What I Read and How I Read it: Jill Konrath

No stranger to HubSpot, sales strategist Jill Konrath is a longtime friend of the company who has appeared on our blogs, as a guest on Marketing Update, and at past INBOUND events. She is also one of the funniest, most irreverent, and most trusted advisors on all things sales and social selling. With a storied sales career starting at Xerox, today Jill is also the author Selling to Big Companies and SNAP Selling. We are excited to have Jill speaking at INBOUND 2014, and grateful she took the time to share her online reading favorites and tips. 

What is your #1 source for staying on top of your world?

When and what do you read online?

After grabbing a cup of coffee, I quickly do email triage, eliminating everything that’s unnecessary. Then I scan my HuffPost app for the latest news updates. After that, I take some time to enjoy the articles that I get via LinkedIn and HBR.

During my lunch hour, I’ll often read the blogs I subscribe to. Some are business, some personal, but I just enjoy reading them.

Usually in the afternoon, I hop over Hootsuite to check out what’s happening. That’s where I have fun discovering new things, which I save to read until later.

What is your favorite place on the web?

I am online vagabond. I love discovering new things and immersing myself in them. I can get lost for hours.

Which people or feeds or blogs do you follow?

• I like LinkedIn’s news feed for building business relationships
• I read The Huffington Post for general news
• I listen to Jonathan Field’s Good Life Project and TED Talks for inspiration.

Who is someone undiscovered that we should be reading?

Vani Hari, The Food Babe. She’s single-handedly taking on the food industry to get them to be truthful about what’s in our food. 

What is your biggest pet peeve about content? 

Content without character. By that, I mean you can’t feel the author in it. Things like: 5 Ways to Tie Your Shoes or 99 Highly Effective SEO Strategies. Boring, boring, boring. It could have been written by a robot. I can’t tolerate it any longer. It’s clutter. 

What is the most memorable piece of content of all time?

The year: 2002. I was a regular reader of Robert Middleton’s newsletter on how to get more clients. At the time, he had 25,000 subscribers, a thriving consulting practice and numerous information products.

By watching what he was doing, I grasped the incredible power of a newsletter to build your business, stay top of mind, showcase your expertise and earn good money.

Today I have over 135,000 subscribers to my newsletter/blog. And, it’s changed my life.

How would you rank your favorite social apps?

If content types were stocks, which ones would you buy, which would you sell, and which would you hold?

BUY: newsletters/blogs, video, podcasts

HOLD: infographics, slide decks, ebooks/white papers, books

SELL: none of the above (sorry, they're all worth keeping around)

What haven't we asked you that you'd like to talk about?

Me — and my fixation with younger men. Professionally — that is! They’re a brash bunch, pushing the edges of what’s happening today. I read their blogs, watch their videos, listen to their podcasts, appreciate their style and learn from them.

In many ways, they think they’re really hot shit (can I say that?). But I love how they’re sharing their learning in real time — not coming across as gurus. They’re experimenting, testing and writing. And, engaging their followers in whole new ways.

I learn a lot from them — and it keeps me fresh! 

Don't miss Jill Konrath, Martha Stewart, Simon Sinek and a whole roster of incredible speakers coming to Boston September 15-18 for INBOUND 2014. Tickets (regularly $1499) are just $1,199 through August 15.