What I find most exciting – and challenging – about the marketing field is how it is constantly changing.
It seems like every day a new social media platform will pop up, an algorithm will change, and a digital advertising tactic will become available. Meanwhile our tried and true marketing channel favorites, like email marketing and SEO, require constant attention.
It’s exhausting TBH.
This leaves marketers, small business owners, and anyone looking to pivot into a marketing career with a serious challenge: How can I keep up with marketing industry trends?
My most simple suggestion is to subscribe to marketing blogs and get industry news delivered straight to your inbox.
Why you should follow marketing blogs
Subscribing to marketing blogs’ email newsletters is a great way to passively absorb information while you sit down with your morning coffee, or the few minutes between back-to-back meetings.
It’s part of my Monday morning routine as I ease into the work week, warm coffee in hand.
I’ve found it helpful to learn about new marketing technologies, hear about innovative companies redefining their industry, and get inspired by a successful campaign or rebrand. There is such a wealth of information available online and so many great marketing blogs and influencers out there.
How do you choose which marketing blogs to follow?
Note: The goal of this article is to help you keep up with marketing trends, learn more about the marketing industry, and get inspiration. If you need guidance on a specific marketing challenge, consider hiring a consultant to help diagnose the problem and create an action plan.
Focus your attention on these four categories of marketing blogs
I’ve found that you really only need a handful of trusted resources to keep up with marketing trends.
To avoid content overload while still getting a good mix of quality information, I recommend you subscribe to one of each of the following types of newsletters:
- Marketing strategy and trends
- News about your specific niche or industry
- World or national news daily digest
- Best practices for any martech platforms you use
Here are my top recommendations for great marketing blogs from each of those four categories.
Note: This is by no means a comprehensive list of the best marketing blogs and resources; instead, I am making my top recommendations for blogs that I actually follow and love and recommend for marketers, small business owners and my clients. Many of the resources I’ve listed here have been thought leaders for a decade or two!
The marketing blogs and newsletters you choose to follow should be:
- Short and concise. You should be able to skim through them for interesting articles in just a few minutes.
- Honest, objective and quality information from a trusted source.
- Delivered with a predictable cadence, and not too often.
Information overload is real!
My recommendations for great marketing blogs to follow
Marketing strategy and trends blogs
These newsletters should give you high level trends within the field of marketing and how to apply marketing practices for greater business results.
My favorites are:
- Marketing Brew (You can sign up for their newsletter here.)
- Marketing Dive
- The Clikk
- Marketing Profs
- AdWeek
Blogs for your specific marketing niche or industry
I believe that smart marketers should have a strong understanding of marketing and business strategy, coupled with deep technical knowledge in one or two specific marketing channels, like social media or paid search.
Pick a blog that will best support you in your current role or future career path.
You can also use this as an opportunity to drill into your specific industry, like retail or healthcare news.
My favorites are:
- Social media (Social Media Today and Social Media Examiner are both timely and relevant)
- Affiliate marketing (I love the ShareaSale blog)
- SEO (My favorite is Neil Patel)
- Email (Hubspot and Litmus are great resources)
- Copywriting/Content (Copyblogger, Ann Handley, and Content Marketing Institute are all good)
World or national news daily digests
This one may feel a little out of place, but I believe following a world or national news daily digest will help you keep in touch with what’s top of mind for most people and stay relevant and appropriate.
Whether or not you follow news and politics in your personal life, getting this information delivered to your work email inbox will help you:
- Schedule marketing campaigns around important events, like the Super Bowl and Election Day
- Reschedule any marketing promotions that feel tone-deaf in the wake of breaking world news, like the death of an important political figure or war outbreak
- Keep up with trends and sentiment outside of your specific industry
My favorites are:
Note: Personally I find keeping up with the news is easier said than done. Unfortunately, it’s often the gloom and doom in the world that makes headlines. To protect your mental health, I recommend you pick one non-partisan newsletter.
You can use this chart as a guide:
Any Martech Platforms You Use
Martech platforms often have blogs where they share case studies from clients about how to best utilize their platform, announcements about new features and technical tips, along with really helpful best practices. Make the most of it!
My favorites are:
The last and final marketing blog you need to follow
Calling all overachievers! If you’ve selected a blog from each of my four recommended categories and have room in your inbox for one more, consider subscribing to my email newsletter too.
My goal is to help you elevate your marketing strategy and messaging, and better align your marketing activities with business goals.
I’ll send you a monthly email with my top action items to improve your marketing today.
You can sign up here.
Conclusion
Subscribing to marketing blogs and newsletters is a great way to keep up with marketing industry trends when you’re pressed for time.
I recommend you choose one for marketing strategy, one for your specific industry or marketing niche, one for world or national news, and one for any martech platforms you use.
If you found these recommendations helpful, also consider subscribing to my newsletter.
Do you already subscribe to any of the blogs I recommended? Did I leave out any of your favorites? Leave a comment to let me know!