When it comes to marketing, almost nothing is more important than knowing your target audience.

But what if I told you over half of marketers are missing critical information on their consumers?

In our annual survey of over 1,200 marketers, we found that just 42% know the basic demographic information of their target audience, like their name, gender, and location.

And, the data gap doesn’t stop there:

• Less than half of marketers know their audience’s interests and hobbies, shopping habits, the products they are interested in buying, their purchase history, and where they consume content.

• Only 31% know the online communities their target audience is a part of and even less know the challenges they are facing.
• Just one-fourth of marketers know the social causes their target audience cares about – a huge missed opportunity when it comes to expressing your brand’s values, especially when marketing to Gen Z and Millennials.

So why are marketers having such a hard time getting these data points?

Let’s take a look at the biggest challenges marketers face in getting the data they need and discuss some solutions to the disconnection marketers are seeing with their audience.

The Biggest Challenges Marketers Face in Understanding Their Target Audience

A whopping 82% of marketers say having high-quality data on their target audience is important to succeeding in their role – but more than half of them say they’re missing key information.

So why is it such a challenge for marketers to get the data they need?

The biggest challenges marketers face in understanding their target boil down to two main issues:

1. New Data Privacy Measures

Data privacy regulations are reducing marketers’ access to the consumer data they need. At the same time, consumers are less trusting in sharing their personal data.

This results in marketers missing out on critical data on their target audience, from their shopping and media consumption habits to their basic demographic information.

2. Evolving Audience Targets

Consumers’ lives have changed drastically over the past few years, and with a looming recession, their habits, attitudes, and preferences are likely to continue shifting quickly.

The two challenges above are difficult to overcome because they’re actively developing as data privacy regulations tighten and unprecedented events that change consumer behavior continue.

So, what can marketers do now?

How Can Marketers Improve Their Data Strategy?

1. Gather First-Party Data

A great solution to increased data privacy regulations like Google’s planned phase-out of third-party cookies is gathering your own first-party data.

First-party data can be collected from many sources – your website, surveys, email, SMS, your CRM, and more.

Since first-party data comes directly from your customers, it offers high-quality insights about your audience and allows you to create a personalized experience for them.

2. Use a Single Source of Truth for Marketing Data

Only 27% of marketers say their marketing data is fully integrated with their systems and tools, and as we saw earlier, data not integrating well is a top challenge for marketers trying to understand their target audience.

Disconnected marketing data is problematic because you don’t have the full context needed to make data-driven decisions. On the other hand, a single source of truth offers a holistic view of your target audience by connecting all the data points you have.

A single source of truth also improves efficiency by making marketing data more easily accessible for marketers and their collaborators.

3. Keep Your Data Fresh

We talked about how consumers’ lives are changing rapidly and marketers need up-to-date data in order to keep up.

The interests, habits, and attitudes of your target audience probably changed several times over the course of the pandemic. And with a recession looming, your audience will likely change again – so whatever data tracking method you use, make sure your data is regularly updated to keep a pulse on your customers in real-time.

Another reason you need up-to-date information on your target audience is so you can pivot your marketing strategy and messaging in response to the changes your customers are experiencing.

Not only did over half of marketers pivot in 2021, 83% of those who pivoted changed course 2-4 times in one year. And 20% of marketers have already pivoted in 2022 due to a potential recession, so chances are 2023 will be no different.

Needless to say, you need a plan for when things go off course. When the next unprecedented event or unexpected challenge arrives, will you have the data you need to adapt?

In an ideal world, you would have all the data points you could ever want, but that isn’t always realistic. So let’s end by taking a look at which data points marketers say are most helpful to have.

The Most Helpful Types of Audience Target Data

Marketers say the interests or hobbies of their target audience is the most helpful data point, closely followed by consumers’ shopping habits, where they consume content/media, and the products they are interested in buying.

Basic demographic information, purchase history, and the online communities their target audience is part of are also valuable data points.

A Crisis of Connection

If you’re realizing you might be missing critical information on your target audience, don’t worry, you aren’t alone.

Many businesses are currently experiencing a Crisis of Disconnection, and it goes far beyond poor customer data. Read more about the challenges on the horizon and how your company can navigate them in our series on The Crisis of Disconnection.

As a result of the pandemic, there’s been a shift in recent years to virtual conferences.

But a virtual conference strategy can’t be a copy-and-paste of a physical one. Virtual conferences come with unique challenges, and require a new perspective to succeed.

Here, let’s explore the benefits of virtual conferences, take a look at some examples of successful virtual conferences to inspire you, and check out a few tools that can help you plan your own.

Plus, hear from Tamara Mendelsohn, CMO of Eventbrite, on her best practices for hosting a successful virtual event in 2023 and beyond. 

Skip ahead: 

• Virtual Conference Benefits 
• 6 Virtual Event Best Practices, According to Eventbrite’s CMO
• Virtual Conferencing Tools
• Examples of Virtual Conferences

Virtual Conference Benefits

There are plenty of major benefits to hosting a virtual conference.

For one, it can lower the price of admission, enabling smaller businesses with limited budgets to purchase tickets to your conference and offer their own unique insights.

It also lowers the cost your business would have to pay for conference space, on-hand staff, catering, security, and much more.

Additionally, it allows people from across the globe to interact with each other without needing to spend exorbitant amounts on flights and hotels. Imagine how much easier it is for marketers from India, Ireland, Australia, and the U.S. to collaborate virtually, rather than trying to gather in-person.

It also may help you attract high-demand speakers who don’t have the time to commit to an in-person conference, but are happy to share industry takeaways via a quick video call or pre-recorded presentation.

Additionally, an online conference enables you to create a product — recordings from your conference — that you can continue to share and use as a lead generation tool for months and years after the initial live launch.

And, finally, there’s the obvious: sometimes unforeseen circumstances, like a global pandemic, can make in-person conferences in certain locations simply impossible.

Emily Raleigh, HubSpot’s Marketing Manager of Brand and Strategic Partnerships, provides some advice if you suddenly find yourself shifting your in-person event to a virtual one: “If you are shifting from a live event, try to add extra value to the viewers who are now tuning in online. Do an extra session. Offer more Q&A time. Give an extra special offer. Find creative ways to add extra delight moments.”

Additionally, Raleigh mentions, “Virtual events can easily lose one of the best benefits of live events: human connection. To mitigate that, keep the event engaging and get the audience involved.”

Now that we’ve explored a few benefits, let’s dive into Mendelsohn’s tips for making your next virtual event a success. 

6 Virtual Event Best Practices, According to Eventbrite’s CMO

1. Identify your audience.

As you sit down with your team to organize a virtual event, you first need to decide who the event is for — also known as your target audience. Your target audience will impact almost every aspect of your event, such as the speakers you select, the topics you cover, and even the time you host the event.

Mendelsohn told me, “Dig into who you want to attend your event, and understand their challenges and goals. What’s going to inspire them to register? What value are you providing? How can you best deliver on that in a virtual environment?”

She adds, “Remember that virtual events can broaden your audience beyond the physical restrictions of in-person, so this is an opportunity to connect with new audiences — potentially even globally.”

This is one of the major benefits of virtual events: The opportunity to reach a wider audience than you otherwise could. Of course, when defining your target audience, you’ll want to consider which regions make the most sense for your event.

For instance, is your topic broad enough to be global, or is it better to host one session for your North American participants, and another for specific regions in South America or Europe? Alternatively, perhaps it’s better to start with a small group in one city, and expand from there. 

2. Craft your event strategy.

During the global pandemic, many marketers rushed to repackage in-person events into virtual ones. But in reality, virtual events require a completely different strategy. After all, the medium is different, the technology is different, and the way attendees interact is — you guessed it — different.

A well-rounded strategy should outline your goals, budget, and action plan for the big day, according to Mendelsohn.

A good place to start is answering the “why”, or purpose of your event. On the business side, what do you hope to achieve? For example, maybe you want to build brand awareness, drive revenue, or grow memberships. It’s also important to consider what your attendees want from your event. This could be networking, education, entertainment, or a mix of all three.

Mendelsohn gave an example of one of Eventbrite’s creators, custom glass studio UrbanGlass, which hosted an instructor-led training on crafting glass. After attendance was lower than expected, they revisited their strategy to understand why. They realized attendees were seeking community and opportunities to work together.

By experimenting with their virtual group classes to ensure they offered a better sense of community and collaboration, UrbanGlass ultimately found much more success.

3. Make it easy for your audience to interact and network.

It’s already tough to get people engaged in person, but once you shift the event online, you have to compete against unwanted distractions.

That said, you don’t have to settle for low engagement. In fact, 47% of people are more likely to ask a question at a virtual event, and 37% are more likely to speak to someone in a virtual booth than a real one. The key is finding opportunities for people to interact.

“Build in opportunities for audience participation. This could be a poll or pulse check at the start of an event, a brainstorm in the middle, or a Q&A session at the end,” Mendelsohn told me.

She continues, “If it’s appropriate for your event, send participants into breakout rooms. People are more likely to participate in smaller groups.”

If your event has a physical component — such as a yoga session or cooking class — it’ll be easier to engage the audience. But if there isn’t, Mendelsohn recommends thinking outside the box: “Encouraging your audience to get up, move around, or participate in a group activity can be really fun and powerful.”

4. Promote your event before, during, and after.

Whether your event is in-person or virtual, you still need attendees — and that means event promotion. According to Mendelsohn, this should happen before, during, and after your event.

She says, “This could entail paid or partner promotion, live social media posts during the event, and ‘thank you’ emails after. Make sure to tap into your network and ask others to spread the word.”

Event branding is another important aspect of promotion. This can be anything from your logo and tagline, to your website and promotional materials. For Mendelsohn, it’s all about creating strong branding and keeping it consistent across your program.

5. Schedule tech rehearsals.

Virtual events rely on technology — but technology isn’t always reliable. This is why Mendelsohn recommends tech rehearsals.

She advises, “Host practice sessions with your speakers and crew — and have a fallback plan in case the unexpected happens.”

Another mistake with technology is assuming your attendees are all tech-savvy. In reality, people have varying comfort levels when it comes to technology.

Mendelsohn underlines this point: “For people who don’t frequent online events, even finding the Zoom link or knowing to enter a passcode can be tricky.”

To combat this challenge, consider conducting a test run of the event from the attendee’s perspective. Click on any links, send a message in the chat, and launch different sessions.

Additionally, you might test out using various platforms to increase accessibility based on people’s platform preferences.

For instance, Mendelsohn told me, “One of Eventbrite’s creators, Eastwind Books of Berkeley, saw this challenge when they introduced virtual programming. Their solution? Streaming on multiple platforms, such as Facebook Live, and then archiving events on YouTube, so people could attend via their preferred technology and revisit later.”

6. Show humility, and have fun with the process. 

Finally — have fun, and be willing to show humility if something doesn’t go as planned.

Mendelsohn says, “At our RECONVENE summit last year, the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Victoria Luisi said something that’s stuck with me: ‘Virtual is now our playground to try things we would have never been able to try before.’ This approach can expand our thinking about virtual events as a whole, and it’s especially instructive for engaging virtual audiences.”

She adds, “We’re all in this evolving virtual/hybrid world together. Embrace those moments of levity when things don’t go as planned and use them as a way to further humanize yourself on camera and establish rapport with your audience.”

Now that we’ve explored a few best practices, let’s dive into tools that can help you create your own virtual conference.

Virtual Conferencing Tools

1. Hopin

Hopin is an all-in-one platform for planning online conferences, offering everything from a virtual reception to breakout sessions, a mainstage, and networking events.

The networking tool is particularly helpful, with a timer you can set for each attendee to mingle with another for just a couple minutes before moving onto the next conversation (and, if the conversation goes exceptionally well, they can click “Connect” to receive contact information of the other attendee to follow-up later).

Your event can include both webinars and live-streams, and a Live Chat function enables attendees to ask questions in real-time. Additionally, attendees can use virtual booths to promote their products or services, and offer discounts as well.

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2. Whova

The Whova Event App has been a leader in attendee engagement and networking since 2014. For four years in a row, Whova has received both the Best Event App award and the People’s Choice Award from the Event Technology Awards.

