. Piaggio at the University of Pisa in Italy, says, “We attribute characteristics to machines that they do not and cannot have…As intelligent as they are, they cannot feel emotions. They are programmed to be believable.”
Augmented reality (AR) - Augmented reality is layering virtual elements onto real-world scenes, letting users exist in their current space but benefit from interactive, augmented elements. Snapchat filters are an example of AR.
Autonomous machine - An autonomous machine can learn, reason, and make decisions with the data it has and without human intervention. Self-driving cars are autonomous machines.
Auto-complete - Auto-complete analyzes input, text, or voice and suggests possible following words or phrases based on the patterns it learns from analyzing historical data and an individual's language pattern and context.
Auto classification - Auto classification is categorizing and tagging data based on unique categories, making it easier to organize, manage, and retrieve information.

B

Bard - Bard is Google’s conversational AI that runs on LaMDA (language model for dialogue applications). It’s similar to ChatGPT but has added functionality to pull information from the internet.
Bayesian network - Bayesian network is a probability model that estimates the probability of an event occurring. AI can help create Bayesian networks as it can evaluate data at a significant speed.
BERT - Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) is Google’s deep learning model designed explicitly for natural language processing tasks like answering questions, analyzing sentiment, and translation.
Bing Search - Bing Search is Microsoft’s machine learning search tool that uses neural networks to understand prompt inputs, surface the most relevant results, and bring answers. It can also produce new text-based content and images.
Bots - Bots, often called chatbots, are text-based programs that humans use to automate tasks or seek information. Bots can be rule-based and only able to complete pre-defined tasks or have more complex functionality.

C

Chatbot - A chatbot simulates human conversations online by answering common questions or routing people to the right resources to solve their needs.
ChatGPT - ChatGPT is a conversational AI that runs on GPT, a language model that uses natural language processing to understand text prompts, answer questions or generate content.
Cognitive Science - Cognitive science studies the mind and its processes. Artificial intelligence is an application of cognitive science that applies systems of the mind (like neural networks) to machine models.
Composite AI - Composite AI combines different AI technologies and techniques and makes them work together to solve problems and handle complex tasks.
Computer vision - Computer vision is deep learning models analyzing, interpreting, and understanding visual information, namely images and videos. Reverse image search is an example of computer vision.
Conversational AI - Conversational AI is technology that mimics a human conversational style and can have logical and accurate conversations. It uses natural language processing (NLP) and natural language generation (NLG) to gather context and respond in a relevant way.

D

Data mining - Data mining is discovering patterns, relationships, and trends to draw insights from large data sets. It’s accelerated with machine learning algorithms that can complete the process at a much faster rate. A recommendation algorithm is data mining, analyzing a significant amount of user data to give recommendations.
Deep learning - Deep learning is an AI process where computers learn from data and use understanding to create neural networks that replicate the human brain.
DALL-E - DALL-E is OpenAI’s generative system that uses detailed natural language prompts to create images and art.

E

Emergent behavior - Emergent behavior is when AI completes tasks or develops skills it wasn't built or programmed to do.
Entity annotation - Entity annotation is a natural language processing technique of classifying data into predefined categories (like an individual's name) to make it easier to analyze, understand, and organize information. Also called entity extraction.
Expert systems - An expert system replicates human experts' decision-making abilities in a specific field.
Explainable AI (XAI) - Explainable AI can help humans understand how it works and why it makes decisions or predictions. Understanding the machines we use increases trust, accountability, and the ethics of using AI outputs in day-to-day life.

F

Feature engineering - Feature engineering is selecting specific features from raw data so a system knows what to learn when training.
Feature extraction - Feature extraction is when a machine breaks input down into specific features and uses those features to classify and understand it. In image recognition, a specific element of an image can be defined as a feature, and the feature is used to predict the likelihood of what an entire image might be.

G

Generative AI - Generative AI processes prompts by identifying patterns and using those patterns to produce an output that aligns with its initial learning, like an answer to a question, text, images, audio, video, code, and even synthetic data.
General Intelligence - General intelligence is the second of the three stages of AI. See Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
GPT - Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) is OpenAI’s language model that is trained on large amounts of data and, from its training, can understand natural language inputs to answer questions, have human-like conversations, and produce content. GPT-4 is the latest and most advanced iteration of GPT.

H

Hallucination - Hallucination is when AI produces factually incorrect outputs and information.

I

Image recognition - Image recognition is a machine learning process that uses algorithms to identify objects, people, or places in images and videos. Google Lens is an example of image recognition. Also called Image classification.

L

Large Language Model (LLM) - A LLM is trained on a large historical data set and uses its knowledge to complete a specific task(s). GPT and LamDA are language models.
Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LamDA) - LamDA is Google’s large language model that can have realistic conversations with humans, give accurate responses, and produce new content.
Limited memory AI - Limited memory AI is the second of four types of AI, and these systems are only able to complete tasks based on a small amount of stored data and can’t extend their abilities beyond that. It also doesn’t retain any previous memories to learn from when completing future tasks.

M

Machine Learning - Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence where machines use data and algorithms to make decisions and predictions and complete tasks. Machine learning systems get better and more accurate over time as it has new experiences and data to learn from.
Midjourney - Midjourney is a generative AI model that can produce new images from natural language prompts.

N

Narrow AI - Narrow AI is a system designed to perform a specific task or set of tasks but can’t adapt to do anything beyond that. It’s the first of three stages of AI, and most systems today are narrow AI. Also called weak AI and narrow intelligence.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) - Natural language processing is a machine's ability to understand and interpret language (both spoken and written) and use the understanding to have conversational experiences. Spell check is a basic example, and language models are a more advanced form. Also called natural language understanding (NLU).
Natural Language Generation (NLG) - Natural language generation is when a model processes language and uses its understanding to accurately complete a task, whether it’s answering a question or creating an outline for an essay.
Natural Language Query (NLQ) - A natural language query is a written input that appears as it would if said aloud, which means no special characters or syntax.
Neutral networks - In relation to AI, a neural network is a computerized replication of a human brain's neural network that lets a system develop knowledge and make predictions in a similar fashion to the human brain.

O

OpenAI - OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research laboratory that created GPT, DALL-E, and other AI tools.

P

Pattern recognition - Pattern recognition is a machine's ability to recognize patterns in data based on the algorithms it developed during training.
Predictive analytics - In AI, predictive analytics uses algorithms to predict the likelihood of a future occurrence based on patterns in historical data.
Prompts - A prompt is a natural language input given to a model. Prompts can be questions, tasks to complete, or a description of the type of content a user wants AI to create. A simple definition is an instruction that prompts a model to do something.
Prompt engineering - Prompt engineering is figuring out the right words and phrases that help generative systems align with the input's exact intent. So, for example, figuring out the best words to use to have AI write exactly what you’re looking for.

R

Reactive machines - Reactive machines are the second of four types of AI, and these systems have no memory or understanding of context and can only complete a specific task. Rule-based chatbots are reactive machines. Also called reactive AI.
Reinforcement learning - Reinforcement learning is a machine learning process where systems learn and correct themselves through a trial and error.
Responsible AI - Responsible AI is deploying AI in ways that are ethical and with good intentions to not perpetuate biases and harmful stereotypes.
Robotics - Robotics is the design of robots that can perform tasks and take action because of programmed AI without human guidance.

S

Self-aware AI - Self-aware AI is the fourth of the four types of AI. It’s a further evolution of theory of mind AI, and machines can understand human emotions and have their own emotions, needs, and beliefs. Sentient AI is self-aware AI and, at the moment, is a theoretical concept.
Semantic analysis - Semantic analysis is machines drawing meaning from information inputs. It’s similar to natural language processing but can account for more complex factors, like cultural context.
Sentiment analysis - Sentiment analysis is the process of identifying emotional signals and queues from text to predict a statement's overall sentiment.
Sentient AI - Sentient AI feels and has experiences at the same level as humans. This AI is emotionally intelligent and can perceive the world and turn perceptions into feelings.
Structured data - Structured data is organized data that machine learning algorithms can easily understand.
Supervised learning - Supervised learning is when humans oversee the machine learning process and give specific instructions for learning and expected outcomes.
Artificial superintelligence (ASI) - ASI is the third and most advanced stage of AI, where systems can solve complex problems and make decisions beyond the abilities of human intelligence. It’s a hot topic for debate as its potential and risks are purely speculative. Also called Super AI, Strong AI, and superintelligence.
Stable diffusion - Stable diffusion is a generative model that creates images from detailed text descriptions (prompts).
Singularity - Singularity is a hypothetical future in artificial intelligence where systems experience uncontrolled growth and take actions that can significantly impact human life. Closely related to superintelligence and sentient AI.

T

Theory of mind AI - Theory of mind AI is the third evolution of the four types of AI, and it’s an advanced class of technology that can understand the mental states of humans and use that knowledge to have real interactions. For example, a system that understands the emotions of a disgruntled customer can use that knowledge to respond accordingly.
Token - A token is a single piece of data that a language model uses to make sense of input and make a prediction. A token can be a single word, characters in a string of words, subwords, or single features within visual information.
Training data - Training data is what a machine is given to learn from to complete its future tasks.
Transfer learning - Transfer learning is a machine learning technique where a pre-trained model is used as the starting point for a new task.
Turing Test - Alan Turing invented the Turing Test in 1950 to measure if a machine's level of intelligence allowed it to perform in a way that is indistinguishable from human performance. It was originally called the imitation game.

U

Unsupervised learning - Unsupervised learning is when a system is left to find patterns and draw conclusions and insights from data without human input. It’s the opposite of supervised learning.

V

Virtual reality (VR) - VR is any software that immerses users in a three-dimensional, interactive virtual environment using a sensory device.

W

Weak AI - see Narrow AI.

6 Social Media Algorithms Marketers Need to Know About in 2023

lkolowich@hubspot.com (Lindsay Kolowich Cox) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 11:30:00 GMT

Even though social media algorithms are constantly changing, they aren't out to hide your content from the masses.

Each major platform has an algorithm that works differently, and understanding the basics can be helpful in terms of knowing how to create the content that actually shows up in front of your audience.

We've put together this simple guide on how the algorithm works on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Let's dive in.

Note: Keep in mind that the algorithms are constantly changing. We'll continue to write about major social algorithm changes as they happen.

Table of Contents

What is a social media algorithm?
Facebook’s News Feed Algorithm
Twitter’s Timeline Algorithm
The Instagram Feed’s Algorithm
TikTok For You Page Algorithm
Other Key Algorithms

Essentially, social media algorithms analyze user behavior and prioritize content the platform believes the user wants to see and is most likely to engage with.

News Feed Algorithm

Each major social media platform has its own version of a "news feed" style algorithm. Below we’ll dive into the specifics of feed algorithms for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, but here’s an overview of what the algorithms for these platforms factor in when prioritizing content.

Engagement

When you first create an account on a social media platform, you’re more likely to see a mix of random content that may not align with your interests. But over time, you’ll see the content will be more in line with your interests. How does that happen?

Social media platforms quickly learn your interests and preferences based on what kind of content you engage with. Once a platform has a good idea of what a user is likely to engage with, they are going to prioritize that type of content in the user’s feed.

Time on Platform

Why does what you engage with matter so much? Well, the more time you spend engaging, the more time you’re likely to spend on a platform. When you spend more time on a platform, you’re susceptible to see (and buy from) advertising that is shown to you. And the more time you spend engaging on a social media platform, the more insight that platform has into your preferences, purchases, and habits.

Now let’s get into the details of how the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram algorithms work.

Facebook's News Feed Algorithm

Since the inception of the largest social media platform to date, Facebook's news feed has been focuses on personalizing the social media app's user experience.

How It Works

The Like button has always been the epicenter of Facebook's user experience — not only because we see it on everyone's posts but because it allows us to personalize our experience (and influence everyone else's).

Nowadays, the algorithm that governs Facebook's News Feed has become much more sophisticated. It isn't just about the Like button anymore — and not just because reaction buttons are now in the mix. In fact, Facebook's algorithm is by far the most complicated of the three social networks covered in this post.

Facebook provided more information about how its algorithm works in late 2022, and we know that its Feed algorithm works to prioritize the most meaningful posts at the top of your Feed in a four-step process. Here’s a quick rundown of the most important things Facebook’s Feed algorithm considers.

Inventory

Inventory is the total number of posts you might see when you open Facebook. Posts that friends share, pages you follow, and groups you’ve joined are prioritized, followed by content recommended based on your activity.

Signals

For each post in your “inventory,” the algorithm considers who posted it, how you’ve interacted with similar posts in the past, the format, how popular it is with factors like your friends' interactions with it, and what pages have reshared it. Each of these factors is a signal, and signals help the algorithm decide what content from your inventory to feature.

Predictions

Predictions are the third step in the ranking process. The algorithm uses signals to make personalized predictions of how relevant a post is to you from things like:

If it’s from friends and family
How likely you might be to interact with it
If it’s content you’d be able to find on your own
Quality indicator (original content)
Surveys sent to other users to ask if content is “worth their time.” Posts ranked as more worthwhile show up higher in your Feed.

Relevancy Score

Relevancy scores are calculated by weighing signals and predictions. Once every post in your possible inventory is assigned a relevancy score, they’re sorted and ranked for your feed. Higher relevance scores mean a post is more likely to interest you and is placed higher in your Feed.

Every time you log in, the post you see at the top of your News Feed was chosen over thousands of others as the one most likely to make you react and engage.

Ads get relevancy scores, too, and Facebook shows users ads that might matter most to them.

Again, this is supposed to give users a better experience — but it's also helpful for the businesses paying for the ads. It's calculated based on the positive feedback (video views, conversions, etc.) and negative feedback Facebook expects an ad to receive from its target audience. (Learn more about the relevancy score for Facebook ads here.)

Ways to Customize Your Facebook News Feed

As a Facebook user, you can customize your Facebook Feed to see more of what you want.

When you want to prioritize a person or page to "see first," their posts will appear at the top of your News Feed. To prioritize the people or pages you want to see first:

Click your profile picture
Tap the gear icon to open Settings & privacy
Tap News Feed under Preferences
Tap one of the five list options to manage what you’ll see in your feed. Here’s what each option means:

Favorites - People and pages to prioritize
Snooze - Snooze content to temporarily stop seeing posts
Unfollow - Unfollow people, pages, or groups to stop seeing their posts
Reconnect - Reconnect with those you’ve unfollowed
Reduce - Manage content that you’ve reduced or moved lower in your feed

Twitter's Timeline Algorithm

Whereas Facebook makes most of the decisions about what will show up in your Facebook News Feed, Twitter's historically taken a very different approach with what it calls the "Timeline."

As of 2023, there are two timelines you’ll see content on: For You and Following.

How It Works

Following Timeline

Your Following is the stream of Tweets you see from the users you follow. Tweets in this tab used to be in chronological order but now are ranked based on factors like:

Interactions - Accounts you interact with frequently or are more likely to interact and engage with
Recency - The recency of the topics discussed and how much engagement content is getting
Activity - The algorithm also monitors how long it has been since you were last online and the likelihood of you having missed content from accounts you often engage and interact with

For You Timeline

According to Twitter, the For You timeline shows suggested content from accounts and topics you’re interested in or have displayed interest in. The recommendation system for a For You timeline follows three main steps: candidate sourcing, ranking, heuristics, filters, and product features.

Candidate sourcing - Finding candidates (individual Tweets) from people you follow (in-network) and don’t follow (out-of-network). Twitter says there is a 50% balance of in and out-of-network content.
Ranking - Candidates get a predictive score of relevance to your interests.
Heuristics, filters, and product features - After ranking candidates, it applies product features (like accounts you mute), author diversity (avoiding too many Tweets from one author, and content balance (in and out of network tweets).

With these three steps, the algorithm ranks content in your For You timeline in addition to social proof, which is excluding out of network tweets without a second degree of connection to you. Once everything is ranked, you’re fed a selection of Tweets blended with ads and follow recommendations.

Is Twitter Moving Away From a Real-Time Timeline?

Twitter has moved away from what original users might call a real timeline, where Tweets were displayed chronologically. Now there are two timelines to view, and Tweets on both are displayed based on different factors and chronology.

Twitter isn't the only social media platform iterating its algorithm to show the most interesting content first — Instagram's algorithm is giving Facebook and Twitter a run for their money.

The Instagram Feed's Algorithm

As of June 2023, Instagram has more than 2 million active users on the platform, making it a hotspot for marketers in nearly any industry.

Instagram uses machine learning to determine what content you’ll appreciate most and creates a Feed that prioritizes that content from people you follow, recommended accounts, and ads.

Instagram says the signals (ranking factors) it uses are:

Your activity - Posts you’ve liked, shared, saved, or commented on to assess what you’re interested in.
Information about the post - How popular a post is regarding engagement among other users (likes, speed of likes, shares, comments, etc.) and location data, if available.
Information about who posted it - How interesting a person might be to you and how many people have interacted with them in the past few weeks.
Your interaction history - How interested you are in seeing posts from a specific person or topic.

It also considers recent posts from the people you follow, posts from accounts you don’t follow but might be interested in, and the format (i.e., if you prefer photos, you’ll see more photos).

From there, the algorithm makes predictions on how likely you are to take action, and the more likely you are to take action, the more heavily it’s weighted and the higher it will be in your feed.

What about the Reels, Shop, and Explore pages?

Each Instagram feature has its own algorithm tailored to how people use it.

The Stories algorithm defines the potential stories shared by accounts you follow based on input signals like:

Your viewing history of an account’s Stories to prioritize those you don’t want to miss.
Engagement history and how often you engage with an account's Stories.
Closeness, or your overall relationship with the poster.

It then predicts how likely you are to find a story relevant and valuable, tap through, or move on to another Story and place those with higher scores first in your Stories tray.

The Explore page algorithm defines posts based on your past activity of what you’ve liked, shared, saved, and committed on. Once it finds content of interest, it’s ranked by how likely you are to be interested and engage with each one. Explore ranking signals in order of importance are:

Information about the post,
Your activity in explore,
History of interaction with the poster,
Information about the person who posted.

The Reels algorithm seeks to share the most entertaining videos based on how likely you are to reshare a Reel, watch it through, like it, and go to the audio page to make your own inspired Reel. The ranking signals by importance are:

Your activity
History of interacting with the poster
Information about the reel (like audio track, popularity)
Information about the person who posted

Is Instagram removing likes?

We'd be remiss if we didn't mention one of the more controversial Instagram algorithms updates — removing likes. Removing one of the most popular features of the app was initially tested as a measure against bullying and increased pressure to post content that garners more and more social approval for young Instagrammers. The change began in several countries, including Canada, Brazil, and Australia.

After the trial, Instagram moved forward by allowing users to choose to hide like counts.

TikTok For You Page Algorithm

According to TikTok, the For You Page algorithm recommendation system features content that each user is most likely to be interested in and is relevant to their interests.

After more and more time, the TikTok algorithm weighs user interactions, video information, and device and account settings.

User interaction - The videos you like or share, accounts you follow, comments, and content you create
Video information - Hashtags, sounds, captions
Device and account settings - Language, country, type of device. These factors have lower weight in the recommendation system.

Other Key Algorithms

Let’s discuss some of the other key algorithms that impact what content users see and when.

Inappropriate Language

Social media platforms are constantly on the lookout for ways to keep users safe, especially younger users. Platforms may scan content for certain words or subject matter that may be deemed inappropriate, which could lead to that content being deprioritized in the feed.

Copyrighted Content

Have you ever tried to add copyrighted music or video clips to a piece of content? Chances are, it was either quickly flagged and removed or potentially had lower reach. That’s because copyrighted content is often not included in the licensing agreements social media platforms have, and can be a liability, and can impose legal consequences for users and platforms responsible for distribution.

It’s best to avoid including copyrighted elements you don’t have the rights to and follow the specific platform’s guidelines for appropriate ways to incorporate elements such as music in your content.

Cross-Platform Content

While repurposing content is a common best practice among marketers and creators, doing so can have implications on content reach.>

In early 2021, Instagram announced the algorithm will prioritize recommending Reels that do not have visible TikTok logos, in an effort to discourage users from cross-posting TikTok content to Instagram. That means if a user downloads a video they have created on TikTok and shares the same video with the TikTok watermark to Instagram, the Instagram algorithm will potentially show that content to fewer people.

For maximum engagement potential, Instagram’s @creators account encourages users to create fresh content for Instagram instead of cross-posting content from other platforms (particularly TikTok). To get around this, some users take to third-party websites to download their TikTok without watermarks and post to Instagram.

It's All About Content Quality

The key takeaway for brands and individuals alike is this: Quality is Queen.

Algorithms filter out irrelevant and poor-quality posts so that the highest-quality content gets through. Control over what users see and don't see is a collaboration between the social platform and the user.

The big lesson for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram marketers like us is to remember that it's our job to post content to social that's interesting, entertaining, helpful, and/or relevant to our audiences. This means picking relevant topics, writing delightful copy, and posting compelling images and videos.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in April 2016 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Podcasts on YouTube: Best Practices to Follow

Carly Baker — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 11:16:07 GMT

YouTube is one of the most popular platforms used for video hosting, with over 2 billion active monthly users. It's also a popular platform for enjoying podcasts, with 57.8% of podcast listeners in the U.S. listening to shows on YouTube.

If you are producing a podcast, YouTube can help you:

Reach a broader and more diverse audience
Increase the discoverability of your podcast
Increase engagement through liking, sharing, and commenting
Build listener communities

Below, we’ve outlined best practices to ensure your YouTube efforts are as successful as possible.

YouTube Podcast Best Practices

1. Keep Your Titles Consistent

Consistent titles enhance the visual appeal of your channel, make it effortless for your viewers to browse through your content, and increase the likelihood of YouTube promoting your playlists.

When selecting episode names, use a systematic naming pattern and refrain from using vague terms such as "podcast," "full episode," or "new upload" because YouTube’s algorithms often overlook them.

When deciding on your title, leverage the standard YouTube video title versus a podcast episode title.

2. Lean into SEO

If someone was looking for a podcast like yours, which search words would they use? Using your metadata, integrate keywords to help the algorithm and users find your podcast more easily.

VidIQ or Tubebuddy can help you conduct keyword research.

3. Focus on Your Audience

Don’t forget to speak to and engage directly with your listeners and viewers.

If you see a comment or share — engage! Nurturing relationships helps create connections with your audience, keeping them coming back and engaging with your videos.

Take advantage of the pinned comment feature, and reply directly to comments to boost engagement.

4. Add Tags

Tags work like hashtags, so consider keywords and search terms for your video uploads. Adding tags to your YouTube uploads enables you to maximize your reach and increases the likelihood of getting in front of the right audience.

Tags improve your videos’ SEO and can even help increase content ranking if the title of your video contains commonly misspelled words.

It is best practice to list tags in order of relevance to the video and include a mix of general and specific tags.

However, stick to no more than 3-5 tags per upload. Using too many tags can result in YouTube ignoring all of them. And using misleading tags can result in your content being removed.

5. Develop Your Visual Identity

Ensure you’re focusing on giving your show a visual identity on YouTube and producing visually compelling content.

Adding your show’s logo and frames around your virtually recorded video will increase the production quality of your video.

If you have two people in your video, create a split screen so viewers feel they’re the third person in the conversation. Don’t forget about crafting an enticing thumbnail that fits into your branding.

6. Hook Your Audience from the Start

The first 30 seconds of your video will determine if watchers stick around, so consider having an engaging intro segment for each video.

Your intro should include who you are, why viewers should trust you, and your podcast’s value proposition.

7. Add Clear Calls to Action

Don’t forget to include CTAs in your video and description. YouTube gives your viewers places to click and convert easily - so think about where and how you can continue to engage with your audience after they’ve finished watching.

8. Organize Your Content

Organize the podcast content on your channel into a playlist with all of your Podcast content to encourage viewers to consume more than one episode.

Don’t forget to add end cards to your video to direct viewers to the other content in your playlists.

When you think of YouTube, you probably don't think about podcasts because the platform seems more of a visual medium than audio.

However, YouTube is an excellent platform to host your podcast because it attracts many users and can add a new visual element to your show.

Now that you know the best practices for uploading your podcast to YouTube, you're ready to start and expand your audience.

How to Build an Email List from Scratch: 11 Incredibly Effective Strategies

Caroline Forsey — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

It costs more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.

Focusing on customer retention is a valuable long-term solution for increased revenue and sustainable growth, and building an email list will help you reach those goals.

Cultivating customer loyalty is not easy, but it is possible by continuing to offer valuable content. While there are many ways to do this, email marketing is one of the most powerful ways to reach your target audience — if done correctly.

We'll explore:

Attributes of a Good Email List
How to Build One
Email List-Building Tools

Qualities of a Great Email List

Before setting out to build an email list, we'll need to go over some best practices first. Here are a few qualities to shoot for creating and maintaining an email list. The list should be:

1. Permission-Based

First and foremost, your email list should consist of people who have willingly and explicitly given consent to receive emails from you. Never buy an email list. No one likes spam, so keeping with this basic principle ensures you’re following marketing compliance guidelines and maintain a positive reputation.

2. Accurate and Current

Email addresses should be valid and accurate. To make this happen, commit to regularly removing invalid or bounced email addresses to maintain deliverability and engagement rates.

3. Relevant to Your Audience

Subscribers should have a genuine interest in your products, services, or content. For best results, they should match your target audience who are most likely to engage with the emails you send out.

4. Contain Engaged Users

The best email lists have subscribers that actively engage with the sender — consistently opening, clicking, and responding to emails. These are the subscribers that are most likely to convert, share your content, and provide the most value over time.

5. Easily Segmented

A good email list should also lend itself well to segmentation. These segments can be based on demographics, interests, past purchases, engagement levels, or other criteria. This enables you to send targeted and personalized emails that will resonate with specific segments of your audience.

6. Growing

Your email list should see consistent growth. Try implementing strategies to attract new subscribers, such as lead magnets, social media promotions, or collaborations with other businesses.

7. Easy to Unsubscribe

While you may think it is counterintuitive to allow people to easily opt out of your emails, it’s actually good business. Think about it. No one wants to have to struggle and become frustrated trying to figure out how to unsubscribe from correspondence. Keep your unsubscribe button transparent and easy to locate.

Focus on building an email list that includes relevant and engaged subscribers, and regularly refine your email marketing strategies to improve your list's quality over time.

How to Build an Email List From Scratch

1. Create a pop-up CTA (call-to-action) for each page of your site.

A pop-up might sound initially bothersome, but I’m not talking about those early 2000s pop-up that pop-up’s that promised you’d “Become a Model NOW”.

Instead, I’m talking about timed pop-up ads, or onsite retargeting. After a user spends a certain amount of time on your page, she can receive a pop-up relevant to the content on that page, or to her behavior. Examples include exit pop-ups, which appear when a user tries to leave the page, or scroll pop-ups, which appear after the user scrolls a certain percentage down the page.

Digital Marketer conducted a case study to determine the value of onsite retargeting. For one experiment in particular, Digital Marketer introduced a pop-up ad to returning visitors only, which appeared after a visitor spent 15 seconds on their site:

Digital Marketer ensured this pop-up didn’t show up if someone came to the page from the newsletter (in which case, they were already signed up), and also didn’t pop-up on a sales page (which could interrupt someone’s purchasing decision).

As you can see, Digital Marketer also took the time to offer meaningful content, a digital marketing toolbox, in their pop-up ad. With an impressive offer, your pop-up is no longer obtrusive or interruptive — it’s simply helpful.

Ultimately, their campaign generated 2,689 leads in two weeks, and increased their average time on page by 54%. Pop-ups aren’t always gimmicky, and if done right, you’re able to appeal to your visitor with quality content when and where they need it.

2. Create a personalized CTA for each blog or landing page.

HubSpot has found personalized calls-to-action have a 42% higher view-to-submission rate than calls-to-action that are the same for all visitors — that’s almost double your potential email subscribers.

It makes sense: the people who visit your blog post or web page are looking for something specific, so your CTA needs to meet those unique needs. For instance, if you’ve got a ton of traffic visiting your “List-Building Strategy” blog article, why not entice those people to subscribe to your email list by including a simple CTA like this: “Click here to download a free list-building toolkit.”

Of course, personalized CTAs only work if you have the resources to create that quality content in the first place, but that process doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. Instead of a toolkit, you could also offer an ebook, a fun quiz, or an exclusive article from your CEO on list-building strategies.

If you offer content directly related to your visitor’s needs, your email newsletter won’t feel like a gimmicky advertisement. Instead, it will feel helpful and valuable — key principles for a long-term customer retention plan.

3. Use humor or sarcasm in your CTA’s “no, thanks” copy.

We’re so infiltrated with “Yes or No” web offers on a daily basis, we barely see them anymore. To increase your email lists, you might want to try injecting some personality into your CTA copy.

I always pause and laugh when I see a CTA with a small, “No thanks, I don’t want to lose weight,” button underneath a prominent “Yes, sign me up!” link. It reminds me there’s a person behind the button, and, while it’s meant to be a joke, it also incentivizes me to hesitate before clicking “no, thanks”. It’s easy to click “no” when the CTA is “sign up for more emails!”, but it’s a little harder to say no to losing weight or getting richer.

I was reading an Optimonk blog post recently, and this CTA popped up:

I was all set to click “No” without another thought when I read the “my business isn’t important” part. It gave me pause, made me laugh, and, most importantly, made me reconsider my almost immediate decision to exit the offer.

4. Try a scroll box.

Timing is everything. Your call-to-action works best if you catch visitors when they are, in fact, ready to take action.

Figuring out when your visitor is ready to convert depends on your website viewers’ behavior, so you’ll want to conduct A/B testing to determine where you need to place your CTA. Does it work best towards the bottom of a blog page, when it slides out to the right, or does it get higher conversions at the beginning of the page, sliding out from the left?

Ultimately, it will vary depending on your page’s content and your viewers, but a scroll box is a subtle and useful option to help you catch your viewers when they’re most ready to convert.

5. Describe value in your CTA.

We’ve talked a lot about different formatting you might use in your CTA’s (including pop-up ads or personalized offers embedded in blog posts), but what about the language in the CTA itself? You can rely on more than humor and sarcasm to get clicks.

To optimize sign-ups, ironically, you don’t want to use the words “sign up.” Who wants to “sign up” or “subscribe” to more junk emails? Instead, you want to outline the value you can offer upfront, using language like, “Download,” “Featured”, “Exclusive,” “Access.”

For instance, you might write, “Download our exclusive e-book now,” and include an email subscription form, or, you might say, “Access all our exclusive offers.” Both of these CTAs make clear the value you’ll gain from providing your email address.

Your web viewers need to hear how your emails can offer unique and exclusive content that isn’t already available on your website. They want to believe your company is offering something special via email, or what’s the point?

6. Offer Incentives

Sometimes folks need a bit of persuasion to join your list, especially if they’re new to your brand. Offering incentives can really push visitors to sign up by offering them something in exchange.

This could take the form of a one-time discount, free shipping, or another exclusive offer of your choice. Whatever you choose, it should be time-sensitive and conditional so that visitors are encouraged to sign up right away.

7. Use a Referral Program

Word of mouth is not only a great promoter, but it can work wonders for expanding your email list. This strategy leverages your existing subscribers and their network — encouraging them to share your offers with their family, friends, and colleagues.

For this strategy to achieve its full potential you’ll need to offer your existing subscribers something in exchange for their assistance. This could be a discount or other exclusive offer. In the example above from Fitness company Onnit, customers get $20 for each person they refer. That's a pretty sweet deal.

8. Ask Visitors to Opt-In At Checkout

This is a simple strategy that I’m sure we’re all familiar with. You’re shopping online, find something you like and head to checkout to purchase. After you’ve entered all of your contact and payment information, there’s often a small checkbox right above the submit button that asks if you’d like to opt-in for emails.

You can easily recreate this in your checkout process, with a transparent opt in request at checkout. Remember it's better to get signups the honest way rather than tricking visitors into handing over their information.

9. Gamify Signups

This may sound silly, but it works. Gamification can be a powerful tool in your marketing tool kit when used effectively. The good news is they don’t have to be complicated to boost your signups.

For example, if you’re an online retailer, you could use a spin the wheel type game (pictured above) where based on what they land on, they could “win” something. This could be a small discount, free shipping, or additional merchandise.

10. Pitch your email newsletter on your social media accounts and email signature.

You might not have a long list of email subscribers, but that doesn’t mean you don't have a network. If you have a following on Twitter, a fan base on Facebook, or businesses you communicate with via email, why not use those firm and loyal connections to build an email list?

You might try pitching an email newsletter on your business’s Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn accounts. The people who follow you on those sites already know they like you, but they aren’t necessarily the same people who receive your newsletter. Give them the option.

If you’re uncomfortable pitching your email newsletter on social media, or if you don’t have a large following on any of your accounts, you could also include a link in your email signature — that link could go directly to your email newsletter, or it could be a link to a blog post or landing page with email subscription CTA’s.

You communicate daily with a diverse group of people via email, and when they get value from your personal emails, they might want the option to click a link and explore your company in more depth.

11. Create more landing pages.

HubSpot conducted research and found companies see a 55% increase in leads when they increased the number of landing pages from 10 to 15.

It makes sense: individual and personalized landing pages allow you to appeal to a wider demographic. Every person who visits your site needs something different, so the more landing pages you can create to answer each person’s individual concerns, the more sign-ups you’ll gain.

It’s like a restaurant menu. The more you can offer to cater to specific demographics, the more customers you’ll bring in. Someone could be looking for the best gluten-free pizza, while someone else might just want some good sushi.

With all of this information under our belt, it’s time to get started building that list. Luckily there are tools that can help you quickly do this.

Best Email List Builders

Now that we’ve discussed the most effective ways to grow your email list, here are a few tools that can help with the process. As mentioned previously, these tools should only be used to build a list of subscribers who have consented to receive email from you.

1. HubSpot’s Email Tool

Best for: Crafting email templates, designing landing pages and CTAs, and managing the customer lifecycle.

You’ll be happy to know there are solutions for growing your email list without breaking the bank. HubSpot offers both paid and freemium versions of its email tools to help you get started quickly.

Additional Marketing Hub capabilities include:

Landing page creation
Pop-up and stand-alone CTA form templates
All-in-one solution

With HubSpot, you can boost your open and click-through rates, tailor emails to recipients, and segment your list without design or tech help. It’s easy to use, intuitive design will have you mastering email lists and campaigns like a pro.

2. Mailchimp

Best for: Designing marketing campaigns for email and landing pages that convert.

Mailchimp is another option on the market that offers email tools that range from free to paid enterprise level. This tool comes with readymade email templates, scheduling tools, and email automation options.

Its premium offerings will help you focus on and extract the most value out of your most loyal subscribers.

3. Constant Contact

Best for: General email management and building lead generation landing pages.

Constant Contact is known as an all-in-one digital marketing platform, but it does offer a decent selection of email tools that can help your campaigns stand out and get more signups. This paid service allows users to quickly drag and drop selected images and template features into custom emails, run ahead full speed with readymade email templates, send automated welcome and abandoned cart emails, and analyze results with email tracking.

4. Get Response

Best for: Performing segmentation based on user behavior.

Get Response comes with what you’d expect from email marketing software with the added bonus of lead scoring and landing pages built into the platform. However, this platform is not as user-friendly as the others on this list and will require a bit of a learning curve to take advantage of all the software has to offer.

Features include:

Contact management
Automation and scheduling
Industry-specific templates
Reporting
Landing Pages and Lead Scoring

These advanced features do come at a premium, so if you’re looking to dive deep into segmentation you’ll need to upgrade from the free version.

5. Optimonk

Best for: Growing email, messenger, and SMS signups.

If you’re looking to upgrade your current marketing tactics for a more personal approach that gets leads, look no further than Optimonk. This platform has several integrations, including HubSpot, so chances are it will work with your existing CRM.

One of the standout features of this tool is its subscriber recognition tool which allows you to target pop-ups only for visitors that haven’t subscribed yet.

Features include:

Subscriber recognition
A/B testing
Optimized for mobile
CTA and email templates

Best of all they offer a free for forever option so you can build your list on a budget.

More Value, More Sign-Ups

When I think about the brands I like best, like J. Crew, Spotify, and SoulCycle, I know I’m not a loyal brand advocate because of their products alone.

I subscribe to J. Crew’s email list to get their “Flash Sale: Midnight” offers. I subscribe to Spotify’s newsletter to receive special promotions. And I subscribe to SoulCycle’s emails to hear about unique classes happening near me.

In short, I subscribe to their emails to get value.

If you’re starting from zero, building an impressive email list can feel like an impossible feat. With the strategies above, you too can cultivate a loyal email subscriber base by providing value — using email to attract better long-term customers.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in November 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

How to Create a Product Launch Email [Outlines + Templates]

AJ Beltis — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

There are few times more exciting in a company than a product launch. Anticipation brews among the team and a sense of optimism emerges around the prospect of a growth in market share.

Still, this question always arises when a new product launches: Will this campaign be successful?

There are multiple avenues through which to communicate during a product launch, yet one of the most underrated and effective is a product launch email.

In this post, we'll walk you through how to write the perfect product launch email, including suggestions for subject lines and an outline for the ideal product launch email sequence.

These actions don't stop at making a purchase—they rarely do. Product launch emails typically feature CTAs that ask the reader to join a waitlist, pre-order the product, or sign up to beta-test it before its release.

While the primary purpose of a product launch email is to further the overall go-to-market strategy of the product, it does have another benefit. Each new product or feature also furthers the brand of the company, so product communications like launch emails can serve as official brand communications during the campaign. Because of this, it's important to work collaboratively across your internal teams to create the best product launch email possible.

Featured Resource: Product Marketing Email Templates [Download Now]

HubSpot's Free Product Marketing Kit is full of the organizational templates you'll need to spread the word about your product, including internal launch email templates. Why waste time starting from scratch? Click here to download the templates.

As your product, brand, marketing automation, and content teams work together on the product launch email, you'll want to keep the structure of your email top of mind. Each part of the email should inspire the customer to take action at the end.

Parts of a Product Launch Email

Subject Line: A brief phrase that summarizes the content of your email.
Product Description: An explanation of the features and functions of a product.
Product Benefits: The advantages and outcomes that a product can provide to customers.
CTA: A clear and compelling interactive element in the email that directs the audience to do something, such as clicking a button, filling out a form, or making a purchase.

Types of Product Launch Emails

Product Preview: A product preview email typically comes ahead of the launch and shares a sneak peek of a product to the audience. There may not be much of a description of the product or a formal CTA, but the benefits should entice the reader to anticipate the product's launch.
Product Release: This is the official launch email for the new product. This email will have all the information outlined in the parts of a product launch email
Feature Announcements: Feature announcement messaging can be shared as a part of the product teaser email sequence or as a follow-up to a product launch as new features are added.
Pre-Launch Access: A pre-launch access announcement is one way of launching a product to a limited number of users. A company might do this to get feedback, generate buzz, or soft launch into a new market without investing too many resources right away.
Pre-Order Emails: As the title suggests, a pre-order email gives the reader a chance to order the product ahead of its launch. This helps you plan for the amount of product or capacity you'll need for the campaign, especially if you expect a successful launch.

How to Write a Product Launch Email

1. Draft a subject line.

The first part of a product launch email is the obligatory subject line. We‘ve all heard ad nauseam that it’s the key to a high open rate, but that doesn't mean it needs to be over-the-top or filled with emojis. A clear and short subject line that describes the news is your best bet.

Here are a few of the more effective ones we've seen:

It's Time! [Product] is now live. Click to learn more!
We just launched [Product] – And we need your help
[NOW LIVE]: [Product] is available to the public
[Product] launches today. Here's what you need to know.
The moment you've all been waiting for: [Product] is here.
[PLEASE READ]: Everything you need to know about [Product].

2. Personalize the email.

Next, personalize the launch email. The straightforward way to do this is by using the recipient's name and other relevant information. But you can go a bit deeper here to build rapport and make the email feel more relevant and engaging.

Examining information like past purchase behavior or geographic data can be smart ways to personalize a product launch email and drive results.

3. Add a product description.

Contrary to popular belief, the product description should be the shortest part of the product launch email. Why? Because people don't want to read about what the product does, they want to read about what it does for them. So keep this part brief by including only the need-to-know information:

Product name
Product availability or release date
Cost

Then, use the next section to give your customers what they really want.

3. Talk about product benefits.

Why should your existing and potential customers be excited about this launch? Here, you'll go even more in-depth, explaining what void this product fills in the market.

Some questions that can be answered in this section are:

Does this update address a common customer complaint?
Are you bringing your product up to par for the market you're in?
Will this product contribute something new to the existing market, or enter a completely new market?
Do you have statistics or revenue projections to prove the importance of the product?

4. Include visuals.

Visuals like images, videos, and gifs can help to make the email more engaging and impactful. Be careful that images are not the entire email. These days, more and more email clients are requiring users to opt-in to see images. So keep them supplemental and not mandatory for users to understand your product's messaging.

5. Add a CTA.

The final part of a product launch email is the call-to-action. An effective CTA inspires the customer to do something. This might include signing up for a demo, visiting a website, watching a video, or joining a waitlist. Whatever your desired next step is, make it abundantly clear with a button, link, or embedding it right into the email itself.

