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I see short-form videos everywhere nowadays. And now, as platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Google, LinkedIn, and Pinterest expand their short-form offerings, brands are continuing to take notice.

In the 2024 HubSpot State of Marketing Report, we found that short-form video is the number one format marketers are using and will see the most growth in 2024.

What’s more? Short-form video has the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy in 2024.

So, how can you join in on the short-form video action to grow your business? And what are some trends to look for in the next year? In this post I’ll share advice from video marketing experts. Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What are short-form videos?
• How do short-form videos fit into your content strategy?
• Short-Form Video Trends to Look Out For
• Takeaways for Video Marketers
• Best Platforms for Short-Form Videos

Brandon Sanders, former digital marketer for HubSpot Academy, highlights that what’s considered short-form can also depend on the platform.

With the rise of platforms like TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts, “short-form video is actually getting shorter and lending itself more to 60-second to two-minute videos,” Sanders said.

Before YouTube Shorts, the 10-minute mark was the “sweet spot because content on YouTube tends to be more comprehensive,” but now with Shorts, you are limited to 60 seconds if you want to be featured in that media.

According to our 2024 State of Marketing Report, 36% of video marketers believe that the optimal length for a marketing video is between one and three minutes, 27% say the optimal length is four to six minutes, and 15% say it’s seven to nine.

So, shorter videos really are the star in 2024 marketing trends.

How do short-form videos fit into your content strategy?

HubSpot’s Marketing Trends Report for 2024 found that short-form video is the top leveraged media format in marketers’ content strategies.

We already know video content is increasingly becoming an important part of every brand’s content marketing strategy.

However, when we look at short-form video specifically, the data (gathered from the HubSpot 2024 State of Marketing) speak for themselves:

• Short-form ranks #1 for return on investment ROI.
• 56% of marketers using TikTok will increase their investment next year.
• 25% of marketers plan to invest more in short-form video in 2024.
• 30% of marketers who aren’t currently using short-form videos plan to start in 2024.

Sanders says short-form videos give creators an innovative way to showcase their content.

“The growth of social media is causing the human attention span to become shorter and shorter,” he said. “So, leveraging the power of short-form content will give you a leg up on your competition and help engage your audience.”

Aside from length, one thing that sets short-form videos apart is the trend culture.

TikTok, for instance, is run by viral songs, trends and challenges, and topics of interest. So, to get on the “For You” page on TikTok — which is equal to the “Explore” page on Instagram — brands must join in on the fun.

Apps like TikTok have also been influenced by AI. Users generate AI-narrated voices or use AI to ask questions and generate images. TikTok also has tools like its Creative Assistant available for its users so they can benefit from AI.

As with any new trend or platform, former HubSpot Senior Content Strategist Amanda Zantal-Wiener says you should always consider your audience first:

“It all goes back to a very old question: Which channels are your audiences using and for what? And therefore, for which channels does it make the most sense for your business to create this short-form content?”

This means that while short-form video is often known for its entertainment value, you can adapt it to align with your brand.

You should also do as much prep work as you can before a video shoot. Video marketer Tanner Francom describes this as “gathering inspiration.”

He says “helps to craft shots in both pre-production and on set. Before putting together a shot list, we gather an inspiration board full of shots that we want to replicate or have certain aspects we’d like to include in the video.”

If you consider your audience and sufficiently prep for your short-form videos, there’s no trend you can’t tackle in 2024.

Short-Form Video Trends to Look Out For

1. Brand Challenges

When short-form videos first gained popularity, it was through viral content based on dances, songs, and sounds.

Today, brands can make their own sounds, filters, and challenges go viral.

According to our social media trends report, 20% of marketers surveyed leveraged branded challenges, and 42% said they performed better than expected.

In addition, marketers rank them among the most effective social media trends of 2024.

Short-Form Video Example: Colgate

@zahra look how beautiful my momma is :’)
#MakeMomSmile @colgate_us
#ColgatePartner
♬ Children Folk Acoustic – BDKSonic

To celebrate Mother’s Day, Colgate launched the #MakeMomSmile challenge, which encourages users all around the world to share videos in which they did something special for their mothers.

It’s also a great play on words, as Colgate is all about providing beautiful smiles to its customers.

