9 Blogs and Websites Successful Marketers Read Everyday
by Sandra Wilkins
As marketers, we love content, right? We feed off of it. And if we’re smart, we even make it a point to take precious time out of our busy schedules to read up on what’s new in our respective areas.
But we’re not reading for the sake of reading. Oh no!
Staying up on the latest information and trends serves several purposes. Not only does it strengthen our competencies and keeps us fresh on new terminologies and processes, but more importantly, it gives us the fuel to make better marketing and creative decisions for our companies.
In a nutshell, the purpose of reading blog posts, newsletters, and other reputable pieces of content daily is to turn ideas into actions that garner marketing and creative successes. And if you’re not reading everyday, you’re missing out on a platform (that’s absolutely free) that can ultimately make you a better marketing professional.
With that being said, I’m going to give you a list of my favorite watering holes for the latest information in various areas of marketing. Happy reading!
I’m going to start off with the tool I use to compile most of the content I love to read. Feedly compiles all of the websites and blogs you deem important in a simple package. I think above anything else, I like the look and feel of Feedly the best. Its minimalistic approach allows you to focus on just reading the content by doing away with detractions.
If you’re a serious marketing professional, you need to subscribe to this blog! It’s brimming with information about social marketing, inbound/content marketing, and just surviving office life. There’s also added humor, which I love! Here’s one of my favorite blog posts from HubSpot, I know you’ll love it, too!
Since a majority of what I do as a content marketer is copy related, I love reading the copyblogger blog. It has amazing information on copywriting for various areas of online usage like landing pages, blog posts, and even headlines. My favorite blog posts are the ones that follow the podcast Rough Draft by Demian Farnworth.
Mashable is one of my first stops for social media news, marketing news, and honestly just news-news. The variety of content presented on the homepage is refreshingly diverse. Beware; Mashable can keep you occupied for hours.
I may have been under a rock but NewsCred has been one of my more recent finds. I love their articles about content marketing and the look and feel of their blog is immaculate. I also love how they do a weekly recap of social media news if there was a lot trending in a particular week.
I’m not sure if I like the overall look of their blog but it goes without saying that CMI provides some of the most researched insights and thought leadership regarding content marketing. I love seeking out this blog when I need a researched article to further prove my own thoughts and research.
What do I love most about them? Their blog is their website! You can find the most up-to-date information about anything social media related and they will guide you through the information so that it’s easy to digest.
I think this blog is still a tad underrated. Buffer’s blog is full of easily digestible information pertaining to anything related to social media. This one is definitely a must-read.
LinkedIn is a great source for staying in the know not only about various aspects of marketing, but the important news and trends directly from the companies you want to read about. I think the most interesting content I seek out is Think with Google and Trending in Social Media. Those two outlets serve up informative content daily, sometimes hourly.
But, of course, there are other important subjects to read about, especially now that the lines between social marketing, digital marketing, content marketing, creative, and traditional marketing are starting to blur. This is why I went around our office to ask a few of my amazing colleagues where they get information for their respective areas. Here are their answers:
Agency Marketing / Inbound – Hanna Huffman | Vice President “Blogs and Influencers I particularly love are: Tim Williams with Ignition Consulting Group, Matt Cutts with Google, The Basecamp blog, The Moz blog, Jon Loomer with Jon Loomer Digital, Social Media Examiner, anything from Marketo, HubSpot or Inbound.org, Advertising Age, business books by Simon Sinek, Paul Roetzer, Mike Weinberg, etc. (because I am a total nerd and love to read them), and Mike Lieberman with Square 2 Marketing.”
Creative / Graphic Design – Andy Doerr | Art Director
“I search design blogs and newsletters like Designer Daily and From Up North. I also browse sites like Behance and Pinterest to find things in the same arena as what I’m looking to design for inspiration.”
Web Design / Programming – Gio Ortiz | Web Developer “I go to Awwwards for CSS design inspiration, CSS-Tricks for learning new techniques, and w3schools to keep me rooted in the basics and semantic practices – not so much for news but for learning.”
PPC / SEO / Digital Marketing – Michael Kerlee | Paid Search Manager
“I use Marketing Land. It has quick info on the latest trends, it’s a trusted source for industry updates, and since they have a couple partner sites, such as Search Engine Land, it makes it an easy way to get info.”
Media Buying – Luanne McAuliffe | Senior Media Planner “I check LinkedIn frequently. I find a variety of tips and suggestions for innovative thinking and execution of various media outlets. I especiallylike how LinkedIn allows people to comment and give feedback because I find it interesting to hear multiple schools of thought.“
And there you have it, a wide array of content resources in which to indulge daily! What are your favorite content watering holes? Shout them out in the comments below!
If you’re looking for another source of information that provides fresh takes on various disciplines of marketing, along with the blogs I mentioned above, be sure to subscribe to our blog by clicking the button below. I promise, we won’t disappoint!