When I graduated from business school, I landed a job at a tech startup (In a foreign country, but that’s another story!) where I would be the first and only marketer. It took maybe one day to realize that the one lecture I received in digital marketing at school would leave me wholly unprepared! I wondered, “How do I actually help this business get new clients?”
That’s when I started to read my first marketing blogs like Hubspot and Yoast. They pointed me in the right direction, explaining the things I knew I didn’t know and shed light on the things I didn’t know I didn’t know. I scoured every marketing blog to learn all that I could about creating a website that converts, writing engaging content, how to build up a marketing funnel, email marketing best practices, marketing automation, and so much more!
With the constant changes in the digital marketing landscape—this season, it’s the introduction of generative AI, next it will be a new Google—just remember, even top marketers never stop learning. To keep up with best practices in 2024 and beyond, here are the best marketing blogs to read and subscribe to.
Best Marketing Blogs In General
First, let’s take a look at the blogs that cover a wide breadth of topics:
Hubspot
One of the most recognized names in digital marketing, HubSpot is a SaaS platform that became a dominant force in marketing through its blog, which ultimately helped it to create the category of inbound marketing software. Their articles range from marketing how-tos and trend analyses to expert interviews—all aimed at helping you grow better. Any topic you’re looking for, they have probably written about it, ad nauseam.
Currently, Hubspot has not one, but five different blogs: Marketing, Sales, Service, Website, and The Hustle, which was a very popular newsletter they acquired amongst entrepreneurs and tech founders.
One of my favorite articles: 21 Brand Style Guide Examples for Visual Inspiration
Bookmark it: https://blog.hubspot.com/
SparkToro
Created by one of the pioneers of SEO marketing and the founder of Moz, Rand Fishkin, SparkToro is a new SaaS platform for marketers that helps them to get data about their ideal customer profiles. Rand taught us SEO on the Moz blog, and now, with SparkToro’s blog, he, Amanda Natividad, and the team are teaching us just about everything else.
Instead of sharing basic how-to articles, you’ll find opinionated thought leadership articles and commentary on the latest trends in marketing. Find out what’s overrated, what are marketers getting wrong about X shiny tactic, new tools and communities that you cannot ignore, and so much more.
SparkToro really embraces the “build in public” movement, which means, when they share something, it’s because they do it themselves and want you to learn it as well. Take for example, one of their blogs is called, “Here’s How Rand Makes Those Split-Screen Videos You See on LinkedIn and Twitter.”
Refreshing, isn’t it?
One of my favorite articles: AI-Generated Content is the New Floor
Bookmark it: https://sparktoro.com/blog/
Neil Patel
Besides the fact that his blog is now engulfed in a barrage of CTAs (Do you see the three that appear in this blog post above the fold?), there is a goldmine of information and case studies at neilpatel.com.
Like Fishkin, Neil Patel has made his name as an SEO guru, marketing influencer, and digital marketer extraordinaire. His blog offers detailed guides on various aspects of digital marketing—be it SEO techniques or content creation hacks—making it a must-read for anyone wanting to boost their online presence effectively.
One of my favorite articles: What is SEO? Your Complete Step-By-Step Guide
Bookmark it: https://neilpatel.com/blog/
First Round Review
First Round Review is one of the best hubs for entrepreneurs and startup marketers, sharing in-depth playbooks from some of the masters in marketing themselves. What I love about their content is that it’s always engaging, easy-to-read, actionable, and contains zero BS. For example, here’s a step-by-step guide to nailing product positioning, one of the most foundational activities every marketing leader needs to conduct before going to market.
One of my favorite articles: The Playbook This Startup Used to Get Their Founders on 100+ Podcasts in 6 Months
Bookmark it: https://review.firstround.com/
Seth Godin
Seth Godin is one of the most influential voices in modern marketing. His no-frills blog is full of daily musings on everything from leadership and creativity to advertising strategy.
Read his blog to spark new ideas or ways of thinking about common challenges faced by marketers.
One of my favorite articles: Reality as reassurance
Bookmark it: https://seths.blog/
The CMO
Of course, we would be remiss to make a list of marketing blogs without mentioning yours truly. We’re helping SaaS marketing leaders take advantage of the best marketing strategies, tactics, tools, and trends, serving as a loyal watchdog on all the latest so you don’t have to.
At the CMO.com, you can read articles that feature inside knowledge from real CMOs and real-world practitioners, like myself, who are trying things out and then sharing their results here! For example, you can hear from 20 CMOs on how they’re integrating ChatGPT for content creation, amplifying the human touch, and freeing up time.