What I Like: Brand challenges, like Colgate’s, should be fun and accessible to all.

In my experience, it’s really important you announce winners in a timely fashion and feature the winning videos on your page so those who participated don’t forget about the campaign.

2. Influencer Ads

Brands have been leveraging influencer marketing for years; that’s nothing new. However, we’re now seeing more brands use them in short-form video content.

Influencer marketing is here to stay. 88% of companies using influencer marketing say it’s effective, and 55% of those surveyed said, “My company will invest more in influencer marketing in 2024.”

For instance, popular TikTok influencer TiffFoods starred in an ad for food brand Fly by Jing to promote its product.

Short-Form Video Example: Fly by Jing

With short-form content lending itself well to native advertising, brands can create videos that are more likely to generate conversions.

Pro Tip: Choosing which influencer to represent your product isn’t easy. You want someone who stands for the same values as your business. Check out this blog on how to choose the best influencer for your brand.

3. Product Teasers

Think about the average commercial you see: It’s usually anywhere between six seconds to 60 seconds. This also happens to be the average length of a short-form video.

Because of this, brands can leverage short-form video platforms to promote their products organically.

It can be incredibly effective because it doesn’t require a large budget, it has the potential to go viral, and it builds anticipation around your brand.

Short-Form Video Example: Crumbl Cookies

Crumbl cookies is notorious for teasing new products and then revealing them as the cookies of the week. They’ve even branched out into pies and cakes recently.

Product teasers are great because they create suspense by getting users to be even more invested in the launch as they wonder what the reveal is.

Pro Tip: A rotating product reveals with consistent teasers is a great marketing strategy for building anticipation. Whenever you have a new product to launch or a short-lived/seasonal product, be sure to hint at what’s coming at least a week before the launch.

As video marketer George Haddad puts it: “Consistency matters. But high-quality consistency is crucial.”

4. More User-Generated Content (UGC)

Consumers generally love UGC. In fact, in a recent HubSpot survey of 500+ marketers who sell content via social shopping features, 92% said user-generated content increases their brand awareness.

According to HubSpot Blog research, UGC also offers great ROI, with 40% of marketers surveyed ranking it as a high-ROI format on social media.

Our research also suggests it’s popular with Gen Z, which is the biggest demographic on TikTok.

Why is UGC a winning strategy? Well, without using up too many resources, brands can easily publish videos that evoke emotion, and feel authentic and relatable.

Short-Form Video Example: Chipotle

@chipotle Out of this world delivery ha @cheekyboyos
#chipotle
#burrito
#space
#fyp
♬ original sound Chipotle

This video is a great example of how you can leverage user-generated content in your strategy. In this instance, Chipotle collaborated with these content producers to create a fun, viral-worthy video.

One of Chipotle’s target audiences might be young college students looking for inexpensive meals.

This video features two creators who reflect the audience they may want to attract. Brands should keep this in mind when considering UGC and ask, “Will my audience relate to this?” If the answer is yes, move forward.

What I Like: Not all UGC campaigns are equal, and it can be hard to get participation. Check out this blog for more examples of UGC campaigns that work to inspire your UGC strategy.

5. More Behind-the-Brand Videos

Consumers seek out authenticity and transparency in brands. With short-form video, you only have a few seconds to connect with your audience.

So, how do you do that? Well, there’s no exact science to it, but consumers tend to feel more connected to brands that show the people behind the brand.

In one Sprout Social study, 70% of consumers said they felt more connected to brands whose CEO is active on social media platforms.

So, going into 2024, brands should pull back the curtain and engage with their audiences on a more personal level. Not sure how to personalize your content in a way that suits your audience? I recommend A/B testing videos to see which ones perform better, and so does video content marketer Ernie Santeralli:

“What do dynamic duos such as peanut butter and jelly have in common with A/B testing and personalization? They’re better together. And in the case of A/B testing and personalization, the benefits to the online experience (and results) become exponential when you combine them.”

Short-Form Video Example: Formula One

Is there any sport that’s giving viewers as much behind-the-scenes action as Formula One? I don’t think so.

With their Netflix special and thriving social media accounts (like YouTube), Formula One uses short-form video content to engage with viewers on a daily basis.

