No amount of training that will ever replace the real world experience of running a fully fledged inbound marketing strategy, but proper training and education can certainly go a long way when you are new to inbound marketing methodology.
The thing is that inbound marketing is a fairly new field and if you’re new to the game it can sometimes be hard to differentiate good advice from the misguided.
To save you from the hassle of sifting through the seemingly endless stream of self proclaimed “marketing gurus” we have curated this list of the real inbound marketing and conversion optimization leaders. These are the absolute best blogs, webinars, educational resources, peer groups and thought leaders that we turn to day-in and day-out to stay on top of the latest digital marketing best practices.
Here are 53 resources to help you become a better inbound marketer.
6 Digital Marketing Blogs You Should Subscribe to:
There are more blogs posts written about digital marketing than you could ever read in a lifetime so you’ll need to be rather selective about which ones you subscribe to.
While there are dozens of other solid blogs related to inbound, SEO, conversion optimization, these tend to be the most consistent in producing well informed, original content.
1. HubSpot – The leading blog about all things inbound marketing.
2. Unbounced – Landing page optimization tips.
3. Moz – Search engine optimization & inbound marketing.
4. Hootsuite – Social media strategy, management & analytics.
5. CrazyEgg – Conversion optimization & A/B testing.
6. KISSMetrics – Online marketing, analytics & testing.
4 Digital Marketing Certifications That Will Sharpen Your Skills:
For those of you who prefer a more curriculum based learning experience there are a number of digital marketing courses and certifications available online. These courses do a great job of introducing the basic tactics and strategies for inbound marketing, social media and marketing analytics.
7. Inbound Marketing Certification – This free certification offered by HubSpot includes eleven classes that cover the core elements of the inbound marketing methodology.
8. HootSuite University Certification – This course track not only teaches you the fundamentals of enterprise social media management & monitoring but also covers the basics of using the Hootsuite dashboard.
9. Google Analytics Academy – Google Analytics is a very powerful tool. This selection of courses ranges from beginner level analytics fundamentals to advanced features and specific use cases.
10. DistilledU SEO 101 – This course covers the basics of search engine optimization, including on-page optimization, technical SEO, keyword research, information architecture, link analysis and competitor research.
5 Digital Marketing Conferences Where You Can Network With Industry Pros:
Conferences are a rather expensive educational alternative compared to free whitepapers, webinars and online certifications. However, conferences provide invaluable networking opportunities and the inspiration of being around thousands of highly motivated industry peers is contagious.
11. INBOUND – A four day conference in Boston, MA hosted by HubSpot – the leading inbound marketing software provider. This year’s conference will feature 5 inspiring keynote speakers, 170+ educations session and over 7,500 passionate attendees.
12. MozCon – This three day conference in Seattle, WA is a hot ticket item. In fact, it is sold out for 2014. MozCon features forward-thinking sessions on SEO, social media, content marketing, CRO analytics, and more.
13. Content Marketing World – This four day conference in Cleveland, OH has grown to become the largest content marketing conference. This year’s conference features speakers from Fortune 100 brands such as Kraft Foods, Microsoft, Facebook, SAP, Cisco Systems and Coca-Cola.
14. Social Media Marketing World – With more than 2,500 social media marketers in attendance Social Media Marketing World offers attendees the opportunity to brush shoulders with the leading minds behind enterprise social media strategy.
15. Inbound Marketing Week – Launched in 2014, Inbound Marketing Week is a series of events globally, focused on Inbound Marketing, enabling professionals to share knowledge and ideas about their own marketing. The event series is presented by HubSpot in association with Eventbrite.
6 Digital Marketing Peer Groups You Should to Join:
As a digital marketer you likely spend most of your time behind a computer screen plugging away at a seemingly endless list of to-dos. Despite all of our communication tools sometimes it can feel like you are the only persona fighting the “tiny marketing team” battle. Fortunately there are a number of very active and supportive digital marketing peer groups that you can join to learn from other professionals, pose questions, ask for feedback and stay up-to-date on best practices.
16. Inbound.org – A thriving community of inbound marketers. Share and discuss the best content and new marketing ideas, find interesting events and jobs, build your professional profile and become a better marketer together.
17. The official “Inbound Marketers Group” on LinkedIn & Facebook – These two groups collectively have over 120,000 members who are looking to reach their best customers online through techniques like inbound marketing, search engine optimization and social media.
18. GrowthHackers – A premiere destination to collaborate and get inspiration to help grow your business. This community is chock-full of insight from rather technical, growth focused startup marketers.