Event organizers can use Whova to help make online events highly interactive, fun, and productive before, during, and after the event. The tool directly integrates with live streaming and video hosting tools such as Zoom, Google Hangout, YouTube, Vimeo, etc. It also provides live Q&A, attendee networking, a discussion board, meeting-matches, a virtual exhibitor hall, and even virtual meet-ups.

Many organizers provide access to the Whova app prior to their events to let attendees virtually socialize and discuss various topics, one-on-one or in virtual groups, making everyone feel more connected by the time the event comes around. Every attendee has a professional profile, allowing them to find others with whom they have common interests. The ice breaker and in-app chat, in particular, make it fun for strangers to get to know one another on a personal level and communicate with both new and old friends.

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3. Accelevents

Accelevents is a customizable and flexible event platform for running virtual, hybrid, and in-person conferences. It is a robust platform offering powerful registration, true white labeling, integrated live streaming, in-depth analytics, and numerous exhibitor and sponsor opportunities. Although the platform is intuitive, they still take support seriously with an average response time of fewer than 30 seconds.

They are known for their suite of networking tools which provide powerful attendee engagement. Among the networking tools are lounges, workshops, 1:1 attendee video, automated speed networking, and live attendee chat.

In addition, exhibitors and sponsors have the ability to customize their own booth and engage in video chat with their prospects that visit their booth. The build-in gamification and push notification tools are a great way to drive further engagement throughout the event. They can also advertise on banners displayed throughout the platform and have easy access to lead management and insightful exhibitor analytics.

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Examples of Virtual Conferences

Game Developers Conference

The 2022 Game Developers Conference (GDC) switched its in-person conferences to streaming recorded versions on the GDC Twitch channel. The conference will still have ceremonies for The Independent Games Festival (IGF) and Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA), and will stream session content starting 9 AM PT daily, March 16-20.

The GDC has a well-organized itinerary posted on their website, with breakout sessions led by influencers and experts in the Gaming industry.

Additionally, you’re able to pause Live sessions if you’re interested in watching at a later time, and the GDC has included “Recommended Channels” with headcounts on the left side of the screen. With some sessions evoking over 30,000 viewers, it’s safe to say the GDC has successfully launched a virtual version of their initially in-person event.

2. HubSpot’s Partner Day

On April 7-8, 2020, HubSpot launched its own virtual Partner Day. The Partner team used Zoom, a popular video conferencing tool, and sent each presenter a “video kit” with a mic, camera, lighting, and backdrop, so that participants could experience an optimal viewing experience from each of the day’s virtual speakers. Additionally, attendees used Zoom to network with other partners.

I spoke with Arden Brust, a Manager on HubSpot’s Partner Marketing team, to learn about some challenges you might experience when planning a virtual experience of your own.

Brust told me: “When planning an online event, it’s critical you remain flexible and open-minded. With a virtual event, you run the risk of technology issues, as well as scheduling issues you might not have considered if you had everyone in-person (including timezone issues). To combat this, continue to iterate with your team and plan on pivoting — don’t get too attached to plan A that you don’t consider how plan B might work out better.”

3. How I Built This, by Women In Product

With the help of the Run The World virtual conferencing tool, the non-profit organization Women In Product launched an entirely virtual event March 7-8, 2020. The Women In Product conference included participants from China, India, Canada, and Silicon Valley.

The conference featured 10 speakers who’ve built successful products — including the Director of Product at GoDaddy, a PayPal Product Lead, and a Senior Product Manager at Ebay. The virtual event included fireside chats, keynote speakers, and networking events that enabled women to hear about the challenges and successes of product launches in different markets.

4. Webinar Mastery Summit

Jon Schumacher had hosted webinars online for a while with minimal results when he launched the Webinar Mastery Summit, a virtual conference for people who wanted to advance their webinar skills.

His first virtual summit featured 25 experts, and generated 7,000 new email subscribers and over $55,000 in revenue with his All-Access Pass sales. With All-Access, his participants receive lifetime access to 17 expert video sessions, full MP3 recordings of all sessions, three months of course creation software, and access to a private community for additional networking.

Ultimately, with virtual conferences, you’re able to create recorded packaged content for future lead generation and sales even after the initial live launch — something in-person conferences, for all its networking benefits, is unable to do.

5. HubSpot User Groups (HUGs)

Meghann Keogh, a HubSpot Marketing Manager in charge of HubSpot User Groups and Events, has experienced circumstances in which she found it necessary to cancel in-person events and create virtual ones, instead. Keogh told me she’s hosted virtual HUGs events for San Francisco, NYC, Berlin, London, Helsinki, Paris, Bogota & Mexico City.

Additionally, she’s created virtual fireside chats, including an upcoming one with CEO & Co-Founder Brian Halligan & Christian Kinnear, VP of Sales & Managing Director EMEA.

When asked how to run a successful virtual event, Keogh told me — “Whether in-person or virtually, people are hungry to connect. The feedback we have received so far has been extremely positive. It’s not just cities that are connecting, it’s countries.”

“What’s made our virtual events a success so far? Our amazing speakers who inspire, educate, and innovate our HUG communities.”

Keogh adds, “We’re committed to bringing relevant content to our HUGs, whether that’s in-person or virtually. We want to make sure our communities still have that chance to engage with one another, and we’re devoted to making that happen.”

Our Chief Strategy Officer, David Fortino, was recently invited to be a guest on The Healthtech Marketing Podcast to discuss NetLine’s 2022 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report for Marketers. 

As always, Fortino made it a point to state the primary goal of our annual report: To help marketers make more informed decisions.

“We’re using the data (hopefully) to create a more intelligent marketer today so they can make more informed decisions tomorrow.”

Taking a Closer Look Inside NetLine’s 2022 Content Consumption Report

During the episode, Fortino shares some of the fascinating insights we published in our sixth annual report with host Adam Turinas, including:

• What content is most effective?
• What content do buyers want and why?
• How to use content to initiate and nurture relationships
• Trends in content?
• And a lot more

What’s Really Driving Engagement

Content consumption has only continued to accelerate. A real shocker, right?

In total, we’ve observed a growth of 33% since 2019. As budgets tighten, a buyer’s need to have more and more information on a given subject, product, and/or company only continues to rise. This places even greater weight on your business’s content—meaning it had better be good.

“If you’re a marketer creating content, trying to drive dialogue with prospects,” Fortino said, “it’s more critical now than ever before to be raising your bar persistently.” He continued by sharing the volume being consumed isn’t the primary metric on which to focus; rather, it’s the signals surrounding brands producing content with integrity and quality that should have everyone’s attention.

“You are marketing to people,” Fortino said. “The brands that are creating a distinct voice with feeling and emotion connected to their content are the ones driving engagement.” He continues to point out that the most successful assets are the ones delivering immediate value; making it quite clear what a user will receive and learn by consuming it. 

Remember: People do judge an eBook by its cover. How it’s positioned matters and will influence the way your audience perceives it immediately.

Using Content to Initiate and Nurture Relationships

Even the most engaged readers and researchers push content they want to consume to the back burner. It’s true.

In 2021, NetLine reported that the Consumption Gap (the time from initial request to download prompt) was the largest it had ever been, ballooning from 29.7 hours to 33.3 hours—a 3.6-hour increase. Since 2018, B2B professionals have gradually added 6.2 hours to their overall consumption time. In plain English, this simply means users are in absolutely no hurry to read, listen, or watch whatever content they’ve just requested—even if they genuinely are interested!

So why is any of this information interesting or relevant? It matters because we’re talking about the fundamentals of nurturing.

The first time you engage with a prospect is critical. There’s all kinds of information littering the web emphasizing the need to follow up as soon as mechanically possible! However, there’s a caveat here that goes overlooked: These users likely haven’t asked to be contacted yet. Fortino chimed in on this process.

“More often than not,” Fortino said, “[lead data] is being fed in real-time into marketing automation systems, as well as Salesforce, where their Sales colleagues are then immediately reaching out, if not automatically through a sales enablement platform. Without the appropriate context in that message, it’s a dramatic misstep.”

Fortino goes on to highlight the need to be patient, emphasizing the importance of timing in lead nurturing.

A Behavioral Shift

NetLine’s place in the B2B marketing ecosystem is firmly at the bottom of the funnel. Clients use our platform to generate leads with the expectation that users sharing as much information as they do are much closer to making a purchase decision. This isn’t always a guarantee, but users engaging with our platform are much more likely to be closing in on the end than let’s say someone engaging with a video.

Or so it used to be.

Research from Brightcove shared that 95% of the B2B buyers they surveyed said that video plays an important role in deciding to move forward with a purchase. Meanwhile, 88% of buyers have watched videos in the past three months to learn more about a company’s products or services. 

Historically, NetLine’s mostly seen campaigns with long-form, text-based content, with webinars and other multimedia formats beginning to emerge. But that’s beginning to change. “We are beginning to see a behavioral shift across all industries that video is getting leaned in on extremely heavily,” Fortino said. “We perceive there to be a massive disruption and shift more toward video over the coming years [at the bottom of the funnel].”

Fortino added that while NetLine’s video volume is relatively small, he acknowledges the trends and the likelihood of more clients wanting to use long-form video. “Video aligns very nicely to bottom of the funnel orientation and engagement, especially the longer the video,” he said. “Getting someone to give you thirty minutes to an hour of their time, if not longer if you’re doing like a virtual event, is expressing a level of intent that you can’t get when you’re associating behavior back to an eBook or a White Paper.”

Listen to the Episode

These three highlights are just a taste of what Adam and David dug into during their conversation. Hearing Adam’s questions adjust on the fly makes for a fresh, engaging discussion about content consumption and how the report’s insights influence strategy.

This is another must-listen podcast for anyone who is interested in how content can drive more meaningful outcomes via content.

Get comfortable and listen (or watch!) this episode of The Healthtech Marketing Podcast!

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Video:

As a job seeker, you’ll face ups and downs. Motivational job search quotes can inspire you on the days you feel like giving up.

Between preparing for interviews and sending out resumes, you may not have time to find these quotes yourself. That’s why our team gathered 26 of our favorite quotes from people who were in your shoes and nailed the job search.

Read on and keep pursuing your dream job!

Table of Contents

• Quotes About Following Your Passion
• Motivational Quotes to Keep You Resilient
• Quotes About Creating Opportunities
• Quotes About Networking
• Quotes About Personal & Professional Growth

Quotes About Following Your Passion

Pursuing your passion and following your interests can be challenging. Sometimes, it feels like everyone else is pursuing their dream career except for you. Don’t give up hope! The payoff of finding the right role will make the process worthwhile.

Keep reading for quotes about following your passion.

1. “Passion is not a job, a hobby, or a sport. It’s a full force of your attention and energy that you give to whatever is right in front of you. Don’t wait for a passion. Instead, spend your time solving your favorite problems. People will love you, thank you, hug you, and pay you for it. That’s where passion is. Chase opportunities, not passions.” — Terri Trespicio, Author of Unfollow Your Passion. Keynote TEDx Speaker.

 

Why we love this quote: Remember the feeling when you start something new — say, taking a new course — and suddenly, you feel this warm wave of energy running through your body. You’re 100% focused on the material. You begin to imagine how you’ll capitalize on this new knowledge. That’s exactly how to develop a passion. This quote keeps the emphasis on doing.

2. “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” — Oprah Winfrey, a widely-known talk show host, television producer, actress, and author.

Why we love this quote: Passion can feel like a nebulous idea. Oprah makes the idea of passion more concrete. You just need to look for the tasks or ideas that make you excited.

3. “To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work.” — Sister Mary Lauretta, educator.

Pro Tip: Listen closely to your inner self. If your work delivers you joy, you’re on the right path. If not, experiment with other activities until you find the one that ignites a passion within you.

4. “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” — Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist.

Pro tip: When going into an interview, remember to stay curious. If you’re feeling imposter syndrome, remember that curiosity and a willingness to learn are keys to success

5. “I’d rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate.” — George Burns, an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer.

Why we love this quote: When job hunting, sometimes several failures lead to success. This quote acts as a reminder that failure can lead to opportunities down the line.

6. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs, the late co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple.

Why we love this quote: Waiting for the right opportunity may feel tiresome. But remember, you’re looking for a role that makes going to work exciting.

Motivational Quotes to Keep You Resilient

Rome wasn’t built in a day, so it’s okay if you make mistakes in an interview. Keep applying to the jobs that appeal to you, and be patient.

