Marketing is as much about research as it is reaching a prospect. If you don’t do the legwork ahead of time, you’ll never draw in prospects turn them into customers and increase sales to grow your business. Thankfully, technology has made the research a little easier. Unfortunately, it has also made it slightly more complex with ALL of the resources available.
How?
Food for thought: in the age where digital marketing is set to outspend traditional marketing, no one wants to reinvent the wheel. Enter, the marketing blog; more like blogs because there seem to be millions of them. It feels like just about everyone who has ever worked in the marketing arena writes a blog discussing the latest trends, and analytics while pontificating about past successes as well as predicting the next BIG thing.
Cutting through all of these blogs, resources, if you will, isn’t a problem if you have ALL the time in the world and don’t mind a rehash of the first dozen you read with your first cup of morning coffee. But- if you’re short on time and patience, spending time reading marketing blogs can feel like you’re spinning your wheels and getting nowhere.
It’s easy to get caught in a rut. Instead of putting together an inbound marketing campaign that will work for you, you end up so overwhelmed or disenfranchised that you do nothing. Don’t despair, there are plenty of inbound marketing blogs that will make you nod your head in agreement, smile and be filled with new ideas.
The 5 Inbound Marketing Blogs You (Probably) Haven’t Read But Should:
Danny Brown – With the return to what he calls “the pure blog,” about opening up and engaging others in sharing an experience, Danny Brown’s almost anti-inbound marketing blog if the best one out there. Raw and honest with a heavy focus on great content, meaningful connections instead of buzzwords or clickbait on the hunt for traffic, followers, and monetization. Reading this blog is like having coffee with a mentor and friend and discussing the state of inbound marketing.
Blueleadz – Serious inbound marketers may just have found the one blog they shouldn’t leave home without reading. With the focus on assisting marketers in expanding brand awareness while driving more traffic, it treats run of the mill topics in a creative, innovative way with the thirst for knowledge behind each and every word.
Adhere Creative – A full-service blog that takes the speculation out of branding and design by telling the story from an inbound marketing perspective; a must-read for B2B companies who want to learn how to develop significant inbound marketing movements that allow them to engage with their goal audience.
Market 8 – Not your traditional inbound marketing blog; but so worth the read. First, the business itself wasn’t founded on inbound marketing but sales convert, usability and web experts and business tacticians. The blog is thoughtful and informative. It delivers by walking the walk; not just talking the talk. If you’re tired of the same old rehash, you need to read this blog.
Seth’s Blog – Warning, it may not be for all marketers, but it has a place on this list. Don’t have a long attention span? This blog is for you. Seth’s approach may be offbeat, to say the least, but his blogs are thought-provoking with business insights you may not see coming. His unconventional approach tells a story of its own; and one you’ll be sharing throughout the day.
Whether it was bragging rights or not, best practices have long been shared between marketers with the hope something will click and the next out-of-this-world campaign launched belongs to them.
Right about now, you’re probably thinking so what? How does this apply to what I’ve been reading? A successful inbound marketing campaign has two components – it’s simple, and the idea came from thinking outside of the box. That’s what the blogs above have in common.
Writing a list blog might seem pretty straightforward, but more goes into a post like this; especially when discussing inbound marketing blogs. There’s a plethora of blogs to choose from and whittling down to the five fantastic blogs you aren’t reading but should isn’t easy. Still, marketing blogs, like other reads, are subjective. And not everyone enjoys the same style.
With that in mind, add your two cents if you agree/disagree with this selection; share what inbound marketing blogs you’re reading now; haven’t read yet but want to try to make the time for, and why. Be part of the conversation; take the time to share information and ideas here – you just may learn something new.