6. Segment the audience.

Once you've completed the writing process of your email, you want to shift your attention to the people who will read it. There are thousands of combinations of data you can use to segment your audience. To make things simple, here are the main criteria you should think about when creating your email list:

Demographics: This category refers to criteria such as age, gender, location, occupation, and other data points specific to your target audience.
Past Purchase Behavior: If you have a database of your customer's buying history, you can segment your audience based on past purchases. This makes it easy to send loyalty promotions and information about related product launches that match their current and past interests.
Email Engagement History: By reviewing how your audience has interacted with your previous email campaigns, you can segment your audience based on their level of activity, including whether they've opened emails, clicked on links, or made purchases.
Website behavior: You can segment your audience based on website behavior by understanding which pages a user visited, for how long, and whether they clicked on specific products or services. This enables you to personalize the content of your product launch email, increasing the chances of conversion.
Potential Customers: Newsletters, waitlists, and event attendees are great sources to pull from to segment folks who are not yet customers. This can diversify your email list and boost new customer sign ups without launching a completely new campaign.

7. Set up a product launch email sequence.

To spread the word about your product launch more efficiently, consider enrolling your contacts into an email sequence in your email marketing software. This can be used to gradually increase your prospects' interests before and after the product comes out.

Remember: you may only want to enroll people in this sequence that meet certain qualification criteria. Use the audience segment tips in the previous step as a guide for this.

Pre-Announcement Email

This email comes once you feel the product is in a good place and you're comfortable announcing its release date to the public. It should include a basic description of the product in addition to an expected time frame. We suggest not identifying an official launch date unless you are absolutely confident the date you have chosen is accurate — you never know what could go wrong between now and then, so it's best to play it safe.

Announcement Email

This email should be the official email announcement of your product. We've outlined what should be included in this email in the section above, but remember to keep the content in this email short, informative, and actionable.

Follow-Up Email

This email should be sent to the contacts you feel would be a good fit for your new product but didn‘t follow up with your original email. Kindly remind them that you think they would benefit from this new product and you’re excited to hear if they're interested.

When building excitement for your new product, having this sequence can keep your customers waiting in anticipation of your next best thing.

8. Measure email campaign performance.

By tracking specific metrics, you can accurately measure the performance of your product launch email campaign and use those insights to improve your future campaigns. Remember, the key is to not only look at the numbers, but also understand the human behavior behind them.

Open rates: Use this metric to understand how many people opened your email. This is a good indicator of how engaging your subject line and preview text were. Typically, a good open rate will be above 20%.
Click-through rates (CTR): To see how many people clicked on any link within your email, look at CTR. A higher CTR means that your message and call-to-actions were successful at getting readers to take action.
Conversion rates (CVR): How many people completed the desired action after clicking through from the email, such as making a purchase or filling out a form? CVR will tell you. This metric is critical for measuring the effectiveness of your campaign to generate business outcomes.
Revenue generated: If you want to know how much revenue you generated from your product launch email campaign, calculate how much revenue you generated from the campaign by using UTMs to track attribution. This metric is the ultimate measure of success for a product launch email campaign and directly links the campaign‘s conversions to the company’s bottom line.
Bounce rate: A high bounce rate can have a negative impact on your sending reputation. To keep this number low, check your email list regularly for invalid email addresses and be sure to ask recipients to opt in upon adding them to your subscriber list. You should continue to do this once every year or so if they don't consistently open your emails.
Unsubscribe rate: This metric tells you the percentage of recipients who opted out of receiving future emails from you after receiving your product launch email. Tracking and minimizing unsubscribe rates can help you build better targeted email campaigns.

Tips for Writing a Product Launch Email

Now that you have a grasp on writing a product launch email, here are a few more tips to make it stand out.

1. Include social proof.

One effective way to build credibility for a new product is to include social proof in your launch email. This can be in the form of customer reviews, testimonials, endorsements, case studies, or even social media posts. Including social proof can help potential customers see that other people have used and found value in your product, making them more likely to trust and purchase it.

2. Use persuasive techniques.

A product launch email should be persuasive in nature to encourage people to take action. You can accomplish this by using the WIIFM (what's in it for me) principle. To do this, highlight the unique benefits of your product and how it solves a problem for your target audience.

3. Speak in the first person.

This tip can work well if your target audience is familiar with experts at your organization, or if your company is on the smaller side. Speaking in the first person can aid in making the launch email feel more personal—like a personal invitation to try the new offering. If you try this tip, be sure to follow through by sending the email from an individual email address rather than a team or a company.

4. Share visuals of the product in action.

Images, videos, animations, GIFs, or even interactive demos are fair game when it comes to email multimedia. Including visuals of the product in action can help potential customers understand how your product works and what it looks like in use.

Product Launch Email Templates

The time has come to share your exciting new product with the world. Here's a ready-to-use template on how to format an email to your contacts and encourage them to buy your new product.

Meet [Product]: A Solution to Your [Problem]

[Customer Name],

I‘m thrilled to announce the launch of [Company’s] latest product, [Product Name].

Because of your [segmentation criteria], I wanted you to be among the first to know about this exciting new addition to our product line. [Product Name] is designed specifically to help B2B companies like [client's company name] achieve/solve [unique value proposition / problem it solves].

I‘m confident that this product will be a game-changer for [client’s company name], helping you to [specific benefit that the product provides].

Here's a quick overview of what you can expect from [Product Name]:

[Product Feature 1 with brief explanation]
[Product Feature 2 with brief explanation]
[Product Feature 3 with brief explanation]

To celebrate the launch of [Product Name], we're giving you the opportunity to try it out for yourself with an exclusive [discount / free trial / demo]. Simply click on the link below and [specific instructions on how to redeem the offer].

[CTA]

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to helping your business thrive.

[Your Name]

[Your Company Name]

Product update emails should tell readers how the product you just launched has been improved and whether they need to take action to experience the improvements.

Product Update Email Template

Here's an outline of what your product launch update email should look like. You can also download this template with more details.

1. Subject Line and Preview Text

Keep the subject line at or under 12 words. Choose a subject line for your product update emails and make it the standard for whenever you send out your updates. Stuck? Try one of these:

[Date] Quarterly [Product Name] Update
New from [Company]: A Solution for [Main Problem]
[Product]: A Solution to Your [Problem]
Available Now: [Product], the Solution to [Problem]
[Product] is Now Available. Here's How You Can Get it.
Problems With [Problem]? Try [Product] – New from [Company]
Meet [Product]: A New Product to Help You [Benefit]

2. Major Updates

List out any major updates that have occurred between the official launch of the product and this update. For example, a bug was fixed, a shortcut was added, or a major pain point has been alleviated.

3. Call-to-Action

Here is where the reader can take advantage of the update. Include a button or link for them to sign up for a waitlist or take them directly to the login page for your product so they can try it out or order it immediately.

Product Launch Email Examples

Ready to get started writing your own product launch emails? We've compiled a list of real life examples to inspire your next launch correspondence.

1. Juvia's Place

Known for highly pigmented makeup, Juvia's Place launched its second line of the Culture 2 eyeshadow palette using a launch email that was just as vibrant. This eye-catching promo email used straightforward messaging that gets to the point and invites the buyer to order the new product directly from the email.

Why This Works:

This product launch email uses visuals as the focal point. Gifs, images, and buttons combine to give the recipient an idea of how exciting and colorful their new eyeshadow palette will be. The CTA sends buyers directly to the website when they click “Shop Now” or they can visit the Juvia's Place Instagram account to see the product in action.

2. Samsung

Samsung has been exceptionally successful in advertising its Galaxy Fold cell phones, and its emails have been building suspense for them for over a year.

This email example serves as one of its pre-announcements, allowing excited customers to pre-order the device. Previous emails they’ve sent have included the specifications and features of the Fold, and this email gives a time frame of when customers should expect its arrival.

Why This Works:

This note from Samsung keeps things brief while including all the pertinent information customers need. It gives them their pre-order number and tells them what to expect next, but most importantly it keeps the anticipation going.

You can keep it simple as shown above, or get creative in your new product emails—just make sure it’s conveying the information your customers want to know.

3. Descript

Audio and video editing platform Descript rolled out a new version of their product and sent the email below to inform their current customers. The email details what the new features are and how they will improve the customer experience using the product.

Why This Works:

This email is incredibly thorough. It walks the reader through each of the improvements, how they work, and the benefits — complete with video and other helpful visuals.

It's a great example of how to design a launch email that has lots of new features and information to explain.

4. Buttah

This brand radiates both on and off the skin with a product launch email that‘s modern and less salsey than most. Buttah’s launch of its whipped shea butter uses email marketing to introduce something new to its customers.

Why This Works:

This launch email relies equally on copy and images to sell this new offering. Buttah keeps things short and sweet by starting with a personalized message and three quick product features.

Buttah also provides free shipping for orders over $75. If buyers weren't already hooked by this effective email, free shipping ought to do the trick.

5. Asana

When Asana launched their dashboards feature, they sent the below email to customers to help them get familiar with the change in reporting. It was sent the following week after the new feature was rolled out, providing users with tutorials and other resources showing how to get the most out of dashboards.

Why This Works

This email keeps it short, but informative and clearly explains where users can go if they need more support in addition to a brief demo of how the dashboards feature works. The design is also clean thanks to plenty of white space and small, well-placed pops of color.

6. Solstice

With remote work more popular than ever, video conferencing software has become a must. In response, Solstice improved its platform to accommodate users and provide both onsite and remote workers a better user experience. The email below outlines the new product and features they added.

Why This Works

This email clearly outlines what the new product does and the benefits it provides. Plus, Solstice offers multiple ways for customers to learn more — either by attending the launch event or webinar. The offer of a free trial also allows customers to test the product risk-free before making a commitment.

Ready, Set, Launch! (Your Next Product)

Build your email marketing campaigns in a way that appeals to your own internal team, and your customers in search of the next best thing. We hope you can implement some tips from this guide into your marketing, and wish you the best of luck in your next product launch.

This article was originally published in December 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

18 Above the Fold Content Examples to Inspire Your Own

Kayla Carmicheal — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

The human attention span is short. This means that your website’s content has to inspire, delight, and engage your target audience in mere seconds.

For this reason, you’re above the fold content should be enticing enough to hold a visitor’s attention and keep their interest.

If your session time is low and your bounce rate is high, then your above-the-fold content may be to blame. Not to worry: We’ll go over everything you need to know about above-the-fold content, including best practices and examples that will inspire you.

Skip to:

Above the Fold
Best Practices
Above the Fold Website Examples

Your above-the-fold website content directly impacts your engagement metrics, because it can inspire users to explore the rest of the website and its offerings. If it’s not properly optimized, you’ll likely see a boost in bounce rate and a decrease in conversions.

A web page that is slow to load, congested with information, and hard to use will probably not draw the reader in the same way a page with the opposite design would. This can hurt your website’s lead generation potential.

Let’s say you’ve been losing traffic. It’s possible the content website visitors see when they first visit your page isn't interesting enough to keep them there. Your page might be compelling by the time visitors start scrolling, but if the content isn’t dazzling and user-friendly right off the bat, visitors can easily click away.

This means that your content above the fold could probably be re-done to engage visitors. Keep in mind, content above the fold will display differently depending on the device — whether desktop or mobile.

If your website has compelling above-the-fold content, you‘ll likely see higher conversion rates and lower bounce rates. If you’re unsure, try to self-test by looking at your website from a new perspective — if you were a new viewer, would you stay on your site at first glance?

Let's talk about some ways you can ensure your above-the-fold content engages web users.

Above the Fold Website Design Best Practices

When you design your webpage, keep these practices in mind. They'll keep visitors’ attention and encourage them to explore the rest of your website.

1. Keep your design simple.

Above-the-fold content shouldn‘t be extremely busy — if it is, readers might not know where to look first and click away from the page. Alternatively, if they’re not able to find the answer to their challenge quickly, they'll likely choose another website.

To keep your page looking professional, organized, and user-friendly, try adding one featured image or multimedia, such as a GIF or video, to the content above the fold. Then, add a short headline that introduces your webpage, and a sentence below it that describes your page in more detail.

2. Make the content engaging.

Simple web pages are one way to keep a user’s attention. But when they get there, take opportunities to delight them. For example, when you write your headlines and body text, they should echo your brand voice.

You don‘t have to make huge changes to delight the visitor. For example, if there’s a CTA button on your page, you could try “Ready to get started?” instead of "Learn more.”

If the featured photo on your webpage is static, see if you can deliver the same message with a GIF instead. Additionally, if all of your copy is one color, try adding one or two more — a good rule of thumb is to incorporate your brand colors for professionalism and consistency with the rest of your website.

3. Design your content for usability.

Above all else, your content should be easy to interact with. For instance, if you're working on the above-the-fold content for a product page, make sure your above-the-fold content is functioning as it should.

Let‘s say your product page’s above-the-fold content is a video. Does it load correctly, include captions, and offer sound options?

Additionally, think about the experience of the user. If your above-the-fold content features a video that autoplays, will it interrupt the user's interaction with the page? To combat this issue, make sure the video plays on silent and includes subtitles, if needed. Make sure to incorporate other web accessibility standards as well.

4. Solve challenges for the reader.

Your content above the fold should answer the challenge of the user. To illustrate, let's say you work for an email marketing service provider, and a user searches “email marketing software” and lands on your homepage.

Your content, then, should include a few, if not all, of the keywords “automated email marketing software” in some form. For example, your headline could read “Email Automation for Marketers,” and expand on that in the supporting text.

Designing all these elements perfectly the first time is a challenge. Next, we’ll cover how A/B testing can help you get better engagement.

Testing Above the Fold Content

How do you know your page is a knockout? By testing multiple versions. A/B testing is an experiment that allows marketers to test different versions of campaigns, emails, CTAs, copy, web pages or other materials to gauge which performs best.

This process may sound daunting but it doesn’t have to be. Tools like HubSpot’s A/B Testing Kit come with everything you need to get started. To be sure your above the fold content is the best it can be, you’ll want to do a test comparing the new iteration of the page vs. the original version.

These tests can help you:

Identify visitor pain points and solve them
Identify any usability obstacles
Increase conversions
Reduce bounce rates

Once the results from testing are in, you’ll want to analyze the metrics and use them to inform any design changes. Now that you have a few guidelines to work with and tips for testing, it’s time to look at some above the fold examples that will inspire you.

Above the Fold Website Examples

1. Wistia

Wistia lets its users create dynamic videos for marketing campaigns. The above-the-fold content introduces Wistia's services using a mix of multimedia: GIFs, videos, and short copy, to show off the capabilities of the service.

Wistia‘s homepage feels casual, welcoming, and professional at the same time. The homepage video stops visitors in their tracks. They’ll likely spend more time watching the talk-show-inspired clip that explains Wistia‘s services. As a consumer, when I see real people on a webpage, it’s inviting and compels me to explore further. After the video, users will have an idea of the software's offerings, straight from expert marketers.

2. Velocity Partners

Velocity Partners, a B2B marketing agency, doesn’t have a company overview video for their above-the-fold content. Instead, the homepage has a fascinating 3D animated video and a paragraph of content that explains why innovative marketers should leverage new content formats to tell more refreshing stories.

The phrase “Great marketing moves” describes what the business is all about, and is short, simple, and to the point, letting the summary do the heavy lifting when it comes to attracting visitors. Velocity Partners' above-the-fold messaging sparks curiosity, and in turn, the incentive to keep scrolling.

It‘s important to note, however, that if you want to use above-the-fold content similar to Velocity Partners’, make sure the first few seconds of your collateral, as well as your copy, are the most engaging. If they aren’t, the visitor probably won't feel inclined to stay on the site past reading the headline.

3. VeryGoodCopy

VeryGoodCopy is a creative agency that crafts articles, landing pages, web pages, and emails for brands. Above the fold, the website lets the copy describe what the company can provide for users.

The headline conveys the opportunity for marketers to learn how to persuade by leveraging ample white space and social proof. It also includes an enticing headline, a brief description of their content topics, and a vivid call-to-action. This simple and engaging above-the-fold design ensnares their visitors’ attention and convinces them to check out their micro-articles.

4. Shopify

Shopify's above-the-fold content leverages images to invite the reader to explore. Shopify allows entrepreneurs to begin their own ecommerce business. The above-the-fold content uses images of products sold on Shopify to show how the software is used.

The homepage includes artistic images to make a lasting impression on the user. And, even though copy is sparse, the tagline is packed with purpose and compels visitors to click that green CTA to start a trial.

5. Ann Handley

Ann Handley, a Wall Street Journal best-selling author and partner at MarketingProfs, uses the homepage on her website to impress users by highlighting her marketing prowess. Hyperlinking and linking are heroes here — linking to other pages on a website can earn more clicks on various pages on a site.

She also leverages white space, a welcoming picture of herself, a catchy tagline, compelling copy, and a vibrant call-to-action to persuade her visitors to consider working with her. From this homepage, the visitor knows what Handley looks like, what she has done, and how to contact her. As far as above-the-fold content goes, it's a home run.

6. Mint

Above-the-fold content can maximize on simplicity, like it does for Mint, a budget tracking and planning software. The simple, yet professional, homepage effectively conveys the company and how they can help customers.

Notice the copy in the headline — it emotionally connects to the reader in two sentences, opening the door for them to explore the app of a company that knows them.

Mint also has a video of their app in action to catch their website visitors’ attention. This helps the visitor visualize how the app will look if they decide to sign up.

7. InVision

How do you show customer stories dynamically above the fold? Let‘s take a look at InVision’s sleek example.

InVision is a digital product design company that helps users easily build sleek impressive websites, so the design team at the company knew the homepage had to impress visitors. It does, auto playing a silent version of the company's overview video, complete with testimonials from decision-makers at companies such as Uber and Twitter.

The copy that‘s layered above the video does a great job of concisely explaining what the company does for users, and the "Get Started Free" CTA even entices me, a marketer who isn’t looking to design a website, to learn more about the company’s offerings. It also doesn‘t hide the titles of those decision-makers from the video — "Dantley Davis, Netflix Design Director" is large enough that it can catch users’ eyes when they aren't looking.

8. Animalz

Similar to VeryGoodCopy, Animalz is a content marketing agency whose website doesn’t bombard visitors with messaging about their services in the above-the-fold design. Instead, visitors are greeted with the headline, “The world's best content marketing happens here,” which entices a marketer like me to read further.

The CTA copy is different from run-of-the-mill CTA buttons. “Let's talk,” rather than, “Click here to learn more!”, implies that when visitors click on the CTA, they will be taken to a real person who can offer them more information about the service.

The website also leverages white space, and uses simple, hand-drawn images to entice the reader to scroll down. The purple squiggle runs down the webpage to introduce Animalz's top customers, and leads to a form to get in touch with the company.

9. Ahrefs

Maybe you work for a company that wants a no-nonsense homepage that conveys the benefits of the product without congesting the page with an overload of information. If that description fits you, take a look at Ahref's above-the-fold approach.

The headline describes what the service does: It helps users improve their SEO without necessarily being an SEO expert. The CTA seals the deal by communicating pricing information.

Satisfied customers are listed at the bottom, right before the fold, to give a rounded-out overview of how Ahrefs can be a benefit to successful companies. If you want your homepage to use more copy, rather than visuals, try presenting it in a simple way that doesn't use more than 30 words, like Ahrefs did.

10. Twitch

After typing in Twitch.tv into your browser, you're immediately immersed into what the website offers: live streams for gamers. This is because as soon as your browser accesses the website, a featured live stream begins autoplaying.

While it can be a bit jarring to suddenly hear voices coming from your browser, Twitch‘s above-the-fold design doesn’t use any copy to describe their services. Instead, users can jump right in and demo the content themselves, browsing streams without having to make an account or read anything. They can keep scrolling to see popular streams, click one, and explore the site's capabilities from there.

Because of how the site works altogether, this above-the-fold approach works. Twitch offers visitors to trial their services without doing any reading. Visual platforms similar to Twitch can benefit from this method, pulling in visual learners and non-visual learners alike.

11. Skillshare

Skillshare uses video to explain the bulk of their services above the fold. Because the software offers online classes in a variety of subjects, the video displays an overview of what Skillshare can help you accomplish, learn, and feel.

The video highlights confident-looking adults diving into their passions, which is what Skillshare helps users with. The sign-up box inspires visitors to explore their creativity with the software — and get started for free.

12. Flock

The messaging app Flock doesn’t waste any time: It right away includes an email capture form above the fold. The key to including an email capture form is to design it so it doesn't interrupt the experience of a first-time visitor to your website.

The supporting images illustrate how Flock works, and the CTA text displays a little personality (“Get Flocking”). Using a form to spice up your homepage can be simple and effective when you include a clickable button and an image to display an overview of your company to visitors.

13. King Arthur Flour

The above-the-fold content of this Boston-based baking ingredient supplier, King Arthur Flour, is top notch. It gives visitors the choice to watch a video tutorial on how to make sourdough bread, right away inviting them to engage.

I could get a feel for the company‘s offerings: a Facebook Page (which houses the business’ baking show), recipes, a baking FAQ, products for purchase, and even a “Baker's Hotline”, which works as a Contact Us page.

The slideshow features, equipped with a glossy photo and their own CTA, gave me a complete overview of everything the company can do for aspiring bakers. It goes outside of just the business's products, and instead, offers helpful information for bakers in general, which is welcoming to someone who may be intimidated about bread baking.

14. Clarkisha Kent

Are you a freelancer wondering how to make your above-the-fold content stand out among your competition? If so, when you design your homepage, make sure it accomplishes two things: displaying personality and offering easy navigation options.

This is because, while your work has to precede you, so does your personality, especially as a freelancer. If you're a writer, like Clarkisha Kent, your copy has to sell it, like her website does.

The inclusion of a headshot and interesting headline quickly displays more of who Kent is as a writer, and the angle she is likely to take as a contributor to websites. Her navigation bar includes links to viral tweets she‘s made and clippings from other publications, so her homepage doesn’t have to.

Instead, her homepage serves as an introduction, which can precede her before the rest of her website. When users are drawn in by a minimalistic web page with cliffhanger text, they're likely going to be interested in exploring the website to fill in that gap. For instance, when I read, “Chaos bringer,” I instantly wanted to know how, which prompted me to look at her past work.

15. Good Witch Kitchen

This is another example of how to convey the personality of your brand if you‘re a freelancer or small business owner. Good Witch Kitchen is the name of Kristen Ciccolini’s holistic nutrition business. The website’s above-the-fold content contains an introduction of who she is and why she does what she does.

Ciccolini's logo and copy accurately provide a quick view of the services Good Witch Kitchen provides: A non-diet approach to nutrition management from an expert.

16. Aya Paper Co

This stationery brand makes good use of the area above the fold by including a slideshow that prompts visitors to shop for birthday cards, explore new products, and build a gift box for someone. This works exceedingly well because it gives users a chance to find what they need from the slideshow alone.

The website then includes a series of customer testimonials to sway visitors into becoming customers. From the above-the-fold content alone, you get a sense of the brand’s aesthetic, ethos, and commitment to environmental sustainability.

17. BREAD Beauty Supply

For those who’d like to keep their brand imagery strong above the fold, BREAD Beauty Supply’s example will be sure to offer some inspiration. The brand includes a video of customers showing off their curly hair — which is what their products are used for — with a large version of its logo placed over the video.

The brand then seals the deal by including a “Shop All” button at the bottom. You can still make a “splash” with your above-the-fold website content; you’ll only need to include a CTA.

18. Ceremonia

Ceremonia is another haircare brand that, like BREAD Beauty Supply, uses a video to catch visitors’ attention. It also includes a CTA button at the bottom that invites visitors to “Shop All.”

This above-the-fold website example is effective because it conveys the brand’s mission and aesthetic while still fully using the available real estate. The video inspires one to take care of one’s hair using the products. It shows people being carefree and enjoying the environment. The brand’s products are made from naturally derived ingredients, and the video hints at that without using text.

In the same way, you can hint at your products’ background using strong imagery in a video.

The Benefits of Above the Fold Optimization

Above-the-fold optimization is critical to ensure your website visitors don’t bounce off the page. That way, you can increase the chances of visitors becoming customers. By optimizing the content above the fold, you can:

Increase user engagement by right away inviting users to shop or reach out to you.
Greet users with on-brand messaging.
Establish the value of using your product or service.
Show the results your website visitors can see if they choose to purchase from you.

Now that you have some inspiration about how to keep your customers engaged on your landing pages, which strategy are you going to use for yours? I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

15 Call-to-Action Statistics You Need to Know About to Increase Your Conversion Rate

Ankit Vora — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

You’re leaving money on the table by not using effective call-to-actions (CTAs) in your marketing campaigns.

To help you create irresistible CTAs and move a higher percentage of people down your marketing funnel, we’ve compiled a list of 15 relevant call-to-action statistics.

We scoured the internet for the latest research papers, reports, and case studies. Then, we interviewed experts to assemble this comprehensive list of call-to-action statistics.

These statistics will help you understand how to craft and implement effective CTAs that drive conversion and action. Additionally, we offer suggestions for tools to help you reach your goals. Let’s explore each of these CTA stats below.

1. Email CTAs get an average click-through rate (CTR) of 3-5%. (Databox)

CTAs are the bread and butter of email marketing. Over the last few years, the Databox team discovered that email CTAs got an average click-through rate of 3-5% for over 40% of their contributors.

Image Source

However, this doesn’t imply that surpassing the 5% CTR is impossible. Although challenging, over 15% of Databox’s contributors mentioned that email CTAs helped them achieve a click-through rate of more than 10%.

2. 43% of marketers use only one CTA per email, whereas 30% use two per email. (Databox)

If your first instinct is adding as many CTAs to your emails, you need to rethink your strategy. According to Databox’s findings, more isn’t always better.

Of marketing respondents, 43% mentioned using only one CTA per email. On the other hand, 30% said that they use two CTAs per email.

Get started with HubSpot's CTA tool

A similar finding by Wordstream indicates that emails with a single call-to-action can increase clicks by over 371% and sales by around 1617%.

Last, Omnisend’s analysis of 229 million emails sent during the Black Friday to Cyber Monday period revealed that emails with three or more CTAs have lower click-through rates than emails with less than three CTAs.

3. Personalized call-to-actions perform 202% better than basic CTAs. (HubSpot)

After analyzing and comparing more than 330,000 CTAs over a six-month timeframe, we discovered that personalized CTAs convert 202% better than basic CTAs.

That’s because, when it comes to personalized CTAs, you’re putting content in front of your audience that aligns with their buyers’ journey and resonates with their interests.

With HubSpot's CTA tool, you'll be able to tailor CTAs to each visitor.

Get granular by personalizing CTAs to anonymous and first-time site visitors based on location, device, referral source, or language.

4. Customers are 16x more likely to share news about their purchase on social media if they see a CTA button on the post-purchase page. (Digital Oasis)

There’s nothing better than customers spreading the word about your business. And if you want to encourage customers to share news about their latest purchase on their social media handles, ensure they can do so within a few clicks.

Embedding a CTA button on the post-purchase page can be highly effective. Customers are 16x more likely to share news about their purchase on social media if a CTA on the post-purchase page asks them to do so.

It’s a great way to encourage customers to spread the word about your business.

5. The red CTA button consistently outperforms the green one. (CXL)

The color red is often associated with negative emotions. Despite that, red CTAs outperform green ones consistently.

CXL covered this comprehensively in one of their articles, where they referred to several studies, including ones conducted by Dmix and HubSpot (that’s us), and VWO.

But don’t go painting your CTA buttons red just yet.

What if the red CTA button looks forced on your landing page? What if it doesn’t go well with the design? That’s why it’s critical to consider the page's visual hierarchy.

6. Michael Aagaard, a conversion optimization consultant, increased the conversion rate of a long landing page by a staggering 304% by placing the CTA button at the bottom. (CXL)

In marketing, the golden rule is to position your call to action above the fold. However, that shouldn’t always be the case, as having only one CTA at the top of the landing page may be too early for the user to take action.

Huge, in one of their reports, mentioned that regardless of the design cues, almost 91-100% of people scroll beyond the fold.

There’s very low engagement at the top of the page, so having just a single CTA at the top of the page may not be the most effective strategy for driving conversions.

Michael Aagaard, a freelance CRO consultant, loves experimenting with call-to-actions. In one of his experiments, he placed the CTA button at the bottom of a very long landing page.

Doing this helped him increase the conversion rate by a staggering 304%.

However, it’s important to note that what worked for Michael won’t necessarily work for you. As with all things in the conversion optimization world, testing different variations of CTAs yourself is highly recommended.

7. PartnerStack increased its conversion rate by 111.55% after tweaking its homepage CTA copy from “Book a Demo” to “Get Started.”

PartnerStack, a partner ecosystem platform, managed to increase its conversion rate from 6.66% to 14.09% (+111.55%) by tweaking its homepage CTA copy from “Book a Demo” to “Get Started.”

Before:

After:

Joe Kevens, director of demand gen at PartnerStack and Founder of B2B SaaS Reviews mentioned:

“My best guess as to why ‘Get Started’ delivered better results than ‘Book a Demo’ is that ‘Get Started’ feels like we’re trying to help our customers solve their problem, whereas ‘Book a Demo’ feels like we’re trying to get them into a sales cycle.”

By tweaking its CTA copy, PartnerStack shifted its focus from a sales-driven approach to a customer-centric one.

8. Grow & Convert conducted a comprehensive study on conversion rates of an email capture form across different locations on a landing page (Grow & Convert).

Recently, Grow & Convert explored and estimated rough conversion rates by placing email capture forms across different locations on a landing page. See results from the study below.

Placement	Rough Conversion Rate
Sidebar CTAs	0.5% – 1.5%
Generic end of post CTAs	0.5% – 1.5%
Pop-ups	1% – 8%
Sliders and bars	1% – 5%
Welcome Gates	10% – 25%
Featurebox	3% – 9%
Navbar	Varies

9. Including social proof under its landing page CTA helped Augmentive increase its conversion rate by 68%.

Image Source

Ryan Scollon, a freelance PPC consultant and CRO specialist, implemented a simple review widget under Augmentive’s landing page call-to-action button.

After a few weeks of testing, it was clear that including social proof under their landing page CTAs contributed to the increase in conversion rate by 68.02%.

This indicates that adding social proof below your call-to-actions can be a great way to build trust.

10. Including doubt removers under CTAs helped Nomad Cooks increase their conversion rate by up to 124%.

Including doubt removers under call-to-action buttons can be a game-changer.

If you’re wondering what a doubt remover is, it’s a small piece of text below a call-to-action button to remove any concerns or potential points of friction that may be stopping your audience from taking the desired action.

It can also be a great place to mention the emotional benefits of your product/service.

After implementing doubt removers under call-to-actions, Nomad Cooks witnessed increases of up to 124% in conversion rates, with the original conversion rate of 9.5% jumping up to 21.3% over four weeks.

11. CTAs surrounded by less clutter and more white space can increase conversion rates by 232%. (VWO)

As reported by VWO, Open Mile witnessed a whopping 232% jump in conversions after removing the clutter and adding white space around their landing page CTA.

Removing distractions and unnecessary elements from the surrounding area around your CTA can help create a sense of clarity and focus.

12. Getting rid of the email field helped Kommunicate increase clicks to their CTA button by 25.5%. (VWO)

With people being picky about who they share their emails with these days, removing the email submission field from your CTA button is advisable.

Kommunicate did the same.

As reported by VWO, Kommunicate witnessed a 25.5% increase in clicks on their “Try for free” CTA after removing the email submission field from the CTA button.

13. Switching from text-based to button-based CTA and making it more visible helped The Vineyard increase their CTR by 32.12%. (VWO)

The Vineyard, a luxury hotel based in the UK, wanted to increase the number of people visiting their room booking page.

Initially, their call-to-action was in text-based format and hidden at the bottom of their page, making it very hard to be noticed by potential customers and visitors. So, they decided to make the CTA more visible by:

Switching to button-based CTA.
Moving it up, making sure it’s more visible.

Before:

After:

This slight change helped the Vineyard team increase click-through to their room booking page by a staggering 32.12% - which is an impressive number.

14. Making their CTA button larger and darker helped Demio increase its conversion rate by 57.79%.

Demio helps businesses create, manage and launch live, recorded, and automated webinars.

In February 2023, the Demio team implemented a test on their thank you page, which is put in front of people after they attend a webinar or event hosted on Demio.

They made their CTA larger and darker for the variant. They ran an A/B test for 13 days, and the results were incredible.

The original version had a 1.59% conversion rate, whereas the variant had an impressive 2.53% conversion rate. Ultimately the variant had a 57.79% higher conversion rate than the control.

This is another case of making your CTA button easily noticeable and visible.

15. Adding a human touch to their CTA copy helped Mailmodo more than 2x their conversion rate.

The Mailmodo team has been experimenting extensively with their CTAs to improve their conversion rate. Recently, the team changed the generic “Book a demo” on the brand's homepage to “Talk to a Human,” which delivered impressive results.

Claim your free Google Business Profile.

Mailmodo witnessed a 110.35% increase in conversion rate, from 0.29% to 0.61%. Tarun Agarwal, VP of growth at Mailmodo, mentioned, “I believe adding a human touch to your CTAs tends to work better than using transactional copies.”

In short, it’s a good practice to level up your marketing game by switching your focus from the same-old transactional and generic CTAs and giving them a human touch.

Crafting the Perfect CTA

A well-crafted and implemented CTA can distinguish between a visitor bouncing off your website or taking the desired action. The tiniest details can have a severe impact, whether it’s the color, placement, or text.

By taking the fifteen CTA statistics mentioned in this post as inspiration and with continuous testing and optimizing, you can significantly craft effective CTAs that’ll help you improve your click-through and conversion rates. HubSpot's free CTA tool can lead you to your conversion goals.

How to Post to Instagram From Your Computer [12 Easy Steps]

Caroline Forsey — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 16:20:06 GMT

Posting to Instagram from your computer is a great choice if you don't have your phone on hand or need to access company assets on your laptop. Or you might simply prefer to use a wider screen.

For these reasons and others, you might be wondering, "Can I post to Instagram from my computer?" We have some good news.

In this post, we'll discuss:

Can you post to Instagram from a PC?
How to Use Instagram on a PC
How to Post to Instagram from Desktop PC
How to Upload Photos to Instagram on a Desktop Computer Using Chrome
How to Upload Photos to Instagram on a Mac Using Safari
How to Post a Video to Instagram Using a Desktop Computer
Alternative Ways to Post to Instagram from Your Computer

Why post on Instagram from your computer?

Instagram is a popular social media network for sharing photos that's most commonly accessed through a mobile app. It offers a web version that makes it easy to post assets you may only have on your laptop and not your phone.

Here are some reasons why you should consider posting from your computer:

Manage Multiple Accounts

If you manage multiple Instagram accounts, it's much easier to switch between accounts on your computer.

For example, let's say you're a social media manager for a prominent brand. The last thing you want to do is have an absentminded mishap where you accidentally post brand content to your personal Instagram account (or, worse, vice versa) simply because you're logged into both on your phone.

Access to Photos and Videos

For those who already work on their desktop for most of the day, it might be easier to upload company posts and videos via your desktop, rather than having your smartphone open at work.

Plus, your company's files might be more easily accessible via desktop than mobile. For instance, if you use Photoshop to edit company photos, it's likely easier to click "Upload" from your desktop when you're done editing, rather than sending that same photo or video to your personal phone.

Keyboard Access

Typing out long captions can be very tedious, especially when using a smartphone. Having access to a keyboard makes crafting your captions and hashtags a lot easier — and quicker.

Using a desktop also means you don't have to worry about your phone accidentally auto-correcting your caption. Plus, you can run your caption through an AI writing assistant, like Grammarly, to ensure your captions are free of spelling and grammar mistakes.

Bigger Screen

Perhaps you simply prefer the larger screen of a desktop. Or, maybe you don't have access to a smartphone so you can't download the app on your phone. Either way, working with a larger screen can be more convenient for those who want to see their picture or videos in greater detail before posting.

Now that we've discussed why you should use Instagram on your computer instead, here's how to do it.

While the social platform is primarily meant to be consumed in-app, it offers a nearly identical experience if you access it on your computer.

On Instagram's web version, you can:

Watch and reply to other people's Stories
Search for hashtags and other users
Browse your feed
Comment and like posts
Reply to direct messages (DMs)
View your notifications
Access the Explore tab
Post photos and videos to your profile

In other words — Yes, you can post to Instagram from your PC or Mac desktop instead of on your mobile device's app or browser.

Now, let's explore how you can post images and videos from your desktop computer.

1. Open up your preferred desktop browser.

Whether you use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or another application, the first thing you need to do is open your web browser.

2. Go to instagram.com.

Next, go to https://www.instagram.com by typing it into your navigation bar.

3. Login to your account.

Then, log in to your Instagram account through your Facebook credentials or by inputting your phone number, username, or email.

4. Click the '+' button in the top bar.

Once you're logged in, find the navigation bar, which includes a search bar, a home symbol, a DM symbol, a plus sign, a heart, and a circle with your profile picture. Click on the plus sign.

5. In the pop-up, click 'Select from computer.'

A pop-up box will appear with a blue button that says "Select from computer." You can either click on the button to select your file, or you can drag and drop images from your desktop into the pop-up box.

6. Choose an image file to upload to Instagram.

If you opt to click the "Select from computer" button, browse through your files until you find the image you want. Click on the image file, then select "Open."

7. Optional: Crop the image, zoom in, or add more media if needed.

Instagram gives you several options for editing images prior to publication.

You can change the aspect ratio, zoom in, or add more media to the same post. You can find aspect ratio and zoom-in icons on the lower left corner of the image editor:

The "add more media" button is on the lower right corner. After clicking on the "add more media" button, click the plus sign to add more images, if desired.

Once you're done, click "Next" on the top right corner of the image editor.

8. Optional: Choose a filter and make additional adjustments.

Just like the app, Instagram on desktop also allows you to choose a filter and make additional adjustments to other aspects of the image, such as brightness, contrast, saturation, and more.

When you're done editing, click "Next."

9. Write a caption.

On the next page, you'll be able to add a caption for your post.

10. Optional: Add a location, add alt text, or turn off commenting if desired.

On the same page, you'll also be able to add a location, alt text, tag other accounts, or turn off commenting.

11. Click 'Share.'

Once your post is ready to go, click "Share" on the top right corner of the screen.

12. Done! You've posted on Instagram from your PC.

Now that you know to post on Instagram from a PC, we'll discuss how to do it on:

Once we discuss how you can post photos, we'll also discuss how to upload a video to Instagram from your desktop.

1. Open up your Chrome browser.

The first thing you'll want to do is open up Google Chrome. If you're on Windows, you can do so by clicking the Windows icon in your taskbar. Then, search through the applications you've already installed on your computer until you find Chrome.

2. Navigate to Instagram's website.

Next, navigate to https://www.instagram.com by typing it into the navigation bar. Log in using your Facebook credentials or by inputting your email, phone number, or username. If you've logged into Instagram's web version before, it might include an option to "Continue as [username]," and you'll be able to automatically log in.

3. Follow steps 4-12 from the instructions above.

Once you're logged into Instagram on your Chrome browser, you can upload to Instagram just as you would on any Desktop PC browser. Click the "+" button, select the file you want to upload, edit the photo however you like, write a caption and alt text, add a tag and location, and then click "Share" when you're ready to upload.

1. Open up your Safari browser.

The first thing you'll want to do is open up Safari. To do so, open up Launchpad and find Safari in your list of applications. Alternatively, if you have it pinned in your taskbar, you can open it from there.

2. Navigate to Instagram's website.

Next, navigate to https://www.instagram.com by typing it into Safari's navigation bar. If you visit the site often enough, Safari may also have a shortcut in your "New tab" page.

Once you get there, login with your preferred credentials. If you've already used the web version in the past, Instagram will allow you to log in with one click.

3. Follow the same upload instructions from before..

Once you are able to view Instagram from your Safari browser, you can upload an Instagram post the same way you would on Chrome — by clicking the "+" button, adding a filter or editing the photo, adding a location and caption, and clicking "Share" when you're ready for your post to go live.

Want to upload a video instead?

How to Post a Video to Instagram Using a Desktop Computer

You can upload videos to Instagram from your desktop — which makes it easy to share professionally-shot videos that may not be readily available on your phone. That means you can share marketing videos and shoots you received from a freelancer or your in-house videographer.

Here's how to post a video to Instagram on any web browser.

1. Head to the Instagram website on your preferred browser.

Once you're there, log in using your credentials.

2. Click the "+" button next to the DM symbol.

Just like you would if you were posting a photo, click the + button in the top navigation bar of your Instagram feed.

3. Click "Select from computer" to upload your media.

Select your video file from the computer. We recommend uploading an MP4 file to avoid compatibility issues.

If your video is less than 10 minutes long, your file size should be no bigger than 650 MB. For videos between 10 minutes and 60 minutes (which is the maximum length), you should aim for a file size smaller than 3.6GB. Read more about Instagram's video requirements here.

4. Resize your video and add more media if desired.

Instagram gives you two options for adjusting your video: Changing the aspect ratio and adding more media. For photos, Instagram also allows you to zoom into the picture. The option isn't available for videos.