Rejection can undermine our sense of self-worth. Regardless, it’s important to keep going.

The following quotes will help you keep the big picture in mind if you encounter any job-hunting hurdles.

7. “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” – David Bly, a former Senior copy editor at the Calgary Herald, author, photographer, and teacher.

Why we love this quote: On some days, the job hunt may feel exhausting. Bly reminds us that the hard work you invest in your job hunt will pay off in the future.

8. “The day you take complete ownership over what’s happening in your life is the day you’ll start living a new life.” — Guillaume Moubeche, founder & CEO at Lemlist, author of The 150M Secret.

Why we love this quote: Moubeche reminds us that the power to make a change is in our hands. Put another way, don’t wait for someone to help you with the job search process. Take the lead, and go after what you want.

9. “Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.” — Christine Caine, activist, an advocate for A21, author, and international speaker.

Why we love this quote: This quote is particularly meaningful to us. At times, you may face failure after failure, and that’s the time when we develop our resilience. Failures lead to progress when we learn from them. So, keep trying and experimenting with approaches until you succeed.

10. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” — Tim Notke, a high school basketball coach.

Why we love this quote: On tough days, you may feel like other candidates are more talented or qualified than you are. Note reminds us that persistence and hard work are just as important.

11. “The only thing standing between you and outrageous success is continuous progress.” — Dan Waldschmidt, a business strategist, Inc 5000 Leader, author, Ultra-runner, and CRO at Panzura.

Why we love this quote: Waldschmidt reframes challenges as progress. Learning involves both success and failure. On tough days, remember that you’re still learning and growing.

Quotes About Creating Opportunities

Job searching hinges on your personal brand, network, and case studies. The market is competitive, especially for entry-level positions. Top performers take the initiative and create job opportunities.

How? Start by building your professional network online and offline. Join industry-related events. Engage with potential employers on LinkedIn. These quotes will encourage you to create your own opportunities.

12. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” — Milton Berle, an American actor, and comedian.

Why we love this quote: Berle states the importance of creating opportunities simply and elegantly.

13. “Don’t wait for the right opportunity: create it.” — George Bernard Shaw, playwright, critic, and political activist.

Pro tip: French author Jules Renard once wrote, “A man who waits for roast duck to fly into his mouth must wait a very, very long time.” That explicitly describes what’s going to happen with those who passively wait for the perfect role. Take the lead, act, and create job opportunities by stepping outside of your comfort zone.

14. “Decide what you want, and then act as if it were impossible to fail.” — Brian Tracy, a motivational speaker and best-selling, self-development author.

Pro tip: If you fail once, go for the second time. What if you fail? Try to apply another tactic to get a job offer. Think of scientists: They never give up despite mountains of failures. Scientists keep exploring and searching for a way to make success happen, and so should you.

15. ”A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston S. Churchill, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Why we love this quote: Creating opportunities stems from having the right attitude. This quote expresses the importance of reframing your thoughts to find the right role.

16. “People you just met today, they’re your ticket to a whole new social world.” — Tanya Menon, Professor of Management and Human Resources at Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University.

Pro Tip: Create job opportunities by attending relevant events. For instance, visit SaaS marketing conferences and connect with new people on-site if you want to work as a product marketer.

 

Quotes About Networking

Networking is essential to the job search. Recruiters tend to hire people who’re active on professional social media like LinkedIn. This way, they can assess your proactivity, attitude, and more.

Online networking can also help you find a job faster. So when it’s time to change jobs, people with a diverse network are more likely to receive job offers.

See what these influential people have to say about networking and how it facilitates the job-hunting process.

17. “Your network is your net worth.” — Porter Gale, Board Director of Reddit, Former VP of Marketing at Virgin America, author, and speaker.

Why we love this quote: The more meaningful connections you’ve built, the faster you can achieve your goal. You can reach out to any person in your circle and ask for a helping hand.

18. “Networking is the No. 1 unwritten rule of success in business.” — Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and co-founder of Ellevest, a digital financial advisor for women, and the most powerful woman on Wall Street.

Why we love this quote: Networking can help you uncover new job opportunities, find mentors, and unlock unknown passions. No matter how you define success in business, networking can help you get there.

19. “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” — Brene Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, best-selling author, and speaker.

Why we love this quote: Networking can be nerve-wracking, especially if you’re new to a field or early in your career. This quote emphasizes and applauds the courage it takes to get started.

20. “If you’re not networking, you’re not working.” — Denis Waitley, a motivational speaker, best-selling author, and consultant.

Pro tip: Waitley reminds us that networking is hard, but essential, work. If networking is a challenge for you, find ways to reward yourself for your efforts. That can be unwinding with your favorite television show or enjoying your favorite snack.

21. “Networking is marketing. Marketing yourself, your uniqueness, what you stand for.” — Christine Comaford-Lynch, author and serial entrepreneur, founder of SmartTribes Institute.

Pro tip: Cultivating professional relationships helps bolster your personal brand. Soon you’ll be seen as a specialist. Networking is a form of marketing that can help you make career strides. Soon, you’ll start receiving proactive job opportunities.

Quotes About Personal & Professional Growth

To climb the corporate ladder, you’ll need top-notch soft and hard skills. But growth doesn’t come that easy. In fact, growth can make you uncomfortable and throw you off your rhythm.

Read on for inspirational quotes about growth from world-famous coaches, businessmen, and politicians to set yourself up for success.

22. “What do babies do when their teeth start growing? They cry… because growth is uncomfortable and painful. And it’s the same in every single aspect of life. If you don’t feel somehow uncomfortable, you’re not growing.” — Guillaume Moubeche, founder and CEO at Lemlist, author of The 150m Secret.

Why we love this quote: As you pursue new opportunities outside of your comfort zone, you may feel nervous. That’s completely normal. It may even be a sign that you’re growing. This quote reminds us that making changes may lead to discomfort. You’re not alone if you’re feeling stressed during the process.

23. “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” — John F. Kennedy, 35th president of the United States of America.

Pro tip: Don’t settle for less or what others think of you. If someone questions how high you can climb on the career ladder, avoid these negative narratives and pursue your goals.

24. “I don’t want you to be comfortable right now; I want you to be uncomfortable. Growth takes place outside of your comfort zone.” — Dawn Staley, USA Women’s Basketball Team head coach, Olympics Gold medalist.

Why we love this quote: Perhaps networking makes you nervous. Or maybe, you saw a great job opportunity but you’re scared of changing companies. Great opportunities may lie outside of your comfort zone. This quote encourages us to gather courage and move forward.

25. “Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength.” — Sigmund Freud, neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis.

Why we love this quote: You may find that you faltered in interviews a year ago, and today, you’re comfortable talking to recruiters. One day, your weaknesses may become your strengths. All you need is practice.

26. “Growth can be painful, change can be painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.” — Charles H. Spurgeon, preacher and author.

Why we love this quote: Remember, you’re job hunting to find a great new role and pursue your goals. Even if there are challenges on the way, your growth hinges on these changes. Stagnating will hinder your growth. This quote reminds you to stay resilient and keep the big picture in mind.

In the marketing industry, you’ve likely heard the term “market share” from time to time, but what does it mean? Why is it necessary, and how is it calculated?

As marketers, it’s important to understand market share so you know how your company ranks against competitors and can develop new marketing strategies to reach more potential customers. In this post, we’ll outline what market share is, how to calculate it, give real-life examples, and explain how you can increase yours.

What is market share?

Market Share Formula

Relative Market Share 

Relative Market Share Formula

Market Share Examples

How to Expand Your Market Share

Understand Your Market Share to Increase Business Success

Suppose consumers buy 100 T-shirts, and 70 are from Company A, 25 from Company B, and 5 from Company C. In that case, Company A owns a market share of 70% and is the leading industry competitor.

Market share is typically calculated for a specific period, like yearly or quarterly sales, and is sometimes separated by region.

Market Share Formula

Calculating your market share will give you an overall understanding of your position in the industry, but it’s also helpful to understand how you measure up to your direct competitors.

Relative Market Share

Relative market share compares your performance to industry leaders.

Rather than using total industry revenue, you’re dividing your market share by your top competitor’s market share, multiplying the result by 100. The result will show you the portion of the market you own in relation to your most significant competitor. The image below shows the relative market share formula.

Relative Market Share Formula

Market Share Examples

It may be easier to understand market share with real-life examples, so we’ll go over some below for businesses you may already be familiar with.

Nike Market Share

Nike is part of the athletic footwear and apparel industry, selling various sports equipment, casual shoes, and accessories.

Nike’s global market share in sportswear is estimated to be 43.7%. The brand is an industry competitor for Adidas and Under Armour.

Tesla Market Share

Tesla is part of the automotive industry and produces electric vehicles (EVs). Within the U.S. EV industry, Tesla holds an over 70% market share.

It’s essential to recognize that the market for EVs worldwide is significantly smaller than standard vehicles. EV’s market share in the automobile industry is 2.8%, and Tesla’s is .8%. These differences are significant, so it is vital to analyze relative market share to compare your business to your direct competitors rather than just the market as a whole.

Spotify

Spotify is a music-streaming platform and has the highest music-streaming market share with 31% of the market.

The second-highest market share belongs to Apple Music (15%), followed by Amazon Music (13), Tencent (13%), and YouTube (8%).

Amazon

E-commerce company Amazon has a U.S. e-commerce market share of 37.8% and is the leading online retailer in the country. Second place belongs to Walmart with 6.3%, and third place goes to Apple with 3.9%.

Target

Most recent statistics show Target is the largest department store retailer in the U.S. with a 38% market share. Walmart and Macy’s both rank second with 13%.

Chewy

Chew is an online pet product and food retailer with a market share of 40% in the U.S. The company plans to expand into the global market in 2024 and is expected to gain a 20% market share outside of the U.S. by 2030.

Google Market Share

Google has a market share of 92.37%, making it the most popular search engine in the world. It dominates the competition, as the second-largest industry leader is Bing with a market share of just 3.57%.

Once you’ve calculated your market share and understand how you relate to your industry competitors, you can begin strategizing how to increase your overall revenue.

How To Expand Your Market Share

Below are a few strategies your company can use to expand your market share.

1. Lower prices.

A great way to compete in your industry is to offer low prices. This is the low-hanging fruit of expanding your market share because consumers typically look for lower-cost products.

However, it’s also important to note that the cheap option isn’t right for every brand. You want to ensure that you’re pricing products appropriately to provide value to customers but not lose out on revenue opportunities to beat the competition.

2. Innovate new products and features.

Companies innovating and bringing new technology to the table often see their market share increase.

New products and features attract new customers, also known as acquisition, which is a driving factor for generating revenue. New customers make new purchases and, in turn, contribute to higher profit margins and larger contributions to overall industry revenue. More significant contributions directly translate to increased market share.

3. Delight your customers.

One of the best ways to grow your market share is to work on existing customer relationships.

You can inspire customer loyalty by delighting current customers by providing exceptional experiences and customer loyalty. Loyal customers are more likely to make repeat purchases, which increases your business revenue and contribution to total industry revenue. As mentioned above, higher revenue contributions equal a higher market share percentage.

4. Increase brand awareness.

Branding awareness and national marketing play a significant role in capturing market share. Getting your name out there is important, so customers know who you are. Becoming a household name and the preferred brand in an industry will help increase your market share.

Generally, larger companies have the highest market share because they can provide products and services more efficiently and effectively.

But why is this so important? Below, let’s figure out what impact market share can have on your company.

Market share is more important in industries that are based on discretionary income. Market share doesn’t always have a significant impact in constantly growing industries. However, it’s important to remember that a company can have too much market share — also known as a monopoly.

For example, with growing industries with a growing market share, companies can still increase their sales even if they lose market share.

On the other hand, with discretionary income industries, such as travel or non-essential goods like entertainment and leisure, the economy can significantly impact market share. Sales and margins can vary depending on the time of year, meaning that competition is always at an all-time high.

Higher competition often leads to risky strategies. For instance, companies might be willing to lose money temporarily to force competitors out of the industry and gain more market share. Once they have more market share, they can raise prices.

Understand Your Market Share to Increase Business Success

Lower market shares can let you know that you need to focus on customer acquisition, marketing to raise brand awareness, and overall strategies to increase revenue. Higher percentages indicate that your current plan is adequate and that you should focus on customer retention and product innovation.