Viewers feel extra invested because they feel like they know each driver and each car brand intimately, giving the races higher stakes.

Pro Tip: Brainstorm with your marketing team on how you can pull back the curtain on your company and let customers know more about what makes your brand tick.

This might look like an interview with your CEO or a video explaining the history of your company. Let your viewers see why you’re passionate about what you do and what you have in plan for the future.

6. More Explainer or Educational Videos

In 2024, brands will likely focus on educational content in their short-form videos — think how-to’s, DIYs, and explainer videos.

A 2024 Wyzowl report found that viewers want to see more of this video style from brands.

Wondering where we currently stand? 32% of marketers surveyed in our social media trends report say they currently leverage educational content and 57% of those who do say it’s one of the most effective content types.

Educational videos are great added-value content because they help audiences in their day-to-day lives. Brands that make education a priority in their marketing strategy can improve lead generation and build stronger brand loyalty.

Similarly, explainer videos target users who are at the decision-making stage of the buyer’s journey and if done right, they can turn decision-makers into customers.

It’s a win-win situation: Brands get to address their audience’s pain points and offer solutions, which is (surprise!) them. Not sure what I mean? See the example below.

Short-Form Video Example: Soy Yo Candle

Soy Yo Candle used the formula mentioned above to create this short-form video. Presumably, one of the biggest struggles of owning candles is making them last.

In just a few seconds, the brand presented a problem, offered a solution, and promoted its product. It can be as simple as that.

Another highlight in this video is that it caters to viewers who may be discovering the brand and those who already know it. Because of the value it offers, the brand can reach a broader audience organically.

Not sure how to sell an educational video? Short-form video marketer Charis Maimaris says you should create short and engaging content.

His top tips for engaging content include “using an emotional or intriguing hook, keeping it short and to the point, using strong visuals and sound effects, and telling a story.”

Pro Tip: Rehash and recycle your content. If you’ve written an informational piece of content in the last year, use this to create an educational video for your subscribers and customers.

There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel when you’ve already spent time perfecting content that can be reused and reinvented.

Takeaways for Video Marketers

Social Media Content Manager Kelsi Yamada says using short-form video is a low-commitment and engaging way to connect with your audience.

“You can get a good laugh or learn something new in a minute or less on TikTok or Reels,” said Yamada.

“On the flip side, it’s also relatively easy to create, which means there are more people who can share their humor or points of view. Because of this, brands should figure out what their unique point of view is, and how they can stand out in the noise.”

The desire to be on-trend is always tempting. But, Yamada stresses that brands should be selective about which trends they partake in.

“Not every viral TikTok sound or meme format will align with your content strategy or brand, so don’t force it,” she said.

“Focus on catering to your niche and staying authentic first. Don’t be afraid to make something completely from scratch – trends have to start somewhere!”

With this in mind, it’s all about finding the balance between what’s trending and what’s on-brand for your business. If you want to explore more about video marketing more broadly, check out HubSpot Academy’s courses on Video Marketing and Developing a Video Marketing Strategy.

1. TikTok

With at least 47% of its users between 10 and 29 years old, TikTok is definitely the platform for the Millennial and Gen Z population.

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The TikTok homepage features a timeline of videos separated into two tabs.

The “Following” tab has videos posted by the user’s followers, and the algorithm-driven “For You” page is based on user behavior (what they like, comment on, scroll past, etc.)

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The “Discover” tab on TikTok highlights trending topics and hashtags, and in my experience this is a great resource for marketers to generate new content ideas.

B2B marketers have been wary of using the platform, but it could be because success on the platform relies on emotional appeal. Yet, that emotional appeal may be exactly what they need.

According to a VML insight report, emotional B2B marketing can be seen as “a radical new approach to communicating with business customers.”

Still not quite convinced TikTok is a viable marketing platform for your business?

Check out this video explanation of how TikTok has grown into one of the most go-to platforms for short-form content today.

Now, it may be time to start practicing those dance moves.

2. Reels

Some call it TikTok 2.0, but Instagram Reels is proving to be its own beast.

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The Reels tab on Instagram is a scrollable video timeline, similar to what users see on their Explore page. From this page, users can click on the music the account used to see what other Reels feature that sound.