One of my favorite articles: 15 Powerful Content Marketing Tips To Unlock Your Content’s True Potential
Bookmark it: https://thecmo.com/
Best Email Marketing Blogs
Okay, now that you’ve got a good handle on what are the best marketing blogs overall, let’s dive into the best blogs that zoom into the different digital marketing channels, since each could be their very own major!
Let’s start with a crash course in email marketing with these blogs.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp’s resources and inspiration sections are a treasure trove of information on all things email marketing. From building an effective email list to optimizing open rates and click-through rates, Mailchimp offers insights into every aspect of successful email campaigns.
One of my favorite articles: Everything You Need to Know About Email Signatures
Book mark it: https://mailchimp.com/resources/email/
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor is an email marketing automation software that provides practical tips and strategies for creating engaging emails that resonate with your audience. They also offer guidance on using their platform to automate your campaigns, allowing you more time to focus on other aspects of your business.
One of my favorite articles: 5 Examples of Fabulous Email Footers
Bookmark it: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/
Litmus
Do you know if your email looks good in dark mode? Never thought to ask? The Litmus email marketing blog focuses specifically on these types of questions and other technical aspects of email marketing. Their blog posts cover topics like responsive design, testing strategies, and analytics interpretation—all crucial elements in running efficient campaigns.
One of my favorite articles: Foundations of Copywriting: 3 Lessons for Email Marketers
Bookmark it: https://www.litmus.com/blog/
Best Social Media Marketing Blogs
A top-of-funnel marketing channel, social media is still relevant as ever. Blogs about social media can help you stay up-to-date with changes in algorithms or new features introduced by different platforms.
Whether you're a novice or an expert, these blogs can assist in forming your strategy for successful social media marketing initiatives.
Buffer
One of the top social media management apps, Buffer’s social blog boasts insights on social media marketing. From guides on using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to strategies for boosting engagement rates—this blog has it all.
One of my favorite articles: How We’re Successfully Repurposing Content at Buffer
Bookmark it: https://buffer.com/resources/
Sprout Social Insights
The Sprout Social Insights blog offers practical advice on social media management. They understand that great brands dare to be different, showing some of the best examples of how to stand out in the buzzy world of social. Check out this blog for comprehensive articles on analytics tracking, content creation techniques and best practices for customer interaction via social channels.
One of my favorite articles: How to take smart risks with lo-fi social content
Bookmark it:https://sproutsocial.com/insights/
Social Media Examiner
Despite its design which harkens back to the good ole days of AOL, Social Media Examiner is still an authority on all things social. They tackle everything from qualifying leads on LinkedIn to launching your first Instagram-sensation product to pioneering Web3.
One of my favorite articles: Scaling Your Facebook Ads: A Proven Strategy
Bookmark it: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/
Hootsuite Blog
Hootsuite is one of the OGs of social media management and they know a thing or two about what to give a hoot about on social media. Explore the Hootsuite blog for tips from seasoned professionals who have been in the trenches of social media marketing. You’ll find actionable tactics that can help improve your brand presence across multiple platforms.
One of my favorite articles: Instagram Story Hacks: 30 Tricks and Features You Should Know
Bookmark it: https://blog.hootsuite.com/
Best Demand Generation Marketing Blogs
As a marketer, one of your main objectives is to produce interest in what you are offering, AKA generate demand! Learn tactics like lead nurturing, conversion optimization, and sales alignment from these crucial demand generation blogs.
WebMechanix
Marketing and demand generation agencies are a dime and a dozen, but there are very few that actually spend time and effort to market themselves the way they do their clients. Webmechanix is one of them!
The webmechanix blog features industry expert interviews, articles, podcasts, videos, and tons more about every question that demand generation marketers are asking themselves right now. Need help implementing GA-4? They’re on it! Wondering how to go about marketing attribution? They spell it out!
One of my favorite articles: Differentiation Doesn’t Matter, Distinctiveness Does
Bookmark it: https://www.webmechanix.com/blog/
Unbounce Blog
The self-proclaimed “leading landing page blog since 2009,” Unbounce’s blog is a must-read for marketers interested in boosting conversions. Unbounce focuses on landing page optimization—an essential component of any effective demand gen strategy. Their posts offer practical tips and advice to improve your landing pages' performance.
One of my favorite articles: Get More Conversions with Lessons from 13 Irresistible Call to Action Examples
Bookmark it:https://unbounce.com/blog/
Mutiny
Mutiny’s blog is the perfect hub for all things account-based marketing (ABM) and their logo is a purple pirate raccoon, so what’s not to love? Read up all about conversion tactics, conversion rate optimization (CRO), website personalization, and everything else you need to shore up to win those big accounts!