Whether your company is well-established or just starting, it’s important to understand your industry standing as it will help you meet business objectives and achieve desired success.

 

Your personality makes you unique — a differentiation that doesn’t just apply to people. Brand voices will make each company recognizable in a world full of different streams of information. So how can you set your brand up for success?

A powerful brand voice that can not go unnoticed, because it is strong enough to make people pay attention. This post explores the elements that create a brand’s voice. You’ll also learn how you can create your brand voice and examples that can inspire your team.

Table of Contents

• What is a brand voice?
• Creating a Brand Voice
• Brand Voice Examples
• Brand Voice Template
• Crafting Your Voice

Your brand voice should be uniform across platforms. According to Crowdspring, 90% of potential customers expect to have a similar brand experience across different platforms. Your company should sound the same on social media, in email communications, and even on packaging.

Further, your company’s voice should resonate with your audience and be used to build trust. In the U.S. market, 46% of consumers prefer to buy from brands that they can trust.

Your brand voice should build that trusting relationship, showing your customers what to expect from your company’s content, services, and even customer service.

Plus, the right approach can help attract new prospects before they even learn about your product or services. For instance, consider the humor used in MoonPie’s social media posts.

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Before I’d even purchased a MoonPie for the first time, I followed them on Twitter. Why? Because I liked the brand’s voice. Their tweets made me laugh and felt relatable.

However, a brand voice doesn’t have to be funny to be powerful. Other powerful brand voices can be inspiring, emotional, bold, casual, formal, poetic, or direct.

Creating a Brand Voice

How do you know if your brand voice is working? If a potential customer feels like you’re talking directly to them, then you’re doing it right.

When your customers feel like they’re part of the conversation, they feel more connected to the brand and are more likely to buy from you.

See more tips for building your brand’s voice below.

1. Start with your company’s mission.

Your brand’s mission or value statement can help you determine some key characteristics of your brand voice.

For instance, consider A Good Company’s values page:

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You’ll see these values — transparency, eco-friendliness, and modern instead of traditional — embedded in every piece of content you read from A Good Company.

Now, let’s check the following post:

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The writing is clear, straightforward, and direct to support the brand’s transparency values. The writer takes the angle of eco-friendliness in the opinions expressed throughout the piece (i.e., “so much stuff already exists in the world”).

And, finally, there’s a casual, informal tone to the voice, hinting at a company that isn’t old-school and doesn’t take itself too seriously (i.e., “pick up some ‘on fleek’ style bargains”).

You’ll want to consider your own values when creating a brand voice. Those values can become key characteristics of your voice.

2. Use your buyer persona as inspiration for your brand voice.

When creating a brand voice, then, it’s vital you consider your buyer persona. Who are you trying to reach? What do they need from your brand? What can your brand offer them that no one else can,

Audience research can help you determine other types of content that perform best with your audience, which is undeniably helpful when creating a strong voice. For instance, perhaps you could survey your audience or use an analytics tool like Google Analytics to determine other sites your readers frequent.

Figuring out what else they consume is helpful here — your voice should be different if your readers often consume Buzzfeed content versus the New York Times. The Buzzfeed audience might prefer more casual, funny writing, while the latter probably likes more academic-style content.

Your audience will be the ultimate test of whether you’ve created a successful brand voice. If your voice doesn’t resonate with your audience, keep experimenting.

3. Look at your best-performing content.

If you’ve already been publishing content for a few months or even years, then take a look at your top-performing pieces and write down key characteristics of the voice used in your writing.

Is your top-performing piece more poetic? Does it include trends and pop-culture references? Does it dive deep into a topic and include original research to back up its claims?

Ultimately, these pieces are already resonating with your audience, and it’s likely (at least in part) due to voice. Take note of which aspects of the voice you feel can, and should, be replicated across your brand as a whole.

Also, you need to do some research about which content formats are best for your industry and how you can align that with your brand’s voice.

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4. Make a do’s and don’ts list.

Oftentimes, determining brand voice starts by asking: “What don’t we want our brand voice to be?”

Figuring out what you don’t want your brand voice to be is a critical step in choosing the right voice for your brand.

For instance, perhaps your team brainstorms the following statements:

• Our brand voice is not pretentious.
• Our brand voice is not too serious.
• Our brand voice is not grandiose.
• Our brand voice is not unfriendly.

Once you’ve taken a look at these statements, you can begin forming the antithesis. For example, if your don’t list looks like the one above, your brand voice may follow the ethos below.

• Our brand voice is down-to-earth and authentic. It’s funny and casual. It’s humble. And it’s helpful.

5. If necessary, use a third-party agency to determine brand voice.

Forbes’ BrandVoice is a media partnership program that helps brands reach and resonate with their audiences through expert consultancy and direct access to Forbes audiences.

Take a look at how Cole Haan worked with Forbes to create content related to style, arts, travel, social impact, and more. Each piece uses a unique voice to target the intended audience for that category.

If you’re struggling to create a unique brand voice or you don’t know how to adapt your vision to the different areas of your business, consider using a program like BrandVoice or a third-party content marketing agency. This will help you take your brand’s game to the next level.

6. Create a communications document so all of your content is aligned.

Once you’ve created your brand voice, you’ll want to ensure your entire company can use that voice in all marketing materials.

If your company only uses internal writers, consider creating a training course for new staff so they can learn how to write for your brand. If you work with external guest contributors, you’ll want to make public-facing guidelines to ensure all your writing captures the appropriate voice.

7. Fill out a brand voice template with 3-5 core voice characteristics.

Use a table to formalize your process. Write down the 3-5 core characteristics you’ve determined are important for your brand’s voice and how your writers can use these traits in their writing.

This step is important for translating ideas into action — how can your writers create a “humble, authentic voice” in their writing? Give some examples or tactical advice to make it easy for your brand voice to come through in all of your content, regardless of byline.

To explore what a template could look like in practice, take a look at the brand voice template below.

Brand Voice Examples

Before you start crafting your unique voice, turn to role models who have perfected their tone. Here are five examples to get you started. You can see other distinct brand voices in the video below.

1. Spotify

Whether you’re watching a TV ad, driving past a billboard, or scrolling Spotify’s social accounts, you’ll see a consistent voice. The brand’s tone is consistently funny, edgy, direct, and concise.

For instance, take a look at this video, which is part of a Spotify advertisement campaign from 2019, “Let the Song Play.”

As you can see, Spotify doesn’t take itself too seriously. The ad makes fun of people who get so emotionally invested in a song that they won’t resume their plans until the song ends.

You’ll see a similar brand voice play out on Spotify’s social channels. On its Twitter account, for instance, the brand often posts tweets related to new music in a casual, friendly manner.

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If Spotify’s brand were a person, she would be witty, sarcastic, and up-to-date on today’s pop culture references. You’ll see that personality play out across all of Spotify’s communication channels.

2. Mailchimp

When exploring Mailchimp’s brand voice, turn to the company’s Content Style Guide.

In the Style Guide, Mailchimp writes, “We want to educate people without patronizing or confusing them. Using offbeat humor and a conversational voice, we play with language to bring joy to their work.… We don’t take ourselves too seriously.”

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Even in the Style Guide, you can hear Mailchimp’s brand voice shine through. The company consistently achieves a conversational, direct, playful voice in all its content.

For instance, in this blog post, the brand writes about various “highly unscientific personas”, including the fainting goat. The email service provider describes this persona by saying, “when startled, its muscles stiffen up and it falls right over.” They then link out to this hilarious video.

As you can see from this example, you can evoke brand voice in subtle yet effective ways. If the blogger had instead written, “If a goat is scared, it becomes nervous. The animal’s muscles contract and it faints as a result”, the writer would’ve evoked a voice more aligned with a scientific journal than Mailchimp.

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3. Fenty Beauty

The About Us page for Rihanna’s beauty company reads, “Before she was BadGalRiRi: music, fashion and beauty icon, Robyn Rihanna Fenty was a little girl in Barbados transfixed by her mother’s lipstick. The first time she experienced makeup for herself, she never looked back. Makeup became her weapon of choice for self-expression.”

It’s clear, even just through this short snippet, that Fenty Beauty’s voice is bold, direct, and poetic. Language like “transfixed by her mother’s lipstick” and “her weapon of choice for self-expression” reinforce this voice. However, the tone is also undeniably casual — the way you might talk to your best friend.

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You’ll see this voice play out across all Fenty social channels, including this YouTube video description:

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The first statement, “The blur is REAL!” — along with phrases like “No-makeup makeup look”, and the shortening of the word “combination” — all evoke a sense of friendliness.

The brand voice matches its target audience perfectly: youthful millennials and Gen-Zers who care about makeup as an opportunity for authentic expression.

4. Clare Paint

Clare, an online paint site, has created a mature, spirited, and cheerful brand voice to evoke a breezy, girl-next-door feel to their branded content.

For instance, consider the title of one of their recent blog posts, “6 Stylish Rooms on Instagram That Make a Strong Case For Pink Walls.”

The post uses phrases like “millennial pink”, “pink walls have obvious staying power”, and “designers and DIY enthusiasts alike have embraced the playful shade with open arms.” The brand’s language is friendly, chic, and professional, relating to its readers while simultaneously demonstrating the brand’s home decor expertise.

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This voice is clear across channels. Take a look at this Instagram post, for instance.

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“When baby’s first bedroom is on your grown-up vision board” makes the brand feel like a good-natured older (and more fashionable) sister. The reference to the COO’s baby boy is another opportunity to make authentic connections with Clare’s followers.

5. Skittles

Skittles often posts hilarious social media posts that strip away any promotional, phony language so you’re left with something much more real.

Take a recent tweet, for instance, that reads: “Vote Skittles for Best Brand on Twitter so we can keep our jobs!”

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The brand voice, which is clever and original, does a good job of making prospects and customers feel like they’re chatting with a mischievous employee behind-the-scenes. The “I can’t believe they just posted that” factor keeps the content fresh and exciting.

Plus, the brand does a good job making pop culture references, like this Mean Girls reference, to highlight the brand’s youthfulness.

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Skittles’ use of absurdity and humor plays into their iconic commercials. In one 2022 ad, the company pokes fun at targeted ads.

While two people watch a youtube video, they comment that their ads are so targeted that it feels as if Skittles is listening in on their conversation. Then, a man with a boom mike drops through the floor.

Skittles expertly keeps the same tone across media, showing their brand’s commitment to their voice.

Brand Voice Template

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Looking to make a template for your own brand voice? HubSpot is here to help! You can fill out this blank Google Sheet template with your own brand voice characteristics. Then, fill out the remaining cells, and send them along to your team.

Collaborative, you’ll be able to create a unique brand voice to help your company stand out.

It’s important to note, you’ll be prompted to make a Google Drive copy of the template, which isn’t possible without a Google account.

Crafting Your Voice

And there you have it! You’re well on your way toward building a strong, compelling brand voice for your own business.

Remember: A good brand starts with good content. And good content can’t exist without a strong voice.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. 

I’d venture to guess you get tons of emails in your inbox every day.

From coupons to daily deal sites, from newsletters to your mother wanting to know when you plan to visit — it’s a lot to sift through, never mind actually open. So, what does it take for someone to actually open an email?

According to HubSpot Research, 65% of surveyed marketers say that subject lines have the greatest impact on open rates. After all, it’s your very first impression of the email. From that first impression, you’ll do your best to judge the content inside.

So what makes a good email subject line? It’s a message that conveys urgency, curiosity, personalization, and so much more. But it’s up to you to make that distinction of which fits best in your business offer and appeals to your audience.

Let’s take a look at a few examples that, old or new, we adore — plus what makes them so great. We have 100 awesome subject lines to offer you already, but read on for over 50 more that we found eye-catching.

(While you’re at it, check out our Out-of-Office Email Generator to make your email address even more delightful to your contacts.)

Retargeting Email Subject Line Examples

1. “We Saw You Checking Us Out 😏”

Sender: DollsKill

A clothing brand like DollsKill uses cookies to monitor what its customers have been eyeing. Sending an email subject line reminding them of items they admired can reel customers right back into their next purchase. The statement itself has a playful and conversational tone that comes off flirty, a reflection of its company branding.

The emoji also adds more fun and temptation to the message — reiterating that “you know you want to” feeling regarding items they have already clicked on before.