If you're uploading a horizontal video, we recommend using a 16:9 aspect ratio so that it's not cut off. If you're worried about the aesthetics of your feed, stick to a 1:1 ratio. That way, there isn't any white space when visitors visit your profile.

5. Choose a cover photo, trim the video, and toggle sound options.

Next, you can choose a cover photo (the image users will see before they click "Play"). You have the option of uploading a custom cover photo for the video, and you can also trim the video and turn the sound off if desired.

6. Write a caption, tag other users, add alt text, and toggle commenting options.

In the next screen, you can write a caption for your video, tag anyone who appears in the video, add alt text, and disable commenting.

7. Click Share.

Done! You've now posted your video on Instagram.

Alternative Ways to Post to Instagram from Your Computer

You don't have to access Instagram's web version to post on Instagram. If you find the web version to be too lacking for your day-to-day tasks, especially if you're a social media manager, you can use a third-party service that offers social media scheduling software.

HubSpot's social media management tool is one of the best options you can use to schedule Instagram posts from your desktop — no need to access the Instagram app or website itself.

Here's one example of us scheduling a video post for Instagram using Social Inbox:

The great benefit of using this method is that you can schedule posts well in advance. You don't have to access Instagram every time you want to add new media to your profile.

If you're doing this regularly for your job, it might be worthwhile to explore all the social media scheduling tools at your disposal to choose the one best-suited for your business' needs.

Using Instagram Like the Pro You Are

Now that you don't have to worry about transferring photos to your mobile device or juggling your work's social media account on your own device, you'll be able to grow on Instagram efficiently and effectively. From there, the sky is the limit for creating posts and growing your audience in a scalable way.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The Ultimate Guide to Embedding Content on Your Website

lkolowich@hubspot.com (Lindsay Kolowich Cox) — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Embedding social media content into your blog or website can significantly impact sales, audience trust, and the authenticity of your marketing initiatives. This is especially true if you’re embedding user-generated content:

Consumers rank authentic, user-generated content as the most trustworthy form of content.
77% of consumers would be more inclined to purchase a product or service if they incorporated user-generated content into marketing initiatives.
Seeing photos and videos from other consumers before making a purchase reduces the likelihood of a return for 69% of shoppers.

Despite the benefits, figuring out how to embed this content can be tricky. This post is a step-by-step guide to embedding social media content into your website from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Google Calendar, YouTube, and TikTok.

Table of Contents

How to Embed a Tweet
Embed Facebook Post or Video
Embed Facebook Feed
Embed Instagram Feed and Posts
Embed Pinterest Pins
Embed Pinterest Boards
How to Embed Google Calendar
How to Embed a YouTube Video
How to Embed a TikTok Video

1. Find the tweet you'd like to embed.

The first step to embedding a Tweet is finding the one you want to display in its natural habitat — Twitter. You can only get embed codes from its website.

2. Click the three dots at the top-right of the tweet.

3. Click Embed Tweet.

Clicking this arrow icon will reveal a dropdown menu of options, including one called "Embed Tweet." Click this option.

4. Click Copy Code or make customizations.

You can customize the theme (light or dark), set a language, and hide Tweet replies. If you make customizations, click Update, then Copy Code.

5. Paste the code into your website's HTML editor.

Paste the code into your HTML editor by opening the source code (some content management systems have a "" icon where you can access this source code) and pasting it where you want it to appear.

5. Optional: Add 'tw-align-center' after the words "twitter-tweet" in the embed code.

Once you pasted this code into your HTML, however, you'll want to center-align this tweet so it doesn't automatically appear pushed up against the left or right side of your webpage. To correct this, add the text, 'tw-align-center' (without quotation marks) directly after "twitter-tweet" in the embed code. You can learn more about this method here.

Here's what the final code should look like:

blockquote class="twitter-tweet" tw-align-center data-lang="en"p lang="en" dir="ltr"Let us know! 👂brWhat type of content would you like to see from us this year? HubSpot (@HubSpot) a href="https://twitter.com/HubSpot/status/1085634067679322114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"January 16, 2019/a/blockquote
script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"/script

That's it! This is what your embedded tweet will look like when you're done:

Let us know! 👂
What type of content would you like to see from us this year?
— HubSpot (@HubSpot) January 16, 2019

Embed Facebook Post or Video

You can embed a Facebook post or video from the content or use the Developer Embed Tool.

Embed Facebook Post or Video

1. Find the Facebook post you'd like to embed.

Navigate to the post you want to embed from a Facebook user's profile page or your newsfeed.

2. Click the three dots on the top-right of the post.

3. Click Embed in the dropdown menu.

4. Copy and paste the code into your website's HTML editor.

5. Optional: Add center and /center tags around the entire HTML snippet to center-align your post.

Once you paste it into your HTML, you can center-align the code so it doesn't appear pushed up against the left or right side of your webpage. To correct this, wrap the code with 'center' and '/center' tags so the Facebook post displays in the center of your article or webpage.

Here's what the final code should look like with the alignment tag:

centeriframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fthehubspotacademy%2Fposts%2F741606746226328%3A0&width=500" width="500" height="448" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"/iframe/center

That's it! Here's what it'll look like when you're done:

Embed Facebook Post with Developer Embed Tool

You can also embed a Facebook Post using Facebook’s Code Generator. To do this:

Identify the content you want to embed and copy the page URL.
Navigate to Facebook’s Developer Embed Tool by clicking this link.
Paste the URL in the URL of the post field.
Set your desired width.
Choose whether you want to feature the full post (comments included) or the post itself.
Click Get Code and paste the code within your site's HTML.

Embed Facebook Feed

You can embed an entire Facebook feed using a plugin (for WordPress users) or Facebook’s Page Plugin.

Using a WordPress Plugin

WordPress users have several Facebook feed plugins at their disposal. Here's how to use one:

The Custom Facebook Feed, by Smash Balloon, is one such WordPress plugin you can download through your WordPress account. You can download this plugin here.
With this plugin downloaded, log into your WordPress account and activate this plugin from within the Plugins menu.
Use the Facebook Feed settings of your CMS to select and configure the specific Facebook feed you want to display on your website.
Enter the text, '[custom-facebook-feed]' into your website's HTML editor to generate your chosen Facebook feed.

Using Facebook's Page Plugin

Facebook has its very own Page Plugin tool you can use to produce an embed code for any Facebook feed. Here's how to use it:

1. Copy the URL of the page you want to embed.

2. Open Facebook's Page Plugin tool and paste the URL into the Facebook Page URL field.

3. Add the tabs you want displayed alongside your embedded feed.

The plugin lets you display tabs for Events and/or to a messenger account. To add them to your embedded Facebook feed, enter the words "events" and/or "messages" next to the word "timeline," all separated by commas into the Tabs field.

4. Customize the dimensions of your Facebook feed.

The default size for a Facebook feed embed is 340x500, but you can choose your own width (min 180 max 500) and height (min 70).

5. Customize elements of your feed embed.

Facebook automatically checks boxes that adapt the plugin to the container width, but you can un-check them for further customization. You can also choose to use a smaller-sized header or hide your overall cover photo.

5. Click Get Code.

6. Click the 'IFrame' tab.

The popup window that opens has a tab for JavaScript SDK and IFrame. The first tab is only useful if you’re coding a website from scratch, and IFrame is ready to be embedded into your website’s HTML. Beginners should stick with the iframe code.

7. Copy and paste the embed code into your website's HTML editor.

8. Optional: Add center and /center tags around the entire IFrame snippet to center-align the feed.

Once you paste the code into your HTML, you can center align the code so it doesn’t appear pushed up against the left or right side of your webpage. To do this, wrap the code with 'center' and '/center' tags so the Facebook feed displays in the center of your article or webpage.

Here's what the final code should look like with the alignment code:

centeriframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" allow="encrypted-media" xml="lang" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/page.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fhubspot&tabs=timeline%2C%20events%2C%20messages&width=340&height=500&small_header=false&adapt_container_width=true&hide_cover=false&show_facepile=true&appId" width="340" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"/iframe/center

Embed Instagram Feed and Posts

Here’s how to embed an Instagram feed.

The Instagram Feed WordPress Plugin

Smash Balloon’s Social Photo Feed WordPress plugin makes it easy to embed entire Instagram feeds on your WordPress site.

Download the Social Photo Feed plugin for WordPress here.
With this plugin downloaded, log into your WordPress account and activate this plugin from within the Plugins menu.
Use your CMS's "Instagram Feed" settings to select your Instagram Access Token and user ID.
Enter the text, '[instagram-feed]' in the HTML editor of your website to generate your chosen Instagram feed.

According to the instructions, you can display multiple Instagram feeds at the same time with two codes:

[instagram-feed user="username" cols=3], where you’d be displaying three columns of content from an accounts feed.
[instagram-feed user="username1, username2"], where you can feature photos from multiple accounts in a single feed.

Instagram's Embedding Feature

Instagram’s native tool helps you easily embed individual posts. Here's how to do it:

Note: You can only embed Instagram content from public accounts with embed settings turned on. To set your own account to public, navigate to your profile, tap Settings and privacy, Account privacy, then toggle Private account to off.

1. Click on the post you want to embed.

You can only get embed codes from Instagram.com on mobile or desktop browsers.

2. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the post.

3. Select Embed.

4. Copy and paste the embed code into your website's HTML editor.

5. Optional: Add center and /center tags around the entire HTML snippet to center-align the post.

Once you pasted this code into your HTML, you have the option to center-align the post so it doesn't appear pushed up against the left or right side of your webpage. To correct this, wrap the code with 'center' and '/center' tags so it’s centered in your article or webpage.

That's it! Here's what your embedded Instagram post will look like:

Embed Pinterest Pins

1. Open Pinterest's widget builder.

2. Select Pin in the menu bar.

3. Paste in the URL of the pin you'd like to embed into the Pin URL field.

4. Customize the embed.

You can customize the size of the widgets’ icons and choose if you’d like to hide the description. Use the live preview as a helpful reference before making a final decision.

5. Copy and paste the code from this section into your website's HTML editor.

Once you’re happy with the customizations, copy the line of code from the first code field (shown below) and paste it into your website’s HTML editor or source code exactly where you want it to appear on the page. If you want it to appear in multiple places, simply paste it wherever you want it to go.

Then, copy the second line of text and paste it into your website's HTML editor at the very bottom of the page. Only include this second line of code once per page, even if you want the widget to appear in multiple places on your page.

Embed Pinterest Boards

You can embed a Pinterest Board using the same widget builder. Here’s how:

Open Pinterest's widget builder.
Select Board Widget in the menu bar.
Paste the board URL, customize the sizing, and make sure you’re satisfied using the live preview.
Copy and paste the first line of code into your HTML exactly where you want it to appear on your side.
Copy and paste the second line of code into your HTML editor at the bottom of the page. Only add this line of code once per page.

Copy and paste the bottom two lines of code into your website's HTML editor, and that's it! Here's what an embedded board looks like:

How to Embed Google Calendar

You can only embed a Google Calendar to your blog or website via desktop. Got it open? Let's embed it.

1. Click the gear icon at the top of your calendar to open settings.

2. Select the calendar you want to embed and scroll down to Integrate calendar.

(You can also simply click the option of the same name on the left-hand side under your chosen calendar.)

3. Copy the iframe embed code or make further customizations.

If you’re happy with the calendar as is, copy the iframe embed code and paste it into your website's HTML where you want it to appear.

If you want to make customizations, click Customize and edit your calendar. You can add a title, change the size, add a color, and other visual elements. Once you’re done, scroll to the top of that same page, copy the embed code, and paste it into your HTML.

4. Optional: Center your calendar.

If you'd like, you can wrap the embed code in center and /center tags to center-align your calendar within the margins of your website.

The image below is an example of a Google Calendar embedded in a blog post.

1. Find the YouTube video you'd like to embed.

2. Under the video, click Share.

3. Choose Embed from the menu options.

3. Copy the code and paste it into your website's HTML editor.

You can set a timestamp for the video to start before copying the code. Once you have your settings exactly the way you want them, Copy the code from the popup box and paste it into your website’s HTML.

4. Optional: Add center and /center tags around the entire HTML snippet to center-align your video.

Here's what the final code should look like with alignment tags:

centeriframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mZxa3lrLhXM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen/iframe/center

The image below is an example of a YouTube video embedded into a blog post.

How to Embed a TikTok Video

It’s easy to embed TikTok videos into your blog or website, and there are three ways to do it.

Note: You can only get embed codes from TikTok.com (no mobile app), and you can’t embed content from private accounts or accounts of underage users.

How To Embed a TikTok Video From a User Profile

Here are the steps to embed a TikTok video from someone's profile.

1. Navigate to a user's profile and find the video you want to embed.

2. Click on the video.

3. Click the Embed icon above the comments section.

4. Click copy code in the pop-up window and paste it into your website HTML.

The image below is an example of a TikTok embedded into a blog post.

Embed a TikTok Video From Your for You Page

1. Click the share arrow at the bottom of the right-hand side menu of the video.

2. Tap Embed from the top of the menu list.

3. Click Copy code in the pop-up window and paste it into your website HTML.

How to Embed a TikTok Video from TikTok Embeds

TikTok Embeds makes it easy to embed a single TikTok video (Basic Embeds) or create a playlist of videos to embed (Create your own). For Basic Embeds;

1. Click Video and paste the URL of the TikTok video into the URL field.

2. Click Get code.

3. Copy and paste the code into your website URL.

To embed a playlist of videos;

1. Click Create your own.

2. Click the plus arrow in the middle of the box field.

3. Paste URLs to all of the videos you want to include separated by comma, line break, or space, and click Add.

4. Click Preview to get a live look at the embed.

5. Click Copy code and paste the embed URL into your websites HTML.

The image below is anan example of what an embedded TikTok playlist looks like:

Over to You

Some of these embed codes may need a little tweaking to look perfect on your blog or website, but using these steps, you should be off to great start. Happy embedding!

55 Best Online Local Business Directories & Listing Sites

Jamie Pitman — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Creating business listings on directory websites is an easy way to improve your local SEO.

All you have to do is list your business in online local directories such as Yellow Pages, Manta, and more. This is called building citations, and it’s a critical piece of a local marketing strategy.

By building citations, you can make sure that you appear in local packs when people look for businesses like yours in their area. Business directories may seem like a thing of the past, but they’re a great way to grow your presence online.

In this post, we go over everything you need to know about creating business listings and why they’re so valuable, even in the age of social media and other marketing tactics.

Promoting a local business isn’t easy these days. Whether it’s because of oversaturation or complicated search engine algorithms, it’s all too easy to feel like no one will find your business in the local search results.

Today, Google is inserting itself between consumer and local business websites much more often. For proof, you need to look no further than Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), featured snippets, and most importantly, local packs.

You can improve visibility in local packs by listing your local business' NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) on directories, online business listing sites, and citation sites. Aside from improving your local SEO, these can also improve your rankings on search engines because the listings usually link back to your site.

But what is a business listing, and what does it look like?

When I was a local SEO specialist at my previous company, I spent much of my time finding new business listing opportunities to build citations and generate backlinks for our local websites. This allowed us to rank not only in the local packs, but in the main SERPs, too.

I have a few tips to help you out. Make sure your company listing has the following information once you add it to a directory:

Consistent NAP. If you add or update your business on multiple business listing sites, make sure you're providing the same company information across each directory.
A link to your website. Backlinks — also known as inbound links — are crucial to your company website's Domain Rating. Consider adding a tracking link at the end of this URL as well, so you can see how much traffic your website specifically gets from the business directories that are linking to it.
A company description. Make sure you have a detailed description of your business that reflects your organization's mission, culture, and values.
Multimedia. Give company searchers a visual taste of your business with a picture or video of your office, your employees, or your daily business operations.

There are plenty of location-specific and industry-specific business listing sites where you can submit your data. To start promoting your local business, however, you should start with the big sites and slowly work your way toward the more niche directories.

I’ll soon go over our list of best local directories, but first, let’s cover our methodology.

How We Chose the Best Online Directories

I used to build citations for my former company, and I can tell you with full confidence that there are many, many business directories out there — and not all of them are good.

I used two simple parameters to curate the best business listing sites you can sign up on right now.

Domain Rating

Domain rating is a score that’s given to websites to reflect how well they rank on Google based on their backlink profile. The minimum score is 0 and the maximum score is 100. Domain rating is similar, but not the same as, domain authority.

The minimum required domain rating for the directories on this list was 50. I gathered the data from Ahrefs, but you can also double-check using your preferred SEO tool.

1. Google Business Profile

Domain Rating: 98

Monthly Organic Traffic: 81M Visits

Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) directly lists you on Google’s local pack and search results. A Google Business Profile includes your NAP, business hours, services, customer reviews, photos, and much more.

2. Superpages

Domain Rating: 84

Monthly Organic Traffic: 1.7M Visits

Superpages is a general online directory site for a wide variety of local business categories. A Superpages listing includes your NAP, business hours, and website.

Claim your free business listing on Superpages.

3. Better Business Bureau

Domain Rating: 93

Monthly Organic Traffic: 13M Visits

Better Business Bureau is an online directory site for a wide variety of local business categories. A Better Business Bureau listing includes your NAP, company history, company email, and website. You may also apply for optional accreditation.

Claim your free business listing on BBB.

4. Hotfrog

Domain Rating: 79

Monthly Organic Traffic: 24K Visits

Hotfrog is a general online directory site. A Hotfrog listing includes your NAP, business hours, business description, and website.

Claim your free business listing on Hotfrog.

5. Merchant Circle

Domain Rating: 85

Monthly Organic Traffic: 70K Visits

Merchant Circle is a general online listing site. A Merchant Circle listing includes your NAP, logo, payment options, business hours, business description, and website.

Claim your free business listing on MerchantCircle.

6. EZLocal

Domain Rating: 77

Monthly Organic Traffic: 90K Visits

EZLocal is a general online directory for a wide variety of local business categories. An EZLocal listing includes your NAP, parking information, business hours, and website.

Claim your free business listing on EZLocal.

7. eLocal

Domain Rating: 77

Monthly Organic Traffic: 14K Visits

eLocal is a general local directory. An eLocal listing includes your NAP, business description, website, and payment options.

Claim your free business listing on eLocal.

8. Manta

Domain Rating: 87

Monthly Organic Traffic: 2.3M Visits

A Manta listing includes your NAP, business hours, services, website, business description, and social media links. You may also apply for Manta verification.

Claim your free business listing on Manta.

9. Foursquare

Domain Rating: 91

Monthly Organic Traffic: 30M Visits

Foursquare is a general online directory for a wide variety of local business categories. A Foursquare listing includes your NAP, business hours, logo, and customer reviews.

Claim your free business listing on Foursquare.

10. Yellow Pages

Domain Rating: 90

Monthly Organic Traffic: 14M Visits

An oldie but a goodie, Yellow Pages is maybe the most well-known local directory. A Yellow Pages listing includes your NAP, parking information, business hours, and customer reviews.

Claim your free business listing on Yellow Pages.

Featured Business Listing Site: HubSpot Solutions Online Directory

HubSpot also offers an online directory for marketing and advertising agencies. If you fall into this category, I highly recommend signing up for free.

Add your free business listing to HubSpot’s Solutions directory.

Online Directories for Local Businesses

When it comes to listing your business online, you aren't limited to just using the free sites above. We've compiled the best directories on the web to list your business, whether paid or unpaid (most, however, should be free).

In my years as a local SEO and citation builder, I found most of these relatively easy to sign up on, but a few sites may require additional verification or a pending period. The good news is that there is little to no chance that your listing will be rejected.

1. Facebook Pages

Domain Rating: 100

Monthly Organic Traffic: 1.7B Visits

Facebook Pages is one of the best places to list your business online and get visibility through both organic search and Facebook’s internal search feature. A Facebook Page includes both basic NAP information and updates from your business.

Create your free business listing on Facebook Pages.

2. Instagram for Business

Domain Rating: 99

Monthly Organic Traffic: 1.4B Visits

Like Facebook, Instagram is another valuable place to list your business’ NAP information for visibility, local SEO, and social media marketing purposes. An Instagram profile will include your business’ NAP information, as well as photos and updates posted directly by you.

Create your free business listing on Instagram.

3. LinkedIn Company Directory

Domain Rating: 98

Monthly Organic Traffic: 319M Visits

LinkedIn offers a directory of business pages (called LinkedIn Pages), where most companies and businesses can add a profile for free. Like Facebook and Instagram, you not only get an opportunity to list your NAP but also to publish updates and even jobs.

Create your free business listing on LinkedIn.

4. Apple Maps

Domain Rating: 97

Monthly Organic Traffic: 424M Visits

If people visit your business in person, it’s always a good idea to add it to navigation apps and services. Apple Maps isn’t technically a business listing site, but it’s still an essential citation. You can now easily get started by using Apple’s new Business Connect online portal.

Create your free business listing on Apple Maps.

5. Yelp

Domain Rating: 95

Monthly Organic Traffic: 234M Visits

Whether you run a restaurant, a local boutique, or a repair shop, Yelp is an invaluable directory to list your business online. It not only boosts your credibility with customer reviews, but it also provides one more citation with your NAP, business hours, services, and more.

Create your free business listing on Yelp.

6. Bing Places

Domain Rating: 93

Monthly Organic Traffic: 17.1M Visits

Bing may not feel as essential as Google, but it’s still an important citation, especially because some of your customers might use Bing as their primary search engine. Adding your business to Bing also allows users to navigate directly to you using Bing Maps.

Create your free business listing on Bing Places.

7. Foursquare

Domain Rating: 91

Monthly Organic Traffic: 28.3M Visits

When I was building citations at my previous company, Foursquare was one of my favorite business listing sites. It’s quick, easy, and painless to add your online listing, and it includes all essential information without many frills. An easy citation if there ever was one.

Create your free business listing on Foursquare.

8. Angi

Domain Rating: 91

Monthly Organic Traffic: 14.9M Visits

Formerly known as Angie’s List, Angi is a valuable citation for providers of home services — from plumbing to landscaping to maintenance and renovations.

Create your free business listing on Angi.

9. Thumbtack

Domain Rating: 90

Monthly Organic Traffic: 6M Visits

Thumbtack is another great business directory for providers of home renovation and maintenance services. Other industries that could add a business listing to Thumbtack include electronics repair specialists and web designers.

Create your free business listing on Thumbtack.

10. Nextdoor

Domain Rating: 89

Monthly Organic Traffic: 6.3M Visits

Nextdoor is both a neighborhood guide and a free online business directory for local businesses of any category, but it’s specially recommended if you offer home services or products at a local shop.

Create your free business listing on Nextdoor.

Business Listing Sites

Those aren’t all the online directories you can join. Below are more of the best options for businesses of any category.

You’ll notice that some of them have low organic traffic numbers. Remember: The main benefit of adding your company to business listing sites is to build citations with your NAP information.

Even if an online directory only receives a few organic visits per month, that’s okay — the main value is having a listing with your correct name, address, and phone number (NAP).

Don’t worry about upgrading any of these listings. I never did when I was building citations. Most people don’t visit online business directories any longer; instead, they use Google or other popular websites such as Yelp.

1. City-data.com

Domain Rating: 85

Monthly Organic Traffic: 1.2M

City-data is a neighborhood forum and online directory that covers the entirety of the US.

Create your free business listing on City-data.com.

2. ChamberofCommerce.com

Domain Rating: 82

Monthly Organic Traffic: 550K

ChamberofCommerce is an online directory with a membership and an accreditation option.

Create your free business listing on ChamberofCommerce.com.

3. Company.com

Domain Rating: 80

Monthly Organic Traffic: 12.3K

Company.com is a digital ads service provider that also publishes an online directory.

Create your free business listing on Company.com.

4. Dun & Bradstreet Business Directory

Domain Rating: 79

Monthly Organic Traffic: 259K

Dun & Bradstreet is a famous online directory with an accreditation option.

Create your free business listing on Dun & Bradstreet.

5. Brownbook.net

Domain Rating: 78

Monthly Organic Traffic: 1.4K

Brownbook.net is a Yellow Pages alternative for businesses of any category. One of my favorite citations — it’s very easy to sign up.

Create your free business listing on Brownbook.net.

6. Local.com

Domain Rating: 78

Monthly Organic Traffic: 178K

Local.com is an online business directory with a blog and a series of advertising options.

Create your free business listing on Local.com.

7. Turbify

Domain Rating: 78

Monthly Organic Traffic: 1.7K

Turbify is an online local listing provider that gives you a free report and also lists you online.

Create your free business listing on Turbify.

8. Kompass.com

Domain Rating: 76

Monthly Organic Traffic: 11.1K

Kompass is a B2B online business directory that also allows you to respond to public requests for proposals.

Create your business listing on Kompass.com.

9. Storeboard

Domain Rating: 76

Monthly Organic Traffic: 1.3K

Storeboard is an online business directory that also includes a homepage “feed,” like a social media site.

Create your free business listing on Storeboard.

10. eBusinessPages

Domain Rating: 76

Monthly Organic Traffic: 261

eBusinessPages may have low traffic numbers, but it’s an easy and simple citation to add to your roster.

Create your free business listing on eBusinessPages.

11. City Squares

Domain Rating: 74

Monthly Organic Traffic: 5.3K

CitySquares is an online business directory that also has a handy partner program for companies with multiple locations.

Create your free business listing on City Squares.

12. BOTW

Domain Rating: 74

Monthly Organic Traffic: 30.2K

Best of the Web (BOTW) is an online business directory with advertising and upgrade options.

Create your free business listing on BOTW.

13. Infobel

Domain Rating: 74

Monthly Organic Traffic: 913K

Infobel is an EU-based business listing site that also includes a local US directory for companies of any category.

Create your free business listing on Infobel.

14. iBegin

Domain Rating: 73

Monthly Organic Traffic: 42.7K

iBegin is a simple online directory where you can not only submit your business, but blog posts as well.

Create your free business listing on iBegin.

15. Neustar Localeze

Domain Rating: 73

Monthly Organic Traffic: 13.3K

Neustar Localeze is a business listing service that also includes an online directory. This one is paid, and sign-up can be a little more complicated than other options, but it’s still worth it.

Create your business listing on Neustar Localeze.

16. Spoke

Domain Rating: 74

Monthly Organic Traffic: 1.9K

Spoke.com is an online business directory with a “feed” on its home page, like a social media site. You can also add people and topics.

Create your free business listing on Spoke.

17. GoLocal247

Domain Rating: 73

Monthly Organic Traffic: 12.7K

GoLocal247 is an online business directory where you can also post free classified ads.

Create your free business listing on GoLocal247.

18. Call Up Contact

Domain Rating: 73

Monthly Organic Traffic: 73.7K

Call Up Contact is a free business listing site where you can also add individual pages for your products and services.

Create your free business listing on CallUpContact.

19. n49.com

Domain Rating: 73

Monthly Organic Traffic: 159K

n49 is a Canada-based directory that has a US arm. One of my favorites in terms of UX and workflow. It’s simple to sign up, and editing your listing is easy through its portal.

Create your free business listing on n49.

20. Cybo

Domain Rating: 72

Monthly Organic Traffic: 330K

Cybo is a global business listing site for companies of any category.

Create your free business listing on Cybo.

21. Just Landed

Domain Rating: 72

Monthly Organic Traffic: 42.7K

Just Landed is an online business directory that also includes an expat community and an area for classified ads.

Create your free business listing on Just Landed.

22. Tuugo.us

Domain Rating: 72

Monthly Organic Traffic: 130

Tuugo’s organic traffic numbers may be low, but like others on this list, it’s an easy citation that will help you reinforce your NAP information. It’s also very, very simple to sign up — no verification required.

Create your free business listing on Tuugo.us.

23. Lacartes

Domain Rating: 72

Monthly Organic Traffic: 15.2K

Lacartes is an online business directory that also includes a job and product marketplace, as well as a community forum.

Create your free business listing on Lacartes.

24. City Local Pro

Domain Rating: 72

Monthly Organic Traffic: 539

City Local Pro is a business directory that specializes in home improvement services, but you may be able to sign up and get a citation regardless of category.

Create your free business listing on City Local Pro.

25. Yellow.Place

Domain Rating: 72

Monthly Organic Traffic: 972K

Yellow.Place is a Yellow Pages alternative with advertising options.

Create your free business listing on Yellow.Place.

26. Hub.biz

Domain Rating: 72

Monthly Organic Traffic: 124K

Hub.biz is an online directory with a text-based “feed” that includes updates from local businesses.

Create your free business listing on Hub.biz.

27. Cylex US

Domain Rating: 73

Monthly Organic Traffic: 921K

Cylex US is an online directory that offers premium listings, as well as the ability to post special offers.

Create your free business listing on Cylex.us.

28. Fyple.com

Domain Rating: 68

Monthly Organic Traffic: 2.1K

Fyple is a local directory for businesses of any category. It also offers customers the option to post reviews.

Create your free business listing on Fyple.

29. Opendi.us

Domain Rating: 67

Monthly Organic Traffic: 23.5K

Opendi is a business directory with international arms in Europe and South America. Opendi has a long pending period for new listings, but it’s worth submitting to.

Create your free business listing on Opendi.us.

30. ExpressBusinessDirectory.com

Domain Rating: 65

Monthly Organic Traffic: 7

ExpressBusinessDirectory.com has low traffic numbers, but it’s easy to submit to, and you can never run short on citations.

Create your free business listing on ExpressBusinessDirectory.

31. My Huckleberry

Domain Rating: 64

Monthly Organic Traffic: 544

My Huckleberry is an online business directory with an online forum and a coupon marketplace.

Create your free business listing on My Huckleberry.

32. Bizhwy.com

Domain Rating: 66

Monthly Organic Traffic: 24

Bizhwy.com is a simple online business directory that also gives you the option of submitting a press release. Since its traffic numbers are low, I recommend sticking to a free listing.

Create your free business listing on Bizhwy.

33. DirJournal.com

Domain Rating: 63

Monthly Organic Traffic: 802

DirJournal is an online business directory that also offers advertising options. Since its traffic numbers are low, I recommend sticking to a free listing.

Create your free business listing on Dirjournal.

34. USdirectory.com

Domain Rating: 56

Monthly Organic Traffic: 1.7K

USdirectory.com is a business listing site that offers advertising options. I also recommend sticking to a free listing for this one.

Create your business listing on US Directory.

35. FindUSlocal.com

Domain Rating: 55

Monthly Organic Traffic: 61.8K

FindUSlocal is an online business directory with a “feed”-like home page.

Create your free business listing on FindUSLocal.

Benefits of Listing Your Business in Local Directories

As mentioned, the value of listing your business in directories isn’t about visibility in the directories themselves (although that’s certainly helpful); it’s more about building citations with your business information.

Here are some of the benefits of listing your business online. It’s a lot of work, but it’s endlessly invaluable.

Rank Higher in Local Packs

You’ve seen local packs before — they’re the groups of local businesses that appear when you make a location-based search, such as “pizza near me.”

By listing your business in local directories, you’re reinforcing your company’s NAP information again and again. This constant and consistent record of citations (really, make sure your information is consistent!) can improve your chances of ranking higher in Google’s local packs. You’ll therefore increase visibility and exposure in your area, which can result in more website visits and foot traffic.

Get White-Hat Backlinks to Your Website

We can’t forget the big benefit: Backlinks. Most local directories allow you to add a link to your website, and while some of them may be no-follow links, it’s still worth the mention.

Most directories are authoritative websites that have a high domain authority or domain rating. By listing your business on these directories, you can indirectly increase your website's domain authority by getting a “vote,” so to speak, from an authoritative site.

By getting backlinks or “votes” from directories, you will, in turn, improve your search engine rankings and increase your website's visibility and traffic.

Boost Company Legitimacy

Creating business listings can also improve your legitimacy. Local directories are trusted sources of information, and being listed on these directories can boost your company's credibility and reputation.

Imagine if people look up your business and the first page of the SERPs are filled with random URLs that happen to share your business name. That doesn’t help you look established. But if the SERPs are all filled with listings from other directories, users will feel like your company is real and therefore worth their investment.

No matter what, being listed in local directories will improve your online reputation and increase your brand visibility.

Add Your Local Business to Online Directories

Making sure that you have a presence where your potential customers might find you is critical to any local marketing plan. It’s critical to build citations not only for the added visibility but for the SEO benefits, too. Add your local business to some of these business listings and directories today — and watch your business and customer base grow.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Threads and Spill: Can These New Apps Dethrone Twitter?

lalfred@hubspot.com (Lestraundra Alfred) — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Since getting purchased by Elon Musk, Twitter has been in a highly-publicized tailspin.

Between staff cuts, unpopular feature changes, public disputes with reputable media entities, and declining traffic and ad revenue, the platform has had a tumultuous year.

One thing Twitter hasn’t had to deal with in its 17-year history is direct competition. While there are plenty of other popular social media platforms, they all serve different purposes.

Instagram, traditionally a photo-based app, is a place to share visual content. Facebook is for communicating with people you already know and engaging in groups. TikTok has a unique hybrid of video and audio content for entertainment. YouTube focuses strictly on video. But Twitter was the only major platform offering real-time text updates and microblogs from a variety of sources all in one feed.

Until now.

The introduction of daily limits created a sense of urgency for frustrated Twitter users who don’t want to pay for a Twitter Blue subscription to find an alternative. While apps like Mastadon and Bluesky have been on the scene, barriers to entry have prevented Twitter users from migrating to these apps en masse. However, over the past few weeks, a few new standouts have emerged.

Spill: A Black-Owned Twitter Alternative

Spill, a visual-based conversational platform where users can share GIFs and images with up to 90 characters of text overlay, was created by two former Twitter employees. It launched in June 2023 and is currently invite-only for iPhone users. Popular among Black Twitter users, Spill was the top-downloaded free social media app in the app store at the beginning of July.

Image Source: Spill

With larger font and image-based posts, the app’s feed is more reminiscent of Tumblr than Twitter. Because of the shorter character limits, posts have to be more concise keeping conversations moving fairly quickly.

Though Spill has gained some initial momentum, its early-stage exclusivity doesn’t give us a full picture of how the app will perform at scale.

Then Came Threads, Meta’s Twitter Alternative

Zuckerberg did what he does best, launching a Twitter look-alike app called Threads under the Meta umbrella. So far, audiences are into it — in just under a week, Threads has racked up over 100 million users.

Image Source: Threads

While crossing the 100 million user mark in under a week is quite impressive, it’s worth noting the app’s clear integration with Instagram played a huge role in its early success. To join Threads, users must have an active Instagram account. They can log in with their Instagram credentials, and their same username, bio, and followers are imported into threads.

The interface of Threads looks very similar to Twitter. The platform encourages conversational posts that can have up to 500 characters. One major difference between Twitter and Threads is the latter’s effort to de-center conversations related to politics and polarizing topics in hopes of creating a more positive user experience (though that may be hard to do as we get closer to major elections).

Now that Threads has launched, a few questions that come to mind are:

How will the user experience of the app change as advertising enters the mix?
So far, the Threads launch has been technically smooth, scaling to 100 million users without any major glitches or hiccups. But if we face another #InstagramDown situation, will Threads go down with it?
While Threads has been able to quickly acquire users, will it be able to retain them?
Spill feels like a good place to build niche communities through sharing meme-worthy content.
Threads is better for creating text-based posts to cross-post on Instagram (which is full of Twitter screenshots).
Threads appears to be the stronger platform for marketers, brands, and content creators who never found their footing with Twitter because they can start with a built-in audience. Allowing their same followers to gain text-based insights into their content can be great for conversation beyond Instagram DMs and overall brand-building.

And most importantly…

Will Spill or Threads fully replace Twitter?

After spending time on both platforms, here’s my general assessment:

While Threads may not fully “replace” Twitter, it’s the best contender for those who are more interested in discourse than visuals. With the launch of Threads, traffic to Twitter has taken a noticeable dip though it’s still too soon to tell how the launch of new competitors will impact Twitter in the long run.

How Long Should a Resume Be? Everything You Need to Know

Meredith Wilshere — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

With the uncertainty of the job market, having an updated resume that reflects your experience has never been more critical. As you update your CV, you may wonder how long your resume should be and what it should include.

The length of your resume depends on how long you’ve been working, the types of work you’ve done, and the jobs you’re applying for.

Here, we will guide you on how long your resume should be based on different criteria. That includes your range of experience and how long you’ve been working.

How long should a resume be?

Resume Length Best Practices

How long should a resume be?

While there is no hard and fast rule for how long your resume should be. However, there is helpful guidance based on your experience.

The more concise, the better. If you have 0-5 years of experience, having your resume be one page long should work best.

These rules vary as your career progresses. The length changes based on how much information you need to include for the roles you apply for.

A recent graduate’s resume will look different than that of someone who has been working for 20+ years.

Here, we look at how the lengths may vary due to the roles you’re applying for.

For Entry-Level Roles

When you’re just starting your career, pulling together a resume can be a daunting task. You may ask yourself many questions about what you should include and how long your resume should be.

When submitting your resume for entry-level roles, the length of your resume correlates to how many years of experience you have. One page should work fine if you have less than five years of experience.

Even if you have several jobs or have worked at different companies, you should consolidate your expertise onto a page. You can cut out irrelevant internships or jobs from summers past.

Instead, focus on the roles with more relevant experience and your professional, full-time roles.

For Mid-Level Roles

Mid-level roles are tricky, depending on how much experience you have. With 8+ years of experience, you can choose to have a longer than one-page resume, further explaining your roles and responsibilities.

However, many hiring managers prefer to see your qualifications on one page. You can cut out early-career, irrelevant experiences. You can also list these roles with limited bullet points related to your responsibilities.

This leaves you more room to focus on your more relevant roles.

Use your best judgment to tailor the resume to the role. Being selective with the information you include will show off your career path while focusing on your career highlights.

For Senior Roles

Image Source

As you go up in the seniority of the roles you’re applying for, you can increase the length of your resume. For senior leadership roles, you can opt for two to three pages.

You may need this extra room to share about your previous manager or leadership roles.

Anything longer than three pages will likely be ignored by recruiters. Even with additional space, you’ll want to focus on the highlights of your career. Include metrics related to your accomplishments that you can expand upon in interviews.

Beyond eight years of experience, you're likely aiming for a leadership role. In this scenario, Zippia suggests focusing on your last 10-15 years of leadership experience.

For Academic Roles

Image Source

Academic resumes differ from traditional resumes. They include information about your studies, coursework, and your publications in peer-reviewed journals.

For academic roles, your resume should be longer than two pages to include all of your licenses, patents, or publications. It's possible that your academic resume could be up to 15 pages long to reflect the work that you’ve been doing.

Here, you have more freedom with length and can use your best judgment when compiling your resume.

Resume Length Best Practices

Whether you need to add more information or cut down on what you already have, it's good to look critically at your resume. Here are some resume-length best practices to help guide you in your revision process.

If you would like to freshen up the content of your resume, be sure to read our guide on how to write a resume. If you’re stumped on the layout of your resume or looking to refresh the design, check out a few of our resume templates.

Only include the most relevant information.

We tend to want to write out all of our job functions to prove that we’re capable and qualified when applying. To cut down on the length of your resume, use these questions as a good framework:

Are all the bullet points on my resume relevant to the job description?
Do I over-explain any of my job functions in my summary paragraphs?
Is there any redundant information on my resume?
Can I remove any bullet points and add this information to the cover letter?
Can I remove any bullet points and discuss some of my experience in an interview?

Be mindful of white space.

When considering resume length, make sure you strike the right balance in formatting. You‘ll still want margins on your resume, but they can be thin. Avoid double spacing, and consider using a compact font.

You can even make your font smaller, so long as it’s still legible.

You should squeeze all of your information into every possible space. However, be sure to keep things readable and pleasant to look at.

It's estimated that hiring managers spend only 7 seconds looking at resumes. You don’t want to overload them with information. Keep relevant information.

Ensure there’s enough spacing for the words to stand out and speak for themselves. Don't crowd your information; the hiring manager might already dismiss your resume.

Tailor your resume to the role you’re applying.

Tailoring your resume is a good general rule when applying for jobs. Reaching the appropriate length for your resume requires only relevant information and experience. Be mindful of the information you’re including.

Ensure you only include relevant roles and descriptions in your resume. If you’re applying for marketing roles, you won’t need to add in an internship.

This takes some extra work, but once you‘ve outlined what’s essential to the job you‘re applying for, you can carefully tailor your resume.

You’ll know what skills or traits to highlight, what keywords to use, and which parts of your background will be most interesting to the hiring manager.

Whether reviewing a resume you already have or starting from scratch, use these best practices to put your best foot forward.

Getting Started

A well-crafted resume should be long enough to effectively outline your skills and qualifications, but not too lengthy or tedious. Typically, one to two pages will work for most job applications.

Ultimately, the key is to strike a balance between depth and conciseness.

Give your resume to a friend to see if you’ve struck the right balance. Sometimes, all you need is a second set of eyes.

How to Write About Your Professional Background

Dedra Mitchell — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

A great way to share more about your background is to have a prepared document, like a professional bio.

A professional bio can be shared with prospective employers, shared with your colleagues, included in your social media profiles, used for speaking engagement announcements, or used as an author bio on a blog.