19. Depending on your business model – B2C Marketing, B2B Marketing, Non Profit Marketing Groups on LinkedIn
20. Local HubSpot User Groups – HubSpot has a strong network of local inbound marketing practitioners who meet regularly to share best practices, explore new product features and learn from each others inbound marketing strategies.
15 Our Favorite Digital Marketing Webinars Recordings:
If you prefer to consume content via audio and video here are some helpful links to our favorite webinar archives and a list of 15 recorded webinar sessions that will help you hone your skills.
HubSpot’s webinar archive
Here are a few of the most popular webinar recordings from HubSpot:
21. How to Create A Website That Sells
22. 7 Steps to Take Your Online Marketing to the Next Level
23. Q&A with Rand Fishkin & Dharmesh Shah
Unbounced’s webinar archive
Here are a few of the most popular webinar recordings from Unbounced:
24. A/B Testing Essentials
25. Big Picture Conversion Rate Optimization
26. 3 Landing Page Mistakes That 98% of Marketers
Moz webinar archive
Here are a few of the most popular webinar recordings from Moz:
27. How to Find Where Your Website is Leaking Money (And How to Fix It)
28. Moz’s 8 Rules of Marketing
29. How to Build Links for International SEO
HootSuite webinar archive
Here are a few of the most popular webinar recordings from HootSuite:
30. Social Customer Service: The Future of Customer Satisfaction
31. Social Selling Within Large Organizations
32. 5 Ways to Measure Business Success on Twitter
KissMetrics webinar archive
Here are a few of the most popular webinar recordings from KissMetrics:
33. How to Start Using Analytics Without Feeling Overwhelmed
34. How Analytics Can Give You the Real ROI of Your Online Marketing
35. Build The Right Funnel and Grow Your Business Fast
18 Digital Marketing Thought Leaders You Should Study:
36. Rand Fishkin – “Founder of Moz. It is my mission to make the worlds of SEO, marketing, & content more accessible, transparent, & fun.”
37. Seth Godin – “Best selling author, entrepreneur, marketer and public speaker. He doesn’t really need an introduction.”
38. Brian Halligan – “CEO @HubSpot, Author of Inbound Marketing book, MIT Sr. Lecturer.”
39. Peter Caputa – “VP Sales, @HubSpot. Built HubSpot’s Agency Partner Program. Founder, Co-Grow. I help companies grow through sales & marketing excellence!”
40. Noah Kagan – “Internet entrepreneur, Founder of AppSumo, employee #30 at Facebook and #4 at Mint.com.”
41. Amber Naslund – “Marketing Exec at [find out…uh…soon]. Author. Musician. Pittie rescue mama. Equestrian. Word Nerd. I solemnly swear I am up to no good.”
42. David Meerman Scott – “Marketing & Sales Strategist, keynote speaker, and bestselling author of 10 books including The New Rules of Marketing & PR and Newsjacking.”
43. Andy Paul – “Author of Zero-Time Selling. Leading expert on Selling with Maximum Impact and the strategies, tactics and processes to make it happen for you.”
44. Danny Sullivan – “Founding Editor, @MarketingLand &@SEngineLand, covering Google, Facebook, Twitter, SEO, SEM & all things digital marketing, search marketing and search.”
45. Hiten Shah – “Started two SaaS companies,@CrazyEgg and @KISSmetrics with@NeilPatel. One is self-funded & the other is venture backed. I also advise and invest.”
46. Chris Brogan – “NYT Bestselling author & leading authority on owning the game you most want to win. Courses:http://OwnerMag.com/store.”
47. Guy Kawasaki – “Mantra: I empower people. Chief evangelist of Canva. canva.com/ . Author of twelve books. Former chief evangelist of Apple.”
48. John Jantsch – “Small business marketing consultant, speaker and author of Duct Tape Marketing, Duct Tape Selling, The Referral Engine and The Commitment Engine.”
49. Jill Konrath – “Author, AGILE SELLING & more. Take a sneak peek now: agilesellingbook.com Speaker at lots of sales meetings.”
50. Marcus Sheridan – “Passionately writing, consulting, and speaking on all things inbound & content marketing, business, & life.
Also the best dang speaker you’ve ever heard!”
51. Mitch Joel – “President of Twist Image. Marketer. Speaker. Author. Media Hacker. Blogger and Podcaster of Six Pixels of Separation. New book – CTRL ALT Delete – out now!”
52. Sean Ellis – “First or early growth marketing at Dropbox, Eventbrite, Lookout, LogMeIn (IPO), and Uproar (IPO). Now CEO/Founder Qualaroo and GrowthHackers.com.”
53. CC Chapman – “I capture and share experiences for a living. I do this from my keyboard, behind my camera and on stages around the world. There are never enough days…”