2. “Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring”

Sender: Warby Parker

Not too long ago, a HubSpot alum received this email two weeks before he needed to renew his prescription — talk about great timing. And when your eye prescription is expiring, it happens to be an excellent time to upgrade your glasses. By sending an email at the right time, Warby Parker increased its chances of this email getting opened.

But timing isn’t the sole reason we included this example. This subject line is brilliant because it appeared at the right time and with the right tone. Using conversational words like “uh-oh,” keeping the subject line sentence case, and leaving out the period at the end, the subject line comes across as helpful and friendly — not as a company trying to upsell you.

3. “The timer’s going off on your cart!”

Sender: King Arthur Flour

Similar to Warby Parker, this subject line makes use of urgency. If I don’t take action on my King Arthur Flour shopping cart — like actually buying the items — it will be cleared, and I’ll have to start all over again.

Okay, so maybe this is a low-risk scenario. But when it comes to my baking goods, I personally don’t like to take any chance of forgetting what I was going to buy. That’s where the personalization aspect of this subject line comes in: King Arthur Flour — especially its online shop — tends to attract both professional and home bakers who take all things culinary a bit more seriously than, say, someone who only buys flour on occasion from the supermarket. And wouldn’t you know? Those are the same bakers who probably don’t want to spend time building their shopping carts from scratch.

The moral of the story: Know your audience when you’re writing email subject lines. Is there something that they take seriously more than others? If so, incorporate that into your copy.

4. “What Did You Think? Write a Review.”

Sender: REI

I received an email with this subject line about a week after buying a portable stove at REI. I had just gotten back from a camping trip, too. It was perfect timing for them to ask me what I thought of it.

Companies ask satisfied customers to write reviews all the time. But when you specifically send these requests to the people who just purchased something from you, you’re being smart with your mailing list and reaching recipients whose interest is still warm.

Another reason this subject line works? It’s not expecting a good review. REI is genuinely asking me what I thought of the stove I bought. Maybe I hated it (though I didn’t). The company just wanted me to speak up.

5. “A Sneak Peek for VIPs Only.”

Sender: Serena & Lily

Loyal subscribers can preview clothing collections via email, as seen here with Serena & Lily. By offering a “sneak peek”, customers know they have more exclusive access and will want to click open the email to see what they want before the general public can see it.

This concept keeps the customer relationship alive and coming back for more if the email marketing is done right.

Straightforward Email Subject Line Examples

6. “👗 Free (Cool!) Clothes Alert 👖”

Sender: Clover

First of all, we have a not-so-secret love for emojis in email subject lines. Personally, I’m partial to turquoise — so when I see an email implying that I might somehow be able to obtain free turquoise clothes, chances are, I’m clicking.

That’s part of what makes this subject line work. It draws the recipients’ eye by using visual content (emojis), and it hints at an offer of something free. That hint is an incentive to open the email because there’s something to gain inside.

7. “🐶 Want a Custom Emoji of Tullamore & 6 Months FREE Walks? Book a Walk Today for Your Chance to Win!”

Sender: Wag!

For reference, Tullamore is the name of my colleague Amanda Zantal-Wiener‘s dog. And the subject line she received, written above, is another winning example of perfect emoji placement — especially when it’s a cute dog.

Here’s a great example of how personalization goes beyond the email recipient’s name. Wag!, an on-demand dog-walking app, includes the names of its customers’ pets in a portion of its email subject lines. But this type of personalization is more than just a first-name basis. If there’s anything my colleague Amanda loves more than free stuff and baking goods, it’s her pup. Wag! knows that, and by mentioning Tullamore by name in the subject line — in tandem with an offer, no less — it caught her attention and piqued her interest.

8. “Best of Groupon: The Deals That Make Us Proud (Unlike Our Nephew, Steve)”

Sender: Groupon

It’s hard to be funny in your marketing, but Groupon’s one of those brands that seems to nail it again and again. After all, who can forget this classic unsubscribe video?

This subject line is no exception. The quip, “(Unlike Our Nephew Steve),” actually had us

laughing out loud. Why? It’s completely unexpected. The first part of the subject line looks like a typical subject line you’d get from Groupon, highlighting a new deal. The parenthetical content? Not so much — making this one a delightful gem to find in your inbox.

9. “Rock the color of the year”

Sender: Etsy

In six words, Etsy was able to promote a product solely by its color, and inform you that there is apparently a “color of the year.” The email is truly too intriguing not to open.

Etsy is an e-commerce website for user-created marketplaces, and the reason we were impressed by its subject line was because of the way it uses mystery to drive value into a suite of products. This email isn’t an invitation to buy clothing or jewelry; it’s an invitation to find out what the color of the year is.

10. “How to live at home 24/7”

Sender: Feather

If you’re anything like me, the COVID-19 pandemic had you wearing PJs from day to night, only changing when you had Zoom meetings at work. As a social distancing precaution, you likely used delivery services instead of going out and getting food on your own — which means that you were effectively living at home 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

This email from Feather, a furniture rental store, perfectly encapsulates a frustration many of us faced: How do you live at home 24/7 without feeling like you’re going crazy? With this subject line, Feather promises to help you find a solution by using furniture that makes it easier to stay at home for extended periods.

Try it: Use a “How To” subject line to tell recipients what they can achieve with your products. Then, in your email, include links to the products that will help them achieve those goals.

11. “Take $20 off your order of $25 or more”

Sender: UberEats

You don’t always have to make your email subject line flashy. In this case with UberEats, just the offer alone is good enough to make any hungry customer click.

Your product offering, if it’s appealing, can speak for itself in your subject line. Customers know they can take advantage of the opportunity in the body of the email, as I will for dinner tonight.

12. “Where to Drink Beer Right Now”

Sender: Eater Boston

Okay, you caught me: I’m a beer lover. But that’s not what hooked me here. The subject line arrived in my inbox just at the time I needed it: at 6:45 on a Wednesday evening. Absolutely. Genius.

Think about it: You’re just over hump day and want to decompress with a few coworkers after work. Right as you’re about to head out, you get a notification on your phone that says, “Where to Drink Beer Right Now.” Perfect timing makes this subject line something you can’t help but click on.

For your own emails, think about how timing will affect how people perceive your emails. Even if you send an email in an off-peak hour, you could get higher engagement — if you have the right subject line.

13. “1,750 points for you. Valentine’s flowers & more for them.”

Sender: JetBlue

It’s such a specific number — 1,750 — of course you’re going to open this.

Coming from an airline, an offering of “points” might as well be gold to someone who likes to travel. And, if that recipient also has a significant other, sending this email leading up to Valentine’s Day is a home run.

The best part about the subject line above is how particular JetBlue was about the number of points available. Instead of, say, “20% off your next return flight of 1,000 miles or more,” this subject line gives it to you straight: 1,750 points, and all you have to do is buy flowers for your loved one. You’re already wondering how far you can fly with 1,750 points, I can tell.

14. “Free Oversized V-Neck.”

Sender: Los Angeles Apparel

I don’t know about you, but free is my favorite price when it comes to apparel. This brand has a simplistic and straightforward approach to its subject line by letting customers know what they can get in their next order.

And by keeping it short, it makes the subject line even more effective because the only other context the customer can see — is when they click open the email.

15. “Here’s that discount you wanted”

Sender: LAMODA

This subject line almost feels like it’s reading my mind. When I scroll through my endless emails, considering the businesses I want to buy from, I’m waiting for a discount or sale to be announced.

It’s straightforward and knows exactly what its customers want — key to getting clicks.

16. “3 ways to improve your Pins”

Sender: Pinterest

For those who love to curate their social feed, Pinterest is one of the best places to do it. For those trying to grow their following, they’re probably looking for all the advice they can get from the website itself.

Providing a numeric list of strategies to use in the ever-changing algorithm, it can prove useful to click on Pinterest’s emails periodically. This uncomplicated messaging in a subject line presents users with exactly what they’re looking for, right in their inbox.

Professional Email Subject Line Examples

Professional email subject lines have to strike a careful balance between authority and creativity.

These emails are often brisk and to the point. Full of transactional or time-sensitive content, there isn’t a lot of room in these emails for fun. This puts most of the creative weight on crafting a powerful email subject line.

The examples below can show you how to command, tease, and entice any subscriber to click on your professional emails.

17. “[Client] sent you a payment – it’s arriving [date]”

Sender: Bill.com

Bill.com is a popular tool for accounts payable, expense management, and more for small businesses. One of the secrets to their popularity is their useful automations. These workflows include emails that are direct, useful, and easy to scan.

For example, this email subject line is exactly what any freelancer or vendor wants to see in their inbox. In one short phrase, it tells them they’re getting paid, who’s paying them, and when it will land in their account.

This is another valuable example of why you want to personalize your emails. This subject line saves time while creating a great user experience.

18. “Signing completed for Screening Criteria”

Sender: Urban Development + Partners

Finding a new place to live can be stressful. The application process alone can take many steps, and it also usually includes sharing private information like rental history or recent pay stubs. It can sometimes feel like one tiny mistake will mean losing the home of your dreams.

This professional email series solves that problem with a unique email and subject line for every step in the process. The subject quickly covers which step is complete and why. So, when the next email, like “Your Rental Application”, appears in the inbox it’s clear that’s the next step in the process.

It shows how the right subject line can simplify the entire buying process for your audience.

19. “Your TSA PreCheck Eligibility Notice”

Sender: Universal Enroll

Some professional processes take longer than others. In fact, some processes can take months before everything is set. And no matter how patient you are, you might refresh your inbox hundreds of times waiting for that important update.

TSA PreCheck can be one of those processes, especially if an exciting trip is on the horizon. But this effective subject line gets right to the point. Any reader knows that once they open this email, they’ll have the answer they’ve been waiting for.

20. “[Action Required] Verify your email address”

Sender: Amazon Chime

One of the most valuable things that a professional email can do is motivate someone to take action. Vague email subject copy can lead to a situation where someone might open and read, but then again, they might not.

By using brackets in this subject line, Amazon emphasizes that the most important thing about this email is taking action. Then, it quickly outlines what needs to happen.

But while brackets are a great way to draw attention, try to use them sparingly. If every email includes brackets it will be easy for your readers to skip over them.

And the copy you include in brackets matters. Adding quirky or creative copy in brackets could be a fun creative decision, but it will erode your ability to add urgency to emails with brackets if you need to later.

21. “Parking Receipt – Parking Kitty”

Sender: Parking Kitty

Over 300 billion emails go out each day. While some users open every email, most email inboxes are an archive of emails that you don’t need to open now, but you save them because you may need them someday.

For example, email receipts. When you’re ready to find those emails in your inbox, they should be easy to find. But how many times have you scanned your inbox looking for a receipt and every email subject line is the same? That means opening and scanning every email, and a lot of wasted time for you.

Parking Kitty is the clever name of a parking mobile pay app in the Pacific Northwest. If you’re looking for expense report receipts after a recent trip, this email is easy to find in your inbox.

It’s also smart for brand awareness because it reinforces their memorable business name.

22. “Your free PDF is attached: Great Talks Most People Have Never Heard”

Sender: James Clear

Lifetime learning is essential in the business world, and this professional email subject line is perfect for busy thought leaders. It starts with a quick reminder that a free PDF is here. Then it shares the title of the PDF.

This may seem like an obvious subject line, but that’s what makes it just right. First, it reminds the recipient that they have a gift in their inbox. Next, it reminds them what that gift is. All the details are in the subject.

It’s an enticing offer, so there’s a good chance it will get opened right away. But it’s also crisp and clear, so it will be easy to find and download later.

23. “Whoops — we hadn’t had our coffee this morning”

Sender: Catchafire

Accidents happen to everyone. But professional emails often go out to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people. This can make a small accident feel like a very big deal.

This subject line is gentle, funny, and honest. It uses a popular theme to acknowledge that the Catchafire team sent an email by mistake. It sets the stage for a quick apology and lets the person on the other end know that they can disregard that email.

While it can be tough to acknowledge an error, it’s often a great way to build a sense of trust with your email list. It can also save the time it would take to draft more individual responses to the email they sent in error.

Attention-Grabbing Email Subject Line Examples

24. “*Don’t Open This Email*”

Sender: Manicube

Ever been told to not do something? Being asked to refrain from something can actually have the opposite effect — you now want to do that thing even more.