Here, we'll explore some tips to help you feel more comfortable when writing your own professional background.

Let's dive in.

What's a Professional Background?
How to Write One
Professional Background Examples

Your professional background includes previous jobs you've had, successful projects you've worked on, significant accomplishments like promotions or awards, professional networking organizations you belong to, and anything else you'd share with someone who wants to know more about you professionally.

Not only is sharing more about your background a great way to tell more about yourself to others, it's also an opportunity to wholly reflect on your professional journey and the goals you've achieved — plus, what you hope to achieve in the future.

Writing about your professional background for the first time may feel challenging or awkward, but it doesn't have to be. Next, let's dive into how you can get started.

1. Don't start from scratch.

If you're having trouble figuring out where to start, try using a professional bio template to guide you. Templates, like the ones featured below, make it easier for you to focus on your personal information and accomplishments, without having to worry as much about the structure.

Featured Resource: Professional Bio Templates and Examples

Download the Templates

2. Know your audience.

Take into consideration who will be reading your professional bio and cater to your reader.

You may also want to draft different versions of your document to best fit specific audiences. For example, the version you post on your LinkedIn may not be as detailed as the version you post on your personal website, and if your reader is a potential employer, it would help to include details that specifically highlight why you're the best candidate for the role for which you're applying.

HubSpot Founder Dharmesh Shah uses different bios for different platforms. On Twitter, for instance, Dharmesh's bio is short and sweet, which is perfect for Twitter's character limit.

Alternatively, on INBOUND's website, Dharmesh's bio is written in third-person for attendees. This bio makes Dharmesh's current role clear while providing some key background information.

Finally, in his OnStartups bio, Dharmesh's voice is personable since he's speaking directly to the reader. This gives readers more insight into Dharmesh's background directly from his perspective.

The best part about this approach is that you can create as many versions of your bio as you'd like, or simply recycle a general version whenever you need it.

3. Choose first or third-person.

Knowing your audience will help you determine the best tone for your background. For instance, first-person is more casual and personable — great for social media and anytime you want to convey that you are speaking directly to the reader.

However, depending on your profession or who the document is being sent to, it may be better to go with writing in the third person. If you’re working in a more formal industry or applying for grants using the third person will give a more authoritative tone that emphasizes your expertise.

As mentioned before, it’s great to have multiple versions of your professional background so you can swap tones as needed.

4. Show professional progression.

As you're writing, think about structuring your professional bio in a way that creates a timeline to show your progression. Explain what your different roles were like, and emphasize responsibilities that set you up for success in your latter roles.

It's important to note that your timeline doesn't have to be linear. As Forbes notes, non-linear career paths are quickly becoming the new normal. The goal is to create a narrative that sums up your strengths and ties them all together.

"Look for a theme that runs throughout several of the jobs you've held, and present your choices in a way that shows common threads running through each of your career decisions," explains career strategist Jenny Foss.

The goal is to clearly show your audience the different roles you've had, and how all of your experiences have contributed to your overall professional development.

5. Highlight your accomplishments.

One of the best things about writing your professional background is that it's the perfect opportunity to brag about yourself — and I don't mean humble brag.

Think of the most successful projects you've been part of, the strategies you've helped develop and execute, the deals you've closed, the revenue you've generated, and anything else that stands out as a major accomplishment.

"A former manager once told me to keep a 'brag sheet' in a document on my computer. The idea was to create a running list of noteworthy accomplishments, media mentions, awards, and letters of recommendation that I could reference to make it easier to write about myself. It also doesn't hurt to open up this document whenever you're having a tough day to remind yourself what you're capable of,” Carly Stec, HubSpot's Team Manager of Content Conversion, told me.

It's also important to consider how success was measured in your previous roles — and how that might shape the way you write about it.

If success for you tends to be measured in quantifiable metrics, include strong statistics. It might look something like this:

"In my first six months, I was able to sign up X amount of customers that generated an average monthly recurring revenue of $X."

"I helped boost customer retention by X percentage."

"With the strategy I developed, my team was able to lower customer acquisition costs by X percentage."

If your role is primarily measured through qualitative goals, share a highlight that speaks to skills you excel at. For example:

"I successfully executed a major project using strong time management skills and communicated the results to C-suite stakeholders."

"I was able to complete a project that was projected to take an entire quarter in half the time because of my organizational skills."

"I was selected to lead a database cleanup project due to my attention to detail and strong team collaboration skills."

6. Be personable.

Timelines and accomplishments are great, but being personable is even better.

Readers should feel like they're getting some sense of who you are from your professional background. This gives readers the opportunity to know more about you beyond a professional scope. If you have any cool niche hobbies that you enjoy outside of work, this would be the time to share.

Here's a list of prompts to help you brainstorm the right "fun facts" to highlight:

What TV show are you currently binging?
Do you have any pets?
What's something most people don't know about you?
What languages do you speak?
What are you most proud of yourself for?
What’s something you've done that’s bucket-list worthy?
What do you do to relax?
What are three of your must-have apps?
What would your favorite colleague say about you?
What's the best advice you've ever received and how do you apply it to your life?

Being personable is also a great opportunity to address any unconventional moments in your professional background. For example, maybe you've made a drastic shift in your career path, or you took a sabbatical at some point.

These types of stories can make you more relatable to your audience, and you never know who you may end up connecting with over one of your hobbies or more personal moments.

7. Ask for feedback.

Constructive feedback is key when you're writing about yourself. While many choose to source feedback after completing a draft of their bio, it's just as beneficial to get feedback from your peers at earlier stages of your drafting process.

Oftentimes, our peers can help identify our strengths and where we have opportunities to improve. If you're having trouble developing a clear timeline or pinpointing which highlights you should mention, get together with a peer to brainstorm ideas.

Reflect on successful assignments that you've collaborated on and ask your peer to provide honest feedback about what you did best — and include that feedback in your bio.

If you need help getting started, here's a list of discussion questions to use with your peers to uncover professional strengths you might be overlooking in your own self-assessment:

What role do you think I tend to play in group work?
How have I helped you be more successful?
What do you think my most impressive project has been?
What was your first impression of me?
What do you think my strengths are?

If you're feeling stuck, don't be afraid to leverage our free professional bio templates to help you get started.

Next, let’s go over professional background examples from both tenured and early-career professionals.

Professional Background Examples

1. Bozoma Saint John

Bozoma Saint John opens her biography by covering her most recent role at Netflix, then goes all the way back to the beginning of her career. From there, she provides a detailed overview of her accomplishments, inserting the names of the most notable organizations she has worked with.

Notice how she familiarizes us with her by using her nickname, “Boz,” throughout her professional background. In the same way, you can use your nickname throughout your bio (if you’re writing it in third-person).

We’d recommend writing a background like Saint John’s if you’re seeking speaking or presenting opportunities.

2. Jim Kowalski

Jim Kowalski walks us through his passions before describing his work experience and accomplishments. He makes it a point to connect his love of the automotive industry to his ethos in his work. Another notable feature of his professional background is that he mentions a brand he invigorated (it was “almost dead,” he asserts). He closes with his fascinating adventures around the world, including building a home in Thailand.

Mention ways that you’ve prevented clients and other companies from failing. If you’ve had noteworthy adventures, consider bringing them into your professional background as well. A background bio doesn’t have to be wooden; it can be fun, too, as long as you remain within reason. Plus, it gives the reader a chance to connect with you.

3. Katherine Gundlach

If you’re a college student, you might not have a long list of professional accomplishments, but you can take note from Katherine Gundlach’s example and write about what you love to do — and why you love to do it.

Katherine Gundlach opens her professional background with her current status as a college student, then goes into an anecdote that describes why she became a photographer. In the latter half of the bio, she describes her mission when photographing others. In your own bio, describe the purpose of what you do (or the reason why you want to pursue a certain field).

She also says where she’s from. Mentioning personal information in your professional bio can be a way for readers, hiring managers, and colleagues to relate to you.

4. Erick Rheam

Erick Rheam’s professional background effectively outlines his path to becoming a motivational speaker. He also cements his expertise by stating that he speaks regularly across the U.S. After, he outlines his vision and purpose for doing what he does. Like some of the other examples on this list, he includes personal information about himself: that he’s a runner.

This professional background is done well because it’s succinct and balances professionalism, expertise, and personality. Consider achieving a similar balance in your own background document by dedicating 1-2 sentences to each aspect of your professional and personal life.

5. Dr. Houyuan Luo

Dr. Houyuan Luo’s professional background is a classic example of a bio that’s inspirational, professional, and persuasive.

In the medical industry, education is immensely important — how long you studied can determine your level of expertise. Dr. Luo immediately lists his academic background, then details how passionate he is for his field. He emphasizes his humanitarian values most, cementing him as an excellent candidate for clinical training and speaking opportunities.

If you work in the healthcare, non-profit, legal, educational, or environmental industries, consider emphasizing your values and ethos in your professional background. Like Dr. Luo, you can leave a mention of your current position for the last sentence.

6. Claire Buswell

Getting Started with Email Marketing

Claire Buswell immediately establishes herself as a relatable persona by going over her personal history first — then connecting that to her role today. Because she was once in the same position as her clients, Buswell is better prepared to help them professionally. She makes that clear in her professional background and is vulnerable about how hard it was to find a job.

If you’ve created a business that solves a problem that you experienced, consider bringing that into your professional background. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable. In fact, being vulnerable can make you more relatable, and your level of success now will be a testament to your methods’ effectiveness.

Ready to start writing?

Keep these tips and examples in mind as you're writing about your professional bio. Your final product should be a written statement that boasts your most notable skills and achievements. As you continue to progress in your career, take time to update your bio like you would your resume, and continue to impress your readers.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Email Marketing: The Ultimate Guide (+ Expert Tips)

cperricone@hubspot.com (Christina Perricone) — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Done correctly, email marketing can be as powerful as any other tactic today. Research has repeatedly found that the ROI for email is consistently high. In 2022, Litmus found that the return could be as high as $36 for every dollar invested.

With that in mind, let’s review the best ways to leverage email marketing. We'll also cover benefits and statistics that show the importance of email, just in case you need extra convincing. Let’s dig in.

What is email marketing?

How to Send Marketing Emails

Email Regulations You Should Know

Email Marketing Tips

Marketers have been using email as a channel for almost as long as they've been using the internet. The first marketing email was sent in 1978, resulting in $13 million in sales.

Email has been one of the most highly used marketing channels ever since.

This is because email is a flexible yet cost-effective way to reach many people relatively quickly. You can also personalize your message to target specific audiences and generate leads.

Email marketing can take many different forms. These campaigns can include a single email announcing new content, an ongoing newsletter delivered regularly, or contacting customers about product updates.

Email isn’t as shiny as newer channels, like messaging and social. However, email is an effective way to build an audience that gets results.

“One of my favorite parts about email marketing is its intimacy,” says Rob Litterst, head of strategy and operations for HubSpot’s Newsletter Network.

“Access to someone's inbox is sacred, and for a person to welcome you in, there's already a certain level of trust that you just can't achieve with other platforms,” he says.

Master the fundamentals of email marketing with a free online course.

When to Use Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a powerful tactic to:

Build relationships. Build connections through personalized engagement.
Boost brand awareness. Keep your company and your services top-of-mind for the moment when your prospects are ready to engage.
Promote your content. Use email to share relevant blog content or valuable assets with your prospects.
Generate leads. Entice subscribers to provide their personal information in exchange for an asset that they’d find valuable.
Market your products. Promote your products and services.
Nurture leads. Delight your customers with content that can help them succeed in their goals.

Email Marketing Benefits

There are over 4.3 billion email users worldwide, so if you’re looking for a way to reach your customers, email is the perfect place to find them.
As of 2022, email generates $36 for every dollar spent.
51% of marketers say email marketing is the most effective marketing channel, according to our Marketing Trends survey.
53% of marketers are continuing to invest in email marketing in 2023.
33% are increasing their investment in email marketing in 2023.
33% of marketers send weekly emails, and 26% send emails multiple times monthly.

Beyond just the statistics, perhaps the best reason to use email marketing is that you own the channel. Outside of compliance regulations, no external entity can impact how, when, or why you reach out to your subscribers.

Time and time again, email proves to be an unsung hero in marketing.

While it’s the third most-used marketing channel (beat by social media and websites), a whopping 95% of email marketers call it practical,” says Pamela Bump, head of content growth at HubSpot.

“For HubSpot — and our blog team — we’ve deeply leveraged email and even catered blog posts to our very subscribers,” she says. “Over the years, this has driven high ROI, millions of page views, countless conversions, and even customers.”

Email Marketing Stats by Industry

Email marketing rules change based on your industry and who you’re marketing to. Below are some email marketing trends for B2B, B2C, e-commerce, and real estate companies that can inform your email marketing strategy.

Email Marketing Stats for B2B

Email is the third-highest owned-media platform B2B marketers used to distribute content in the last 12 months.
44% of B2B marketers say email marketing is the most effective marketing channel.
B2B marketers say email engagement is the fourth most insightful metric when evaluating performance over the past year, more than social media, search rankings, and lead quality.

Email Marketing Stats for B2C

50% of B2C marketers say growing their email list is one of the biggest challenges in their role.
37% of B2C marketers send daily marketing emails to their subscribers.

Email Marketing Stats for Ecommerce

57.2% of marketers say the e-commerce brands they manage have 1,000 to 10,000 contacts on their email lists.
85.7% of e-commerce marketers say the primary business objective of their email strategy is increasing brand awareness.
Roughly 72% of e-commerce marketers say the biggest challenge they face with email is low open rates.

Getting Started with Email Marketing

Before you get overwhelmed with the vast possibilities of email marketing, let’s break down a few key steps to get you started building a solid email campaign that will delight your customers.

You can think of these steps as creating a successful email marketing strategy.

1. Create an Email Marketing Strategy

You can learn how to build an effective email strategy and send emails that people actually want to read. It just takes a plan (one that can be broken down into a few key steps).

Think of the following five steps as an outline for your email strategy. We’ll dive deeper into some of these in a moment.

Featured Resource

Email Marketing Planning Template

1. Define your audience.

Effective emails, whether a campaign or a one-off, start with understanding your audience.

Like everything else in marketing, start with your buyer persona, understand what pain points they’re dealing with, and tailor your email campaign to your audience’s needs.

2. Establish your goals.

Before you come up with your campaign goals, gather some context.

You'll want to know the average email stats for your industry and use them as benchmarks for your goals.

As you can see, these benchmarks vary greatly. Using this guide will help you create realistic goals for your team.

3. Build your email list.

You need people to email, right? An email list (we'll cover how to build your email list in the next section) is a group of users who have permitted you to send them relevant content.

To build that list, you need several ways for prospects to opt-in to receive your emails which we’ll cover in another section in just a moment.

Don’t be discouraged if you only have a few people on your list. It can take some time to build. In the meantime, treat every subscriber and lead like gold, and you’ll start seeing your email list grow organically.

4. Choose an email campaign type.

Email campaigns vary, and trying to decide between them can be overwhelming. Do you send a weekly newsletter? Should you send out new product announcements? Which blog posts are worth sharing?

The answer is subjective.

You can start by learning about the types of email campaigns, then decide which is best for your audience.

You should also set up different lists for different types of emails, so customers and prospects can sign up for only the emails that are relevant to them.

5. Make a schedule.

Decide how often you plan to contact your list and inform your audience upfront.

This way, they'll know exactly what to expect ahead of time. Forgetting this can lead to high unsubscribe lists and even get you in their spam.

In addition, once you set a schedule, be consistent. It will build trust and ensure you stay top of mind for your audience.

6. Measure your results.

This should come as no surprise. As marketers, we measure everything. Being meticulous about every key metric will help you make small changes to your emails, yielding large results.

We’re going to touch on the exact KPIs to monitor in a bit (or you can jump ahead).

Now that you understand the steps to creating an email marketing strategy, we'll look at what's involved in building your email list.

2. Choose an email marketing platform.

An email marketing provider (ESP) is an excellent resource if you're looking any support while fine-tuning your email marketing efforts.

For example, HubSpot's Email Marketing tool allows you to efficiently create, personalize, and optimize marketing emails that feel and look professional without designers or IT.

There are a variety of features to help you create the best email marketing campaigns and support all of your email marketing goals.

Additionally, you can analyze the success of your email marketing so you can share the data that matters most to your business with your team. The best part? You can use HubSpot's Email Marketing service for free.

Here are examples of features services like HubSpot offer to consider when choosing an email service provider:

CRM platform with segmentation capabilities
Good standing with Internet Service Providers
A positive reputation as an email service provider (ESP)
Easy-to-build forms, landing pages, and CTAs
Automation
Simple ways to comply with email regulations
Ability to split test your emails
Built-in analytics
Downloadable reports

3. Build Your Email List

Now to the fun part: filling your email list with eager prospects excited to hear from you.

There are many creative ways to build your email list (and, no, purchasing emails ain’t one).

Tactically speaking, list building comes down to two key elements that work cohesively to grow your subscriber numbers: lead magnets and opt-in forms.

Featured Resources

Here's how to get started building and growing your email list.

3. Use lead magnets.

Your lead magnet is exactly as it sounds: It attracts prospects to your email list, usually as a free offer.

The offer can take many formats, should be valuable to your prospects, and is given away for free in exchange for an email address.

There’s just one problem: People have become hyper-protective of their personal information. You can’t expect to receive an email address without exchanging it for something valuable.

Think about a lead magnet that is relevant, useful, and makes your prospects’ lives easier.

Here are a few types of lead magnets you could create:

Ebooks.
Whitepapers.
Infographics.
Reports or studies.
Checklists.
Templates.
Webinars or courses.
Tools.

If you’re short on resources, you can even repurpour existing content to create lead magnets.

4. Create an enticing opt-in form.

Your opt-in form is how you get a prospect’s information to add them to your list. It’s the gate between your future leads and the incredible asset you created with them in mind.

Here are some tips for creating an enticing opt-in form:

Create an attractive design and attention-grabbing header.

Your form should be branded, stand out from the page, and entice people to sign up. You want to excite readers with the offer.

Make the copy relevant to the offer.

While your goal is to get people to enter their information, it isn’t to deceive them. Any information on your form should be a truthful representation of the offer.

Keep the form simple.

This could be one of your first interactions with your prospect. Don’t scare them away with a long long-form several fields.

Ask for only the most essential information: first name and email is a good place to start.

Set your opt-in form for double confirmation.

It may seem counterproductive to ask your subscribers to opt into your emails twice, but some research on open rates suggests that customers may prefer a confirmed opt-in (COI) email more than a welcome email.

Ensure that the flow works.

Take yourself through the user experience before you go live. Double-check that the form works as intended, the thank you page is live, and your offer is delivered as promised.

This is one of your first impressions of your new lead — make it a professional and positive one.

Next, let's take a moment to cover some universally-accepted email marketing best practices regarding how to send marketing emails.

List snippet

If all goes well, you’ll have built a robust list of subscribers and leads waiting to hear from you. But you can’t start emailing just yet unless you want to end up in a spam folder, or worse, a blocked list.

Here are a few important things to remember before you start emailing your list.

1. Implement email segmentation.

Once you’ve added people to your list, you must break them down into different segments.

That way, instead of having a monolithic email list of everybody, you’ll have easier-to-manage subcategories that pertain to your subscribers’ unique characteristics, interests, and preferences.

Our subscribers are humans, after all, and we should do our best to treat them as such. That means not sending generic email blasts.

Why should you segment your email list?

Each person who signs up to receive your emails is at a different level of readiness to convert into a customer (which is the ultimate goal of all this).

If you send a discount coupon for your product to subscribers that don’t even know how to diagnose their problem, you’ll probably lose them. That’s because you’re skipping the part where you build trust and develop the relationship.

Every email you send should treat your subscribers like humans you want to connect with, as opposed to a herd of leads you’re trying to corral into a one-size-fits-all box.

The more you segment your list, the more trust you build with your leads, and the easier it’ll be to convert them later.

How to Segment Email Lists

The first step in segmentation is creating separate lead magnets and opt-in forms for each part of the buyer’s journey. That way, your contacts are automatically divided into separate lists.

Beyond that, email marketing platforms allow you to segment your email list by contact data and behavior to help you send the right emails to the right people.

Here are some ways you could break up your list:

Geographical location.
Lifecycle stage.
Awareness, consideration, and decision stage.
Industry.
Previous engagement with your brand.
Language.
Job Title.

In reality, you can segment your list any way that you want. Just make sure to be as exclusive as possible when sending emails to each subgroup.

2. A/B test your marketing emails.

Not all email lists are created equal. Some audiences prefer personalization, and others will think it’s spammy. Some audiences will like bright, eye-catching CTA buttons. Others will prefer a more subtle call-to-action.

You’ll never know what type of people make up your email list until you test the variables. That’s where A/B testing comes in handy.

“If you're considering making any structural or content alterations to your email marketing, A/B testing is an excellent way to determine if the changes will be successful or worthwhile before they're implemented on a larger scale,” says Madison Zoey Vettorino, marketing manager and SEO content writer for HubSpot’s Website Blog.

Surprisingly, not many brands leverage it. A 2021 Litmus study found that 44% of marketers rarely A/B or multivariate test their emails. Only 19% do it often or always.

A/B testing, or split testing, is a way to see what type of email performs best with your audience by analyzing the results of email A against email B. This can be especially helpful when working with templates.

“Since emails often have the same template, A/B testing is smart because you can usually control variables outside of the test and get a solid signal on what performs better,” HubSpot’s Litterst says.

Here’s the step-by-step process for A/B testing your emails:

Select one variable to test at a time, e.g., subject line, CTA, images.
Create two versions of the email: one with and one without the variable.
Allow your emails to be sent out simultaneously for a period of time.
Analyze your results and keep only the version that performed better.
Test a new variable and repeat the process.

Most email service providers will have A/B testing built into their software, which will make it easy for you to compare email results without much manual work.

When conducting an A/B test, consider these tips:

Test one element at a time.

“For example, try the same email with a different subject line. Or the same email and same subject line with a different CTA,” says Curtis del Principe, a user acquisition program lead and content strategist at HubSpot.

“It might be tempting to make several changes at once, but that makes it harder to pinpoint the true cause of your wins or losses,” he says.

Don't try to "eyeball" an A/B test.

A/B test should be run with intention. Making quick changes and approaching results unscientifically can lead to incorrect conclusions.

“You might be tempted to run an informal A/B test by making a change and then casually paying attention to the responses that you get. This unscientific method can easily be skewed by factors outside your control (like seasonality or deliverability),” says del Principe. “It also leaves out a ton of valuable data, like open rate, click-through rate, unsubscribe rate, or sharing/forwarding rate.”

Instead, use an email marketing tool, like Marketing Hub or BuzzStream, to help you get a broader and more accurate understanding of your email performance.

Featured Resource

The Complete Guide to A/B Testing

3. Analyze your email marketing performance.

Once you’ve got your first few campaigns, it’s time to see how they’re performing.

By diving into your email marketing analytics, you'll be able to make better decisions that will help your business's bottom line, resonate with your subscribers, readers, and customers, and justify your work to the rest of your company.

Here are the best ways to analyze the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

4. Set email marketing KPIs.

There are four key metrics to pay attention to when evaluating the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign.

Deliverability measures the rate at which emails reach your intended subscribers’ inboxes.
Open rate is the percentage of people that open your email once it reaches their inbox.
Clickthrough rate (CTR) is the percentage of people that click on your CTAs.
Unsubscribes measures the number of people who opt out of your email list once they receive your email.

5. Adjust email components to improve results.

Many factors impact your KPIs, and it will take some experimentation and guesswork to figure out which tweaks to your emails will yield the biggest significance.

If you aren’t getting the desired numbers, try playing with these variables to improve your email results.

Deliverability

Ensure that you’re following best practices regarding spam filters.
Remove inactive people from your email list to keep only engaged subscribers.
Check which emails have bounced and remove those email addresses from your list.

Open Rate

Play with the language in your subject line to entice people to click on your email.
Adjust the time and day that you send your email to see what works best.

Clickthrough Rate (CTR)

Evaluate your offer to ensure that it provides value to your segmented list.
Rewrite your copy to make sure that it’s clear what you want the reader to do.
Try different CTAs, e.g., graphic versus Inline copy, bold versus subtle.

Unsubscribes

First, consider if this is a blessing in disguise, as uninterested parties are removing themselves from your list.
Regularly send an email to inactive subscribers on your list asking if they still want to be a part of it
Evaluate whether the email you sent is aligned with your brand.
Ensure you haven’t performed a bait-and-switch by promising one thing and delivering another.
Make sure your emails are providing value to your audience before trying to upsell.

6. Use an email marketing report template.

Once you’ve got some campaigns under your belt, it’s time to look at how they performed. Your data does no good if you can’t report it in an organized fashion.

An email marketing report is a spreadsheet where you can record your results in one place to help you make inferences from your KPIs and take action to improve them.

Here’s how you should organize your report.

Metrics

Total number of emails sent
Number of emails delivered
Deliverability Rate
Bounce Rate
Open Rate
Clickthrough Rate (CTR)
Click-to-open Rate (CTOR)
Unsubscribe Rate

Data

Subject line
Length of the email body
Offer
CTA (inline or graphic)
List segment(s)

Questions To Ask:

Was your deliverability rate high in comparison to previous periods?
How did your CTR compare to your open rate?
Were your unsubscribe numbers consistent with other emails?
Did a certain subject line perform better than others?
Does the length of the email make a difference in CTR?
Could another style of CTA perform better?
Was the offer appropriate for the list segment?

Email Regulations You Should Know

Email regulations are important to follow as they regulate and protect consumers’ desires to know how and why their information is being used.

If there’s anything we care about, it’s complying with what our customers—or potential customers—want.

There are a few key ones that you should understand:

1. CAN-SPAM Compliance

Technically, CAN-SPAM is an acronym for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (because sometimes the two go together).

In practice, it’s a way to protect your subscribers’ right to only receive emails that they’ve requested.

The law was passed in 2003 and applies to any commercial emails used for business purposes.

Here are the ways to ensure that your emails are CAN-SPAM compliant:

Include your company name and address in every email.
Place visible unsubscribe links within your emails.
Use real email addresses in the "From" and "Reply to" fields.
Write subject lines that indicate the contents of the email.

Please note: This is not to be confused with legal advice. See the FTC’s site for more specific legal information regarding CAN-SPAM laws.

2. GDPR Compliance

While some may view these newly implemented email regulations as burdensome and unnecessary, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) moves us closer to building long-lasting, trusting customer relationships.

GDPR is about giving your customers the right to choose. They choose your emails. They decide to hear from you. They choose your products. And that is exactly what inbound marketing is about.

It is important to note that GDPR only applies to businesses operating in the European Union and businesses that market to EU citizens.

Noncompliance will result in significant fees that aren’t worth the risk, so make sure to read the GDPR guidelines entirely.

Here’s an overview of how you can comply with GDPR laws:

Use precise language when requesting consent to store personal information.
Only collect contact data that is necessary for and relevant to your business.
Store contact data securely and only use it for the agreed-upon purpose.
Retain data for justifiable business purposes only.
Delete contact data on request.
Make it easy for contacts to unsubscribe from your list or update their preferences.
Comply promptly with a contact’s request for access to their data.
Keep company records to prove GDPR compliance.

These regulations will be taken seriously (as they should), so it’s a good idea to create a GDPR strategy for your business before sending emails.

3. Avoid Spam Filters

You spend time creating the perfect email and adhering to regulations, so the last thing you want is to end up in a spam folder.

You'll want to avoid the spam folder because:

It hurts your deliverability rates across the board.
Your contacts will likely miss all of your emails.
You won’t be able to measure your email marketing effectiveness accurately.
Your analytics will be skewed.

You can avoid being deduced to spam with the following.

Get whitelisted.

A whitelist is a list of approved senders that can reach the subscriber’s inbox. The easiest way to accomplish this is to have your new subscriber add your email address to their address book.

Include directions on how to do this in your welcome email.

Mind your copy.

Avoid using all caps and multiple exclamation points, as well as spam trigger words, like "opt-in," "click below," and "order," that are easily detected and marked down by Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Use a reliable email service provider.

Your email service provider’s reputation affects your deliverability, so stick to established, well-known companies.

Implement a double opt-in.

Once someone opts in to your email list, send an email asking them to confirm. This ensures that your new subscriber is genuinely interested in your emails and will likely be more engaged.

(Check out more ways you can avoid the spam filter.)

And last but certainly not least, you need to consistently measure the success of your email marketing efforts. There are a number of options you can choose from when it comes to your business's email marketing analytics.

Email Marketing Tips

While you probably don’t think twice about the formatting or subject line of an email you send to a friend, email marketing requires a lot more consideration.

Everything from the time you send your email to the devices on which your email could be opened matters.

Your goal with every email is to generate more leads, which makes crafting a marketing email a more involved process than other emails you’ve written.

Let’s touch on the components of a successful marketing email:

Copy: The copy in the body of your email should be consistent with your voice and stick to only one topic.

Images: Choose images that are optimized for all devices, eye-catching, and relevant.

CTA: Your call-to-action should lead to a relevant offer and stand out from the rest of the email.

Timing: Based on a study that observed response rates of 20 million emails, Tuesday at 11 AM ET is the best day and time to send your email.

Responsiveness: 55% of emails are opened on mobile. Your email should, therefore, be optimized for this as well as all other devices.

Personalization: Write every email like you’re sending it to a friend. Be personable and address your reader in a familiar tone.

Subject Line: Use clear, actionable, enticing language that is personalized and aligned with the body of the email.

Featured Resource

100 Email Subject Lines We Actually Clicked

Personalize your email marketing.

“Personalization isn’t just about adding a contact’s name to the subject line anymore but is all about creating personalized experiences that demonstrate you understand them and have insider knowledge about how they can use your products to succeed,” Aleia Walker, growth marketing manager at HubSpot.

Now that you know who you’re emailing and what’s important to them, sending emails with personalized touches will be much easier.

Sure, you’re speaking to 100+ people at one time, but your leads don’t need to know it.

A 2021 report by Litmus revealed that 80% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a brand that provides personalized experiences.

To really drive this point home, consider this: Personalized emails have higher open rates. In addition, 83% of customers are willing to share their data to create a more personalized experience.

You’ve gathered all this unique data. Your email marketing software allows for personalization tokens. You have no excuse for sending generic emails that don’t make your leads feel special.

“It’s more impactful to base email personalization on two or three factors instead of just what a contact is engaging with on your side,” Walker says.

Walker suggests, “Consider personalizing emails based on what you know about your contact, such as their location, industry, employee size, etc., alongside how they engage with your content.”

Here are a few ways to personalize your emails:

Add a first name field in your subject line and/or greeting.
Include region-specific information when appropriate.
Send content that is relevant to your lead’s lifecycle stage.
Only send emails that pertain to the last engagement a lead has had with your brand.
Write about relevant and/or personal events, like region-specific holidays or birthdays.
End your emails with a personal signature from a human (not your company).
Use a relevant call-to-action to an offer that the reader will find useful.

6. Use email marketing templates.

Email marketing templates — like these ones from HubSpot — are another great resource to help you with your email marketing.

Unless you’re a designer and developer, on top of being a skilled marketer, templates will save you a ton of time — they take the design, coding, and UX-definition work out of crafting your emails.

Just one caveat: when making your selection, choose email templates that are proven to be effective.

The highest-quality templates come from the most reputable ESPs that have tested them against thousands of alternatives. So, stick with the professionals.

If you're struggling with the above tips, HubSpot offers e-mail marketing tools to help personalize your marketing emails, optimize your emails with A/B testing, and create aesthetically pleasing emails using templates.

Furthermore, HubSpot's Campaign Assistant uses AI technology to generate copy for marketing emails.

Beginning Email Marketing

While there are many rules to sending a marketing email, the most important is this: Treat the reader on the other end like you’re writing to a friend.

You can achieve all of your email marketing goals if you keep this golden rule top of mind in every autoresponder, lead magnet, and subject line.

And remember, the more you help your subscribers, the more they will want to hear from you and look forward to opening emails that you send.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Using the New “E” in E-E-A-T To Generate Interest in Your Brand

Chad Gilbert — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Google loves its acronyms. In late 2022, the search giant added an extra wrinkle to their Search Quality Rater Guidelines and introduced “Experience” to their existing Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust (E-A-T) framework.

This addition was part of Google’s ongoing effort to help websites provide users with more helpful, relevant information. E-E-A-T, or “Double-E-A-T,” now emphasizes the importance of including relevant first-hand experience with any subject matter.

What does it mean for publishers? We’ll cover that and more below.

Understanding E-E-A-T Guidelines

Each part of E-E-A-T is essential for great content:

Experience: Real-world or first-hand experience with the topic.
Expertise: Extensive formal training or real-world experience.
Authoritativeness: Certification or the ability to be seen as an authority on a given topic.
Trust: The overarching element that all the above seek to satisfy.

How does E-E-A-T impact SEO and content rankings? Well, it’s not technically a ranking factor but it can affect how your content ranks in search.

The simplest way to answer this question is that content that ranks well – that satisfies the E-E-A-T part of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines – meets the following parameters:

It’s helpful content.
Experts created it.
It’s posted on an authoritative site.
It’s trustworthy.
It sees regular updates.

Google’s embrace of experience dovetails nicely with its existing guidelines and approach to providing users with extra details to answer their questions more accurately.

Consider Google’s example: There’s a big difference between looking for someone to do your taxes and looking for reviews of tax prep software. You want different information.

Google doesn’t see adding experience to the search equation as a new idea. Instead, it’s looking through the lens of understanding the nuance of user search habits – i.e. how and why people are looking for information.

This means that writers who rely heavily on research may need to push further and include quotes from people with experience. Sometimes, that might involve giving full authorship to trusted voices with the chops to back up the written or visual content.

Of course, there’s no magic bullet that will help your content rank well. But meeting the above guidelines – either on your own or with the help of an agency that understands them – can make a big difference in your results.

How to Apply E-E-A-T In your Content Creation Process

Expertise

Expertise shows the degree of knowledge your content displays. To apply that expertise, your content should:

Provide accurate and up-to-date information. That includes citing reputable sources and studies.
Highlight credentials, experience, and achievements.
Provide in-depth analysis and thought leadership on industry trends and topics. Go deeper and present information beyond the “Subject Matter 101” type of blog content when you can.

Leverage user-generated content from qualified users who know their stuff.

For examples of how expertise helps content shine, look at the articles from insurance industry leader, Policygenius. Their content usually features a by-line from an expert who has either written or reviewed it.

Experience

Experience is the newest addition to the classic E-A-T concept, but it doesn’t require a full pivot from your existing efforts.

It just refers to the writer’s first-hand experience with the topic. What’s the best way to show that experience? Try the following:

Have a subject matter expert (SME) write or review your content for accuracy.
Use quotes and insights from product specialists or experts to support other content.
Collaborate with other industry experts outside of your business. Think of interviews with industry leaders or co-authored blog posts.

Take Adobe as an example. Their content strategy involves collaborating with creatives who use their products to write Q&A style blog posts. Direct quotes from filmmakers, photographers, and editors demonstrate first-hand experience with Adobe products.

Another example is pet supply company Chewy. They weave experience into their content by including quotes and insights from vets or various animal experts.

Authoritativeness

Brand recognition isn’t the only measure of authority. Making influential friends works, too.

One of the best ways to represent authority is to create a robust digital PR campaign for your content and site, including backlinks. Building a solid online presence involves more than just publishing hundreds of posts.

Network and collaborate with other experts and influencers, and don’t forget the importance of endorsements and positive reviews from real-life users of your product or service.

Looking for examples? Think about websites that have been around for a long time or have quickly built up their reputations. Maybe it’s the pest library from a company like Orkin.

Another good example is financial wellness tips from the experts at NerdWallet.

Need more examples? Consider the following:

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour website is the primary source for all your ticketing and merch info.

The USDA’s information on beef grades is the most accurate source because they set the guidelines.

Trustworthiness

Having lots of content that can’t be trusted might be worse than no content at all.

Content is only good if you can trust it. That means it must be current, credible, and accessible. The best way to showcase this credibility is to keep the following in mind as you create your content:

Be transparent and honest.
Offer secure, user-friendly website experiences on both mobile and desktop. It’s 2023, after all. All users should have a similar experience no matter their device. That includes focusing on accessibility regarding images.
Maintain a consistent brand voice across all your content formats, not just the written ones.
Evaluate and update your content often to ensure it’s accurate, relevant, and informative.

Some of the best websites that apply trustworthiness to their content regularly update it. Wirecutter, for example, is a New York Times-owned reviews site that marries experience, expertise, and trust.

They routinely examine new products and revise their lists to compare the most recent models.

How People Felt About AI in 2017

Their comments section is also a fantastic home to learn about people’s experiences with the reviewed and recommended items.

What Following E-E-A-T Can Accomplish

My agency, NP Digital, recently had the opportunity to put our understanding of E-E-A-T guidelines to the test.

We worked with one client, who previously relied exclusively on user-generated content. Because a lot of the content was deemed spammy, irrelevant, and low-quality, it was impacting their search rankings.

We worked with this client to take ownership of their organic content strategy with a comprehensive content hub.

Within seven months, we supplied them with more than 450 pieces of fresh content while ensuring our content supported queries with high search demand and adhered to best practices for SEO and E-E-A-T. What happened next?

We saw exciting success within months, including the following benchmarks:

1.6 million average monthly organic impressions from our newly developed content, a 32% increase over UGC pages.
A 28% increase in organic clicks, surpassing their previous UGC pages in under six months.

Almost 7,000 new backlinks to the pages we created, boosting their domain authority by 28%.
A 20% increase in the total number of keywords ranking in the first three positions on Google.

The takeaway here is when in doubt, focus on the fundamentals.

Expert Tips for Mastering E-E-A-T

Mastering E-E-A-T will be an ongoing process as Google changes its algorithm and creates new products. Even though that’s the case, the following best practices should always lead you in the right direction:

Listen to customer feedback, reviews, and social media to uncover pain points. Then build content that speaks to them.
Switch up your content formatting to offer different solutions to different audiences. Infographics, blog posts, webinars, podcasts, videos, and social media posts all have their place.
Include SMEs in your content process. Let them write, provide quotes, or peer review your work. Credit them when the content goes live!
Regularly audit your content to make sure it’s accurate and timely.

Don’t forget about structured data. Schema markup enhances your search visibility, so use it.
Collaborate with other reputable websites and influencers to get more eyes on your content.
Avoid black hat SEO tactics.
Make videos – they’re a great way to repurpose content and display your expertise, authority, and personality.

Keeping Up with Google

E-E-A-T may feel like a new version of the guidelines, but it’s really just building on the foundation Google set down years ago: Create good content that helps people.

Leverage the knowledge of your SMEs to provide that extra bit of authority, and always strive to learn about content best practices from reputable marketing professionals and agency partners.

If you want people to easily find your content, put the extra energy into satisfying the E-E-A-T guidelines for it and everything else on your site.

How AI Perceptions Have Changed in the Last Decade [Comparing New & Old Consumer Data]

esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago) — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

AI may sound like a new tech trend, but it's actually been around in the lives of business owners, marketers, and consumers for years. So, how has the perception of AI changed over time?

To answer this question, we looked at the data HubSpot collected in the 2017 survey we conducted of 1,400+ consumers worldwide.

We then compared that data to our 2023 State of AI Survey, in which we surveyed 1,350+ business professionals.

How People Perceive AI in 2023

How AI's Perception Could Change

How People Felt About AI in 2017

In 2017, 86% of people wanted to try out AI tools. We also suggested businesses tap into that interest early on to differentiate themselves from competitors, especially regarding customer service.

Speaking of service, our 2017 report also found that 57% of consumers were interested in getting real-time answers from bots on a company website.

Many consumers also reported being comfortable using AI-enabled technologies for more involved customer service requests.

When we asked respondents how they preferred to be helped in a service setting, 40% didn't care if they were supported by a person or AI tool.

The most interesting find from our 2017 report was how many respondents had no idea they were using AI. Only 37% of our respondents said they’d used an AI tool.

However, through follow-up questions, we found that 63% of respondents who said they didn’t use AI technologies were actually using AI – they just didn't know voice search engines or programs like Siri are powered by AI.

How People Perceive AI Today

Our 2023 State of AI Survey shows attitudes surrounding AI are favorable, and business professionals worldwide continue to be interested in using the technology.

Overall, business professionals are more aware of using AI in their workflow. Our survey shows 35% of marketers, 54% of bloggers, and 41% of business leaders use AI tools like chatbots, Jasper, Grammarly, and more in their workflows.

Moreover, 80% of business professionals agree that AI/automation tools can help them spend less time on manual tasks such as data entry or scheduling meetings.

78% say AI/automation tools can help them spend more time on the most critical aspects of their roles.

Remember we said 40% of customers didn't care if they were helped by an AI tool? Well, in 2023, 57% of customer support specialists agree AI can help them personalize the customer experience.

Furthermore, 62% agree AI tools can help them understand their customers better, and 71% say AI can help them improve the overall customer experience.