One of my favorite articles: 3 ABM tactics to do when you only have an hour (or less) to spare
Bookmark it: https://www.mutinyhq.com/blog
Best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Marketing Blogs
Search engine optimization (SEO) is vital to being found online, and as I've heard from many high-level execs before, you simply do not exist if you cannot be found online. Here are some of the best SEO blogs to keep tabs on:
Ahrefs
I first learned about Ahrefs thanks to the Tim Soulo, whose writing was like a gift from the man upstairs when I needed to learn how to drive website traffic at my first job. Today, he is the CMO of Ahrefs, arguably the leading tool for SEO and keyword reserch today with one of the most-read SEO blogs. Check it out for insights into effective strategies for improving organic traffic from backlink analysis to competitor research.
One of my favorite articles: The Beginner’s Guide to SEO
Bookmark it: https://ahrefs.com/blog/
Backlinko
Ever heard those crazy stories about how a one-person team increased website traffic by a gazillion percent using just one tactic? It probably came from this blog, Backlinko. Brian Dean is the creator and he shares everything he knows about helping top brands dominate the Google Search results pages.
One of my favorite articles: How I Built 5,660 Backlinks in 30 Days [New Strategy]
Bookmark it: https://backlinko.com/blog
Ercule
Out of all the marketing disciplines, website SEO marketing is the most shrouded in mystery, behind a facade of false complexity. The Ercule blog recognizes this so they’re on a mission to make SEO less intimidating and easy to get started. Learn how to make a simple SEO strategy, how to find pages to optimize, research topics, SEO reporting tool recommendations, and so much more. Each blog shares practical tips and actionable steps you can take, without being a super technical marketer.
One of my favorite articles: SEO checklist
Bookmark it: https://www.ercule.co/blog/
Bonus: Check out their free SEO tool, Ottimo
Best Creative and Content Marketing Blogs
Last but not least, here are some marketing blogs that cater to content creation and design. Content marketing is at the heart of almost any marketing strategy, so make sure you nail it with this resources.
Animalz
If you’ve been paying attention to the content marketing world on LinkedIn, there’s no doubt you’ve come across some of the thought leadership posts and articles by the Animalz team. Like Webmechanix, they’re an agency that’s out there, “walking the walk and talking the talk,” so to speak.
Animalz writers are some of the first to produce the best content about the most pressing questions content marketers face today like “What’s the future of SEO in a post-ChatGPT world?”
As a bonus, check out their CMO, Ryan Law’s, Youtube channel where he roasts blog posts, breaking down what they do well and how they could be better.
One of my favorite articles: The Future of SEO in a Post-ChatGPT World
Bookmark it: https://www.animalz.co/blog/
Brafton
Got a question about content marketing? From A to Z, Brafton has a resource for you! Their entire blog and content library is basically a Master’s Degree in content marketing. And what would you expect from one of the best content marketing agencies?
One of my favorite articles: Feng Shui Your Website With These IA Tips
Bookmark it: https://www.brafton.com/brafton-blog/
Superside
Superside is a platform that helps SaaS marketing teams easily access design talent for help with their creative needs. Their blog is full of information about not only how to better deliver creative work, but world-class marketing strategies and tips. Each article is a fun read, with, unsurprisingly, an amazing user experience.
One of my favorite articles: Creative Marketer: Stop Trying to Be a “Unicorn”. Be a Camel.
Bookmark it: https://www.superside.com/blog
Canva
Last but not least, don’t forget Canva, marketings’ favorite tool for making quick infographics, presentations, LinkedIn carousels, and more. The design juggernaut also has a comprehensive blog rife with inspiration for your next big creative campaign.
One of my favorite articles: The brand refresh playbook: A guide to updating your brand identity
Bookmark it: https://www.canva.com/learn/
Make Time To Discover The Next Best Practices
While this might not be the most extensive list of marketing blogs, I assure you, they’re all vetted and approved by—well, me (and good ole’ Google). I’ve learned an extraordinary amount from all of them and wouldn’t know what to do if I couldn’t read them.
Remember, though; blogs help you to get started on learning something new, whether it be a beginner or advanced topic. They aren’t necessarily written to give away absolutely everything you need to know about a topic. If you realize you need more help, getting a training course, certification, or hiring an agency might be the way to go!
Bottom line? Don’t make the mistake of not regularly checking at least a few marketing blogs per week. Block off some time on your calendar for “best practice research” each week. You could even invite your peers and direct reports to do the same and then discuss some things learned that week.
You and your team will be glad you did!
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