That’s the strategy behind Manicube’s subject line. It’s a simple but effective way to make people curious enough to open your email. (Just be sure that the contents of your email have something worthy of that subject line.)

25. “Important Weather Advisory”

Sender: RCN

Any time we see a weather-related alert, our ears perk up. In RCN’s case, it isn’t just a way to lure recipients into opening an email. The subject line above is RCN’s way of updating its customers about potential power outages and driving attention to the brand that provides them with cable and Wi-Fi — even during inclement weather.

If you can hitch your email marketing campaign to an event you know people pay attention to, and have something helpful to offer in response, you’ll see your email open rate soar.

26. “What Can You Afford?”

Sender: Zillow

Imagine getting this subject line in your inbox from a website showing apartments for rent. It’s both exciting and encouraging (“Here are a bunch of apartments right in your budget. Yay!”), but also kind of competitive — pitting your cash against what the market offers. Would you click it? I certainly would.

Personalizing emails to cater to your audience’s emotions — for which there’s a broad spectrum when it comes to real estate — is key to getting people to open your emails. You don’t have to be a psychologist to know how to take advantage of them, either. In addition to principles like urgency, crafting an email subject line that implies scarcity is another great way to increase your conversion rates.

27. “As You Wish”

Sender: UncommonGoods

When writing emails, you should also think about the recognizable names and references that make people tick. For example, take this subject line from UncommonGoods forwarded to us from HubSpot’s Content Director, Corey Wainwright, who happens to be a die-hard fan of The Princess Bride. Apparently, “As You Wish” is a pretty big reference to that movie, so when she saw this subject line in her inbox, she just HAD to click.

Even though she knew the email was part of a larger-scale send, it almost seemed like it was tailored for her personally — after all, why else would it include a reference to Princess Bride in the title?

UncommonGoods knows its buyer persona like the back of its metaphorical hand. While it may not send emails to individual subscribers with references to their favorite movies in the title, it does have a general understanding of its subscribers and their interests.

28. “Not Cool, Guys”

Sender: BuzzFeed

We love BuzzFeed. If nothing else, its staff knows how to write great copy — and that sentiment includes an exceptional email marketing team. Many of my colleagues have signed up for BuzzFeed’s daily emails, and pretty much any day of the week, it wins for best subject line in their inboxes.

While there are a few of BuzzFeed’s subject lines here and there that aren’t anything to write home about, it’s the combination of subject lines and the preview text that is golden. They’re friendly, conversational, and, above all, snarky.

Here’s the text that followed the subject line above: “Okay, WHO left the passive-aggressive sticky note on my fridge. Honestly, who acts like this?” That conversational tone and snark pull us in over and over again — and it’s the preview text that completes the experience for me.

We’re not all equipped to be snarky writers, but most email platforms have the preview text easily available to edit. How can you use that little extra space to delight your customers (oh, and probably improve your email metrics)? Maybe you could use the subject line as a question, and the preview text area as the answer. Or maybe it’s a dialogue: The subject line is one person, and the preview text is another.

You get the idea. By using that space, you have more opportunities to attract new subscribers.

29. “DO NOT Commit These Instagram Atrocities”

Sender: Thrillist

No matter how humble people are, most don’t like to do things wrong. So why not play on that natural human tendency in an email subject line, especially if you’re in the business of helping clients (or prospective clients) succeed? Thrillist certainly does in the subject line above, and it makes the language even more vibrant by using do not — a great takeaway for B2B marketers.

Instead of using the typical contraction “don’t,” Thrillist spells it out and adds the all-caps for effect. That way, you’ll notice the subject line in your inbox, and then find it harder to resist clicking on it.

Think about how going negative in your marketing emails might be a good thing. For example, many of us have anxiety about looking silly, so figure out how you can play to those emotions in subject lines. Of course, it’s important to back up that subject line with encouraging, helpful content, so that you’re not just ranting at people all day.

Getting negative can get your subscribers’ attention — this subject line certainly caught mine.

30. “Everything you wanted to know about email copy but were too afraid to ask”

Sender: Copy Hackers

Here’s another great example of leveraging your audience’s full plate to your email marketing advantage. Who hasn’t refrained from asking a question out of fear of looking foolish or out of the loop? Excuse me while I sheepishly raise my hand.

” … but were too afraid to ask” is one of those phrases that, to us, probably won’t go out of style for a long time. People seek insights from Copy Hackers — an organization dedicated to helping marketers and other professionals write better copy, as the name suggests — because, well, they have questions. They want to improve. And when that audience is too afraid to ask those questions, here’s Copy Hackers, ready to come to the rescue with answers.

What does your audience want to know, but might be too embarrassed to ask? Use that information to craft your content — including your email subject lines.

31. “Abra-cord-abra! Yeah, we said it.”

Sender: Quircky

This punny email subject line from Quirky is plain fun. We’re suckers for puns in the right situation.

What we like most is the second part: “Yeah, we said it.” The pun in the beginning is great and all — it refers to a new invention featured on Quirky’s site to help everyday consumers detangle their numerous plugs and cords — but the second sentence is conversational and self-referential. That’s exactly what many of us would say after making a really cheesy joke in real life.

Many brands could stand to be more conversational and goofy in their emails. While it may not be appropriate to go as far as Quirky’s subject line, being goofy might just be the way to delight your email recipients.

32. “🔥 Hot freebie alert! 15 free gifts, you pick 5.”

Sender: Shutterfly

Shutterfly, a company that allows you to print your photos on interesting products or other frames, gets visual with its subject lines by occasionally using an emoji. Due to the company’s nature and creative audience, the fire emoji in this subject line draws the eye without feeling desperate.

The email subject line also pops because it has a lot of buzzwords, including “hot,” “freebie,” “gifts,” and “alert.” In just one line, it can give the potential reader a good reason to open it, especially if they love using Shutterfly.

The content inside the email aligns perfectly with the subject line by announcing a freebie promotion. This strong alignment between the subject line and message keeps people from skimming the email.

33. “From chaos to calm ✨🏡”

Sender: Open Spaces

If you’ve ever had a cluttered home, you know how chaotic it can feel. Open Spaces takes advantage of that by suggesting how you’ll feel after you use the company’s products.

Its emoji choices also indicate how your home will look and feel: Sparkling clean. I’m not a huge fan of cleaning, but Open Spaces promises to make it easy in the simplicity of their subject line. The brand also proves that it knows its target customer exceedingly well — if you want to create “open spaces,” you likely won’t tolerate chaos in your home.

In the same way, try to allude to the feelings that your target customers want to feel, as well as their goals and inner desires. You can also let emojis speak for you. For instance, if Open Spaces had used the subject line “From chaos to calm: Get a sparkling clean home,” the focus would be off of the “from chaos to calm” piece, which is what readers most care about.

34. “Welcome Gift! Offer Inside 👀…”

Sender: EyeBuyDirect

When you subscribe to a business you’re new to, you’d hope you can get a perk before your first purchase. EyeBuyDirect makes its statement in a subject line that makes the prospect feel like subscribing was a good choice, and strikes curiosity.

Without specifying what the offer is, the customer has no choice but to click and see what they can take advantage of.

35. “Colorful things for colorful homes”

Sender: Baggu

I can’t speak for you but I’m a sucker for all things bright in color. And what makes this an attention-grabbing email subject line is that this brand is known for making reusable bags (hence the name).

This email makes its customers imagine a new type of product they could be revealing, and when I clicked, I was surprised to see all new items like towels, bedsheets, and more.

Now that we’ve covered the best subject lines in general, let’s dive into the best newsletter subject lines.

Newsletter Subject Lines

Newsletter subject lines must work harder to get the recipient’s attention because they allude to information only. In contrast, a subject line offering a discount will automatically make the recipient want to click.

Newsletter subject lines must hook the reader and get them to click. The examples below do an excellent job of it.

36. “China Falls, Sleepy Unicorns, And The Deals Aren’t Bigger In Texas”

Sender: Crunchbase

The Crunchbase Insights email has an interesting way of wrapping details about all the stories it will present to you in one subject line. This is eye-catching because it seems like an odd mashup of words, but gets to the point about three complicated stories at the same time.

When it comes to email, Crunchbase is known for its longer, text-based emails. They all read like a more conversational letter to the email recipient and casually discuss and hyperlink Crunchbase’s top stories. While the subject lines feel interesting and eye-catching, the emails often report deeper business news that cut right to the chase.

This subject line shows how you can be punchy, but also fun and creative when trying to pull in your audience.

37. “Watch Out for This Amazon Phishing Scam.”

Sender: WIRED

In this subject line, WIRED includes Amazon, a large company name. Including the name of a big brand can be a great way to boost open rates because people who enjoy or use products from big brands might click into a subject line that discusses them.

Additionally, when a brand name is combined with negative words like “phishing” or “scam,” people might open the email much more urgently so they can learn how to avoid running into the issue being discussed.

WIRED also lists the story last in its newsletter. This is an interesting way to get your readers to scroll through the entire email and see the other stories before they get to the story that led them to click into it.

38. “Buffer has been hacked — here is what’s going on”

Sender: Buffer

Next is a subject line from Buffer. A few years ago, Buffer got hacked — every tech company’s worst nightmare. But Buffer handled it exceptionally well, especially on the email front.

What we admire about the subject line is that it’s concise and direct. In a crisis, it’s better to steer clear of puns, snarky comments, and emojis. People want to see that you’re taking the situation seriously and be reassured that the world isn’t ending.

Because of the way the subject line is worded and formatted, you feel like Buffer is calm and collected about the issue, and is considering your personal safety. That’s pretty hard to do in just a few words.

39. “Google sees smartphone heroics in Oreo. It’s The Daily Crunch.”

Sender: TechCrunch

If you’re subscribed to a newsletter from a publication like TechCrunch, chances are, you signed up because you’re either interested in or want to learn more about technology. To reflect that, the media outlet crafts its daily email roundups (“The Daily Crunch”) with a subject line that reflects one of the latest, most compelling news items in the industry.

Here’s the thing: Staying on the cutting edge is hard, especially with something that evolves as quickly as technology. So, by writing email subject lines that reflect something recent and relevant, TechCrunch is signaling to email recipients that opening the message will help them stay informed and up-to-date on the latest industry news.

Think about the things that your audience struggles to keep up with — then, craft an email roundup and matching subject line that reflects the latest news in that category.

40. “Black Friday shoppers are the worst customers”

Sender: LinkedIn

This subject line is likely the boldest of the Black Friday emails you’d see in your inbox in the days before Thanksgiving. Yes, it’s a bit judgmental, but it actually came in a LinkedIn Pulse newsletter, promoting an article one of its users wrote on the topic of holiday marketing.

And there’s no doubt the title resonates with how some people feel during the most hectic holiday shopping day of the year.

LinkedIn has nothing to sell on Black Friday, so the subject line above does little harm to its business. Nonetheless, commenting on a popular cultural observation can show your confidence and help you relate to your community.

41. “New recipe alert 🚨”

Sender: Hello Fresh

While Hello Fresh is a food service that delivers meal packages to its customers, it also provides customers with home kitchen tips and tricks in email newsletters. These extra resources encourage home cooks to try new things, and being offered new recipe ideas is an exciting opportunity.

Using an emoji here is simple and draws the customer’s attention, while the offer itself can only be viewed in full when clicked — an easy way to draw in more aspiring home cooks.

42. “Tips to increase remote collaboration”

Sender: Asana

This simple subject line from Asana, a project management platform, gets straight to the point: If you open the email, you’ll find remote work tips and beyond. The subject line also effectively capitalizes on an increasingly common trend that rose during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Its simplicity and trendiness ensure that you’ll want to open the email.

And chances are that if you’re using Asana, you’re likely using it to collaborate with colleagues whom you might not see every day, even if you’re not fully remote. Asana effectively appeals to a wide range of potential users and buyers with this subject line.

43. “I got Botox — & THIS is what it looked like”

Sender: Refinery29

Okay, so maybe your business doesn’t involve Botox. But still — are you intrigued? I am, and despite my better judgment, I clicked.

That’s the power of leading your emails with a story: It sparks curiosity, which works in two ways. There are times when our natural curiosity can pique our interest without context, such as the example above. But in this case, the subject line implies that there’s an intriguing story ahead. Why the heck did this person get Botox? And what did it look like? As the saying goes, “Inquiring minds want to know.”