How AI's Perception Could Change

According to Forbes, the AI market will reach $407 billion by 2027, a massive leap from its estimated $86.9 billion revenue in 2022.

As the AI market grows, I predict AI will become more commonplace in the next five years as consumers, business owners, and marketers find ways to use it in their workflow and daily tasks.

Forbes already reports 60% of business owners say AI will increase productivity.

The perception of AI will be that it's a time-saving and productivity-boosting tool that can improve the customer experience. In fact, AI could become a necessity for businesses wanting to stay competitive.

AI is also changing how consumers navigate the web and will continue to do so.

According to our 2023 survey, 53% of professionals agree most people will use chatbots like ChatGPT to answer their questions instead of search engines like Google by 2024.

As more consumers use tools like ChatGPT to find products, services, and answers — digital marketers will have to adapt.

Of course, digital marketers will have to use AI and automation tools to streamline their workflow and produce marketing content quicker.

However, they will also have to take a more creative approach and create more personalized and original content that will stand out and answer specific queries beyond chatbots' limitations.

Ultimately, AI isn't going anywhere, and it will be interesting to see how it will continue to be adopted in the future.

Explainer Videos: 10 Examples for Marketers

esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago) — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Explainer videos are a great way to push your content and brand to your target audience, but creating one might seem intimidating. How will you make a video that is informative, engaging, and easy to follow for your audience?

Fortunately, this article has simple tips and excellent examples to help you get started.

What is an explainer video?

An explainer video is a short video that communicates how something works in a simple way to its target audience. Explainer videos are often used in marketing to show the benefits of a product or service and how they work.

Explainer videos are often uploaded to platforms like YouTube and social media, but they can also be placed on your website's homepage or product page.

Types of Explainer Videos

The three most common explainer videos are:

Live-action
Animated
Whiteboard
Screencast

Live-action explainer videos are non-animated promotional videos, and they are best for business selling physical products or people-focused services.

Animated explainer videos are made with animation and are great for explaining less-tangible services or products such as software.

Whiteboard explainer videos are in the same family as animated ones, but they specifically involve animation that hand drawn (or appears to be) and erased on a whiteboard.

Screencast videos are a great option if you want to keep your production costs low. A screencast video comprises screen recordings of users implementing a product or service online.

Explainer Video Tips

Here are some best practices to keep in mind when creating an explainer video:

Keep your video short. Ideally, you'll want your video to be 30 to 90 seconds long. If your video is longer, you'll definitely need to be creative to keep your audience's attention.
Get straight to the point. Make your message and intentions clear within the first 30 seconds of your video.
Use simple language and avoid jargon. Too much technical language can bore your viewers, encouraging them to click away from your video.
Speak in the second-person by using words like "you" and "your."
Use a casual, conversational tone in your videos.

How to Make an Explainer Video

There are several ways to create an explainer video, and your method will depend on the type of explainer you want to make. However, most explainer videos require the following steps.

1. Write your video script. The best script will give a quick overview of what your product or service does. You should also introduce a problem and then explain how your product or service solves it.

Toward the end of your video, include a call-to-action telling viewers to call now, book an appointment, sign up, etc.

2. Record a voiceover. Make sure your audio is clear and high quality.

3. Determine your production. Are you going to hire a freelancer to animate or voice your video? Will you invest in a production team or company to create your video? Or are you going to DIY it with an iPhone?

Crowdsourcing is also an option if you're looking to lower costs.

4. Add music and sound effects. You're going to want to keep your audience engaged, and one of the best ways to do that is with a catchy soundtrack and excellent sound effects.

Several platforms, such as YouTube, Audacity, Free Sound, and MusOpen, provide music and soundYouTube, Audacity, Free Sound, and MusOpen. Just make sure to read the terms and conditions of these platforms to confirm that the music is licensed for use.

Once your video is done, upload it to your platform of choice and track its performance to determine how to improve your next video.

10 of the Best Explainer Videos We've Ever Seen

Grammarly
Synthesia
Feels
Walmart - YMS
Inventory Ahead
Purina
Freighty
Fiverr
UberEats
Spotify

To get a good feel for crafting your explainer video, start by gathering inspiration from brands doing it right.

1. Grammarly

This YouTube Short by Grammarly explains three features from its business version that users can use to improve their writing and productivity.

What We Like: The spokesperson immediately explains the purpose of the explainer at the very beginning. She also uses a conversational tone and explains each feature in plain language.

2. Synthesia

Synthesia is a virtual video production studio and its explainer video explains the platform's features and uses.

Synthesia takes a storytelling approach in the video by introducing a relatable character named Alan, who needs help making a video quickly. The story is simple and followers Alan from beginning to end in his video-making process

What We Like: The chronological storytelling effectively points out Synthesia's various tools and how to apply them.

3. Feels

This animated explainer video is for a company called Feels. The video explains how users can add meaning to the gifts they give others by linking them to charitable causes.

What We Like: The animation is colorful and fun to watch, making it engaging for viewers.

Furthermore, the narrator has a friendly yet heartfelt way of speaking that sounds more like a conversation with a friend and less like a marketing video.

4. Walmart - YMS

This whiteboard explainer video is for a Walmart Yard Management System (YMS) and explains how the system works and why it is needed.

What We Like: Though the video is longer, its whiteboard style allows the animation to follow along and illustrate everything the narrator is saying as she speaks.

This creates a cohesive, well-paced, easy-to-follow video that keeps viewers engaged for 2 minutes and 25 seconds.

5. Inventory Ahead

This explainer video for Inventory Ahead is an example of a screencast explainer. The video gives a first-person point of view showing how users can navigate the platform to track inventory.

What We Like: Viewers can easily see how the company's website and tools work thanks to the use of screen recording.

6. Purina

Purina from Mac Wojcik on Vimeo.

Purina's explainer video showcases the brand's prupose, which is to provide healthy and nutritious pet food to its consumer's fur babies.

What We Like: The video is super short at just 30 seconds and gets straight to the point using fun and colorful animation.

7. Freighty

Freighty's explainer video uses a second-person style of speaking and features and illustrations that highlight the narrator's script.

What We Like: The explainer empathizes with its target audience by first listing common goals shared by e-commerce companies.

It then presents consumers' typical problems and shows how Freighty is the solution.

8. Fiverr

Fiverr's explainer details the "Fiverr Journey" by following four entrepreneurs, each benefiting from the platform's services.

What We Like: The explainer includes an upbeat soundtrack, interesting storylines, and a narrator speaking in a laid back tone.

9. UberEats

UberEats explains how people can make money on their own time by delivering for the company.

What We Like: The explainer video gives step-by-step instructions on how to get started and make delivery. The video follows a delivery person making his rounds to help viewers better visualize what delivering would be like.

10. Spotify

Spotify has a new HiFi (high fidelity) feature that is expected to launch sometime soon, though a specific date hasn't been confirmed. To explain HiFi, the brand sat down with singer Billie Eilish and her brother/collaborator Finneas.

What We Like: Spotify took a non-traditional approach to its explainer video by having two well-known musicians explain why HiFi is so important in creating and enjoying their music.

Finneas explains that without HiFi, listeners could miss out on sounds and nuances in Billie's music.

Want more tips for creating video ? Check out these video marketing statistics to inform your strategy.

How to Create a Unique, Relatable Brand as a Content Creator

esantiago@hubspot.com (Erica Santiago) — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

When diving into content creation, most upcoming creators tend to focus on the materials they need, such as cameras, lighting, and an optimal place to record.

All that is crucial to creating high-quality content, but there is one more thing creators need — a personal brand. What makes you stand out as a content creator?

How do you create a content creator brand audiences can trust?

We will explore what a personal brand is, why it's essential, and how to create a content creator brand.

What is a personal brand?

A personal brand is how you present yourself as a content creator and the identity, personality, and characteristics that encompass everything you do as a creator.

Your personal brand is what makes you unique and what entices people to engage with your content and come back for more.

Why Content Creators Need a Personal Brand

There are about 207 million content creators worldwide, ranging from streamers to bloggers to YouTubers to TikTok creators and more.

A personal brand is crucial to differentiate yourself from the millions of creators and influencers vying for audience attention and brand deals.

Furthermore, a retable personal brand helps you build trust with your audience.

According to Business Wire, 61% of consumers find relatable personalities the most appealing when choosing to follow an influencer or creator on social media.

Crafting Your Content Creator Brand: Expert Tips

Content creator Sundas Khalid knows a lot about crafting a personal brand. She runs a YouTube channel covering the latest in data science and tech in a way that is accessible and authentic.

Here are a few tips Sundas has for creators looking to craft their own brand.

Be yourself and share your story.

"Stay true to yourself, and be authentic," Sundas advises. "When you try to be somebody else, it will become tiring. You're going to be exhausted at some point."

Khalid says staying true to herself, and her story helps her form a tight bond with her audience.

"I come from a very unique background, and the part that people relate to a lot is that I'm an immigrant, English is not my first language, and I come from where a girl's education is not prioritized," she explains. "My story is relatable to many people who follow me."

In fact, shortly before our interview, Khalid reached out to her followers via Instagram Stories to learn their perspectives on her brand.

"This person said, 'We can relate to your content, and it seems to answer our confusion, maybe because you're a self-taught data scientist yourself," Khalid says, reading a response from a follower, "' and you're able to share struggles and tips that are relevant and practical.'"

Authenticity is more than just an excellent way to connect with your audience. Khalid says it can also make a huge difference when faced with burnout.

Burnout is a common issue creators come across at some point in their careers. While there are many ways to remedy burnout, Sundas says a lack of authenticity can make combating it even more difficult.

"Content creation is a space in which there is such a big rush, and you get so energized creating content, but at some point, you're going to burn out," she says. "If you're trying to be somebody else, it's going to be harder for you to come back from that."

Be consistent.

"People want to see you over and over and over agan on social media because there are hundreds of creators out there," Khalid says. "If you're not consistent, somebody else is going to take that real estate."

To stay consistent and top of mind with her audience, Khalid batches and pre-plans her content. To batch your content means to record multiple pieces of content that will be published periodically over time.

"For example, this month I am very exhausted, but I have batch-created content so that I can take a break this month, get off whatever I'm going through, and be back on social media without actually being gone," she explains.

Consistency doesn't just extend to how often you post as a creator; consistency also means creating stylistically similar content.

"My content follows a pattern, so there's a lot of consistency," Khalid says. "For instance, I like to share a lot of opinion videos, and my opinion videos follow a very similar format."

Her opinion videos, like the one below, usually consist of large images relevant to the topic.

"And I'll share my opinion based on my experience in the industry," she says. "And I do it repeatedly, which translates to consistency with my branding."

If you follow some of your favorite creators, you might notice a distinct pattern in their content.

For example, Beyond the Bot is a group of content creators who discuss anime and manga. Each video follows a sci-fi aesthetic and features calm Lofi music in the background.

When creating your content, think of ways to make your content interesting, unique, and stylistically related. This could mean using a consistent color pallet, music, or specific format.

Find your niche.

"Find your niche and share it in a way that feels true to you, and then experiment," Khalid suggests.

"Eventually, you will figure out what your audience finds value in. Based on your content, you'll figure out your personal brand — you can continue building on it."

And if you're concerned your niche is over-saturated, or other creators have already covered your favorite topic, Khalid says not to feel discouraged.

"Actually, people want to hear from your perspective," she says. "Somebody else may have already created a video on your topic, but how you say it will be different."

Essentially, the key to creating your personal brand is creating content and engaging with your audience as your most authentic self. Furthermore, you have to be consistent in both how often you publish and how you relay information.

If you consistently show up as yourself, your brand will come naturally to you.

Generative AI and Customer-Centricity: How Three Companies Use Generative AI to Connect with Their Customers [And How You Can, Too]

Adam Bai — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

The dominant story of 2023 for salespeople, marketers, and content creators has been the rise of generative AI.

ChatGPT, the application based on OpenAI’s Large Language Model (LLM), now has the fastest adoption rate in history , reaching 100 million daily active users within two months of launch.

Yet most sales reps and marketers still use generative AI tools on an ad hoc basis to generate content — from email drafts to talking points, and ad copy to new product designs. And many haven’t yet experimented with generative AI at all.

There's a major, often overlooked area of opportunity when it comes to AI: Becoming a more customer-centric organization.

Here, we'll explore how three organizations used generative AI to achieve enhanced customer-centricity, and how your own business can, too.

Keep reading, or jump to a specific section:

How the Generative AI Revolution Will Evolve Over Time
How Three Companies Leveraged AI to Become More Customer-Centric [And How You Can, Too]
How AI Helps Your Team Become More Customer-Centric

What if the real generative AI superpower is enhanced customer-centricity?

If you’re a sales rep, a marketer, or a leader of an SMB, you can’t afford to ignore the generative AI revolution.

But you also can’t afford to get generative AI adoption wrong. And that means thinking about your people, your processes, and your organizational goals and capabilities as much as — or more than — the technology itself.

Generative AI has the potential to level the playing field for smaller businesses when it comes to customer-centricity.

With far less money, time, and specialized expertise than ever before, organizations can listen to their customers at scale, develop actionable insights about them, and then engage them to drive growth and profitability.

How the Generative AI Revolution Will Evolve Over Time

Despite all of the frenzy around ChatGPT (and, to a lesser extent Bard, Bing, Midjourney, Adobe Generative Fill, etc.), the future of generative AI within sales and marketing functions is still very much up for grabs.

The first wave of adoption has been overwhelmingly individual, ad-hoc, and designed to save time on a process-by-process basis.

The real impact of generative AI will come with the second wave, and will require an approach that is team-based, planned, and designed to enhance capabilities and processes.

The third wave of adoption will be transformational and will demand approaches that are organization-wide, enable continuous learning (via iterative feedback loops), and designed to shape new capabilities and processes.

	Wave 1	Wave 2	Wave 3
Who?	Individual	Team	Organization
How?	Ad-Hoc	Planned	Continuous Learning
Why?	Saving time	Adding value to processes	Transforming processes

Right now, we’re still solidly in the midst of Wave 1. The real battle will be for marketing and sales functions to accelerate their transitions to Waves 2 and 3 faster and more strategically than the competition.

Unlike experimentation by motivated individuals, team or organization-wide adoption will run into barriers like organizational inertia, employee concerns about possible job loss, data privacy and security constraints, data integration challenges, and of course, knowledge and capability gaps.

A Better Approach

Here at Glimpse we’re strong believers in the potential of AI to revolutionize sales, marketing, and market research. In fact, long before ChatGPT fever, we were already working on a custom NLP (Natural Language Processing) model to help our users understand — and then extract actionable insights from — human language responses to open-ended survey questions.

We thought about how we could harness the power of generative AI to help our users with the most important task facing any business: Understanding their customers, employees, stakeholders, and audiences better. Paradoxically, relying more on generative AI in this context can actually supercharge human understanding and connection.

Glimpse users can now summarize and capture the essence of open-ended responses with the touch of a button, and derive invaluable insights instantly like “top negative story”, “most newsworthy ideas”, or “suggested text for a blog post”. They can also filter by any audience segment or demographic/behavioral attribute. Learn more about our AI-powered offerings here.

Next, let's jump into three examples of how companies leverage AI to hyper-charge their customer centricity.

How Three Companies Leveraged AI to Become More Customer-Centric [And How You Can, Too]

1. Gaming Communities for an Agency

Along with our friend, client, and trusted partner, Jocelyn Harjes, from Ayzenberg, an ad agency in the video gaming space, we used generative AI to listen to the experiences and concerns of female-identifying, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ gamers at scale.

Here’s a look at what we discovered:

The story isn't all negative. Lots of gamer respondents offered positive lessons about how to deal with and respond to toxic behavior online. Here’s a Positive Story instantly created by our dashboard’s generative AI integration based on 500 open-ended responses:

Impact

With the help of generative AI, the agency and some of its gaming publisher clients will be using AI-enabled data and insights from the study to:

Grasp the full range of toxic experiences, from slurs to organized harassment
Demonstrate that toxic behavior was leading to a ‘leaky bucket’ and gamer churn, causing game companies to miss out on revenue opportunities
Gather suggested strategies for dealing with personal attacks
Draft recommendations for game publishers to build more inclusive digital communities

Though this study focused on gamers within digital communities, the same approach could be applied to any audience, about any topic.

2. Diverse Black Purchasing Habits for Retailers and Brands

An agency focusing on Black consumers wanted to bring fresh insights about the diversity of Black identity and purchasing habits to their retail and brand clients.

But they faced an array of challenges:

The usual close-ended survey questions just weren’t working for discovery. Respondents chose from the typical census categories to describe their identities but the agency knew “Black” concealed lots of differences that mattered to their retail clients in terms of messaging.
Focus groups and In-Depth-Interviews (IDI’s) were too slow, expensive, and unrepresentative to rely on. And the coding process would require skilled employees to determine things like sentiment.
Social listening tools were useful but they could only access third-party data passively on a few platforms. They tended to register the ‘loudest voices in the room’ and were hardly representative. And of course it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to ask anyone direct questions.

The solution was for the agency to launch a series of studies to thousands of Black Americans on the Glimpse platform. Open-ended questions about shopping habits revealed a host of new insights about spending power and preferences.

The retailers and brands will be using AI-enabled data and insights from the study to:

Align mental (advertising communications) and physical (products on the shelves, channel and packaging strategy, etc.) availability for this important consumer group
Craft campaigns and messaging to authentically and powerfully connect with Black communities
Tailor shopper marketing initiatives to better match the shopping habits, rhythms, and needs of Black communities

3. B2B Machine Learning Start-Up

The venture arm of one of the world’s largest tech companies placed a big bet on a company that was developing machine learning-based software and hardware to serve a range of industries across their supply chains. The start-up went with Glimpse to shape core aspects of its product and commercialization strategy.

They could have chosen any number of existing platforms or internal AI-enabled tools but Glimpse offered the fastest route to true discovery–about the sentiments and top-of-mind awareness of their most important stakeholders.

At first glance, ML/AI adoption is a straightforward feature and benefits calculus but the start-up knew that understanding buyer emotions, hopes, and anxieties about ML/AI-driven disruption would be equally central to its success.

With Glimpse’s platform, the company surveyed hundreds of ML/AI decision makers and users across Latin America, Europe, and North America.

Next, let's dive into four opportunities to become more customer-centric thanks to the power of AI.

How AI Helps Your Team Become More Customer-Centric

Here are four tips for your organization to adopt generative AI successfully. They apply regardless of firm size, industry, or market. And they definitely apply regardless of the tech stack you’ve chosen.

1. AI enables you to become more agile.

Generative AI allows us to adopt an agile approach, not only to social listening, but also to the collection and analysis of first-party data. And it allows smaller companies and start-ups without huge research or insights functions to get in the game.

Rather than developing customer or audience insights at the beginning of an annual strategic planning process, listen more regularly and course-correct constantly. Test your assumptions, your product innovation vision, your sales approaches, your campaigns, and your content on a regular basis. You’ll achieve higher ROI on your marketing and sales investments and you’ll connect more effectively with your customers.

2. AI helps you track changes over time.

Generative AI can help us spot emerging patterns, opportunities, and risks. But change only becomes visible if we’ve established baseline data to figure out what ‘normal’ looks like. With Generative AI, historical data is even more valuable than ever before. It allows us to train our models to become more nuanced and effective within the context of our own business challenges.

For instance, many Glimpse clients are now shifting to an ‘always-on’ approach to gathering and analyzing survey data. They’re looking at the relationships between categories, brands, or products and particular audiences. Our AI-enabled dashboard allows them to get ahead of change by tracking trends over time.

For instance, if you want to know whether an economic downturn or a new public health scare is likely to change the purchasing behavior of your customers, generative AI-enabled first party research is a great option.

Until now these kinds of brand tracking studies were often prohibitively expensive for all but the largest organizations. But generative AI helps keep costs down and opens the field for the rest of us. And even if you do have an existing brand tracking study, you can use a generative AI-powered module looking at open-ended responses to explain why a number went up or down, and help discover the best path forward for your business.

3. AI enables you to adopt a holistic approach.

Generative AI can be applied to any data source to find patterns, spot opportunities or warning signs, and help develop insights. Though generative AI can provide the most value, relatively speaking, when it comes to unstructured data (like human language), it can also look at relationships between data sources, like social listening, first-party customer or sales data, and the kind of agile first-party survey data that Glimpse provides.

Without first-party research, all the social intelligence in the world will never give you a complete picture of what audiences are thinking or feeling, or aware of. It’s time to think more holistically by integrating generative AI-powered first-party data approaches into all of your data collection and strategic planning processes.

4. AI helps you become more future-oriented.

The issue isn’t whether or not you should explore generative AI adoption for your organization. You should! Rather the issue is the best approach to adoption. Here are some questions you can ask yourself and your team to get started:

What’s our policy on generative AI right now? Whether you know it or not, your people are already using generative AI for work tasks. It’s time to get ahead of change by offering flexible guidelines instead of fixed rules. These guidelines should cover attribution/acknowledgement of AI assistance, the need to double check AI-generated answers for factual accuracy, the rule-of-thumb that no AI-generated text should be pasted directly into a client email or ad copy without human editing, and so on.
Do we have the skills/capabilities/talent on our team right now to use generative AI effectively? If not, consider sponsoring training or supervised experimentation before you conclude that you need to hire to fill the capability gap. With rare exceptions, you won’t be building your own Large Language Models (LLMs) or doing much technical work; instead, you’ll be making common sense applications of existing generative AI platforms and APIs. And you’ll inevitably be faced with a build/buy/tailor decision regarding AI tools and capabilities. For most companies, the best decision will be to license existing tech and then tailor it in smart ways to meet their needs. But along the way, they’ll need to understand and track the incredibly fast-moving universe of AI platforms and models.
Does process or team structure need to evolve? The answer to this question — eventually, anyway – is almost certainly, “yes.” In order to take advantage of generative AI-driven approaches to data gathering and analysis, you’ll have to lean even more heavily into cross-functional teams, with marketers, salespeople, and data experts frequently testing hypotheses about the market, customers, products, campaigns, and more. Rather than a waterfall approach to customer insights, where they get created once a year by an agency or by a few specialists, you’ll want to foster an ongoing, iterative process to learn about the audiences that matter most for the success of your business.

It’s time to take seriously the idea that the greatest, least examined application of generative AI is actually customer understanding, support for human insight creation, and the ability to learn and predict more rapidly and more accurately about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to audience engagement.

We now have a whole new set of questions to ask, and a whole new set of opportunities to pursue. And those opportunities require marketers and salespeople — equipped both with human judgment and knowledge of AI as a tool — to pursue them. We can glimpse (see what I did there?) a new horizon for customer understanding and connection. But to get there, we’ll have to do some work together.

One thing is clear: The most effective sales and marketing teams of the future will embed generative AI into the fabric of everything they do.

Millennials vs. Gen Z: Why Marketers Need to Know the Difference [New Data]

pbump@hubspot.com (Pamela Bump) — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

In recent years, there's been a common misconception that Gen Z and millennials are essentially the same.

When companies discuss reaching younger audiences, many often lump Gen Z and millennials into the same group and create one campaign strategy that they believe fits both groups.

Sure, many millennials and Gen Zers are considered "young adults." Both generations are highly connected to technology and the internet. It might seem effective to run one campaign aimed at both generations, but is this really the right move?

To investigate, I decided to start by letting consumers weigh in on whether or not the same marketing strategies will engage both age groups.

In a Lucid poll, I asked 350 people to tell me if, "The same marketing tactics that persuade millennials also work on Gen Z," was a true or false statement. And if you think consumers — the people who are being marketed to by brands — would sway one way or another, you'll be slightly surprised by the results below:

Data Source: Lucid Software

Although 56% of those polled thought the two generations could be marketed to the same way, nearly half disagreed.

As a marketer specializing in audience growth, I sway with the 44% of people who think the same tactics won't work on both groups — at least not forever.

But is either group of consumers right about their perceptions? In this blog post, I'll share the cold, hard facts researchers have discovered about generational similarities and differences between millennials and Gen Zers, while occasionally weighing the raw data against the way everyday consumers perceive the two generations. And if you're in a pinch, jump straight to the info you need:

Factors that Differentiate Millennials and Gen Z
How to Market to Millennials
How to Market to Gen Z
How to Market to Both
Tips for Knowing Your Audience

When you think about the generational differences on the largest possible scale, the oldest millennials are in their early 40s, might be settled down, and could be making larger purchases like cars or homes. The youngest members of Gen Z are 11 years old, might love children's shows, and won't be directly making purchasing decisions any time soon.

Aside from the obvious age differences above, here are six more factors that make these two generations fundamentally different.

Factors That Differentiate Millennials and Gen Z

1. They have different attitudes about technology and money.

Understanding the era an age group grows up in can help you identify generational commonalities like motivations, spending or saving habits, or pain points that they all share.

Two things that differentiated each generation's childhood era included technology and the economy:

Technology

The most obvious difference between the eras each generation was raised in is the presence of technology. Millennials grew up using DVD players, giant personal computers, cell phones with tiny screens, and dial-up internet. At that time, we thought these technologies were groundbreaking.

Now, most children and teens within Gen Z have access to iPads, smartphones, endless Wi-Fi, or streaming services that put our prized DVD players to shame. Many members of this generation might have also grown up in households with early smart home technology.

While millennials watched innovation begin, Gen Z was immersed in it from day one.

But although Gen Z never had to know a time where they didn't have a cool gadget to solve basic problems, the impact of technology, the internet, and social media has still taken a toll on the group.

Research shows that Gen Z — which has been called the "socially-conscious generation — deals with far more body image, mental health, and cyberbullying issues than any other age group has in the past. Experts have also called Gen Z the loneliest generation despite all of their digital connectivity options.

Economy

Millennials and Gen Z also have different attitudes around money. While they both care about their finances and invest in things that can improve their careers — like higher education.

Both generations are known for improving on financial habits of past generations, however, millennials put their money into buying more products or services that will give them a positive experience, while Gen Z is more focused on savings and practical products.

Millennials in the U.S. built up their own finances shortly after the Recession, which ended in 2009. For many years up until 2019, despite financial woes caused by the poor economy, rising home costs, and high unemployment levels, millennials remained optimistic about their future and finances. However, some studies state that millennials' financial optimism is dwindling due to post-pandemic inflation, recession, and market slump prevalent in 2023.

Gen Z was born at the beginning of the economic downturn. As the oldest members of Gen Z have entered adulthood, research shows that their past experience of living in the Recession are leading them to make more practical spending decisions.

If you're marketing to these generations, you'll want to remember these attitudes about money.

For example, if you want millennials to buy your product, you'll want to focus on building a brand that offers a pleasant or entertaining customer experience, as well as marketing products or services that give instant gratification. If you're marketing to Gen Z, you'll want your campaigns to clearly demonstrate how or why your product will be valuable or practical to them in their daily lives.

2. Gen Z is more likely to make mobile purchases.

By now, you might know that both of these generations are heavily connected to the internet and social media, While millennials watched the internet develop, Gen Z has used it since a very young age.

Each day, millennials spend around 7.5 hours online while Gen Z surfs for nearly 10 hours.

Both millennials and Gen Z also go online primarily with mobile devices, but a big difference between these generations is that Gen Z was practically raised with smartphones. According to YPULSE, 12 is the average age Gen-Z received their first smartphone, five years younger (on average) than millennials.

Source: YPULSE

Gen Z's mobile-first mindset also impacts how they shop. Members of the generation are twice as likely to make a mobile online purchase than millennials. However, millennials still do shop a lot on mobile devices. In fact, 71% say they do most of their online shopping with a mobile device.

Regarding online content consumption, millennials and Gen Z spend most of their time watching videos and visiting social media sites.

According to a recent study, millennials watch online videos for 1.5 hours per day while Gen Z averages over three hours. Meanwhile, both generations are thought to spend hours daily on social media.

While you might have already known that mobile optimization and video marketing are a key digital strategies, these stats prove that it can help you zone in on young adult generations. If you really want to attract attention from both Gen Z or millennials, you'll want to create mobile videos, mobile ecommerce sites, or other phone-based experiences that cater to them. You should also be sure to market yourself on platforms that're already mobile, such as major social media apps.

3. Both spend a lot of time on social media, but the platforms they use are quite different.

To understand how people perceived each generation's social media usage, I asked the same group of 350 people noted in the Lucid poll above to weigh in on which group they thought spent more time on social media. Here's what they said:

Data Source: Lucid Software

The poll results above were fairly split between millennials and Gen Z. However, 27% of participants say both generations are "always logged on."

So, who's actually the most tuned in to social media? Let's see what studies on these groups reveal.

The World Economic Forum reports that millennials are logged on to social media for an average of two hours and 38 minutes daily while Gen Z logs on for more than four hours each day.

Aside from the time spent on social media per day, the platforms each generation uses are also slightly different.

While my generation thrived on MySpace and Tumblr and now enjoys platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, Gen Z has zoned in on video-based platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and — more recently — TikTok.

A recent Business Insider survey that polled the oldest half of Gen Z found that participants used Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat most often.

Although TikTok seemed less popular in the Business Insider survey, this one-year-old platform is one of the fastest-growing social media apps due to booming global Gen Z users.

Gen Z and millennials do have a few social platform preferences in common. One, for example, is Instagram. While Instagram is older and more established than apps like TikTok or Snapchat, it's also pulled in millennials and video-loving Gen Z members.

YouTube is also a social network that both generations are prominently using. While YouTube was launched when most millennials were children, 96% of Gen Z users have accounts on the video-sharing platform. The video platform is also the second-most used search engine and a platform where many in Gen Z and millennial generations go for product research, as 57% of YouTube's audience consists solely of the two generations.

4. Millennials pay attention to ads for a longer amount of time.

Each generation's habits align well with its average attention span when it comes to content consumption.

While millennials will pay attention to content for 12 seconds, Gen Z will only focus on it for eight seconds. Furthermore, Gen Z enjoys quick or short-form video content, like that of Snapchat or Instagram Stories, while millennials value long-form content, such as detailed videos or podcasts.

This means that those advertising or marketing to millennials can get away with slightly longer or more in-depth content while those marketing to Gen Z will want to get their value proposition out as quickly and seamlessly as possible in their campaigns.

As I've mentioned above, most of today's social and online platforms are becoming more video-driven. This mirrors the fact that video usage is growing quickly amongst both generations.

Whether you're creating long-form content for millennials or short-form clips for Gen Z, you'll want to embrace mobile-optimized video when promoting your brand to either audience.

Branded Content

When it comes to learning about brands or products on social media, each generation also has its own unique preferences. For example, Gen Z prefers to learn about products through social media-based videos and influencer marketing, while millennials will respond to a variety of promotional strategies including more traditional online ads, social media marketing, and branded podcasts.

Additionally, a recent survey shows that 87% of Gen Z prefers ads or marketing content that shows actual people discussing products. When it comes to millennials, only 37% prefer to see people discussing products in ads or marketing content.

Aside from embracing video and mobile optimization, if you're marketing to Gen Z, you'll also want to focus on content that feels more informative and less like an ad. This generation has actively rejected traditional advertising tactics. For example, 84% of Gen Z will skip video ads as quickly as possible, while 65% have downloaded some type of ad-blocker on their mobile devices or computers.

5. Both generations purchase less than past generations.

A common myth about millennials and Gen Z is that both generations are financially illiterate. Because this seems to be a hot topic online and throughout pop culture, I conducted one more Lucid poll, asking the same group noted above to choose which generation they thought spent more money on products.

The Lucid poll below demonstrates this myth and perception as many participants said that they believed both generation spend a lot of money:

Data Source: Lucid Software

Additionally, 36% of survey respondents said millennials spent the most on products, while the same percentage said both generations spend a lot of money. However, less than 20% pointed to Gen Z.

According to various studies, both generations actually spend less than past generations while the oldest Gen Z members are focused on responsible spending.

Most of Gen Z doesn't even have much buying power yet. But research from multiple sources, including Vice, Insider, and Adobe say that Gen Z aims to spend money pragmatically as compared to other generations. Some analysts suggest that Gen Z's saving approach is routed in budgeting lessons that the generation learned from the U.S. Recession.

When it comes to the Gen Z members who are old enough to make purchases, research shows that they do less online shopping than millennials. A recent study from Ernst & Young noted that 74% of millennials and only 49% of Gen Z buy products online more than once a month.

But, while Gen Z buys less online, they expect more added service from a brand when they make purchases. The same E&Y study found that 80% of Gen Z valued free delivery. The study also found that 74% of Gen Z values brands that give out discounts or coupons over other businesses.

While millennials are slightly less frugal than Gen Z, the idea that the older generation is more frivolous is also a huge misconception. While many millennials buy their fair share of products, they also earn more annually than most older generations, are the most educated age group, and are notably optimistic about their futures.

6. They have different career motivations.

Both generations have in common that they have placed importance on investing in school or skills training.

While older generations could afford both homes and education, millennials find housing out of financial reach and have mainly focused on paying high costs of tuition.

Despite increasing educational costs, the trend of investing in education isn't expected to change for either generation. While 10% of Gen Z teens are saving for college, millennial parents are putting more into their children's college funds than past generations.

Looking at each generation's work habits can give you a sneak peek into what their finances and daily motivations might be in the future.

While both millennials and Gen Z are driven by higher education and career growth, they still have a few slight differences that you might want to know about, especially if you're a marketer in academic or B2B fields.

Today, many millennials are working or are enrolled in higher education. For the entire decade between 2020 and 2030, millennials will comprise the largest share of the workforce, representing 40% of the global working-age population by 2030.

But, although most of Gen Z is still in school, they are also very career-minded.

When it comes to looking for jobs, Gen Z adults are more financially motivated than the millennial generation. In fact, 65% of Gen Z employees value salary over other job perks as 74% 2023 US graduates surveyed said they prioritize stability and salary from employers, outweighing factors including a known employer brand, a fast-growing field, or overall benefits. Those in the age group also say they'll invest in skill training if it means they make more money.

Gen Z also applies for jobs more aggressively than past generations. Only 10% of the generation starts their job search after college while most Gen Z students begin scouting out job options between freshman and sophomore year.

So, what does this mean for your marketing strategy? Both of these generations are hard workers, highly educated, and might earn more than past generations.

However, Gen Z is more driven to make and save money. This means that to persuade Gen Z, you might need to take extra time to brainstorm campaigns that show how your product will help them and why it is worth their money. Odds are, they will be more persuaded by the practicality of a product than the "trendiness" of it.

How to Market to Each Generation

Yes, both generations have a lot of things in common.

And while there are opportunities to market to both generations at once, it might be more beneficial to brainstorm creative campaigns that zone in on one generation or the other. To help you develop a strategy that gains attention from the appropriate audience, here are a few takeaways related to each generation:

Marketing Campaign for Millennials

By now, you might be most familiar with marketing to millennials. Luckily, they're also a great generation to market to. They're on the most prominent social media networks today and prefer to consume multiple different styles of multimedia content, from videos to podcasts. They're also old enough to make purchasing decisions, are more educated than previous generations, and spend considerable time in the research stage before buying a product.

Essentially, many different formats of marketing content will engage millennials because they are regularly looking to be enticed by a new product that will help them in their daily lives.

Because millennials have a slightly longer attention span than Gen Z, you can also get a bit more creative by testing out longer-form content like longer marketing videos or branded podcasts.

The best types of marketing campaigns will inform millennials about how your product can make their lives easier or how it can solve their day-to-day problems. Focusing your strategy on social media or online platforms like Facebook, YouTube or Instagram, where many adults go to research products can also be beneficial to your strategy,

Marketing Campaign for Gen Z

To successfully persuade Gen Z to buy your product, you'll want to make content that quickly cuts to the chase and explains why your product will provide value to them.

As mentioned above, Gen Z loves to use video to learn about products and spends most of their online time on mobile phones. So be sure to leverage short-form video formatting and mobile-optimized content in your campaigns.

You'll also want to zone in on the niche social media platforms that they commonly use, such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok on Snapchat. If you're not on one of these platforms, but still want to gain brand awareness there, consider sponsoring an influencer who knows the audience and create content that discusses your product.

Marketing Campaign for Gen Z and Millennials

If you absolutely can't budget pinpointed campaigns for millennials and Gen Z, but know you want to market to young adults, focus on the cusp of both generations by creating a campaign for 18 to 34-year-olds. This will allow you to zone in on young and slightly older adults that can actually make purchasing decisions.

While a campaign with this age target might be slightly more favorable to millennials between 27 and 42, there's still a chance you could grab attention from older teenagers who will soon be able to make more purchases if they can't already.

Despite the differences between these two generations, there are also two big similarities: both love social media and instant gratification. Be sure that your campaign clearly explains why your product will be valuable to the age group you're pitching it too, and leverage the social media networks that the age group you're targeting has in common.

For example, if you're focused on promoting your product to people in the 18 to 34 range, you'll want to be on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, because most members of this age group are using all three of them on a regular basis.

If you can create a campaign that leverages key social networks accordingly while highlighting why your product is so instantly gratifying and useful, you might attract interest from both groups fairly quickly.

Tips for Knowing Your Audience

As you create campaigns around a specific audience or age group, it's important to do digging to learn what motivates this group of people, what their purchasing habits are, where they spend the most time, and what they're looking for in a product. Here are a few tips that can help you in this research:

Identify specific demographics: Try not to be too specific or too broad. Pick an audience you can learn a lot about quickly that well aligns with your product and start researching that demographic.
Learn about their work and education backgrounds: This will give you insight on what motivates them and how much they're able to spend on a product.
Find out which social platforms they use: Once you do this, you can research each platform and leverage it appropriately during your campaign.
Consider writing a buyer persona: A buyer persona is a fictional character that has a very similar lifestyle to your ideal buyer. Having a persona in mind can help you quickly think about campaigns and strategies that they'll engage most with. It's also a handy place to organize all of your detailed research findings into one simple place.

Want to learn more about Gen Z or millennials specifically? Check out this blog post on marketing to Gen Z or this piece on millennial marketing.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in December 2019 and has since been updated for comprehensiveness.

Technical Marketing: Best Practices and Career Tips

Izzy Green — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

You'll need a solid technical marketing strategy if you sell a complex product or service.

This type of marketing requires a firm understanding of the technical aspects behind your product. You'll also need to communicate complex processes clearly. Without technical expertise, your marketing team will have a difficult time developing content that resonates with your core audience.

In this post, we'll look at why technical marketing is so important, as well as the skills necessary to succeed in a technical marketing role.

Table of Contents

When to Use Technical Marketing
Technical Marketing Best Practices
7 Tips to Kickstart Your Career in Technical Marketing

What is technical marketing?

Technical marketing refers to a specific type of marketing focusing primarily on an offering's specifications and technical aspects.

Technical marketing communicates and simplifies complex information, usually about specialized products.

When to Use Technical Marketing

Technical marketing is a crucial part of any marketing strategy. It’s particularly important to use when consumers are very knowledgeable about the subject matter and have a detailed understanding of the product or service.

A general overview may work for some industries or products. But for someone who knows the ins and outs of your industry already, they’ll want more in-depth information.

A few industries that benefit from technical marketing the most include:

Software
Manufacturing
Healthcare
Aerospace
Electronics

Within these industries, there are some scenarios when technical marketing is most beneficial in helping marketing teams communicate with customers, generate quality leads, and meet their business goals.

User Manuals

Technical marketing details how a product or service works. These marketers specifically focus on how the offering will benefit the user.

This is typically more necessary in technical fields where the products are more complex, such as engineering or electronics.

A user manual, also referred to as a user guide or instruction manual, is documentation that provides a user with a detailed explanation of how to use a product or service.

Software Programs and Applications

Another crucial use case for technical marketing is creating documentation for software programs and applications.

This can include documentation for developers, as well as customer-facing documentation for product-savvy consumers.

Assembly Instructions

If you’ve ever had to build a piece of IKEA furniture, then you know that simplifying complex processes can significantly affect the user experience.

This use case is unique to products that need to be constructed or assembled, such as manufacturing parts, electronics, or furniture.

Help Articles

Help center articles, product walk-through videos, and anything else that provides in-depth instruction all fall under how-to content.

You’ll need technical writing experience, critical thinking skills, and product insights to produce this technical marketing content.

Technical Marketing Best Practices

Understand your audience.

Marketing is all about understanding your audience's needs and pain points to navigate them toward a useful solution.

Yet typically, this form of marketing will require an even greater dose of creativity, with a need to continually search for new avenues to make technical and complex products and services easy to understand.

Whether you’re a technical marketing manager or a technical writer, you will need a complete understanding of a product or service's USPs, capabilities, and benefits. And this should outweigh the customer's understanding. No questions should be left unanswered.

Technical marketing requires in-depth audience research and critical thinking. You must be able to think like your customer so you know how to communicate with them in a way that will resonate, educate, and drive leads.

Sharpen your industry knowledge.

To excel in technical marketing, it’s essential to understand the ins and outs of the industry. Stay on top of the latest developments, trends, and tools. Then, you'll know what your audience is consuming.

Sharpening your industry knowledge is beneficial in helping you better understand your customer and position your brand as an expert in your field.

This can also give your online presence a boost. How?

Google’s latest update — referred to as EEAT — prioritizes content that demonstrates four things:

Experience
Expertise
Authoritativeness
Trustworthiness

This is a huge opportunity for technical marketers to use content to build their brand’s authority on a certain topic or product.

Create content that covers technical aspects of a service or product and demonstrates your company as an expert in the space. If it’s done properly, then this will improve your search rankings.

Get product training.

When you’re new to your role or company, the first thing you should do is get in-depth training on your company’s product.

Meet with someone on the product or engineering team to walk through the product’s front end and back end since you’ll want to experience the product as both a user and as an internal member.

By walking through the user experience, you can identify any technical aspects that could use better marketing or more thorough communication.

On the flip side, it’s also essential for a technical marketer to fully understand how a product or process works in order to translate that information to the end user throughout your marketing efforts.

Lean into storytelling.

While technical marketing may revolve around data, detailed specifications, and thorough instruction, that doesn’t mean you can’t also infuse storytelling elements into your content.

Lean into the “marketing” aspect that goes into technical marketing. Don’t be afraid to get creative when crafting your content.

Put yourself in the user’s shoes to better understand their perspective and help you tell a story. Telling a story not only helps communicate complex topics, but it’s also a great way to help users visualize themselves using your product.

7 Tips to Kickstart Your Career in Technical Marketing

So what does it take to have a successful technical marketing career? There are certainly some key characteristics necessary for this role, and some definite skills to hone.

Here are seven tips to help kickstart your career as a marketer in a technical field.

1. Choose the role you want to focus on.

If you’re thinking about a career in technical marketing, there are several roles you can hone in on.

Whether you’re experienced in the strategy side or consider yourself more of a technical wordsmith, here are a few roles you can expect to find in a technical marketing career path.

Technical Marketing Manager

This role encompasses all of the technical marketing activities for an organization. It's essential that a technical marketing manager has wider business knowledge to understand the ROI for the specific product, as well as the product's use cases.

Broad industry knowledge is also a must, with an understanding of complementary or substitute products on the market.

For example, if you think about your prospect's existing subscriptions or tool stack, a detailed overview of the specifications and limitations of your product will highlight where your offering will complement or overlap with their existing tools.

Technical Content Marketer

This role focuses more specifically on ways to use content to communicate your technical message.

Technical Marketing Writer

A technical marketing writer is responsible for communicating the overall marketing and messaging strategies to paper (or video, as the case may be).

As a writer, your content will be the driving force behind generating more qualified leads. It’s essential to understand the industry jargon your customer uses.

2. Harness your public speaking skills.

This may be unexpected, but public speaking is an incredibly important skill in technical marketing.

Given that the content that tends to perform well are conferences, videos, and presentations, a technical marketer must be able to communicate technical aspects in this thought leadership setting.

Whether you need to walk through the product for a demo or you’re hosting a webinar for potential customers, get yourself used to speaking (even if it’s in a virtual environment) if you want to succeed in technical marketing.

3. Improve your business sense.

It's essential that a technical marketing manager or strategist has wider business knowledge. This helps you understand the ROI for the specific product but also the product's use cases.

Wider industry knowledge is also a must, with a particular understanding of complementary or substitute products on the market.

With more involvement in business operations, your concrete understanding of your product's specifications will be necessary to better explain where the features are adding value.

Best for: If you want to lead a technical marketing team and equip them with the budget and resources needed to get results, you have to get buy-in from executives. This means you must be able to communicate the value of your program and be able to show how it’s impacting the company’s business goals and bottom line.

4. Become a problem solver.

Ultimately, technical marketing is all about helping consumers solve their problems.

To succeed in a technical marketing career, it’s important to be consultative and empathetic. This allows you to explore and further advise a prospect's decision-making processes by continually looking at specific needs.

Best for: If you have your sights set on a management or leadership role at some point in your marketing career, then you have to improve your problem-solving skills.

5. Improve your communication skills.

From writing in-depth user guides to crafting video script copy for demos, technical marketers must always work on their communication skills to succeed in this career — particularly when it comes to written communication.

As we mentioned, you need to understand your personas from a content platform perspective, but you'll also need to know how to write for them.

This includes tone of voice: is it appropriate to write it simplistically? Or will it be more fitting to include industry jargon?

Your brand’s content needs to live and breathe the product or service it's related to and the audience that desires it. Whether this be through product descriptions, web pages, or more general industry-related content that will drive traffic, excellent communication skills are essential.

Best for: If you want to pursue a role in technical writing, then excellent communication skills are a must.

6. Hone your research skills.

To kickstart your technical marketing career, you’ll also need strong research skills. Being an excellent researcher is important for a couple of reasons.

For one, research helps you gather the most up-to-date knowledge on wider market trends. Being a researcher also helps you with the ability to retain and communicate your learnings to consumers, and showcase it in communication such as user guides.

Pro tip: Join online communities and discussion forums to connect with people in the industry and stay on top of the latest conversations.

7. Be open to training.

Another content form that lends itself well to technical marketing is training courses on the products and services offered. If your company wants to produce this type of content, then great training skills are necessary, both for online and in-person technical training.

Practice your training skills by producing video walk-throughs and getting comfortable explaining complex processes or products in person instead of on paper.

Pro tip: You should also receive regular training on your company’s product and industry-related topics. Attending training sessions or courses can help you better refine your own training skills.

Taking the Technical Marketing Leap

Ultimately, technical marketing can be a really important component of your content marketing strategy if your industry or products and services lend themselves to it.

Technical marketing can help you attract more qualified leads and showcase your company as an expert in the industry.

Create a clear technical marketing strategy so that you can cut through the marketing noise and deliver an exciting and engaging message to your well-informed audience.

The What, Why, & How of Social Bookmarking

Rebecca Riserbato — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

If you’ve ever come across a valuable article or website that can help improve your skills as a marketer, you probably want to save it and come back when you can dedicate more time to it.

With social bookmarking, you can save those articles or resources you want to revisit in one central location.

Let’s review:

What is Social Bookmarking?
How Social Bookmarking Works
Benefits of Social Bookmarking
Top Bookmarking Sites
How to Use Social Bookmarking

{{ sgMacro.render_ftSnippet({ header: “What is Social Bookmarking?”, content_type: “paragraph”, list: { items : [ “This is my first sentence about my post.”, “Now I am adding in my second sentence.”, “Let's add a third just to be safe.” ] }, paragraph: { content: “Social bookmarking is the process of saving a specific web page to a social bookmarking platform so you can revisit it later. Social bookmarking sites allow users to access their bookmarks online, at any time, from any device. Social bookmarking sites are useful to marketers because users can add, annotate, and share bookmarked web pages with their team.” } }) }}

When I was working at an agency, it was important to learn everything I could about SEO and drive results for our clients. But I was no SEO expert.

In order to keep our SEO tactics competitive, I kept this SEO definitive guide bookmarked so I could come back to it whenever I was strategizing for a client’s SEO. Although I didn’t realize it at the time, this was a form of social bookmarking.

Bookmarks can be public, private, or shared with specific groups. Social bookmarking sites can also be used like social search engines. You can search and browse to see popular and recently added web pages. Users can comment and vote for web pages they like, making it easy to see what articles are most valuable.

Want to learn more about improving your skills as a marketer? Check out our list of online marketing classes.

How Social Bookmarking Works

Social bookmarking works by clipping or tagging a web page using a platform or tool so that you can come back to it later. We’re familiar with using bookmarks in our search browsers, but social bookmarking allows us to instead keep the collection of web pages accessible from any device online, as long as we have a connection to the internet. It’s like having your own highly curated search engine.

On social bookmarking platforms, topics are organized into specific groups or threads where users can follow content that’s most relevant to them. Once you opt to follow a particular topic thread or piece of content, you’ll be notified when new information or updates appear.

This efficient categorization makes it easy to discover new content of interest or share content of your own.

Social Bookmarking Benefits

For marketers, social bookmarking offers another avenue to not only get out branded content, but discover trends, too. In addition to following threads, you can search by words or phrases, plugging in information most relevant to your brand.

For example, if your brand is in the wellness industry, you can use social bookmarking discussions to see what users are talking about in that space. Plus it gives an opportunity to interact with users who fit your target audience and publish content of your own.

Other benefits include:

An SEO opportunity to earn backlinks from a platform with a high domain authority to give your content a boost in the SERPs.
Opportunities to network with influencers or collaborators to help grow your online presence and attract the attention of potential new customers.
Ability to easily distribute content, examples, and ideas to your team for inspiration.

While social bookmarking platforms are an excellent avenue to use to get the word out about your brand, spamming links is frowned upon. Going overboard can result in the platform penalizing you and losing credibility with your audience. Only share links when they are actually of use to your audience.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s check out the top social bookmarking sites to get started.

{{ sgMacro.render_ftSnippet({ header: “Social Bookmarking Sites”, content_type: “ordered_list”, list: { items : [ “Pinterest”, “Reddit”, “Pocket”, “Digg”, “Mix”, “Scoop.it”, “Medium”, “Slashdot” ] }, paragraph: { content: “” } }) }}

1. Pinterest

Price: Free

Pinterest is a social media network that operates like a social bookmarking site. You can create boards and save content (called pinning) to come back to later. For example, if you are getting married, you can have a “Wedding Hair" board and save pins that you find for different hair styles.

A unique feature with Pinterest is that they collaborate directly with sellers, so you can buy the products you find directly through Pinterest. Users enjoy Pinterest because they can save content and ideas for parties, events, recipes and gifts.

2. Reddit

Price: Free

Reddit is one of the top most visited sites and it’s also one of the best social news aggregators around. Reddit users join discussions and submit content to the site which is then voted either up or down by members.

With this platform marketers should take extra care not to spam links. Too much commercial or self-promo will result in being shadowbanned. Use Reddit the way regular members would and you shouldn't have any problems.

3. Pocket

Price: Free; paid options available

Pocket is a social bookmarking site that lets you save articles, videos, or stories from any publication or web page. With the paid version of Pocket, you can annotate, highlight, and add notes to pieces you’re reading.

A unique feature of Pocket is that you can pick up right where you left off. It saves your place and brings you right to the section of the article you were reading before closing out. Additionally, articles are saved in Pocket even if the web page or article gets taken down. You will still have that article in your database.

4. Digg

Price: Free

Digg is a news aggregator site that features articles in science, technology, and current events. With each article, you can like, bookmark, or share on social media. You can also publish your own articles on Digg to share with the community. Additionally, Digg curates content by top stories, so you can see what’s trending online.

5. Mix

Price: Free

Mix is a social bookmarking site where you can save content for later. To get started, you choose things you’re interested in, such as travel, pop culture, or food, and then it curates content for your feed.

Additionally, you can also follow people you know or coworkers so the articles they save show up on your feed. This is a great way for colleagues to share resources and see what coworkers recommend reading. With your profile, you can create collections to organize your saved posts by category.

6. Scoop.it

Price: Free; paid options available

Scoop.it is a social bookmarking site that specializes in researching and publishing content for individuals and businesses. A unique feature is how Scoop.it works with businesses.

You can publish on your websites and blogs, newsletters, and social media directly through Scoop.it. It will aggregate curated content for you across multiple WordPress blogs. Additionally, the private hubs allow employees to share articles privately. Scoop.it will also suggest content for you based on your previous interaction.

7. Medium

Price: Free; paid options available

Medium is an online publishing platform and social bookmarking site where you can publish and save posts to read later. On Medium, you can favorite different topics, writers, and publications to personalize your feed. Below an article, you can clap for it (like favoriting it), and find out more about the author and organization associated with the piece.

8. Slashdot

Price: Free

Slashdot is similar to Reddit in that it is designed as a social news site. It features news stories on current events and industries including entertainment, science, and technology. Users can comment and save each story. Stories are tagged, so you can filter through and search for stories on a particular topic.

In addition to these seven social bookmarking sites, there are also plenty more options to consider. Below is our list of honorable mentions:

1. Dribbble

2. We Heart It

3. Folkd

4. A2Z Bookmarks

5. Feedly

6. Crazybacklink

7. Skybacklinks

8. Zypid

9. Metafilter

10. BizSugar

11. Flipboard

12. Sociopost

13. Disqus

14. Trendiee

15. Blinklist

16. BibSonomy

17. Diigo

18. SiteBar

19. Pearltrees

How to Use Social Bookmarking Sites

1. Content Curation

As a marketer, especially in social media, one of your duties is to curate content to share with your audience. People look to your brand for resources and expertise in your industry. With a social bookmarking site, you can save articles or resources you find online so you never run out of content to share with your audience. Social bookmarking saves time and gives you the ability to schedule content ahead of time.

For example, below is content I have curated on my personal Pinterest page for recipes. If any of my followers are looking for recipes (especially keto or low-carb), I have an entire board dedicated to curating content in that category.

2. Organize and Save Resources

A benefit to social bookmarking sites is that you can organize and save content that you want to revisit later. As a marketer, it’s important to keep track of resources that help you develop professionally. Using a site where you can keep these resources organized is helpful, so you won’t lose valuable content.

3. Tag Content

With most social bookmarking sites, you can “tag“ content, meaning you can label it. For example, if there’s a blog post that is about YouTube SEO strategies, you can “tag” that content as “YouTube.” Then, when you want to go back and look for that article or you need resources for YouTube, you have a section in your social bookmarking account tagged YouTube. This keeps the resources you save organized and readily available.

4. Share Resources

Another way to use social bookmarking tools is to share content with your team. As a marketer, if you find an article about social media strategy, you can tag the content as “Social Media" so your social media team can find it. Plus, if everyone on your team has access to the social bookmarking site, they can regularly check in to find the resources they need. This is helpful for employees to continue developing their career and also share things they learn with their colleagues.

For example, in Pocket, you can “tag“ content. On the left-hand side of your profile, you can click the “Tags” category to pull up specific articles.

5. Build Backlinks

Social bookmarking sites can be a great addition to your link building strategy. You can use your profile to bookmark resources on your website. However, you shouldn’t only add bookmarks to your site.

Use social bookmarking as you normally would, bookmarking other resources you come across, but sprinkle in a post or two from your own site. While social bookmarking shouldn’t be your sole link building strategy, it can round out your current strategy.

6. Promote Your Mentions

Besides bookmarking articles on your own site, you can also use social bookmarking to link to articles or blog posts that mention your company. However, your social bookmarking profile should contain a variety of self-promotion versus unbranded content.

7. Drive Traffic to Your Site

Social bookmarking sites can drive traffic to your site. If people bookmark your post and vote for it, it will show up in searches, and lead to traffic to your site.

Besides sharing your own posts on your social bookmarking profile, you also want other people to bookmark your content. To make this easy for users, you can add social bookmarking buttons to your blog so readers can bookmark your content with the click of a button.

In the example below, writer Nicole Peeler drives traffic to her website through the content she creates on Medium. Below her post, she has her website, her Medium profile, and the organization profile linked. If users like her post, they can easily find out more information with the links below the article.

HubSpot's CTA tool helps you create click-worthy CTAs.

8. SEO

Search engines often list results from social bookmarking sites. When a site is bookmarked on a social bookmarking site, a link is made and indexed by search engines. This earns credibility with search engines. Content that is voted for and bookmarked a lot by users on social bookmarking sites tends to show up higher in search engine results.

Social Bookmarking Aids Marketing Efforts

Social bookmarking can help develop your team and keep your marketing skills sharp in an evolving industry. Plus, it can also be used as a strategy for your team to gain more traffic and credibility with Google.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

{{cta('26430ce7-c4ef-48f5-ad9c-7c4b0308bc7b')}}

The Complete Checklist for Creating Compelling Calls-to-Action

gsoskey@hubspot.com (Ginny Mineo) — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Lots of times, when marketers want to make a big impact on their marketing, they focus on going after a big project: big email campaigns, big website redesigns, big social media plans, big everything.

But while big projects can have big payoffs, you don't have all the time in the world to execute them. You've got lots of other things on your plate -- the only free time you have left in your day is the 43 minutes on Wednesday between scarfing down your bagged lunch and your weekly 1:00 p.m. client call.

Yeah ... not a lot of time for those big campaigns, huh?

The good news is you don't need them to make a big impact on your marketing -- often, a smaller tweak can work wonders. And one of the smallest changes you can implement with the biggest splash is call-to-action (CTA) revamps. On our own CTAs, we've seen small changes yield 30% increase in conversion ... which is no chump change.

So if you only have a few minutes in your week to optimize your conversion rates, souping up your out-of-date and gnarly looking calls-to-action is the way to go. To be sure you aren't forgetting any crucial components of CTAs, be sure to follow along with the checklist below.

11 Essential Elements of an Effective Call-to-Action

To help demonstrate the anatomy of a well-crafted CTA, we're going to pick apart the primary CTA we recently featured in a blog post about the biggest problem in your PR.

1) Use actionable language.

In grade school, you were probably told that writing in the second person (writing to "you") wasn't ideal.

Forget that lesson immediately.

When you're designing CTAs, effective copy all boils down to using action-oriented, second-person verbs. Use verbs like "discover, unearth, find" instead of ones like "be smarter." In the CTA below, notice how we began sentences with "Learn" and "Download." Besides empowering your readers a tad to click on your CTA, you're also shortening your copy -- which all boils down to a more effective and concise call-to-action.

According to AJ Beltis, Senior Content Marketing Manager for HubSpot's Acquisition team, succinctness pays off for CTA copy. “I've found that direct CTA copy tends to perform better than lengthier CTA copy. Succinctly pitching the value of what you're linking out to on a page with an abundance of copy and visual distractions can act as an unambiguous directive on what readers should do once on the page.” Create authoritative and click-worthy CTAs with HubSpot's CTA tool.

2) Align CTA copy with landing page copy.

When you're creating CTA copy, you also want to make sure your CTA copy and your landing page copy align. The name of the thing you are promoting -- whether it's a free ebook, whitepaper, template, guide, crash course, or presentation -- should align with the name of it on the landing page.

You should also be calling the offer the same thing on both the CTA and the landing page. For example, if you mention that people can download a crash course on Facebook advertising on the CTA, you shouldn't call it an ebook on the landing page. It may seem like small potatoes, but those details matter.

On the landing page that goes with the CTA above, we did both of these things -- notice how the title of the offer and how we position it is the exact same as the CTA. This way, when people get to the landing page, they aren't confused about what we're offering and click away.

3) Include a clear value proposition.

Each call-to-action you create is unique to your business -- it's your offer, service, or product you're trying to promote. But that's not how users perceive it. When they come in contact with your CTAs, they wonder why they should download that very offer from you at this specific moment. They might wonder if they've already downloaded something similar from your competitor. Or maybe they are just confused about value you're going to bring to them in exchange for their email.

Either way, you've got to quell these suspicions by making the benefit of clicking on the CTA super clear. On your CTA, give a quick description of what happens when they click on it -- will they magically become better at their job? Will they save time? Will they end up saving humanity from a pack of zombies? Regardless of what you want them to do, it should be very what is going to happen when people click.

On our CTA below, you can see this principle in action. In both the headline and the description, we describe what people will get when they click and how they will be able to use it -- which helps readers trust us and differentiate us from other companies' offers.

4) Play up its time-sensitivity.

People are busy online. While they are browsing your website, blog, or social media accounts, they're also probably fielding emails, taking a client call, and maybe drafting a tweet of their own. With all of these potential distractions, you want to keep your readers focused on clicking your CTA.

The best way to do that is to tap into the element of urgency and tell people to do something right now. One way to do that is to add words like "now" or "today" to your CTA button (that's what we did in the example below). Just reminding people to do something now can increase the chance of them actually doing it now.

5) Make it big.

In the land of calls-to-action, the motto is go big or go home. You can't make a tiny little button that appears at the bottom of the page and hope that people will click on it -- chances are, people are going to miss it when they're glossing over your site in an F-shaped pattern.

To make sure that people notice your CTA, you've got to have it large and in charge on your site. For example, the CTA we're talking about here is the full width of the blog post body column -- about 650 pixels wide. That way, there's no way in hell you're going to gloss over it. That being said, there's no industry standard for the smallest size a CTA can be, so you've got to test how the size affects conversions on your own.

6) Create a highly contrasting design.

Another way to attract your visitors' attention is through the actual design of your button. You can forget another lesson here: calls-to-action shouldn't blend in with the rest of your website design. Yes, you can use similar styling -- fonts and colors can still match your style guide -- but the way you combine these elements should make the design pop from the rest of the page.

Check out our CTA to see what I mean. We use our brand colors (orange, slate grey, white, and blue) and our font family (Proxima Nova) to make the CTA look like it's part of the HubSpot family ... but the way we put the CTA together makes it pop. The blue CTA background contrasts nicely against a white blog post background, and the grey button with white text and outline on top of it all grabs your attention even more. These contrasting elements were strategically chosen to help our readers notice this CTA.

7) Make the button look clickable.

Most things you can click online look like they can be clicked. Usually, they have some sort of shading or contouring that makes them look like a button you could press in real life. So if you want your CTAs to be clicked, it makes sense to make it look like something people are already familiar with clicking ... right? Use your design program to add shadows and borders to not only give your CTA an extra design finish -- but also make it look functional.

We did that in our CTA in the "Download Ebook + Template Now" button. Notice how the button looks almost 3D? That's because of a nifty little tool in PowerPoint that adds depth to 2D objects. Definitely experiment with which "clickable designs" work best for your CTAs -- they could drastically improve your conversion rate.

8) Add alt text.

Despite the web becoming more and more reliant on visuals to communicate, lots of people still have problems displaying images in their browsers. Sometimes, they just have errors loading your images in your browser, while other times, they may purposefully block them from appearing -- and in either instance, you need to have a backup plan. Alt text allows you to display text whenever a CTA doesn't appear properly in a website or email. (Bonus: Because alt text is, you know ... text, search engines can actually read it -- spelling additional SEO juice for you.)

In our CTA below, we've included the alt text "inbound pr cta" to help direct those who can't view images. Granted, it's probably not the most engaging alt text, but it does give people and search engines an indication of what should have appeared in that image's place.

9) Place your CTA prominently on your website.

Once you've finished all the copy and design, it's time to start putting that baby to work on your website. Whether you're placing it above the fold (where it generally will get more clicks and conversions) or below the fold (where you can get higher quality of leads converting), you want your CTA to be noticed. So put it where it can get noticed -- heck, draw even more eyeballs to it by adding directional cues so you get more clicks and conversions.

In the example we've been using, our primary call-to-action is featured at the bottom of every blog post. Notice how the size and design go hand-in-hand with placement -- because it's placed at the bottom of the post, we really need to ramp up the size and eye-catching design components. See how much more prominent it is compared to the paragraphs above it?

Beltis adds that the CTA should not be buried. “If the CTA is hidden too far below-the-fold or blends in with the rest of a page's contents, it's likely the CTA may be overlooked. That's why in some situations it's appropriate to have multiple CTAs,” he said. “The key here is to find the right balance of CTA placements to ensure an optimal conversion rate without coming off as spammy, hurting your brand, or detracting from the user experience.”

10) A/B test multiple CTAs to find the best performer.

Once you've got one CTA set, don't stop. Chances are, you have even more opportunities to convert leads and customers through your CTAs -- even if you've optimized them using the tips in this blog post. So keep tweaking copy, design, sizing, placement, etc. until you find a CTA that performs above the rest.

To be honest, we didn't A/B test this specific CTA because we were focusing on optimizing it per the next action item, but we frequently A/B test new CTAs on the blog and in emails. Let's say we did A/B test it though -- below is an example of a test we could run.

Version A:

Version B:

11) Personalize CTAs for different segments of your audience.

Besides A/B testing, you can also tailor CTAs to only appear to select audiences. For example, your visitors can see one thing, your leads can see another, and your customers can see something else altogether. To be honest, you'll need the right software to do this (HubSpot customers: You've covered on this point if you're a Pro or Enterprise account) but if you have the software, you're golden.

We do this all the time on our blog -- if you look at the CTA below, you might see a CTA for creating CTA templates (meta, I know) or a CTA for demoing HubSpot's landing pages. So the example CTA we've been using is no different.

What leads see:

What everyone else sees:

Ultimately, by testing and optimizing and testing again, you'll figure out which CTA best practices work for you -- and which don't -- all in the sliver of time you have free each week.

What have you learned while optimizing CTAs on your own website? Share your insights with us in the comments!

Image credit: D+J+

The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing in 2023

krbaker@hubspot.com (Kristen Baker) — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Your customers, leads, and audience members want valuable content from your business. And that content needs to reach audience members in a way that feels natural and organic versus being disruptive. Content marketing helps businesses do this, and it describes the process of attracting, engaging with, and delighting your target markets.

By honing in on effective content marketing, you can do just that — and as a result, increase conversions, improve brand awareness, boost revenue, establish yourself as an industry leader, and more.

Whether you’re just starting to devise a strategy or you’re refreshing your existing one, it never hurts to re-assess your process and come up with new ways to create and share the content your audiences want. In this guide, we’ll give you a birds-eye-view of content marketing, types of content marketing, content marketing examples, and how to get a strategy going.

Content Marketing

The definition of content marketing is simple: It’s the process of publishing written and visual material online with the purpose of attracting more leads to your business. These can include blog posts, pages, ebooks, infographics, videos, and more.

However, content marketing isn’t just publishing a thin piece of content and hoping people will find it. It’s about purposefully tailoring your pages, videos, ebooks, and posts to your target audience so that they find you the inbound way rather than the outbound way.

Today, outbound marketing strategies (or anything that interrupts your audience members) aren’t as effective at resonating with and converting audience members as they once were.

Today, your content needs to reach your audience in a way that feels natural (a.k.a. inbound). A common way of doing this is by creating a narrative for your content — or telling a story. In doing so, your content will feel more authentic, engaging, and tailored to your audience.

So, what defines content marketing anyway?

Why is content marketing important?

2022 HubSpot research says that 70% of companies use content marketing.

Content marketing is valuable because it:

Educates your leads and prospects about the products and services you offer. According to 2023 HubSpot research, 29% of marketers use a blog or website for lead attraction and conversion.
Boosts conversions.
Builds relationships between your customers and business that result in increased loyalty, and 30% of marketers are creating content that reflects brand values.
Shows your audience how your products and services solve their challenges
Creates a sense of community around your brand.

Now let's look at the various types of content marketing.

Types of Content Marketing

There are many types of content marketing that you may choose to incorporate into your strategy — here are some of the most common:

1. Online Content Marketing

Online content marketing refers to any material you publish online, but more specifically, it refers to your web pages. A strong online content marketing strategy will help you rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs) and get you in front of the right people at the right time.

HubSpot's home page is one example, immediately engaging visitors with specific content about our products.

2. Social Media Content Marketing

With over 4.5 billion global social media users, it’s easy to understand why so many businesses invest in social media marketing. There are many platforms (such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Snapchat) to work with, and several ways you can create and share content on each of them (such as photos, live videos, pre-recorded videos, stories).

Featured Resource: Social Media Content Calendar

3. Infographic Content Marketing

Infographics display content, information, and data in an easy-to-understand, graphic format. With a mix of simple wording, short statements, and clear images, infographics are a great way to effectively communicate your content. They work well if you’re trying to simplify an educational or complex topic so all audience members can understand it.

Featured Resource: 15 Free Infographic Templates

4. Blog Content Marketing

Blogs are a powerful type of inbound content and allow for a lot of creativity in terms of their purpose and topic. With a blog, you can do things like promote other internal and external content and blog articles with links, add social share buttons, and incorporate product information.

Featured Resource: Start a Successful Blog

5. Podcast Content Marketing

More than 60 million people listen to podcasts across the Spotify and Apple Podcasts platforms. For this reason, many businesses and media outlets have begun creating and sharing their own podcasts.

Podcasts allow for a lot of creativity as they can be about any topic of choice. Additionally, you decide other factors related to the podcast such as cadence of episodes, who's on the podcast, where you advertise the podcast, and how long episodes are.

Featured Resource: How to Start a Podcast

6. Video Content Marketing

According to Wyzowl research, 73% of consumers say they prefer to learn about a brand's product or service through video. Additionally, video marketing can boost conversions, improve ROI, and help you build relationships with audience members. You may choose to share your video content on social media platforms, landing pages, or on a co-marketer's website.

Featured Resource: The Ultimate Video Marketing Starter Pack

6. Paid Ad Content Marketing

Paid ads can help you reach a broad audience and allow you to position yourself in all the places you want to be seen — paid ads are especially beneficial when paired with inbound marketing. There are many places you can share paid ads including on social media, landing pages, banners, and sponsored content.

Featured Resource: The Ultimate Google Ads PPC Kit

Next, let's talk about how content marketing works, and look at some content marketing examples.

How does content marketing work?

Content marketers attract an audience with compelling stories and by sharing valuable information. They also use content channels to build community.

So, content marketing for business isn't just a technique or strategy, but a unique form of communication. With that in mind, people have different needs at different stages in the buying process. To make sure that your content meets a need at every stage, you'll want to think about your conversion funnel.

Top of the Funnel (TOFU)

At the top of the funnel, you want to build awareness with your content. Your target audience might know they have a problem, but they aren't sure how to solve it. At this stage, you can focus on brand awareness, broad pain points, and common questions.

TOFU content should pull potential customers in to help them better understand a specific problem. This gives you a relevant opportunity to introduce them to your solution.

Common challenges for TOFU content include competition, balancing educational and promotional content, and tracking ROI.

To address these issues, create a content strategy that grabs the attention of a specific audience. Your strategy will also help you create a plan that aligns content topics and formats with business goals. Then, create a list of KPIs to track your content performance.

Useful content types at the top of the funnel include:

Blog posts
Social media posts
Short-form video
Podcasts
Infographics
Checklists
Ebooks
Webinars
Video Ads

Middle of the Funnel (MOFU)

Once a prospect passes to the middle of the funnel, they're considering your product. They may have visited your site more than once or they're engaging with your social media. They might have signed up for your email newsletter.

MOFU content should build a relationship with that person. At this point, they understand their problem and are comparing possible solutions. So, your content should educate them on the specifics of your solution and show how it meets their unique needs.

This is also an important moment to build trust. A prospect might not be ready to buy, so pay attention to changes in user behavior. It can be tempting to make assumptions or go for a quick conversion, but that can damage the relationship. Instead, offer in-depth information and value to nurture your lead.

Great middle-of-funnel content types include:

Email newsletters
Product demos
Landing pages
White papers
Case studies
Longer-form videos
Blog posts
Interactive content
Webinars

You may have heard that social media is just top-of-funnel content. But more users are making purchases on social media, and it’s also a popular channel for customer service and support. So, be sure to create MOFU social posts and let prospects know that you're ready to help them on this channel.

Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU)

Bottom-of-funnel content helps your prospect make a decision and ideally, convert. This stage focuses on conversion. So, BOFU content should make it easy to test a product, understand pricing, and make a purchase. Content that converts should drive action and create a sense of urgency. Prepare to respond to common objections and other blockers that can impact sales with your content.

Personalization can add to the impact of your content at this stage. Creating powerful CTAs is also important.

Bottom-of-funnel content types include:

Personalized emails
User-generated content, like customer testimonials
Case studies
Pricing pages
Competitor comparison blog posts
Video demos
White papers
Remarketing campaigns

Check out this post for more on how to align your content with the buyer journey.

Now, let's look at some content marketing examples.

Content Marketing Examples

The following examples will give you a better understanding of how you can incorporate content into your greater marketing strategy.

1. Example of Instagram Content Marketing

Glossier’s Instagram account is on-brand and complements the rest of its marketing content — even if the page didn’t say "Glossier" anywhere on the profile, customers would likely still know the profile belongs to this brand.

The Instagram page shares the Glossier product line, displays different products, and shows how each product can be used. The profile feels and looks uniquely Glossier, and depicts members of their wide customer base.

2. Example of Infographic Content Marketing

IBM created an infographic for the future of identity. Their infographic is on-brand, well-organized, and easy to read. It clearly shares data and information about online security and how customers feel about it. It also tells audience members how they can download a more detailed report.

3. Example of Blog Content Marketing

Expedia has a blog that shares travel-related information including hotel recommendations, great places to visit, and travel-related activities you can take part in around the globe.

Expedia regularly publishes its blog content to keep readers interested and engaged. It includes a wide range of topics related to any type of trip you could imagine.

The blog is on-brand and all articles relate to the travel technology company’s goal and mission of gaining customers and boosting brand awareness. They do this by linking to their services and writing about customers who have already had positive experiences with the company.

4. Example of Podcast Content Marketing

Harvard Business Review (HBR) has a weekly podcast called HBR IdeaCast which features industry leaders in both business and management. You can either subscribe to consistently receive their hundreds of podcasts or pick and choose which ones you want to listen to.

The podcast is on-brand and complements the rest of HBRs published content. It also serves as a great way for HBR to connect with their target audience, enhance brand awareness, and gain a following of audience members through a medium that differs from their typical work (e.g. podcast versus HBR article).

5. Example of Video Content Marketing

Much of Dollar Shave Club’s video content has gone viral. Their marketing efforts are on-brand, humorous, and entertaining. By establishing a name for itself via online video content, Dollar Shave Club has experienced impressive growth and brand recognition.

6. Example of Paid Ad Content Marketing

Revolve — a clothing and accessories company — uses paid and sponsored ads on social media (like this one on Facebook) to reach their target audience while they browse their news feeds.

The content ads feature some of their products as well as details about their free shipping and return policy to drive target audience members to their site (and, hopefully, convert them into paying customers).

7. Example of Twitter Content Marketing

HubSpot uses Twitter to market software as well as create a community among customers, target audience members, and industry leaders and experts.

HubSpot shared product information, relevant tips, industry knowledge, and original research on Twitter. HubSpot also interacts with users and makes sure anyone in need of customer support knows exactly where to go for help.

8. Example of TikTok Content Marketing

Chipotle is an active brand on TikTok — the company uses the platform to reach and engage its customers and target audience members. In addition to reacting to others' Chipotle-related TikTok content, the brand posts TikToks of their menu items, recipes, people enjoying their food, their restaurants, and more. They have over 2.2 million followers and over 52 million likes.

9. Example of Viral Content Marketing

This viral content marketing example was one that came from a TikTok video — Nathan Apodaca's original TikTok video included him sipping Ocean Spray cranberry juice while skateboarding and listening to "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac.

As a result of the viral video, TikTok used part of Apodaca's video in their ads, Ocean Spray used Apodaca in their ads, Ocean Spray saw a bump in sales and brand awareness, Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" was number one on iTunes, and there were thousands of videos posted by other TikTok users who bought the cranberry juice and recreated Apodaca's original video.

Now, let’s cover your content marketing strategy. By implementing a strategy, your content marketing efforts will be impactful and effective in converting leads and reaching your target audience.

Let's dive into the steps you'll want to work through in order to develop an effective content strategy.

1. Find your target audience.

Creating content for the broadest possible audience sounds like a good idea. But it's hard to stand out with content that appeals to everyone.

Instead, focus on a niche of people with specific interests and needs. This can help you build a community with your content. To get started, take a look at your buyer personas.

Then, answer the following questions about your target audience to help you narrow down the right types of content for them:

What do they need from you?
What challenges are they looking to overcome?
Why do they need your product or service?
How can you help them succeed?
Where do they spend their time?

2. Set SMART goals.

The next part of your content marketing strategy is to set SMART goals. These should be specific to your business — they’ll likely complement your broader marketing strategy and company goals.

Here are some SMART goal examples and SMART goal templates to help you get started.

3. Determine your KPIs.

Next, set key performance indicators (KPIs) for your SMART goals. KPIs are quantifiable data points you can use to measure your actual performance against your goal.

smart goal	related kpi
Brand awareness	Site traffic, social media followers, subscription sign-ups, mentions (by customers and partners)
Revenue	Daily sales, site traffic
Conversions	Conversion rate, shopping cart abandonment rate, associated shipping rate trends, competitive price trends
Brand loyalty	Returning customers, promoters, product reviews, referrals
Customer engagement	Likes, shares, follows, mentions, backlinks
Rapport and trust	Returning customers, promoters, followers, mentions
Strategic partners	New partnerships, mentions, backlinks

4. Decide on the type of content and content formats.

Next, you want to choose the type of content you’ll create and your top content formats.

Types of content are the broad categories of content you plan to produce. Content formats are the specific presentation methods within a content type. For example, blog posts are a content type, and a blog can include content formats like listicles, how-tos, thought leadership, product reviews, and more.

To get started, run a content audit to see what kind of content is already resonating with your customers.

You may also want to do some competitive analysis and take a look at industry trends. This research can help you figure out what content strategy will work best for your business.

Then, take a look back at the various types of content we reviewed earlier and your target audience research to decide on content types and formats.

5. Choose your content channels.

Once you’ve decided on the type of content you’ll market with, it’s time to choose your specific content channels. Where will you share your content? Where will it live and be shared from?

For some of the content types, the channel you need to work with will be obvious. For example, if you’re creating Facebook content, your channel will be the social platform itself.

6. Set a budget.

Now, set your budget. Think about the type of content you’re creating and which channels you’re marketing that content on.

Then, ask yourself the following questions to figure out your budget:

Do you need to purchase any software or technology to create the content (such as graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop, a subscription to Canva, a camera to take high-quality photos and videos)?
Do you need to hire any content marketers or designers (such as artists, writers, editors, designers)?
Do you need to pay for ad space?
Do you need access to specific tools or resources to enhance or measure your specific type of content?

Make note of how your responses impact your budget — whether that’s an increase or decrease in what you may have already estimated.

7. Create a content publishing schedule.

To ensure you’re consistently producing content and sharing it with your prospects and customers, use a social media calendar or an editorial content calendar.

This will help your team stay on top of all the content your team is creating as well as allow you to schedule it ahead of time.

Use a free editorial calendar to schedule and optimize your marketing content and help boost conversions.

6. Create and distribute the content.

Create and distribute your content so your audience members can consume it — and possibly convert.

This step is about more than creating high-quality content. Keep learning to make your content as useful and engaging as you can. Practice writing headlines, make the most of the latest content trends, and build skills in the media that your audience favors.

Next, optimize your content so it's easy for your audience to find. SEO is a useful skill for searchability. And every social media platform is unique, so check out tips to succeed on channels like Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

Finally, promote your content on email, social media, and more. Connect with influencers, build co-marketing partnerships, and post ads to get more eyes on your best-converting content.

9. Analyze and measure results.

Lastly, analyze and measure your results so you can make any necessary changes to enhance your content marketing efforts and reach more audience members.

Look at your SMART goals and KPIs to track the success of your content marketing strategy. Did you achieve your goals and KPIs? Were you close to reaching them, or were you off in your estimations?

Here are some tools to help you with your content marketing strategy analytics and results:

Now, how can you ensure your strategy will be effective? Let's find out.

Traits of Effective Content Marketing

With so many companies creating and publishing content online, it’s essential to go beyond your standard industry fare. A secret? HubSpot strives to meet the following criteria to make sure all our content meets your and other readers’ needs. The result? Millions of visits to our blog posts and web pages per month.

You can achieve similar results for your company if your content:

1. Provides value beyond your product offerings.

Content marketing isn’t just about sharing your products’ virtues to get readers to become a customer. It’s important to offer value that empowers your customers to do something more efficiently, such as making their businesses more profitable or shortening their morning routine.

Whatever the case may be, strive to create content that gives a solution for your customer’s most urgent needs. Your product may be a solution, but if you’re not explicitly writing a product page, you should only incorporate product mentions if they make sense.

In the blog post below, hair care brand Curlsmith helps readers understand how to reach the right balance between high-protein and high-moisture products. It doesn’t mention its products until the very end, instead educating the reader first.

2. Targets readers’ specific buying journey stage.

Providing value and answering customers' needs is only a part of the story. In each piece of content, you should also target your customers’ specific buyer’s journey stage.

Generally, there are three stages of the buyer’s journey: Awareness, consideration, and decision. In the awareness stage, buyers are still researching their issue. In the consideration stage, they’re researching solutions. In the decision stage, they’re about to pick a provider.

If you’re writing a "What is [X]?" post, then the person who’s reading that article is likely not ready to make a decision about their provider. They are still in the awareness stage, completing research so that they can find out who offers a solution.

Conversely, if you’re writing a product page, then the reader who visits that page has already researched potential products and found you as a possible provider. That means you should pitch your product at every turn, reiterating your value proposition and differentiating yourself from the competition. You shouldn’t be shy about your products’ most valuable features.

3. Demonstrates a consistent brand voice and image.

No matter if you’re creating a blog post, web page, or ebook, your visitors should be able to tell who you are immediately upon consuming your content. Your brand shouldn’t sound as if ten different people are writing for you, even if that may be the case.

That’s why it’s critical to create both a writing style guide and a brand style guide. Both of these documents will confirm that:

Your brand visuals look the same across all platforms and devices.
Your brand tone and voice sound the same across all written communications.

Once you create both of these, share them with both your content writers and your freelance or in-house designers. Your content marketing publications will be much more cohesive and consistent, which will keep readers coming back to you as a resource and make you look more polished and professional.

4. Is timely and engaging.

Do your customers typically plan their financials at the start of the year? If you’re a finance startup, you might publish a blog post in January about budgeting quarter-over-quarter to prevent clerical errors and avoid overspending.

At the end of the post, you might include a prompt to check out your software, or lead users to a template they can download after providing their email.