Think of the stories behind your industry, then find ways to include them in email newsletters and frame them within the subject line in a way that piques your recipients’ collective curiosity.

44. “Improve Your Website from Concept to Code 💻”

Sender: Namecheap

Want people to open your newsletter? Tell them how they’ll benefit straight away like in this newsletter subject line by Namecheap. It used this subject line for Inspire, its monthly newsletter, and like in the WIRED example, it left the subject line story last so users would scroll through the entire email.

Like many examples on this list, it uses an emoji to draw the eye and keeps the tone of the conversation more casual and fun. In contrast, the subject line “Improve Your Website from Concept to Code” feels much more wooden and unfriendly.

45. “The best options for grocery delivery”

Sender: Wirecutter

Simple, right? But effective. This newsletter’s subject line from Wirecutter gets straight to the point and solves one of the biggest challenges we faced during the pandemic: How to get groceries while social distancing. If you’d never used grocery delivery services up until that point, you’d likely be at a loss for what services to use.

Wirecutter realizes that and immediately invites you to open the email with a simple and actionable subject line.

46. “Mark your calendar for these key dates!”

Sender: Omaze

Omaze is known for raising money for charities across the globe in the form of raffling once-in-a-lifetime opportunities with each donation. Contributors love to learn more about the charities at hand, and the sweet prizes they could win along with them on a monthly basis.

By announcing its upcoming opportunities, it can help people choose which causes they’ll want to give toward, and be excited to contribute when the time comes.

47. “‘I didn’t realize architecture was so dangerous’”

Sender: Dezeen

Dezeen is an architecture and design publication whose newsletter subject lines always feature a comment from a user. Only one comment is chosen every week.

This approach is brilliant for various reasons: 1) It makes you wonder why the user made that comment and will make you click through. 2) It makes you want to comment on the publication’s posts to potentially get featured. And 3) It takes the work out of writing a subject line. Indeed, Dezeen doesn’t have to write a subject line at all, because its readers do it for them.

Here are a few comments that have been featured of late:

• “Absolute garbage”
• “The cardboard box aesthetic”
• “Meet The Flintstones”
• “Does it come with a smoke machine?”

If you have a publication that’s often commented upon, consider using one of the comments as your subject line.

HubSpot Email Marketers’ Favorite Subject Lines

Above are some of the best subject lines we’ve gathered, but we asked both former and current marketers on our team to give some additional favorites and what makes them so good:

48. “Hmm…No writing activity last week?”

Sender: Grammarly

“If or when you turn their plugin off, Grammarly’s retention strategy is great. They reach out with subject lines like these that immediately drive me to click through and turn their plugin back on. Very well done.”

— Jordan Pritikin

49. “Drooling over email designs 🤤”

Sender: Really Good Emails

“Emojis always catch my eye amongst the 100+ emails I receive daily. As an email geek myself, this subject line matched my interests and piqued my curiosity.”

— Ashley Riordan

50. “Can you help me name this dance, [First Name]?”

Sender: Marie Forleo

“It’s personalized and piques my interest because A) I’m being asked for input and B) I want to be in the know about this mysterious dance (#fomo).”

— Christina Perricone

51. “Who you gonna call?”

“If you can make a pun, include a social reference, or even just a familiar phrase, it’ll catch people’s attention.”

— Clint Fontanella

52. “Shoes You Can Wear All Damn Day”

Sender: Everlane

“Swearing is controversial in email marketing, but I think it worked really well in this email from Everlane. Not only was it a clever and concise way to introduce their new line of footwear called ‘The Day Collection,’ but it also aligned with the brand voice they use in other emails and across their website.”

— Anna Fitzgerald

53. “You were on point last week 🎯”

Sender: Grammarly

“Grammarly is so good about rewarding you and making you feel good about your writing.”

— Jordan Pritikin

54. “Show them what you’re made of”

Sender: Canva

“Using empowering, positive, and defiant language to leverage the use of Canva tools — love it.”

— Lucy Reddan

55. “‘Not intended for swimming’”

Sender: Dezeen

“I’m a sucker for architecture, and Dezeen’s weekly newsletter tells me the top new projects that come up, as well as their reader’s responses to them. My question is: What’s not intended for swimming? And if it’s not intended for swimming, why did the architect build it? Boom, you’ve got my interest. And my click.”

— Ivelisse Rodriguez

56. “Our #1 most asked question…”

Sender: Supergoop

“What an easy way to get me to click — by trailing off and leaving the rest of the content in the email. Nicely done, Supergoop.”

— Ivelisse Rodriguez

57. “[First Name]! You’re One of HubSpot’s Top Blog Readers 🎉”

Sender: HubSpot

“No one actually likes taking feedback surveys. Not unless you earn money, and not many of them offer that. When I received the above email from our very own HubSpot blog, I clicked straight through, and voila! There it was: A feedback request. Turns out, flattery does work.”

— Ivelisse Rodriguez

The Best Email Subject Lines are Simple and On-Brand

When writing subject lines for your emails, keep it engaging, simple, and on-brand. Don’t forget to appeal to the emotions and needs of your target buyers, and most importantly, have fun — include emojis, puns, or references to pop culture. Your emails will get opened, guaranteed.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

When you have an active website, consistently coming up with blog ideas can be a challenge. So, what do you do when it feels like you’ve written about everything under the sun?

Even the most seasoned marketers could use an occasional brainstorming boost. If you need inspiration, here are 101 of the best blog post ideas for your content marketing strategy.

Table of Contents

• Multimedia Blog Post Ideas
• Data-Driven Blog Post Ideas
• Community Engagement Blog Post Ideas
• Instructional (Guides and How-to) Blog Post Ideas
• Multichannel Integration Blog Post Ideas
• Thought Leadership Blog Post Ideas
• Content Marketing Blog Post Ideas
• Miscellaneous/Fun Blog Post Ideas

Blog Post Ideas

Multimedia Blog Post Ideas

Multimedia blog posts focus on using a piece of media — whether that’s a video, a podcast, or a graphic — to tell a story or share information.

The key to success with this type of blog post is to make it shareable. Whichever multimedia element you choose to include, make sure it’s original and branded so that when it gets shared, people will connect it back to your company.

1. Write a listicle blog post using GIFs that your readers can relate to.

2. Create an interactive quiz, such as “Which type of marketer are you?” or “How well do you know [insert topic]?”

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3. Recap your latest company event with photos and/or videos.

4. Share a video product demo.

5. Create a branded graphic that demonstrates your process or strategy.

6. Make a video that highlights your industry and write a post about it.

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7. Start a podcast and transcribe each episode into blog posts.

8. Record an interview with a customer and conduct a corresponding write-up.

9. Upload a photo diary of how your company celebrates culture.

10. Create an infographic about industry best practices or trends.

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Data-Driven Blog Post Ideas

Data-driven blog posts rely on data and industry insights to make a point. While this information can be sourced from other brands or industry reports, using original data to demonstrate your company’s role in the space can result in more unique blog posts.

11. “We Asked X Experts About [insert topic]; Here Are Their Best Tips.”

12. Survey industry professionals to gather data on their challenges/processes/tools/best practices, and share the results in a blog post.

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13. Make an infographic about your analytics and break down the pros and cons of each.

14. Research the most important statistics for your industry and compile a comprehensive list.

15. Break down your blog traffic and explain how you generated it for each channel.

16. Share the best apps your team uses to get work done.

17. Make a list of the best tools for your industry.

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18. Explain your company’s knowledge base and why it matters.

19. Do an in-depth case study about your customers and examine the results.

20. Research your customers’ favorite products and share the results.

21. “Here Are X Stats Every [Role] Should Know.”

Community Engagement Blog Post Ideas

If you are part of a niche or local community, then these blog ideas are for you. Community engagement topics are a way to spotlight key players doing great things in an effort to boost company culture, brand loyalty, or employee morale.

22. Spotlight local leaders or companies in your field.

23. Interview a local business owner.

24. Create a survey about your area’s business ecosystem and share the key findings.

25. Highlight user-generated content.

26. Spotlight a client and share a story about their business.

27. Share real-life examples of your product use cases.

28. Spotlight employee stories to inspire your audience.

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29. Ask for guest posts from community members.

30. Run a product or service giveaway for readers.

31. Throw a community-based event and recap it on the blog.

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Instructional (Guides and How-to) Blog Post Ideas

A common blog post category for B2B and B2C companies that want to improve their SEO is how-to posts. These types of blog posts explain how to do something or answer a question readers are searching for.

To get more insight into what questions or topics your customers are searching for online, look up a search term relevant to your blog and look at the “People Also Ask” section of the search results. You can then use these questions to help guide your blog strategy.

32. A list of “musts” for a career in your field.

33. Interview an industry heavy-hitter about their tips for businesses.

34. Post a series on how to land a job in [your industry].

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35. Write a roundup about “X Things I Wish I Knew When I First Started.”

36. How to gain the right skill set to advance in your career.

37. The hardest part of your job — and how you tackle that.

38. Tips to handle burnout.

39. Write an ultimate guide.

40. Create pillar pages, or topic pages that link to a variety of other articles on the same subject.

41. Bust common myths about your field.

42. Demo how to use a specific social media channel.

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43. Write about how to properly research and collect data for reports.

44. Recommend the best tools for completing daily tasks related to your product or industry.

45. Share the benefits of a current trend your company has mastered.

46. Answer the top questions people have about your industry.

47. Break down how to write a blog post using your own blog as an example.

Multichannel Integration Blog Post Ideas

Your company’s blog is just one channel for your marketing strategy. For blog ideas that focus on multichannel integration, the key is to share the marketing methods you use on your other channels like email and social media.

48. Discuss top social media trends.

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49. Explain how your most recent Instagram Live session engaged your audience.

50. Rank the top-performing social media channels for your brand.

51. Dive into a social network’s latest update.

52. Explain how you use Instagram Reels to grow your engagement.

53. Spotlight a brand killing it among multiple social channels.

54. Share the best Twitter threads you’ve seen about your industry.

55. Share a breakdown of your best-performing email campaign and why it worked.

56. Discuss how your brand uses LinkedIn to connect with your community.

57. Share your top social media analytics services and explain why they’re great.

58. Break down the most important email marketing metrics using examples from your own email campaigns.

59. Explain how video channels like YouTube or TikTok can be an asset to your business.

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60. Take a stance on a recent blog post from your favorite news-sharing site.

61. Round up recent news in your industry.

62. Share snippets from your company’s ebook in a roundup.

Thought Leadership Blog Post Ideas

Thought leadership content is used to demonstrate your company’s expertise in a certain topic or industry. These types of blog posts should establish credibility and position your brand as a trusted resource with a unique perspective.

63. Describe what your mission statement means to you.

64. Dive into how a company boosted its blog traffic exponentially.

65. Break down what an ideal company culture would look like.

66. Write about ways your company is focusing on diversity and inclusion.

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67. Based on trends from the past year, what are your predictions for the industry’s future?

68. Come up with a list of company outings for remote teams/employees.

69. Describe how your team combats burnout and provide helpful tips to avoid it.

70. Create a list of industry trends to keep an eye on.

71. Compare and contrast different topics about marketing, business, or your industry, such as different types of advertising.

72. Post a recap of breaking industry news.

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Content Marketing Blog Post Ideas

While almost everything on your blog is considered content marketing, these specific types of blog posts help market your company by giving readers a glimpse into your product, processes, and team.

73. Develop a blog post series dedicated to your company’s FAQs.

74. Invite an industry leader to contribute their expertise as a guest blogger.

75. Curate an office playlist and share the tracklist.

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76. Profile a team member to showcase the company culture.

77. Interview a customer and share their results.

78. Repurpose a case study into a blog post.

79. Repurpose a white paper or guide into a blog post series.

80. Write about your day-to-day workflow.

81. Have your team share their favorite ways to use your product.

82. Share key takeaways from a recent industry conference you or your team attended.

83. Explain the ways content marketing has helped your company meet its business goals.

84. Post a “Year-in-Review” about lessons learned throughout the year and how to apply them to the year ahead.

85. A roundup of your most popular blog posts.

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86. A roundup of ways your team conducts successful content marketing.