This is one example of content marketing that is timely and engaging. If you know your customer’s behavioral and spending patterns throughout the year, it’s critical to capitalize on that. Publish blog posts and offers that capture them at the right time and answer their immediate needs. You’ll be ahead of the companies that publish similar content later on — and oftentimes, being first is all you need to win a customer over.

Now that we’ve seen the top traits of effective content marketing, let’s dive into the best resources you can use to learn more about it.

There are hundreds of thousands of tools available today that qualify as excellent content marketing resources. For the sake of this article, we're going to keep things simple by providing a handful of our favorite options today.

HubSpot Academy for free education on how to become an effective content marketer.
HubSpot's Free Content Creation Resources for access to resources that will propel your content marketing strategy toward success.
Content Marketing Institute for access to some of the best content marketing online education, print, and events available today.
Blog articles on content marketing, trends, strategies, and tips by industry experts (like HubSpot).
Podcasts about content marketing, such as This Old Marketing, or business trends, such as HBR IdeaCast, to inspire your content marketing strategy.
Google Trends, which allows you to search for trends across broad topics like content marketing or for niche topics within content marketing.
Ebooks and case studies about content marketing or content marketing strategies, like this one by Mention.
Latest content marketing statistics by a reputable database source like Statista.
Easy to use visual content and design software, such as Canva.
Free or paid social media management tools, such as HubSpot, Buffer, or Sprout Social, to help you create and share your social content.
Free or paid content and project management tools, like Trello or Asana, to plan and organize your content marketing strategy.
Free or paid marketing software to connect your content marketing team, plan, strategy, and results to your greater marketing plan (and even your CRM).
Free or paid email marketing software, like HubSpot or Mailchimp, to handle all aspects of your email campaigns and content.
Your network, on platforms like Twitter or LinkedIn, where you can connect with those in your industry to discuss relevant trends, answer each other's questions, and provide or ask for feedback.

And speaking of tapping into your networks on sites like Twitter and LinkedIn, here's some inspiration from a few of the greatest content marketers to follow on both platforms today.

3 Marketers to Follow on LinkedIn

1. Luvvie Ajayi Jones

Luvvie Ajayi Jones is a best-selling author, digital strategist, podcast host, and speaker. She's known for combining humor with her experiences and background in marketing, communications, and new media. Her LinkedIn is sure to inspire you whether you're thinking about/working on culture, authenticity, leadership, content, marketing strategy, and more.

2. Zontee Hou

Zontee Hou is a digital marketer and strategist, speaker, and consultant. She works with scaling companies to help them establish effective marketing strategies that work for their unique goals and audiences. On her LinkedIn profile, Hou shares her expertise in content marketing, social media marketing, marketing analytics, and digital marketing.

3. A. Lee Judge

A. Lee Judge is a co-founder and digital marketing strategist at Content Monsta. He's also a podcast and video producer, speaker, and rev ops practitioner. On his LinkedIn profile, he covers a wide range of topics related to lead generation, social media marketing, how to apply marketing analytics and data, digital experiences, multi-channel marketing, the importance of sales and marketing alignment, and more.

3 Marketers to Follow on Twitter

4. Ann Handley

Ann Handley, Head of Content at MarketingProfs, is a bestselling author and speaker. She offers education and training around marketing that businesses can learn from and apply. She offers in-person and virtual training for companies on content marketing, storytelling, lead generation, and branding – topics she also discusses and shares content about on her Twitter page.

5. Neil Patel

Neil Patel is a bestselling author, marketing expert, speaker, and website and SEO consultant. He's a thought leader and industry expert in content and digital marketing. His Twitter page includes information about his trainings and services, industry trends, marketing strategy tips and resources, and questions/conversational topics meant to engage followers and other industry experts.

6. Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki is a marketing strategist, author, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcast host, and the chief evangelist of Canva. On his Twitter account, Kawasaki asks followers thought-provoking business questions as well as provides links to, and information about, new podcast episodes, industry trends, marketing strategy tips, and insights based on his experiences.

Engage Your Target Audience With Content Marketing

With effective content marketing, you can reach your target audience and increase conversions. There are several ways to market with content to boost revenue, grow your brand awareness and recognition, and build relationships with your prospects and customers.

And don't forget to extract more value from every piece of content you create.

To get started, decide which type of content works best for your business and audience and develop a content marketing strategy to begin boosting your bottom line today.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Gender Neutral Pronouns: What They Are & How to Use Them

Caroline Forsey — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

The world has made small but mighty strides towards inclusivity, and language plays a big part in that.

We’ve become rightfully aware of the importance of not labeling people, as everyone has the right to self-identify as they please and use validating pronouns.

Whether you want to brush up on your knowledge or are new to adopting them, this piece is your guide to gender neutral pronouns and how to use them.

Table of Contents

Gender Neutral Pronouns List
Gender Neutral Pronouns
How to Use Gender Neutral Pronouns
Gender Neutral Pronouns Considerations

The list above are common gender-neutral pronouns.

While she and he are considered gendered, some nonbinary people use them because they don’t feel attached to the gender typically associated with them.

Someone will typically share their own pronouns but, when it doubt, you can simply refer to someone by their name.

How to Use Gender Neutral Pronouns

In English, "He" is often used as an automatic fill-in for generic individuals.

"He" and "she" are also two extreme binaries that don't leave room for other gender identities, which can be hurtful for transgender, nonbinary, and gender queer communities.

Ultimately, you probably don’t want to make incorrect or hurtful assumptions about someone’s gender — they could be agender, nonbinary, or uncomfortable identifying with “he” or “she.”

Gender-neutral language ensures your sentences are inclusive of everyone. But, when in doubt, refer to someone by their name rather than "him" or "her.”

"They" is one of the more common gender-neutral pronouns, and it's easy to incorporate into your daily conversations. Here are some examples of how to use it:

"I spoke to the marketing director and they said they'd get back to me."
"I think someone left their laptop behind."
"Who's in charge of that campaign? I'll email them."

Let’s go over some examples of how you’d use other pronouns in conversation.

Ze/hir/hirs

“Where did ze go?”
“This pencil belongs to hir.”
“Ze would rather do it hirself.”

Xe/xem/Xirs

“I think xe is nice.”
“Tell xem I say hello.”
“That sandwich is xirs.”

Ver/vir/Vis

“I think ver is nice.”
“I borrowed vis pencil.”
“I went to the store with vir.”

Te/tem/ter

“Te went to the store.”
“I borrowed it from tem.”
“That’s ter dog.”

Ey/em/eir

“Ey wrote me a note.”
“That belongs to em.”
“I asked to borrow eir pencil.”

Gender Neutral Pronoun Considerations

1. How to Learn Someone's Pronouns

Upon first meeting someone, most people agree it’s best not to outright ask for pronouns because someone may feel like you’re assuming their gender identity. In some cases, it may put someone in a situation where they have to out themselves but don’t want to or aren’t ready to.

Instead, introduce yourself with your pronouns: "Hi, I'm Caroline, and my pronouns are she/her." With this, you're allowing the other person to share theirs, but not forcing them to.

If you do ask, there are ways to do so respectfully. For example, in a work meeting, you could say, “Before we start, I’d like to go around and share our names and pronouns if you’re comfortable sharing.” Then, people have the option to share or not to share.

During a one-on-one conversation, you could introduce yourself and share your pronouns first or say, “What are your pronouns?” or “Can you remind me of your pronouns?”

You could also include your pronouns in an email signature, social media profiles, or professional pages.

If you don’t ask for pronouns, it’s best to default to addressing someone by name. While many people consider they/them to be a gender-neutral option, some people may feel misgendered by it.

Featured Read: Why We Ask Each Other Our Pronouns

2. Aim to shy away from saying “preferred pronouns.”

Despite the popularity of the term “preferred pronouns,” it can be alienating as it can imply someone’s gender is a preference.

As mentioned, you don’t always want to ask someone about their pronouns and can instead share yours first. But, if you are asking, you can say any of the following instead of “preferred pronouns”:

“What are your pronouns?”
How would you like me to refer to you?
How would you like to be addressed?

Featured Read: Gender Census 2023 Worldwide Report

3. What if someone uses multiple pronouns?

People might use multiple pronouns, like she/they or they/hirs. If someone shares that with you, they might also say they’re more comfortable with one over the other, or they’d like you to vary the pronouns you use in conversation.

That may seem challenging, but you’ve likely already done it before. For example, “He was late to work yesterday, so she had to lead the meeting.”

An example of how this would look in a conversation with someone using multiple pronouns is, “She went to the doctor because their cough hadn’t gone away for a few days.”

Featured Read: How To Affirm the People in Your Life Who Use Multiple Sets of Pronouns

4. How do you use gender neutral pronouns with titles and honorifics?

An honorific or title describes someone's position in life or professional settings. Mrs., Mr., and Sir are examples of common honorifics, and there are gender neutral variations of them that someone might use:

Mx. (the most common gender neutral honorific)
Pr. (derived from person)
Msr. (a mix of miss and sir)
Misc. (miscellaneous)

Not everyone chooses a gender neutral honorific, so it’s best to follow their lead. If they share one, use it; if they don’t, you can avoid using one entirely.

Featured Read: Gender Neutral Titles and Why They Matter

5. Should I correct other people who make a mistake?

Some people won’t want to call attention to someone making a mistake, but others will appreciate you correcting people for them. If you have more of a relationship with the person who is misgendered, you can ask them directly what they’d like you to do, or you can say something like: “[Persons name] uses [pronoun],” and then continue the conversation.

If you don’t know someone's preference and still want to support them, you can make sure you use the right pronouns if you talk about them. For example, if someone says, “He made an excellent point,” you could say, “I agree ze did make a good point.”

6. You don’t have to ask everyone for their pronouns.

There are some cases where there is no need to ask for pronouns at all. For example, a brief encounter with a server at a restaurant doesn’t necessarily require knowing their pronouns, which is why defaulting to calling someone by their name is considered a best practice.

Featured Read: This Is Why Singular ‘They’ Is Such a Controversial Subject

7. Be open to continuous learning.

Everyone makes mistakes, and this holds true for pronouns. If you slip up, the best thing to do is acknowledge it immediately, say, “Sorry, I meant to say [pronoun],” and move on. If you realize after the fact, you can do the same thing but still keep it brief and move on.

On the other hand, making a mistake and then continuing to bring it up or say that it’s hard to remember can make someone feel awkward and like they’re a burden for having pronouns you’re not familiar with.

Be okay with making a mistake and committing to learning from it.

Featured Resource: Practice with Pronouns

How to Develop a Content Strategy in 7 Steps: A Start-to-Finish Guide

Caroline Forsey — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Whether you're just starting out with content marketing or you've been using the same approach for a while, it never hurts to revisit your content strategy plan and make sure it's up-to-date, innovative, and engaging for your prospects and customers — no matter when or how they intend to buy.

If you're having trouble planning for the upcoming year or need some fresh ideas to include in your plan, read on.

In this post, we'll dive into what content strategy is, why your business needs a content marketing plan, and what steps you need to take to create your strategy. Plus, we'll explore some examples of effective content marketing strategies for inspiration.

Say your business goals include increasing brand awareness. To achieve this, you might implement a content strategy that focuses on SEO to increase your website's visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive traffic to your products or services.

New business owners might assume a content strategy is a nice-to-have, but not necessary early on. However, producing high-quality content can be invaluable in building trust with new audiences and succeeding in the long haul.

In essence, a good content strategy is the foundation of your Attract and Delight stages in a buyer's journey that follows the inbound marketing framework. Along with attracting prospects to your brand, you can leverage a content strategy for sales enablement and customer satisfaction.

Plus, with 70% of marketers actively investing in content marketing, it's critical to develop a good content strategy to compete in your industry.

Why Marketers Need to Create a Content Marketing Strategy

Content marketing helps businesses prepare and plan for reliable and cost-effective sources of website traffic and new leads.

If you can create just one blog post that gets a steady amount of organic traffic, an embedded link to an ebook or free tool will continue generating leads for you as time goes on — long after you click "Publish."

HubSpot's blog team found this to be key to increasing traffic to the Sales Blog over time — read about our blog strategy here.

The reliable source of traffic and leads from your evergreen content will give you the flexibility to experiment with other marketing tactics to generate revenue, such as sponsored content, social media advertising, and distributed content.

Plus, your content won't just help attract leads, it will also educate your prospects and generate awareness for your brand.

Now, let's dive in to learn the specifics of how to create a content marketing plan. Curious how former HubSpot Head of Content SEO Aja Frost put together our content strategy? Here it is.

1. Define your goal.

What's your aim for developing a content marketing plan? Why do you want to produce content and create a content marketing plan?

It may seem obvious, but these questions are the core of a useful content strategy. Look at high-level business goals, notes from meetings, and notes from your team, then do some solo research to make sure your goals have staying power.

Organize goals by priority.

Once you have a list of goals, rank them from most to least important. This can help you decide which parts of your strategy are an immediate need and which are for long-term action. This step can also help with resource questions later in the process.

Use the SMART framework to define goals.

The SMART framework can help you make broad goals more specific and actionable.

Know your goals before you begin planning, and you'll have an easier time determining what's best for your strategy.

Download this goal planning template for help figuring out the right content goals.

2. Conduct persona research.

To develop a successful plan, you need to clearly define your content's target audience — also known as your buyer persona. This is a crucial part of the planning phase of content strategy.

This is especially important for those who are new to marketing. By knowing your target audience, you can produce more relevant and valuable content that they'll want to read and convert on.

Collect data and analyze it to find patterns.

If you don't already have defined personas, you'll want to analyze your data to find who you want to create content for and the types of content they enjoy. This post has some useful tips for how to create buyer personas using your data.

As you analyze metrics like contact trends and demographics, group your leads by what they have in common first. Then, look closely at these groups to find other similarities.

Use your research to refine buyer personas.

If you're an experienced marketer, your target may have changed. Do you want to target a new group of people or expand your current target market? Do you want to keep the same target audience?

Revisiting your audience parameters by conducting market research each year is crucial to growing your audience. Taking a closer look at your current customer segments can also help you refine your personas.

Featured Tool: Buyer Persona Generator

3. Run a content audit.

Early on, many brands start with blog posts or social media. If you want to venture out into different formats, you can run a content audit to assess your top-performing and lowest-performing content.

If you've been in business for a while, you should review your content marketing efforts and last year’s results.

Find topic and formatting gaps.

As you review your content, be sure to record page titles, content formats, word counts, and a summary of what your content covers. This can help you find areas for improvement.

Review content for quality and relevance.

Next, analyze content quality and whether your content reflects what's most important to your audience. Then, use that information to inform which direction you take next.

Look for repurposing opportunities.

There are many ways to repurpose content. And, this strategy can help you optimize your content on multiple channels. It might mean grabbing your most popular blogs and creating YouTube videos, an ebook, or launching a podcast with that content. Check out this post for more content-recycling ideas.

Create a content workflow.

Another way to approach your audit is to look at your team's process. Your content workflow impacts how you come up with ideas, what you publish, and the quality of your work.

Do you have a strategic workflow in place or is your workflow organized around the habits of your team? An audit can help you see blocks and slow-downs that can affect your content long-term.

Use your content audit to figure out what you can do differently in the upcoming year and set new goals. Now is also a great time to align your team's goals with the rest of your organization's goals.

Whatever stage you're in, a content audit will help you decide what resonates best with your audience, find gaps in your topic clusters, and process and brainstorm fresh content ideas.

4. Choose a content management system.

A few vital parts of content management include content creation, content publication, and content analytics.

You want to invest in a CMS to create, manage, and track your content in an easy and sustainable way.

Figure out specific CMS needs.

Finding the right CMS for your team may take some time. First, talk to your team about their current processes to get a sense of the top features you'll need. Then, start researching the best CMS for your needs with this list. A CMS for a business should be easy to use, customizable, secure, and cost-effective.

Choose the right content management system.

With the HubSpot CMS, you can plan, produce, publish, and measure your results all in one place.

Another popular CMS is WordPress, to which you can add the HubSpot WordPress plugin for free web forms, live chat, CRM access, email marketing, and analytics.

This list of the best content management systems offers a comparison between the tools above and other popular choices.

Adopt a content governance model.

As you get to know your new CMS, be sure to put a content governance model in place. This is a process to manage content creation, publishing, and maintenance. It helps you make sure that each piece of content aligns with business standards and policies.

As your content presence grows, this model will also help you create processes for updating and removing outdated content.

5. Determine which type of content you want to create.

There are a variety of options out there for content you can create, from written content like ebooks and blog posts to audio content like podcasts. Great content strategy is a balance of decision-making, data analysis, and risk-taking. Those skills will all be put to the test in this step.

Review personas and goals.

You may need different types of content for different personas and goals. Take a careful look at your end goals and the actions you want each persona to take. Then, work backward to choose the right kind of content for each goal and user.

For example, say you're trying to decide between starting a blog or a podcast. Blogs tend to be better for conversion, while podcasts are great for building brand awareness. Your goals and audience should be the deciding factor for which is best for your business.

Assess your resources.

Use a critical eye when you're reviewing the resources you have for content production. Questions like the ones below can help you narrow your focus and create a sustainable content strategy.

How big is your team?
How much time does your team have to create content?
What skills does your current team have?
What types of content would you need training on and what would you need to outsource?
What is your content budget?

Choose the right topics, formats, and channels for your content.

Using your personas, choose a set number of high-level topics to focus your content on. Then, using your audience and topic choices, narrow down your chosen content formats and channels.

For example, say your team is launching a video channel, but they don't have a lot of experience. You might consider creating video shorts. But if rankings for that topic tend to be long-form videos or podcasts, you'll want to think about that decision — do you want to stand out and hope your audience pivots to a new format? Or should you get help creating the content you think will top the current competitive landscape for your topic?

Once you’ve made these big decisions about your content strategy, you’ll be ready to get into the details.

6. Brainstorm content ideas.

Use your content audit, persona research, and goals to make the best content decisions for your business. A quick review of this information before brainstorming can help you keep these insights top of mind.

Use a range of brainstorming approaches.

Next, it's time to start coming up with ideas for your next content project.

Here are some tools to get the juices flowing.

1. Feedly

The Feedly RSS feed is a wonderful way to track trendy topics in your industry and find content ideas at the same time.

You start by telling the software what topics you're most interested in and its AI tool will do the rest.

You won't need to scour the internet to find new content ideas anymore. Instead, you can go through your curated list, compiled from news sites, newsletters, and social media.

2. BuzzSumo

Want to discover popular content and content ideas? This company offers several market research tools, one of which uses social media shares to figure out if a piece of content is popular and well-liked.

This information helps you see which content ideas would do well if you were to create content about them.

3. BlogAbout

Get your mind gears going with IMPACT's blog title generator. This tool works a bit like Mad Libs, but instead of joke sentences, it shows you common headline formats with blanks where you can fill in the subject you have in mind.

This brainstorming technique helps you put general ideas in contexts that would be appealing to your target audience. Once you have a headline you like, BlogAbout lets you add it to your "Notebook" so you can save your best ideas.

4. CoSchedule Headline Analyzer

You can get blog post ideas for an entire year with HubSpot's Blog Ideas Generator. All you need to do is enter general topics or terms you'd like to write about, and this content idea generator does all the work for you.

This tool analyzes headlines and titles and gives feedback on length, word choice, grammar, and keyword search volume.

If you have an idea in mind, run a few title options through the Headline Analyzer to see how you could make it stronger, and to move your idea further along in the brainstorming process.

5. HubSpot's Website Grader

This is a great tool to use when you want to see where you're at with your website and SEO efforts. The Website Grader grades you on vital areas of your website performance and sends you a detailed report to help you optimize.

With this tool, you can figure out how to make your website more SEO-friendly and discover areas of improvement.

Refine and rank your ideas.

The brainstorming process should be loose and unstructured. It can be tempting to jump on an idea and start creating content right away. But instead, try to throw out your wildest ideas and see where they lead.

Then, take that list of content ideas and refine them.

To start, break ideas into groups and organize them around your goals, topics, or personas. Then, review each idea in detail and add specifics.

For example, say your topic is AI. One of your content ideas might be image generation. You can break this idea down further, with content for image-generation tools, text-to-image prompts, or how to edit existing images. Another way to refine content ideas is to conduct keyword research.

You can also define your process for refining ideas in your content workflow.

7. Publish and manage your content.

Your marketing plan should go beyond the types of content you'll create — it should also cover how you'll organize your content.

Develop a content calendar.

With the help of an editorial calendar, you'll be on the right track to publishing a well-balanced and diverse content library on your website. Then, create a social media content calendar to promote and manage your content on other sites.

Featured Tool: Free Editorial Calendar Templates

Optimize your content for reach.

Many of the ideas you think of will be evergreen (i.e.: just as relevant months or years from now as they are today). That being said, you shouldn't ignore timely topics either. While they may not be the bulk of your editorial calendar, they can help you generate spikes of traffic.

For example, most people count on incorporating popular holidays, like New Year's, in their marketing efforts. But you don't have to limit yourself to these important marketing dates.

If there are niche holidays that might appeal to your audience, it could be worth publishing content on your blog or social media. Check out this ultimate list of social media holidays — check it when you're planning your calendar.

SEO tactics, cross-channel promotion, and channel-specific strategies (like social media strategy) are also key parts of content optimization.

Track and analyze content performance and process.

Analytics are essential to a strong content strategy. Choose KPIs like traffic, engagement, lead generation, and conversion rates to measure the success of your content.

These resources can help you choose the best KPIs for each channel:

Revise your content strategy with data insights.

Don't just collect and review your data, connect it to your content strategy efforts. Review your KPIs for effectiveness, run marketing experiments, and use your data to adjust your strategy.

This analysis can also be helpful when you need support from stakeholders. It can sometimes be difficult to get the resources you need to test a risky idea. Data-driven insights can support your case for trying new ideas with your content strategy.

Questions to Ask When Creating a Content Strategy

When you develop a content strategy, there are a few questions to answer. Let's dive into those now.

1. Who will be reading your content?

Who's the target audience for your content? For how many audiences are you creating content?

Just as your business might have more than one type of customer, your content strategy can cater to more than one type of user.

Using a variety of content types and channels will help you deliver content that's tailored to each persona.

2. What problem will you be solving for your audience(s)?

Ideally, your product or service solves a problem you know your audience has. By the same token, your content coaches and educates your audience through this problem as they begin to notice and address it.

A sound content strategy supports people on both sides of your product: those who are still figuring out what their main challenges are, and those who are already using your product to overcome these challenges.

Your content reinforces the solution(s) you're offering and helps you build credibility with your target audience.

3. What makes you unique?

Your competitors likely have a similar product as yours, which means your potential customers need to know what makes yours better — or, at least, different.

Maybe your main asset is that your company has been established for many years. Or perhaps you have a unique brand voice that makes you stand out from your competitors.

To prove why you're worth buying from, you need to prove why you're worth listening to. Once you figure that out, permeate that message in your content.

4. What content formats will you focus on?

To figure out what formats to focus on, you need to meet your audience where they are.

While you may to tempted to launch a podcast since it's grown so much in the last few years, or launch a YouTube channel, find out first where your audience lives.

Otherwise, you may waste time creating content that either won't reach your audience or capture their attention.

Once you choose the best formats, start creating a budget to assess what resources you can allocate to execute this strategy.

5. What channels will you publish on?

Just as you can create content in different formats, you'll also have various channels you can publish to, from your website to social media.

This part of your content strategy, again, will show where your audience lives. If your audience prefers long-form video content, you may opt to publish your content on YouTube. If you have a younger audience that likes quick content, you may opt for TikTok and Instagram.

6. How will you manage content creation and publication?

Figuring out how you'll create and publish all your content can be a daunting task.

Before you execute, it's important to establish:

Who's creating what.
Where it's being published.
When it's going live.

In a small team, this may be easy enough as you may be the sole decision-maker. As your company grows, you may need to collaborate with several content teams to figure out an effective process.

Today's content strategies prevent clutter by managing content from a topic standpoint. When planning a content editorial calendar around topics, you can easily visualize your company's message and assert yourself as an authority in your market over time.

Content Strategy Template

Ready to get started with your own content marketing strategy? Download this helpful workbook.

It includes key readings and activities to help you fine-tune your plan and develop a robust strategy. You'll learn how to:

Generate content ideas.
Create topic clusters and pillar pages.
Promote your content.
Repurpose your content based on your needs.

Content Marketing Strategy Examples

To understand what a content strategy is, let's explore some examples of real-life content strategies based on a few business goals.

Let's start with Evernote, a note-taking app, that developed an SEO-driven content strategy to attract new prospects to their website.

I'm a huge fan of Evernote's blog, which offers a wealth of knowledge on the topic of productivity. The blog post, How To Stay Disciplined When Times Are Tough, made me laugh out loud — and incentivized me to grab a pen and write down some of the tips I liked best.

But why is a company that sells a note-taking app writing about discipline?

Because it's how I found their website when I searched "How to stay disciplined" on Google.

People interested in reading content related to productivity are likely the same people interested in downloading Evernote's note-taking product.

On the contrary, if Evernote's marketing team simply created content for the sake of increasing traffic — like publishing "Our 10 Favorite Beyonce Songs" — it wouldn't be considered a content strategy at all, it would just be content.

A strategy needs to align content with business goals. In Evernote's case, the strategy aligns content (blog posts on productivity) with the business goal of attracting leads (people interested in note-taking) to their site.

Let's take a look at another example to see how a good content strategy can help businesses with sales enablement.

Consider the following scenario: A prospect calls a sales representative at Wistia and asks questions related to Wistia's video hosting service. As the Wistia sales rep speaks with her, he learns her business is using a few other tools to convert leads into sales, including Intercom.

Bingo.

Once the call ends, the sales rep sends the prospect a follow-up email with a blog post about Wistia's integration with Intercom, which enables Intercom users to further personalize messages to prospects based on video-watching data they collect through Wistia.

This is a prime example of how you might use a content strategy as a sales enablement tool.

On the surface, it might seem odd that Wistia has dedicated content about another business tool. However, this content is a great resource for Wistia's sales team, particularly when prospects have concerns about how Wistia's product can integrate with their existing software or processes.

Now that we've explored a few examples of content strategies, let's dive into content tactics.

Putting a content strategy in place means that you need a firm understanding of content tactics.

Content strategy or content tactics?

Content tactics are the actions you take to deliver your content strategy. Content strategy defines the why and how of your content programming as a whole. Content tactics define the types of content you create and how you create each piece of content.

Both are important to a successful content marketing program.

These are the eight most popular types of content marketing you can create for your readers and customers.

1. Blog Posts

If you haven't already noticed, you're currently reading a blog post. Blog posts live on a website and should be published regularly to attract new visitors.

Posts should offer valuable content for your audience that makes them inclined to share posts on social media and across other websites.

We recommend that blog posts be between 1,000 and 2,000 words in length, but you should experiment to see if your audience prefers longer or shorter reads.

Featured Tool: 6 Free Blog Post Templates

Check out our free blog post templates for writing great how-to, listicle, curation, SlideShare presentation, and newsjacking posts on your own blog.

2. Ebooks

Ebooks are lead-generation tools that website visitors download after submitting a lead form with their contact information. They're typically longer, more in-depth, and published less often than blog posts, which are written to attract visitors to a website.

But ebooks aren't only effective for the top of the funnel.

As Nora Leary, Growth Director at Ironpaper, Inc., notes, "Ebooks serve different purposes at varying stages in the buyer's journey."

She told me, "Awareness-level ebooks help educate the prospect about a certain pain point and are an excellent lead capture tool. The content should remain introductory and informational."

Leary adds, "Ebooks can convert leads in the funnel by offering them useful tools as prospects consider their needs more in-depth. An ebook here might dive deeper into a particular problem and solution options and include templates or calculators.

[Lastly,] ebooks further down the funnel should become more personalized and offer more sales content. Comparison guides or an ebook of case studies are beneficial for prospects at this stage."

Ebooks are the next step in the inbound marketing process. After reading a blog post, such as this one, visitors might want more information.

This is where calls-to-action (CTAs) come into play, directing people to a landing page where they can submit their contact information and download an ebook to learn more valuable information for their business. In turn, the business producing the ebook has a new lead for the sales team to contact.

Featured Tool: 18 Free Ebook Templates

3. Case Studies

A case study allows you to tell a customer story and build credibility in the process.

A case study is perhaps your most versatile type of content marketing because it can take many different forms — some of which are on this list. That's right, case studies can take the form of a blog post, ebook, podcast, or even an infographic.

The goal is to show how your product helped real-life companies succeed. Before choosing a customer for a case study, narrow in on the business area you're trying to drive value for.

Featured Tool: 3 Free Case Study Templates

4. Templates

Templates are effective content marketing examples to try because they generate leads while offering tremendous value to your audience.

When you offer your audience templates to save them time and help them succeed, they're more likely to engage with your content in the future.

5. Infographics

Infographics can organize and visualize data in a more compelling way than words alone.

These are great content formats to use if you're trying to share a lot of data in a way that is clear and easy to understand.

Featured Tool: 15 Free Infographic Templates

If you're ready to get started, get our templates for creating beautiful infographics in less than an hour.

6. Videos

Videos are a highly engaging content medium and are shareable across social media platforms and websites alike.

Videos require a bigger investment of time and resources than written content, but as visual content continues to offer big ROI, it's a medium worth exploring.

Featured Tool: Free Video Marketing Starter Pack + Templates

7. Podcasts

Starting a podcast will help audiences find your brand if they don't have time or interest in reading content every day.

The number of podcast listeners is growing — in 2022, there was a 6% year-over-year increase in U.S. podcast listeners.

If you have interesting people to interview or conversations to host, consider podcasting as another content format to experiment with.

Featured Tool: How to Start a Podcast [Guide + Templates]

8. Social Media

Once you've been regularly publishing content on your own site for a while, start thinking about a social media strategy to distribute your content on social media.

In addition to sharing your content, you can also repurpose it into new formats and create original content specifically for each platform.

Posting on social media is pivotal to amplifying your brand's reach and delivering your content to your customers where you know they spend their time. Popular social networks include:

When launching a business account on any of the social networks above, adjust your content to the platform.

On Instagram, for example, users want aesthetically pleasing visuals. With feeds, IGTV, Stories, you have a lot of room to play with. TikTok, on the other hand, appeals to a younger demographic that wants trendy, funny, and creative short-form videos.

Do some market research to discover which platforms your buyers are on, and mold your content to their expectations.

Content strategy is more than planning and maintenance.

It takes time, organization, and creativity to grow a successful content marketing strategy. From building the foundation of your content marketing plan to adding tools to better manage your content, setting up your strategy won't be a hassle if you follow the steps and explore the resources here.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Barbenheimer: The Stark Marketing Differences Between This Summer’s Biggest Blockbusters

lalfred@hubspot.com (Lestraundra Alfred) — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

It’s shaping up to be a big month at the box office as the highly anticipated films Barbie and Oppenheimer gear up for release on July 21.

When the initial Barbie trailer dropped this spring, we covered why the film’s online selfie generator was a nod to nostalgia marketing.

As we get closer to the release date, the film’s marketing engine has gone into overdrive leaning heavily into partnerships and experiential marketing. Here are just a few (yes, a few) of the tactics deployed by the Barbie marketing team:

A “DreamHouse” in Malibu hosted by Ken on Airbnb
A giveaway for a Barbie-themed XBOX console complete with controllers and a Dreamhouse
Barbie’s Dream Car added to the Forza Horizon 5 game
A Barbie x ALDO shoe and accessories collection
A Barbie-themed ad for Progressive car insurance
A rug collection with Ruggable
A Barbie-inspired frozen yogurt flavor at Pinkberry
A “Dreamhouse” scented Homesick candle
Branded beauty collabs with OPI nail polish and NYX Cosmetics
A “World of Barbie” activation in Los Angeles
A Barbie boat cruise in Boston
Barbie-pink luggage collection by BEIS Travel

The co-branded collaborations have been so extensive they’ve inspired some funny memes on Twitter.

Mattel, the company behind the film and iconic doll has good reason to invest so heavily in the film’s success.

The live-action film is the first major content release backed by Mattel, and its success at the box office could provide a boost to Mattel’s stock and bottom line. It’s a crucial time for the company that is looking to overcome last year’s profit slump that was driven by inflation.

Meanwhile, the marketing team behind the biopic Oppenheimer has taken a more low-key approach to marketing the film.

Oppenheimer’s marketing efforts began in 2022 with a teaser trailer and an online countdown that leads to July 16 — the 78th anniversary of the first nuclear explosion. The film’s official trailer dropped in May 2023 and has since been shared on social media by the film’s cast.

It’s worth noting that many users on Twitter are alluding to seeing both films on the same day (which is quite the vibe shift).

We’ll see how audiences turn out later this month when the films go head-to-head at the box office.

What Is Brand Perception? How to Measure It and 4 Examples

Katrina Kirsch — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Take a second to think about your shopping habits — why do you make some purchases and not others? In all likelihood, you buy a product based on your brand perception, or the thoughts and feelings associated with a company.

You're not the only one — 62% of customers feel emotionally connected to brands they buy from. And once consumers adopt an attitude about a brand, it's tough to change. That's why brands work hard to create positive associations among consumers from the start.

Knowing how people perceive your brand makes it easier to shape perceptions and develop brand equity. To do this, you need to understand what creates brand perception and how it informs company and consumer decision-making.

What is brand perception?

Brand perception is the sum of a consumer's feelings, experiences, and thoughts about a product or service. It's what people believe a brand represents, rather than what a brand says it represents.

Although brand perception is a mental association, it is essential when creating emotional connections with consumers. People consider their attitude toward brands when choosing between competing products.

They read reviews, chat with customer support, compare options with friends, or sign up for a free trial. All of these touchpoints affect brand perception and impact a company's success.

If consumers think highly of a brand, they become more loyal. Consider how this dynamic plays out in everyday life.

People get into meme wars over Apple versus Android products. A person who wears Nike shoes won't be caught in Adidas kicks. And you won't find Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the same fridge.

Companies that understand brand perception use this information to develop brand equity.

While brand perception can be narrowed down to what one customer thinks about your brand, brand equity is the combination of people's perceptions, experiences, and opinions that creates your reputation.

A company with high brand equity attracts loyal customers who pick your product or service when given the choice between competitors.

According to Intercom, 88% of executives agree customer engagement significantly impacts a business’s bottom line. Unfortunately, 60% of executives also thought their companies weren’t sending the right message to customers.

Your ability to create a brand perception that appeals to your target market drives company growth. Although it may seem that brand perception is out of your hands, you can take steps to measure it and improve people's attitudes.

How to Measure Brand Perception

Data can help you understand how consumers, employees, stakeholders, and competitors perceive your brand.

Since brand perception combines reviews, reputation, experience, functionality, advertising, social engagement, and customer use, you should gather metrics from multiple sources.

Here's how to measure brand perception.

Brand Perception Surveys

Conduct brand perception surveys to learn what people think of your business and how it stacks up against competitors. Ask questions that touch on emotional, cognitive, and action-oriented factors, such as these examples from Qualtrics:

When you think of [the brand], what comes to mind first?
Which of the following words describe [the brand]?
What feelings do you experience when you think of [the brand]?
How would you describe your level of emotional attachment to [the brand]?
How would you describe [the brand] to a friend?
How would you describe your last experience with [the brand]?
On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to recommend [the brand] to a friend or colleague?

Social Listening

Track online mentions using social listening tools or Google alerts. You want to monitor social media comments, online reviews, relevant hashtags, forums (i.e., Reddit and Quora), and news mentions.

As the brand grows, so will this dataset. Create a system to handle negative mentions immediately and stay on top of talk about your brand, products, and marketing campaigns.

Brand Audit

Do a brand audit to evaluate how your brand perception compares to competitors.

This should include research on primary and secondary target audiences, a competitive analysis of your products or services, a thorough evaluation of your communications strategy, and a deep dive into your brand positioning.

Customer Data

Collect data from customers at each point of the buyer's journey. This can include how buyers research information, evaluate products, compare between competitors, interact with customer support, make a purchase decision, onboard, and interact with the brand post-purchase.

Once you have enough data to measure brand perception, you can evaluate if consumer sentiment aligns with your brand identity. If so, stay the course. If not, you can learn how to improve consumer brand perception.

Brand Perception Examples

From PR campaigns to packaging, brand perception is influenced by every touchpoint people have with a company.

The following brand perception examples show how businesses can shape consumer sentiments so the inner identity matches the outer image. You might even find inspiration to design your own logo.

1. Snickers

Candy lovers can choose between dozens of chocolate-covered bars, so what makes someone grab a Snickers instead of a Kit Kat?

Yes, it may be taste or preference, but the brand has designed clever campaigns to make people believe that eating Snickers will transform you from hangry and unfocused to sharp and satisfied.

2. Orangetheory

You may have driven past one of these orange-hued workout studios on your daily commute or taken an online class during the pandemic.

And while fitness crazes come and go, Orangetheory has carved out a brand perception that's kept the company going strong since 2010.

The community-oriented classes make it the right fit for people looking to connect and compete with neighbors while working up a sweat. It's more casual than Crossfit but kicks up the intensity compared to group classes at national gyms, like Planet Fitness and LA Fitness.

3. Zoom

An innovative and beloved video platform at the start of the pandemic, Zoom quickly became the cause of remote workers' burnout. People loved how it kept them connected to teams, families, and friends.

But the constant connection led to "Zoom fatigue," an informal diagnosis that's been covered by Healthline, Stanford, the New York Times, the APA, and more.

While companies still rely on Zoom for virtual meetings, the brand has had to adjust from its original "Video conferencing that doesn't suck" vibe to "How the world connects" as consumers shifted their perceptions.

4. Patagonia

The outdoor gear brand became famous for its innovative clothing and focus on responsible manufacturing. Still, a change in consumer perception caused the company to double down on its sustainability-driven identity.

In the early 2010s, people began referring to the company as Patagucci — a satirical name that poked fun at the brand's high prices and its adoption among high-income workers.

To sway consumers from placing Patagonia in the fast-fashion category, the company has launched many sustainability-focused initiatives, like its Worn Wear line of recycled clothing.

The Importance of Brand Perception

Knowing what people think of your brand is an important part of developing a successful business.

It gives you the information you need to shape your brand identity, create impactful marketing campaigns, and make changes when consumer perception shifts.

Now that you know how to measure brand perception, you can use it to make strategic brand decisions and drive your company forward.

The 15 Best Excel Alternatives

Daniel Doan — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

Excel is one of the world’s most popular spreadsheet programs, with an estimated 1.1 billion people using it for data organization, analysis, and reporting.

While it’s a commendable data system for teams within a business, it’s not free. A standalone copy of Excel costs $159.99, and a personal Office subscription is $69.99 per year for one user.

Microsoft Excel might be the big cheese of data analysis and management, but it’s not the only tool in town.

So, whether you’re looking for a free alternative, a cloud-based solution, or a tool with more advanced features, this article has something for you.

1. Google Sheets

Price: Free for personal use and small teams; paid plans start at $6 a user per month for business teams.
Best for: Teams already using Google Drive.
What we like: This is the best, free Excel alternative that offers real-time collaboration.

Brought to you by the Google Drive suite of apps, Google Sheets is a top-tier choice for anyone looking for an Excel alternative.

This cloud-based spreadsheet app has many of the same features as Excel (charts, formulas, and real-time collaboration), making it the best free Excel alternative.

That said, if you don’t mind paying a fee, you can get more storage and advanced features with other tools on this list.

Pros

Free to use
Easy collaboration
Cloud-based and accessible from anywhere

Cons

Limited features compared to Excel
Can be slower than desktop applications
May have compatibility issues with Microsoft Office files

2. Airtable

Price: Free for personal use and small teams; paid plans start at $12 a user per month for business teams.
Best for: Teams that need a database solution.
What we like: Airtable’s advanced features combine spreadsheet and database components.

Airtable is a cloud-based platform that combines spreadsheet and database features. It's designed to be flexible and customizable and offers a variety of views, including grid, calendar, and Kanban.

Pros

Combines spreadsheet and database features, offering a unique approach to data management
Designed to be a collaborative solution for teams, including real-time collaboration and commenting features
Offers a range of templates for different use cases, including project management and content planning
Integrates with a range of other apps and platforms, including Slack and Zapier
Offers a free version, as well as paid options for businesses that need more storage or advanced features

Cons

Limited advanced features compared to other spreadsheet applications
May not be suitable for large datasets or complex data analysis
Customization options may be limited for some users

3. Zoho Sheet

Price: Free for personal use and small teams; paid plans start at $5 a user per month for business teams.
Best for: Businesses that need a complete business solution.
What we like: Zoho Sheets reduce the time spent thinking about version control or projects requiring multiple people. Since it’s cloud-based, other team members can see the document in real time.

Zoho Sheet is a cloud-based spreadsheet application that's part of the Zoho suite of apps. It offers many of the same features as Excel, including charts and formulas, and also integrates with other Zoho apps, such as Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects.

Pros

Offers a range of spreadsheet features, including charts and formulas
Supports Microsoft Office files
Integrates with other Zoho apps, including Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects
Offers a free version, as well as paid options for businesses that need more storage or advanced features

Cons

Limited advanced features compared to other spreadsheet applications
Not as well-known as some other alternatives, so support options may be limited

4. Smartsheet

Price: Offers a free trial, but paid plans start at $14 a user per month. It’s $25 a user per month for business teams.
Best for: Teams that need a project management solution.
What we like: Smartsheet is your one-stop shop for planning, tracking, automating, and reporting on all your projects. You can keep everyone in the loop so that nothing falls behind schedule.

Smartsheet is a cloud-based platform that's designed for project management. It offers a variety of features, including Gantt charts, resource management, and collaboration tools.

It also integrates with other apps, including Microsoft Office and Google Drive. Smartsheet offers a free trial and paid options for businesses that need more storage or advanced features.

Pros

Combines spreadsheet and project management features, offering a unique approach to task and project management
Offers a range of templates for different use cases, including project tracking and budget planning
Integrates with a range of other apps and platforms, including Salesforce and Jira

Cons

Limited advanced features compared to other spreadsheet applications
May not be suitable for complex data analysis or financial modeling
Customization options may be limited for some users

5. WPS Office

Price: Free for personal use and small teams, paid plans start at $29.99 a year for premium features.
Best for: Individuals and businesses who need a full-featured office suite.
What we like: WPS is the bomb if you need an all-in-one software for your office tasks. The features are straightforward and user-friendly, so you don't need to be a tech guru to figure it out.

WPS Office is a suite of office applications that includes a word processor, presentation software, and spreadsheet application. It offers many of the same features as Excel, including charts and formulas, and also supports Microsoft Office files.

Pros

Offers a full suite of office productivity tools, including spreadsheet, document editing, and presentation software
Supports a wide range of file formats, including Microsoft Office files
Integrates with other WPS apps, including WPS PDF and WPS Cloud

Cons

May have compatibility issues with Microsoft Office files
Limited advanced features compared to other spreadsheet applications
Not as well-known as some other alternatives, so support options may be limited

6. LibreOffice Calc

Price: Free and open-source.
Best for: Individuals and businesses who need a full-featured spreadsheet application for free.
What we like: With LibreOffice, your papers will look slick and organized, no matter what they're for. The secret is in LibreOffice's powerful styling system and structuring tools. These features do all the heavy lifting so that you can focus on your content.

LibreOffice Calc is a free and open-source spreadsheet application part of the LibreOffice suite of apps. It offers many of the same features as Excel, including charts and formulas, and also supports Microsoft Office files.

LibreOffice Calc is highly customizable and offers a variety of extensions.

Pros

Free and open-source
Includes advanced features
Supports Microsoft Office files

Cons

Not as user-friendly as other alternatives
Limited support options

7. Numbers (Apple)

Price: Free for Mac/iOS users.

Best for: Individuals and businesses that use Apple products.

What we like: Great for Apple users, this tool makes crunching numbers and entering data easy. Because it's part of the Apple ecosystem, you get top-notch security to keep all your sensitive info safe and sound.

Numbers is a spreadsheet application that's part of the Apple iWork suite of apps. It's designed specifically for Apple users and offers many of the same features as Excel, including charts and formulas.

Numbers also integrates with other Apple apps, including Keynote and Pages.

Pros

Free to use for Apple users
Integrates with other Apple apps
User-friendly interface

Cons

Limited collaboration features
Limited advanced features compared to Excel
Only available on Apple devices

8. Tableau

Price: Offers a free trial; paid plans start at $12 a user per month for individuals and $70 a user per month for business teams.
Best for: Businesses that need advanced data visualization tools.
What we like: Great for data visualization, Tableau is a real champ when it comes to crunching your data quickly. It hooks up directly to your Excel spreadsheets, so you don't have to ditch them. Plus, with Tableau, you get sweet visualizations that are easy on the eyes.

Tableau is a data visualization tool that allows users to create interactive dashboards, reports, and charts. It offers advanced features for data analysis, including data blending and mapping.

Tableau is a great choice for businesses that need to visualize complex data meaningfully.

Pros

Great for data visualization
Offers advanced features for data analysis
Offers a free trial

Cons

Expensive for paid options
Steep learning curve for advanced features
Requires some knowledge of data analysis

9. Quip

Price: Free for personal use; paid plans start at $10 a user per month for business teams.
Best for: Teams that need a collaborative solution that integrates communication tools.
What we like: Quip combines spreadsheet and communication features. This tool is a game-changer when taking notes, editing documents, and organizing task lists with your team and co-workers. It makes you a pro at all these tasks in no time!

Quip is a cloud-based platform that combines spreadsheet and communication features. It's designed as a team solution with real-time collaboration and chat features. Quip also integrates with other apps, including Salesforce and Slack.

Pros

Combines spreadsheet and communication features
Real-time collaboration and chat features
Integrates with other apps

Cons

Limited advanced features compared to other alternatives
Limited formatting options
Limited customization options

10. Calc (Apache OpenOffice)

Price: Free and open-source.
Best for: Individuals and businesses who need a full-featured spreadsheet application for free.
What we like: Open-source and customizable, Calc boasts the capability to effortlessly open and save spreadsheets in the Microsoft Excel file format. The software offers many features that outclass Excel, such as a system that automatically creates a series for graphing based on the user's data layout.

Calc is a free and open-source spreadsheet application that's part of the Apache OpenOffice suite of apps.

It offers many of the same features as Excel, including charts and formulas, and also supports Microsoft Office files. Calc is highly customizable and offers a variety of extensions.

Pros

Free and open-source
Includes advanced features
Supports Microsoft Office files

Cons

May have compatibility issues with Microsoft Office files
Not as user-friendly as other alternatives
Limited support options

11. Gnumeric

Price: Free and open-source.
Best for: Individuals who need a lightweight and free spreadsheet application.
What we like: Gnumeric is the ultimate tool for keeping track of information in lists, organizing numeric values in columns and rows, and executing complex calculations easily. Its unique feature set lets you define each calculation step and modify specific steps later, giving you complete control over your work.

Gnumeric is a free and open-source spreadsheet application designed to be lightweight and fast.

It offers many of the same features as Excel, including charts and formulas, and also supports Microsoft Office files. Gnumeric is a great choice for individuals who need a simple and free spreadsheet application.

Pros

Free and open-source
Lightweight and fast
Supports Microsoft Office files

Cons

Limited advanced features compared to Excel
Limited support options

12. EtherCalc

Price: Free and open-source.
Best for: Individuals and businesses who need a simple cloud-based spreadsheet application.
What we like: Cloud-based and open-source, Ethercalc is a versatile tool for small to mid-sized businesses in finance and healthcare. It has real-time data pulled from third-party apps and can work with CSV, Microsoft Excel, and JSON files.

EtherCalc is a cloud-based and open-source spreadsheet application designed to be simple and lightweight. It offers basic features for creating and editing spreadsheets and allows real-time collaboration.

Pros

Cloud-based and open-source
Simple and lightweight
Real-time collaboration features

Cons

Limited advanced features compared to other alternatives
Limited formatting options
Limited customization options

13. OnlyOffice

Price: Free for personal use and small teams; paid plans start at $5 a user per month for business teams.
Best for: Businesses that need a full-featured office suite.
What we like: OnlyOffice offers a full suite of office applications. It is a free, open-source system that combines document, project, customer relationship, and email management in one place.

OnlyOffice is designed to be a complete business solution, offering a range of features for team collaboration, including document sharing, real-time collaboration, and version control.

It also integrates with a range of other apps and platforms, including Nextcloud and ownCloud.

Pros

Full suite of business tools, including spreadsheet, document editing, and presentation software
Offers advanced collaboration features, including real-time collaboration, document sharing, and version control
Integrates with a range of other apps and platforms, including Nextcloud and ownCloud

Cons

Limited advanced features compared to other spreadsheet applications
Not as well-known as some other alternatives, so support options may be limited

14. ClickUp

Price: Free; paid plans start at $5 a user per month.
Best for: Individuals or teams who want a one-stop-shop for all their productivity needs.
What we like: Since your Table is directly connected to your workflow in ClickUp, all of your progress, updates, and task statuses are automatically reflected as you go. You can even pull real-time reporting for a high-level overview of your work anytime.

ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity tool that individual users and teams rely on to manage and organize their projects in one place.

It offers hundreds of customizable features and over 15 unique ways to visualize your work, including a Table view.

Like Excel, Table view lets you manage, edit, and organize your tasks into clean columns and rows. Unlike Excel, you also gain the benefits of a powerful project management software to move your work along.

You can also collaborate in real time with team members.

Pros

Great for data visualization
An all-in-one productivity tool so you can manage and organize your projects in one place
All of your progress, updates, and task statuses are automatically reflected as you go

Cons

Can be complex and confusing for users
Mobile app is limited

15. Hancom Office

Price: Starts at $59 a user.
What we like: Hancom Office offers four primary features, which are compatible with office programs: Word, Cell, Show, and PDF.
Best for: Teams who want a full suite of tools and real-time collaboration with each other.

Hancom offers four primary features, which are compatible with office programs: Word, Cell, PDF, and Show.

The Excel alternative, Cell, lets you create spreadsheets and presentations and provides 1 GB of free online storage, and like Google Sheets, you can collaborate with colleagues on Hancom Office documents.

Most notably, Hancom allows you to edit and view your documents on your mobile device, if you want to change your spreadsheet away from your computer. Hancom doesn’t require any Office installation.

Pros

Full suite of productivity tools
Real-time collaboration features
Mobile app allows you to work from anywhere

Cons

Expensive for paid options
Not many tutorials are available, so the learning curve may be steep

Something For Everyone

While Microsoft Excel remains the most widely used spreadsheet software, plenty of excellent alternatives are available for users looking for a more specialized or streamlined approach to data management.

Whether you need a collaborative solution for team projects, a more comprehensive suite of business tools, or a simple but effective spreadsheet editor, there's an alternative out there that can meet your needs.

By considering the features and drawbacks of each option, you can choose the best Excel alternative for your individual requirements and work more efficiently and effectively with your data.

The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Campaigns

adecker@hubspot.com (Allie Decker) — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

From P&G’s "Thank You, Mom"to Dos Equis’s "Most Interesting Man in the World,"marketing campaigns have a way of sticking with us. Why is that? Campaigns make companies memorable.

Marketing campaigns promote a focused effort that guides consumers toward the desired action. They also give brands an identity, personality, and emotion. The right campaign can do the same for your business.

That’s why we’ve compiled this guide — to provide a clear, concise approach to your next marketing campaign. Keep reading to get started, or use the links below to jump ahead.

What's a marketing campaign?
Types of Marketing Campaigns
Marketing Campaign Components
How to Create a Marketing Campaign
Marketing Campaign Examples

Marketing Campaigns vs. Advertising Campaigns

Marketing is how a company raises awareness of its brand and convinces customers to make a purchase. Alternatively, advertisingis the process of creating persuasive messages around these broad goals.

In terms of campaigns, an advertising campaignmight be one facet of a larger marketing campaign strategy.

Say shoe brand Nike launched a campaign surrounding the release of a new product. Its advertising would only reflect one facet of its marketing strategy.

The brand might also leverage email newsletters, social media, and paid search to meet its goal.

Now that we understand the difference between advertising and marketing campaigns, here are a few more types of marketing campaigns you might run.

Marketers have a wealth of choices when deciding what kind of marketing campaign to build. So, how do you make the right choice?

In our 2023 Marketing Strategy and Trends Report, we found that data-informed marketing strategies have become the most popular type of marketing campaign. Brands also emphasize agile marketing and the ability to pivot in the types of campaigns they run.

Successful marketing campaigns continue to focus on social media marketing and brand-building. Companies have focused on online communities to drive more engagement.

Regardless of the type of campaign, the most popular marketing asset is video. This is followed by images, blog articles, infographics, podcasts, and other audio content.

Video continuously has the highest ROI of any media format — a trend that remains strong in 2023. Marketers are continuing to invest more in video elements of marketing campaigns.

Marketing Campaign Components

Multiple components go into the planning, execution, and results of a stellar marketing campaign. We'll discuss the most important components of campaigns below.

Goals and Key Progress Indicators (KPIs)

This component defines the end goal of your campaign. You'll develop specific, measurable goals. Then, you'll state which metrics will be used to track progress.

For example, your content creation campaign might be measured by organic traffic. Each post may aim to drive 1,000 views per month and 10 new contacts. These categories will be measured in Google Analytics and Looker.

Channel

Where will your content and messaging be distributed? Let's say you’re running a social media marketing campaign. You might prioritize growing the channels most relevant to your audience. You can also omit those where you’re least likely to grow a loyal following.

Budget

Not all marketing campaigns require an incremental budget, but many still do. Factor in the agency, advertising, and freelance costs. Then, factor these numbers into any ROI analysis for your campaign.

Content Formats

Determine what kind of content you will be creating to fuel the campaign. It’s common for marketers to include multiple content formats in a singular campaign. For example, a branding campaign could include video ads, press releases, and guest blogs.

Team

Who are the individuals you’re relying on to get the job done? Before kickstarting your campaign, designate people to work on every aspect of the campaign. You should know who handles copywriting, design, media buying, and reporting.

Creative Assets

A great marketing campaign should have great creative assets to match. Whether it’s a sleek website design or an interactive infographic, make sure your design is professional. All your assets should fit the purpose of the campaign.

How to Create a Successful Marketing Campaign

Now, you might be wondering, “How do I get started from here?”

Well, now is the time to plan your campaign. The campaign planning process will involve you mapping out your strategies and tactics. Your campaign plan should include a course of action. This document will list the required resources, assets, stakeholders, and measurable goals.

Let’s dive into what that process will look like in detail in the section below.

Planning Your Marketing Campaign

This step is crucial to the effectiveness of your marketing campaign. The planning stage will determine how you measure success and will guide your team when things go awry.

Featured Resource: Free Marketing Plan Generator

1. Set a purpose and goal for your campaign.

Let’s start simple. Why are you running this campaign? What would you like your campaign to accomplish for your business?

If you’re having trouble defining your campaign purpose, start broad. Take a look at the goals below. Which one is most aligned with your own?

Promote a new product or service.
Increase brand awareness.
Gather customer feedback or content.
Drive leads.
Generate revenue.
Boost user engagement.
Advertise an upcoming event.

This is hardly a definitive list, but it gives you an idea of general business goals a campaign could help reach.

Let's take this broad campaign purpose and turn it into a S.M.A.R.T. goal. We'll use the third option as an example: Gather customer feedback or content.

"The goal of my marketing campaign is to gather user-generated content from 100 customers via a branded hashtag on Instagram featuring our new product line by December 31."

The goal is specific (user-generated content), measurable (100 customers), attainable (via a branded Instagram hashtag), relevant (featuring the new product line), and timely (by December 31).

See how this broad campaign purpose instantly transforms into an actionable, attainable goal?

Pro tip: Setting SMART Goals is simple when you have the right tools. Check out the free SMART Goal-Setting template below to get started on this critical piece of your marketing campaign.

Featured Resource: Free SMART Goal-Setting Template

2. Establish how you’ll measure your campaign.

This will look different for everyone depending on the channels you're leveraging and your end goal. You might measure email open rates, new Facebook likes, or product pre-orders. You can also track a combination of several helpful metrics.

These answers will depend on your overarching campaign goal. Here are a few examples of metrics based on the campaign goals mentioned above.

For promoting a new product or service: Pre-orders, sales, and upsells.
For increasing brand awareness: Sentiment, social mentions, and press mentions.
For gathering customer feedback or content: Social mentions and engagement.
For generating revenue: Leads, sales, and upsells.
For boosting user engagement: Blog shares, social shares, and email interactions.
For advertising an upcoming event: Ticket sales, vendor or entertainment bookings, and social mentions.

If your campaign involves multiple marketing channels, it’s wise to define how you’ll measure your campaign on each medium.

For example, say I was running my user-generated content (UGC) campaign on social media, email, and our blog. First, I’d define my key performance indicators (KPIs) for each medium, which may look like:

Instagram engagements (likes and comments) and profile tags.
Email open rates and click-through rates.
Blog views, click-throughs, and social shares.

Then, I’d define my primary campaign KPI: Instagram-branded hashtag mentions.

While the above KPIs indicate how well my campaign reaches and engages my audience, my primary KPI tells me how close I am to reaching my SMART goal.

Lastly, let’s think about another question: What does "success" look like for your company? Sure, it’s exciting to reach a predetermined goal, but that’s not always possible. What (outside of your goal) would constitute success for you (or serve as a milestone)?

Pro tip: When determining how you’ll measure your campaign, consider setting up some checkpoints along the way.

Let's say your campaign involves boosting brand awareness, and your goal is to reach 50 PR mentions by the end of the year. You can set benchmark notifications at 10, 25, and 40 mentions.

This will remind you to keep pushing toward your ultimate goal and boost morale within your team. Checkpoints are a reminder that your hard work is paying off.

3. Define your target audience.

Imagine constructing a bulletproof marketing campaign only to be met with crickets.

In that case, you might think you chose the wrong marketing medium or that your creative wit wasn't enough. However, the culprit may be your audience.

To resolve this problem, figure out what stage of the buyer’s journey your campaign is targeting. Are you trying to bring in new customers? Are you attempting to gather feedback from existing clients?

Are you marketing to those who recognize your brand? Or are you introducing a new brand identity altogether?

Your marketing message will vary depending on whether your campaign audience is in the awareness, consideration, or decision stage. Even though your campaign may reach those outside your target audience, it's vital to design your campaign with a specific target in mind.

Next, identify your audience's interests and pain points. Here are some questions to ask yourself and your team to better understand your audience.

What are my audience’s general interests? What magazines do they read? What TV shows do they watch? How do they spend their free time?
Where does my audience hang out online? For what purpose do they use Instagram, Facebook, and other networks? Do they engage or merely browse?
What kind of content gets my audience’s attention? Do they respond to straightforward sales messages? Would they rather consume witty, humorous content? What cultural references would they understand?
What kind of problems do they have that my product, service, or brand could solve?

Becoming well-acquainted with your campaign audience will help you confidently answer these questions and any others that may arise during the campaign.

Pro tip: To uncover more about your audience, survey your existing and potential customers in your market. Then, use this data to create your buyer personas. You can even enter that data into a free buyer persona generator like the one below.

Featured Resource: Buyer Persona Generator

4. Set a concept for your campaign and get in contact with the right team.

Marketing campaigns require a mission, vision, and visual identity. Great campaigns are an offshoot of their parent brand — both visually and creatively. These campaigns stay consistent with the business brand while maintaining their own identity.

When creating campaign assets, some businesses use an in-house team. Others opt for an agency. You can also hire a freelancer or contractor to complete a specific portion of the project, such as the copy or design.

Pro tip: We recommend starting with your in-house team and moving forward from there. This team includes experts. They know your brand and can speak to what your campaign needs to succeed.

This step will likely take the longest, as you’ll be creating your campaign concept from scratch. Next, we’ll dive into how you’ll distribute your campaign assets and connect with your audience.

Featured Resource: Market Research Kit

Distributing Your Marketing Campaign

Here, you'll focus on the public-facing part of your campaign. This is what your audience will see and when. If you’ve combed through the previous section, you should have all the answers you need to guide you through.

5. Choose the channels on which you’ll run your campaign.

This choice depends on your audience preference, budget, and brand engagement levels.

Take a look at the current media channels you use to promote your company. Which ones perform the best? Which ones allow you to pay for advertisements? Which ones have the best engagement? Most importantly, where are your customers hanging out?

Need a few ideas? Explore the PESOmodel, which divides distribution channels into Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned.

6. Set a timeline for your campaign.

Establishing a campaign deadline gives you a better idea of when, how, and how often you’ll promote it. Here's how to do this:

Build a general campaign timeline. Then, mark your campaign start date and deadline on a calendar.
Take a look at your marketing assets and chosen promotional marketing channels. Then, work backward from the campaign launch date. Based on your resources, how often can you afford to post and promote your campaign content? With this information, create a promotional calendar for each marketing channel.
Decide on a cadence for each channel and map your scheduled posts, emails, etc., on your calendar.

Visually mapping your marketing campaign will help you evenly disperse your campaign promotions. You can then publish equally on each medium.

Visual mapping also gives you an idea of where your time and energy are going. When the campaign is over, you can look back to assess your effectiveness.

Pro tip: If your promotional calendar seems full, don’t fret. Social media and email scheduling tools can alleviate the pressure of posting daily. Check out tools, like HubSpot and Buffer, to help you schedule and manage your campaign promotions.

Converting Customers Through Your Marketing Campaign

The conversion stage is all about how your campaign can lead to a specific result.

7. Ensure your campaign is driving users toward a desired action.

Even if your campaign is effective and drives a ton of traffic, it still needs to complete its desired action. By "the desired action," I’m talking about that SMART goal you initially defined. Let’s take a moment and reiterate that goal.

For my sample campaign, my SMART goal was "to gather user-generated content from 100 customers via a branded hashtag on Instagram featuring our new product line by December 31."

This step is all about calibrating your marketing efforts and channels to lead your customers to complete your desired goal. This is done through conversion assets like calls-to-action, landing pages, and lead forms.

Pro tip:Lead conversion assets can be used separately or in conjunction with one another. For example, you may feature a lead formon a landing pageor create a call-to-actionasking your audience to complete a form.

8. Monitor the right metrics.

Your campaign effectiveness metrics will depend on what type of marketing campaign you’re running. This section merely serves as a baseline list to give you an idea of what to watch.

Focusing on vanity metrics like generated traffic, click-through rate, and impressions is tempting. A bump in these areas is a good thing. However, they don’t necessarily indicate a change in revenue. Vanity metrics can’t be the only means to measure the effectiveness of your campaign.

Pro Tip: Bookmark this link to all the marketing metrics to watch. It's organized by marketing channel. You can quickly scan the list for new metrics to track.

Assessing Your Marketing Campaign

The post-campaign stage determines your success just as much as the planning stage. Analyzing your campaign data can provide unique insight into your audience, marketing channels, and budget. Insights will also inform future campaigns.

9. Establish success numbers and metrics.

Start by considering your campaign's initial SMART goal. Did you meet your target? If it did, great! If it didn’t, you can dive into the data to assess why.

For example, if your goal was to increase organic blog views by 100K, any bump in views would be considered successful. But there’s a difference between a campaign that works and a worthwhile campaign. A worthwhile campaign gives you an ROI proportionate to the time and energy you put into it.

Pro tip: While it’s OK to celebrate any bump in pre-orders, leads, views, or engagements, don’t assume that’s enough. There’s a reason the very first thing to do is set a campaign goal. Sticking to that goal and calibrating your investment will ensure your campaign is worthwhile.

10. Decide what you'll do with the campaign data.

This step helps maximize your campaign’s business impact.

When you analyze and apply your data, its value increases tenfold. The data helped you assess your campaign results. Analyzing further gives you clarity on your audience, marketing methods, creative prowess, and more.

Let’s return to my UGC Instagram campaign.

In addition to meeting my goal of 100 posts with UGC, the data I collect in the process also offers insights into who my audience is. I can understand when and how often they post on Instagram, what languages they use, and how they use my product.

Whether you collect lead information, pre-orders, social engagements, or offer downloads, your data can equip you to expand your marketing efforts as a whole.

Pro tip: The campaign isn't over once you've pulled that final report. Spend time with your team in a retrospective meeting. Ask yourselves questions like:

What could’ve been done differently?
How could we have saved money?
For anything that went wrong, why do we think it went wrong?
What did we learn about our audience or marketing channels?
What kind of feedback could we gather from participants or customers?

Great Marketing Campaign Examples (and Why They’re So Great)

This wouldn’t be a HubSpot Ultimate Guide if we didn’t share some examples from the pros.

1. The Lip Bar's "Something BAWSE is coming."

In 2022, The Lip Bar celebrated its 10-year anniversary. It also released a new product called "The Bawse Bundle."

In early February, the brand launched a multi-channel campaign, from website and social media to billboards.

The campaign is built around a story of resilience and perseverance, focusing on the CEO's negative experience on the show Shark Tank.

Why This Campaign Works

It accomplishes multiple things through a single campaign: It gives the audience a peek into the brand's journey. It builds on that journey and beautifully connects it to a product.

Current customers share in this excitement because of the 10-year anniversary. Plus, new customers will be drawn in by the CEO's personal story.

2. Meta: "The Metaverse"

In Q4 2021, Facebook announced the rebranding of its parent company. The new name, Meta, comes with its own marketing campaign that introduces the world to a new concept called the "metaverse."

The video posted to the new @metaInstagram account showcases an alternate reality where people can interact in 3D.

Why This Campaign Works

The idea of a Facebook rebrand had been speculatedbefore the launch of the campaign, which piqued the public's interest. That meant even if they didn't like the change, they would still be interested in seeing what happens next.

3. Popeyes: "Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce"

Popeye's already hit the ball out of the park with its chicken sandwich marketing campaign. Then it nailed it again with the Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce collaboration.

Arguably, Popeyes created one of the best chicken sandwiches on the fast-food market in 2019. At the same time, artist Megan Thee Stallion was becoming the hottest rapper in the industry.

So, it made sense that in 2021, the two would join forces to debut a remix of the successful chicken sandwich.

Why This Campaign Works

This campaign targeted the younger crowd with both just chicken sandwiches and merchandise.

Popeyes was able to tap into this segment of the market and increase sales while continuing to capitalize on its success. Plus, the campaign never came across as stale.

4. Cheerios: #GoodGoesRound

General Mills ran a non-profit campaign called Good Goes Roundvia its Cheerios brand. This effort lobbied to raise enough money to fund one million meals.

Why This Campaign Works

The campaign featured its own landing page, video marketing assets, and hashtag (#GoodGoesRound). This separated the campaign from its parent brand and made it more shareable.

The company also paid to promote the "Good Goes Round" URL on Google, giving the campaign more visibility.

5. Apple: "Shot on iPhone"

Download These Templates for Free

You've probably seen a billboard with an amazing image that declares, "Shot on iPhone." This series highlights the high-quality images that customers can capture on the iPhone X.

It’s a product launch campaign that focused on one specific feature of the new Apple smartphone.

Why This Campaign Works

This campaign was unique. It’s similar to a user-generated campaign but was also promoted heavily by the brand itself.

Apple launched its own Instagramaccount to share the #ShotoniPhone content. The brand also collaboratedwith professional photographers and videographers. There were even official TV advertisements.

6. The General: "Rebrand"

When it comes to cheesy commercials, The General's old marketing strategy fits the bill.

The brand became synonymous with pixelated animations and low-quality production. This inevitably had a negative effect on the way potential customers perceived the quality of service.

In 2020, the company changed its marketing campaign to target a more rational customer who appreciates a little humor.

Shaquille O'Neal became the face of the brand. He appeared in commercials alongside other notable celebrities, like Montell Jordan and Ernie Johnson.

Why This Campaign Works

The General listened to its customers' opinions of the brand before moving forward with the new campaign and saw great success as a result.

The tone of the marketing campaign remained light-hearted but took a more mature approach to the humor. The key selling points of The General shine through.

7. Airbnb: "Made Possible by Hosts"

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel companies such as Airbnb saw unprecedented losses in profit.

How did the company respond? It created a series of videos called "Made Possible by Hosts." These videos showed appreciation for the hosts who have continued to accept guests on the platform.

Why This Campaign Works

What’s most curious about the campaign is that it doesn’t put Airbnb customers at the center.

Instead, it spotlights the hosts who accept customers in the first place. In doing so, Airbnb focuses on the human aspect of its platform: You’re not renting an Airbnb property. You’re renting someone’s home.

Over to You

Marketing campaigns aren’t easy, but they’re valuable and integral to growing a successful brand and business. Campaigns set apart certain deliverables from general promotional efforts. You can touch your audience in creative and exciting ways.

If you’re not sure where to start, consider what would be valuable to your audience and go from there. Your audience is, after all, the lifeblood of your campaigns and company.

13 YouTube Description Templates That Have Helped Our Videos Go Viral

Caroline Forsey — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 11:00:00 GMT

As the second-largest search engine, with over 2 billion users per month, YouTube is an undeniably important channel for your marketing efforts. Knowing how to optimize your YouTube channel can help you increase your chances of discoverability and reach more people.

One of the most important tactics for optimizing your YouTube channel is to create engaging YouTube descriptions. Here, we'll discuss how to create compelling descriptions for your YouTube channel and videos.

YouTube Channel Descriptions

A YouTube channel description is similar to the About Page of a website. It appears under the "About" tab of your channel's YouTube page.

The YouTube channel description conveys to potential viewers what your content will cover, including the issues you tackle and the communities you serve. You'll be able to add this when setting up your YouTube channel.

As a YouTube creator, your primary goal is to attract viewers and turn them into subscribers, often using your channel description. With that in mind, be sure to use keywords that your intended audience would use to search for your content.

YouTube Video Descriptions

Every YouTube video includes a description that can be found under the viewport of the video.

Additionally, every video needs a unique description to increase the likelihood of your video being found when someone is searching for a particular topic.

A YouTube content creator's video description attracts and converts an audience. Therefore, it's crucial that you optimize your video descriptions for SEO.

If you're unsure how to start crafting compelling YouTube descriptions, keep reading. We'll explore various tactics you can employ and provide templates to ensure you have everything you need to excel on YouTube.

1. Use YouTube description templates. [Free Prompts]

HubSpot compiled seven YouTube video description templates to help your business provide context to your viewers, rank better in search, organize your team, and link to relevant web pages on your site.

2. Explain your content.

To explore the best tactics for writing YouTube descriptions, I spoke with Eric Peters, a Senior Growth Product Manager on HubSpot's Academy team. He said, "[YouTube descriptions] are one of the primary ways YouTube knows what your video is about. Include links, additional resources, links to other videos and playlists, etc. Make sure the description box is easy to read."

Peters explained that your YouTube video description and closed captioning should incorporate keywords into your description. It also helps with accessibility for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Hence, adding closed captioning to your videos is an absolute must for accessibility.

For instance, take a look at one of HubSpot Marketing's YouTube video descriptions:

A YouTube description differs from a web page meta description. In a YouTube description, content creators explain what your entire video is about and even link to external resources.

Peters told me, "You get 5,000 characters total, so make use of it. YouTube creators use asterisks or all-caps to differentiate titles from body copy because it's all plain text. Consider writing up a text version of the key points from the video, or even copying the transcription of the video and paste it into the description."

3. Include a call-to-action (CTA).

Your YouTube description is a fantastic opportunity to ask viewers to continue to engage with your channel or find additional resources that will help them learn more about a topic of interest.

For instance, let's say you create a brief "How to Add Filters to Instagram" YouTube video, but you also have an in-depth "How to Use Instagram for Marketing" blog post. Why not link it in the description? Most likely, anyone watching your Instagram video on YouTube would be equally grateful for the opportunity to learn more through a blog post.

Perhaps you simply want to ask viewers to subscribe, turn on notifications, or share your content with their networks. These are all acceptable CTA's for your description.

You must format your description to ensure you put the most important information first. Peters advises, "The first 200 characters are above the 'more' fold on the description box, so if you want your CTA/link to be seen by most people, keep it within the first 200 characters."

After the first 200 characters, your text will be cut off, and viewers will need to click "Show more" to see the rest. Therefore, you must make your first 200 characters count.

4. Add your personality.

A YouTube description should be fun and demonstrate your brand's personality with a unique voice. Unlike traditional forms of advertising, this is an opportunity for you to instill creativity and humor into your content.

Brian Dean's YouTube channel is a great example of this. His YouTube descriptions often mirror the way he speaks. The descriptions are candid and casual, and he makes it feel like he's writing to a friend.

To learn more about using YouTube for marketing purposes, consider checking out HubSpot Academy's comprehensive YouTube Marketing course.

5. Use timestamps to make videos scannable.

Including timestamps in your video description can make your video more user-friendly and help your content rank well on search engines.

YouTube video timestamps appear within search results, improving user retention by directing users to the most relevant portions of videos from SERPs.

Users can search for keywords that appear in your video's description and click on a thumbnail on the SERP to view the portion of your video that answers their search query.

YouTube Channel Description Examples

Every YouTube channel description should allude to a specific niche or central theme. You want to tell your audience what they will learn from your channel. This will give them a reason to tune in to your channel, subscribe to it, and continue learning from you and your videos. Additionally, when you add your niche to your YouTube description, your audience can more easily find you in a sea of potentially similar creators.

1. Wes McDowell

Wes McDowell's YouTube channel targets viewers in the digital marketing niche. The channel description mentions the channel's mission: teaching small businesses owners digital marketing strategies they can use to grow their businesses. The description also lists topics the channel will feature in its videos, invites viewers to subscribe, and describes the benefits of subscribing to the channel.

Why We Love It

This YouTube channel description is clear and direct. It details what viewers will get when they come to the channel. This description also describes the marketing strategies and techniques viewers will learn. Clarity goes a long way to make a channel easily searchable and rankable on YouTube.

2. Yoga With Adriene

Yoga With Adriene's YouTube channel description highlights one of the channel's main values: inclusion. The channel description mentions that everyone is invited to participate and learn more about yoga through her videos, regardless of their skill level. The description also recommends videos that beginners can watch to become familiar with the content.

Why We Love It

This channel description is an excellent example of how a company's mission can be useful for video content. The description gives subscribers a glimpse into Yoga with Adriene's values, creating a connection with the viewer. This angle is helpful for ranking on YouTube because it's aligned with morals and values that subscribers can easily identify with.

3. Wild Wonderful Off-Grid

Wild Wonderful Off-Grid's YouTube channel description positions the channel within a niche by using the keywords "off-grid," "self-reliant," and "building our own home" to appeal to viewers who are interested in living off-the-grid. The description also invites viewers to visit their online store and social media profiles.

Why We Love It

This YouTube channel description establishes a niche, describes the channel's content, provides background information about the creators, and encourages subscribers and viewers to participate further in their brand. The description also directs their audience to other aspects of their business, such as their store and social media platforms, which fosters value for their subscribers.

4. The Pals

The Pals' YouTube channel description introduces the channel's creators, lists the video games the channel will highlight, and provides each creator's personal YouTube channel and Roblox username.

Why We Love It

This YouTube channel description focuses on the entertainment the channel provides. The description targets subscribers looking for gaming knowledge and mentions the creators' personal journeys to set the channel apart from others in the same niche and genre.

5. Florian Gadsby

Florian Gadsby's YouTube channel description introduces the channel's creator and lists the topics that viewers can expect to see when they subscribe. It also links to the creator's social media and newsletter, and provides information about the creator's online store, including its restocking schedule.

Why We Love It

This YouTube channel description takes a personal approach to the channel's subject matter. The description gives visitors clarity about the channel's content and artistic focus. It also encourages viewers to interact with the creator on their social media platforms to learn more about them and view more of their content.

6. SciShow

SciShow's YouTube channel description introduces the channel's creators and hints at the topics that viewers can expect to see every week. The description also outlines the channel's posting schedule and mentions other YouTube channels associated with the brand.

Why We Love It

This YouTube channel description tells its viewers when they will see uploads. This is a good strategy to ensure users visit the channel right at the time when they're expecting to see new content. If views go up on a page, the YouTube algorithm is more likely to boost your channel to a wider audience.

7. Unbox Therapy

Unbox Therapy's YouTube channel description states the channel's tagline, gives an overview of the channel's content, and provides a contact email for business inquiries.

Why We Love It

This simple channel description piques viewers' interest with a captivating tagline and a straightforward explanation of the channel's content. It also includes an email that allows viewers to contact the creators to inquire about the business and ask professional questions about the channel.

YouTube Channel Description Templates

Now that we've covered the basics, take a look at a few templates you can use to craft a compelling YouTube description.

1. Playful YouTube Channel Description Template

You might create a playful, easy-going channel 'About Me' description, like this one:

Hi, I'm [Name]. This is my channel about increasing your sales, effectively targeting your audience, and growing an email list that you can use to grow your business.

If you're a marketer who wants to learn marketing strategies to get [result, i.e., more traffic to your site], subscribe to my channel.

My channel publishes videos that focus on storytelling content that connects X, shows you how to infuse your authenticity in your brand, and gives you a marketing strategy that feels organic. If that sounds like it could be helpful for you, please join me!

2. Third-Person YouTube Channel Description Template

Alternatively, you can craft a YouTube description that describes what your company does from a third-person point of view, like this one:

[Company] is the worldwide leader in X, Y, and Z. Since [year], [Company] has been on a mission to [insert company vision or purpose here].

To learn more about [Company], its values, and its [company offering], subscribe to our channel to stay informed.

3. Niche YouTube Channel Description Template

Let your subscribers know what you're all about and describe your niche when writing your YouTube channel description.

[Name] and [Name] have nuanced discussions about dating, their lifestyle, and relationships. They discuss current topics that affect modern dating and how to maneuver relationship patterns. You can purchase [Name] and [Name]'s [product] to learn more about improving your knowledge of relationships.

4. Inviting YouTube Channel Description Template

Building a relationship with your followers is one of the most important things you can do as a content creator. Use this template to invite them to join you on your journey as you grow your brand.

This channel gives everything you need to know about gaming, including the latest equipment reviews, new game reviews, and once-a-week live streams. Watch as I, [name], try to beat my high score in the latest release of [insert game name here].

5. Personal YouTube Channel Description Template

Don't be afraid to be vulnerable with your audience. Adding personal touches in your YouTube channel description, like the template below, can help you come across as more authentic.

This is a personal journey of how I became a painter. Learn about what paints I purchase, the tools I use, and the techniques I learned during school. Art is my passion, and I express my love for [insert passion] through it.

6. Straight-Forward YouTube Channel Description Template

Tell your audience exactly what they can expect from your channel by using this template:

This channel gives pop culture commentary through a [political ideology] political lens. We make commentary on books and current events. We also upload a new video every Wednesday and Friday.

YouTube Video Description Examples

A helpful video description can spike your audience's interest and result in longer watch times, better view counts, and even new subscribers. Plus, it can help with YouTube SEO, allowing YouTube's algorithm to understand your content and suggest it to new users, further boosting your YouTube metrics.

1. "5 Best Coding Languages for Beginners 2021" by nicole . young

The description of nicole . young's YouTube video, "5 Best Coding Languages for Beginners 2021," hooks the viewer by posing a question that will be answered in the video. The video description also includes a benefit that the viewer will gain from watching the video.

Why We Love It

In this video description, the creator summarizes the video's title and specifies the target audience. The text will help audiences (and YouTube) understand the video's content. This creator understands that the channel description is prime real estate for contact information, social media handles, and calls to action, persuading viewers to stick around.

"How to Write Counterpoint - Music Composition" by Music Matters

The description of Music Matters's YouTube video, "How to Write Counterpoint - Music Composition," uses keywords such as "writing counterpoint," "music composition lesson," and "understanding counterpoint" to appeal to audiences that are interested in learning the music composition technique. The description also includes timestamps that viewers can use to skip to the portion of the video that addresses the specific topic they want to learn about.

Why We Love It

This YouTube video description uses keywords to appeal to a niche audience. The specificity makes it easily searchable on YouTube. Using keywords to make each video search-friendly will drive traffic to your video's specific content.

"How to Create a 90 Day Plan for your Business (+ Free Workbook)" by Anna Clark

The description of Anna Clark's YouTube video, "How to Create a 90 Day Plan for your Business (+ Free Workbook)," includes links to the creator's website, courses, newsletter, and social media accounts, and a workbook that viewers can download and complete as they watch the video.

Why We Love It

It's good to involve your viewers in other aspects of your business. The interaction and engagement you earn will help you rank against other active channels. Directing your viewers to other resources for your business will also help your YouTube channel drive traffic to your website, increasing your authority in your business niche.

"How To Create An Email Sales Funnel" by Wishpond

The description of Wishpond's YouTube video, "How To Create An Email Sales Funnel," hooks the viewer by stating that the video is the fourth installment in a series and linking to the previous video. The video description also includes an incentive for viewers to learn more about the company.

Why We Love It

This description segments the video as a section of a larger series. If subscribers learn that you provide similar content on your channel, they will be more inclined to watch your other videos. The description also lets viewers know there's a free demo of the service. If you sell other products or services in your business, be sure to link them in the description.

"How to Outline Your Novel - Part 2" by Writing with Jenna Moreci

The description of Writing with Jenna Moreci's YouTube video, "How to Outline Your Novel - Part 2," hooks the viewer by stating that the video is the second installment in a series and linking to the previous video. The video description also includes an incentive for viewers to learn more about the creator's products.

Why We Love It

This video description is great because it lets viewers know what's coming next. Inserting a "new segment" in your YouTube series allows viewers to anticipate your next video.

"Microgreens Growing: Materials and Beginner's Guide" by Epic Gardening

The description of Epic Gardening's YouTube video, "Microgreens Growing: Materials and Beginner's Guide," invites novice gardeners to learn about growing microgreens. The video description tells viewers about the creator's past experience with microgreens, lists the supplies that the creator mentions in the video, and lists ways that viewers can support the creator beyond watching their video.

Why We Love It

The creator provides a list of products used in the video. The viewers can conduct further research into the products or purchase them immediately through the links.

"Budgeting for Beginners - How to Make a Budget From Scratch 2021" by Debt Free Millennials