Miscellaneous/Fun Blog Post Ideas

Who says your blog has to be buttoned up all the time? Show off your brand’s personality with these fun blog post ideas.

87. Share photos or videos from your team’s recent travels.

88. Curate a list of quotes.

89. Give an office tour.

90. List of books that inspire professionals in your industry.

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91. “What has changed about our workflow habits over the years?”

92. Compile a list of weekly/monthly aspirations.

93. Break down your favorite historic moment in your industry.

94. Embrace popular holidays and make a themed post about them.

95. Explain common acronyms in your workplace or industry.

96. Start a series where remote team members share their daily work routines.

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97. Give a short history of your company.

98. A peer-curated list of hobbies outside of work.

99. Share highlights from a recent industry conference you or your team attended.

100. Examine a recent movie trailer and how its marketing should be noted.

101. Come up with a staff bonding event and recap how it went.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day of your industry, which means it’s also easy to run into the same types of blog posts. Blogs are important for SEO and lead generation, so picking the “right” topics is a crucial step in marketing planning.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published prior to 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

We’ve entered the era of purpose.

70% of employees believe it’s important to work for a business with a clear sense of purpose.  And, 54% of consumers have reduced or stopped purchasing from organisations they think missed the mark on environmental or social issues.

Additional, countless data points in our most recent State of Consumer Trends Report highlight how having a solid purpose or mission will win over today’s audiences and enable you to stand out against competitors.

The last two and a half years have brought into focus what it means to be a purpose-driven company. The global pandemic disrupted supply chains and highlighted rising inequalities. The ongoing threat of climate change shifted market dynamics and investor expectations, leaving businesses realising they must act. Not to mention, the Great Resignation/Reflection proved that employees are increasingly seeking value and purpose at work.

There’s no question that driving value for stakeholders, society, and the planet is imperative. Today and in the future, we’ll see more companies start to weave purpose into their business.

But, purpose is more than a buzzword. For winning companies, purpose declares a company’s core reason for existence and its unique impact on the world. Done right, companies connect people’s individual purpose with the organizations. But, building that doesn’t come easy.

That’s why leaders iterate and evolve on a company’s purpose as they grow. At HubSpot, our purpose of building a company that future generations would be proud of serves as our roadmap to help determine which ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) initiatives we pursue to make an impact.

While we’re still early in our journey, there are three areas that I believe are key for companies to deliver on purpose: authenticity, engagement, and influence.

How to Run (& Market) Your Brand With Purpose

1. Embed purpose in a way that’s authentic to your organization

In the 2011 Black Friday edition of The New York Times, Patagonia published a bold full-page ad telling customers to not buy their jacket. Going into detail as to why, Patagonia transparently listed the factors: the jacket required 36 gallons of water to produce (enough to fill the daily needs of 45 people), emitted 20 pounds of carbon dioxide (24 times the weight of the jacket), and produced two-thirds of its weight in waste.

Source: Patagonia, The New York Times

It’s not just about simply stating that you have a purpose. Authentic purpose-driven companies “walk the walk” by being transparent, accountable, and authentic in everything they do. Patagonia’s campaign resonated with so many because it had a powerful message without sacrificing their purpose of being in business to save our home planet.

To truly drive change, purpose must be rooted in authenticity. Without authenticity, purpose falls flat and leads to distrust and confusion.

That’s why at HubSpot, we walk the walk before we talk the talk. Everything from our business decisions, our action plan around Black Lives Matter, and where we’re falling short is communicated clearly to our employees before it’s shared externally. Companies can lead with authenticity by ensuring their purpose reflects the company’s core values, continually reinforcing how employees are contributing to purpose, and committing real action to deliver on that purpose.  

2. Engage employees to activate their purpose

Before you even consider marketing around your purpose, you’ll want to engrain it within the work you do.

According to Mckinsey & Company, 70% of employees feel that their sense of purpose in life is defined by their work, indicating that an organisation’s purpose can be a strong influence on an individual’s sense of worth.  

At a time when people are looking to derive meaning from their work, it’s important to continually reinforce how and why employees can contribute to making an impact.

One way to engage employees is by communicating not only the company’s actions, but also what employees can do to get involved.

For Earth Day this year, members of our Eco@HubSpot employee interest resource group participated in a Slack event called the Growing Greener Challenge, where they received one easy action each day to help invest in our planet.

 For each completed action, HubSpot donated to the Global Greengrants Fund (GGF). Collectively, HubSpotters took 1,306 actions – including buying local foods with a low carbon footprint, unplugging appliances not in use and repurposing items that would normally be thrown away – raising over $9,000 for the GGF.

It’s also important to set the tone at the top, and create an environment where employees feel comfortable living their purpose at work. As part of our twice-a-year performance reviews, all employees, including executive leadership, are asked to share how they are prioritizing diversity, inclusion, and belonging — a core part of our mission — in their work.

And at every company meeting, we take time to recognize HubSpotters who embody an aspect of our core values, which helps to inspire a sense of purpose across the business.

3. Consider your influencing role in purpose.

Purpose shouldn’t live in a vacuum. Part of being a responsible, purpose-driven company is not only creating value for your own company, but for others within your larger ecosystem. This can include your customers, suppliers, and even your customers’ customers.

As pressure continues to build for companies to meet regulatory demands and take action on climate change, suppliers will be expected to do more than just deliver product. They’ll be asked in detail about what it means to be a responsible business.

Recently, I’ve been engaging with our customers to understand the sustainability issues they care about and how we may be able to collaborate. The feedback is clear: they have a real appetite for more transparency into what we’re doing, and want to join us on our journey. With over 135,000 customers across more than 120 countries, it would be irresponsible not to recognize the tremendous potential we have for impact. Getting a good grasp of and investing in this multiplier effect is key to success.

As we gear up for a new year, we’re asking ourselves how our ESG efforts connect with HubSpot’s mission, purpose, and core values. We have made good progress but still have a way to go and more to learn, but by leading with authenticity, engaging our employees, and considering our influencer role, we’ll continue to make progress on our authentic purpose to build a company that future generations can be proud of.

What’s Your Purpose?

Purpose isn’t just something you can mention in a marketing campaign.

Ultimately, your purpose is like a promise that you’re making to your audiences and employees. Make it thoughtful, actionable, and intentional.

Now that you’ve learned how to truly embrace your purpose, it’s time for you to decide what that brand purpose will be.

To learn more about how mission and purpose impacts your audiences, customers, and employees today, check out our State of Consumer Trends Report below.

With more than 2 billion monthly users, YouTube can help businesses reach a huge audience. To use the platform as an efficient marketing tool, you’ll need to stay current on the latest YouTube ad specs.

Wondering how you should format your ads? In this post, we’ll explore the requirements for YouTube advertisements by covering the following.

• What are YouTube Ads?
• The Types of YouTube Ads
• How to Make the Most Out of YouTube Ads

Youtube is the second most active social media platform in the world, according to DataReportal’s global social media statistics. Creating ads specifically for this platform can help you meet your current marketing goals.

Before you create your first ad, you’ll need to create an account (if you don’t already have one). Then, you’ll choose which type of advertisement you want.

YouTube ads have a variety of different formatting requirements. Ad formats are determined by the advertiser and may vary based on which delivery option is selected. After selecting your delivery option, you need to create the right creative.

So what are your options for advertising on YouTube? Take a look at the range of ads and their requirements below.

Types of YouTube Ads

Even though YouTube is a video-oriented platform, there are two types of ads you can use to reach your audience.

1. Video ads
2. Non-video ads

Video ads are what you’d expect. They’re the pre-roll ads that play before a video plays on your computer or mobile device. You can also see them in the sidebar of the Youtube app.

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Non-video ads are text-based ads that appear on the right side of the screen after you’ve watched a video and are waiting for it to load another one.

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Both video and non-video ads can be helpful marketing tools. To choose which format you should use, you need to know:

• Who you are trying to reach.
• Your main goals for the specific advertising campaign.
• Which format aligns best with the qualities that you want to showcase in your ad.

Now, let’s explore how video and non-video ads work and what options each one offers.

YouTube In-Stream Ads

Most YouTube videos have ads either at the beginning of the video (these can be skippable or non-skippable) or in the middle of the video. These are called pre-roll and mid-roll ads, but they are also known as in-stream ads.

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What we love: In-Stream Ads are great for encouraging viewers to check out your content, and they’re also great at breaking up the monotony of watching long videos on repeat.

You can also customize these ads with your own branding and messaging, which makes them a great option if you have multiple products or services to promote.

Specs:

• Recommended video dimensions: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p)
• Minimum dimensions: 426 x 240
• Maximum dimensions: 3840 x 2160
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Maximum file size: 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less
• Accepted video formats: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM
• The skippable video length max is 6 minutes (skippable after 5 seconds)
• Non-skippable video length max is 15 or 20 seconds (30 seconds in some regions)
• Mid-roll video length minimum is 30 seconds

In-feed YouTube Ads

In-feed YouTube ads put your brand in front of your audience’s eyes. How? They identify what your audience is watching and strategically place your ad in their own feeds so they can find you without even noticing.

In-feed YouTube Ads often appear on a viewer’s recommended and home pages. Their main goal tends to be featuring different products in order to directly generate sales, but they can also be used for different lead generation or brand awareness campaigns.

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Discovery ads offer another form of in-stream ads. These ads appear in the viewer’s YouTube Home feed, Watch feed, and Search feed. For example, you may search “cooking tutorial” only to find a sponsored recipe at the top of the list.

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With these ads, you can place your content in front of those already searching for similar videos.

Specs:

• Video requirements: you need a link to which public or unlisted YouTube video you want to promote
• Image requirements: when creating this ad, the platform allows you to pick from one of four video thumbnails
• Text requirements: your video headline should be 100 characters maximum
• Description requirements: No more than to 2 lines with 35 characters each

YouTube Bumper Ads

With bumper ads, you can target specific audiences based on their interests and demographics. These ads are six seconds or shorter, playing before, during, or after another video.

As an advertiser, you can choose when these videos appear. Plus, viewers don’t have the option to skip the ad.

Remember: A 300 x 60 image will run with your video ad. Make sure your creative team delivers both your video and image assets.

Specs:

• Accepted video formats: File format: MP4, Quicktime, AVI, ASF, Windows Media, or MPEG
• Maximum file size: 1GB
• Maximum Length: 6 seconds
• Recommended video dimensions: 640 x 360 or 480 x 360
• Companion image dimensions: 300 x 60 .jpg, .gif, or .png

YouTube Display Ads

Display ads consist of an image that runs across the top of your screen while you’re watching a video on YouTube. These images may include text and links that allow viewers to click through to take an action such as visiting an advertiser’s website or signing up for their newsletter.

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Specs:

• Maximum image dimensions: 300 x 250 pixels for the larger view
• Minimum image dimensions: 300 x 60 px for the smaller view
• Recommended video dimensions: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) and 3840 x 2160 (2160p)
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Maximum file size: 128GB or 12 hours, whichever is less
• Accepted video formats include: .MOV, .MPEG4, .MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP, and WebM

Overlay Ads

Overlay ads are some of the most common types of ad space on YouTube. They appear over the video’s leading content and can be either horizontal or vertical in format.

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Why are overlay ads important? Well, one of their main advantages is that they are free.

That’s right, you don’t have to pay anything extra for these ads. It’s part of YouTube’s service for anyone who wants to use them. That means these ads are often used as a way to promote products or services, and they’re great for increasing brand awareness.

Specs:

• Landscape aspect ratio: 16:9
• Vertical aspect ratio: 9:16 or square 1:1 or both.
• Keep within recommended YouTube banner size of 2560 x 1440 px

Make the Most Out of YouTube Ads

70% of users report buying a product after seeing a Youtube Ad, so knowing how to use this resource effectively can change your marketing game completely. Now that you know what types of ads are available, here are some tips that can help you navigate through these different options.

First, consider your target audience. Are they millennials? What do they like? How are they looking for what they want to find on the internet? Knowing this will help you determine which type of ad will best resonate and which ones to avoid.

Next, decide how much money you want to spend on each campaign. You’ll need to carefully consider how much money you have available — and your desired return on investment — before making any decisions.

Then, your team can start gathering the right creative materials. To learn more about how YouTube ads are changing marketing strategies, see our list of must-know YouTube statistics.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in Sept. 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.