With over 1 billion active monthly users, Instagram already had consumers’ attention. When they launched Reels back in August of 2020, it became another marketing tool for brands and a worthy opponent for TikTok.

Instagram caters to a broader age demographic than TikTok, and considering their other marketing features, Reels is another way for brands to expand their reach in a minute or less.

3. YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts is YouTube’s venture to mobilize short-form videos on its long-form video platform. YouTube first started testing it back in September 2020, and now has over 2.3 billion monthly active users.

When using YouTube‘s mobile app, you’ll see that Shorts now has a dedicated tab on the platform. Users can create Shorts up to 60 seconds and, similarly to other short-form video platforms, can edit the videos directly within the app.

. Triller

Triller is Tiktok’s musical theater friend (or rival) — the one who bursts into song anytime, anywhere, without cause or notice.

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Triller’s homepage looks similar to other short-form video platforms. However, They have made music a prominent feature on the app by making top and trending music the main tab.

The platform is popular among musical artists and allows users to edit 60-second videos within the app.

This includes music, filters, effects, and transitions. Triller first grew in popularity when there was some uncertainty surrounding a TikTok ban in the United States, but has become a worthy competitor.

With music playing a key role in the app, marketers could use music as a storytelling element in their videos.

For instance, a few years back the song “You Got It” by Vedo — a song about unlocking your potential — made its rounds on Triller.

A recruiting firm could’ve used that sound to create a short video targeting job seekers. The song would also work great as a backdrop for a business coaching company advertising its services.

5. Hippo Video

If you want to take short-form video content beyond social media, there’s Hippo Video.

The video marketing platform gives brands a one-stop-shop to produce, distribute, and analyze their video content. Users can also embed forms, CTAs, and annotations within the video, making conversions easier.

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For example, let’s say a SaaS company is launching a new product, and the marketing team is using Hippo Video for the email campaign.

On launch day, they can send a product teaser video to current customers and include a “Schedule a Demo” CTA, leading users to a meeting scheduling page.

During the campaign, the team can track key metrics like total plays and average watch rate — taking video analytics to another level.

6. Magisto by Vimeo

Vimeo recently acquired Magisto, a video editing software that makes video marketing easy through AI.

To get started, first upload your videos. The software will then analyze the videos and put them together based on the video editing style you’re looking for.

They have over ten editing styles ranging from real estate and fitness to Facebook and YouTube ads.

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Once you select the style you’re looking for and the video is complete, you can distribute it on social media platforms and track the analytics.

This platform is ideal for brands that don’t want to spend too much time or too many resources on video marketing. This app does it so you don’t have to.

7. Lately.ai

If your brand is short on time and resources but wants to leverage short-form video, consider Lately.ai.

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This software, powered by AI, takes long-form audio, video, and text and atomizes it into snackable posts for social media. How does it know what will work? That’s where the AI comes in.

It looks at what content your audience is most likely to respond to based on historical data and creates from there. It’s a great tool for brands who are dipping their toes into short-form content and want to build from their current library.

8. Wistia

Wistia is a leader in the video hosting industry, helping more than 300,000 businesses manage their video content and grow their audience.

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When using this platform, you can build a customizable video player that matches your brand, use lead generation tools, and track your videos’ performance to gain insights.

You can also create custom ad audiences for search and social to ensure your content reaches the right audience and use integrations to sync all your tools.

There are hundreds of ways to incorporate short-form videos into your marketing strategy. But no matter which trends come and go, it will always come back to your audience.

Try a few approaches, and listen to where the data tells you to go next.

Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.

It’s the age of AI, and our job as marketers is to keep up.

My team at Foundation Marketing recently conducted an AI Marketing study surveying hundreds of marketers, and more than 84% of all leaders, managers, SEO experts, and specialists confirmed that they used AI in the workplace.

If you can overlook the fear-inducing headlines, this technology is making social media marketers more efficient and effective than ever. Translation: AI is good news for social media marketers.

In fact, I predict that the marketers not using AI in their workplace will be using it before the end of this year, and that number will move closer and closer to 100%.

Social media and AI are two of the most revolutionizing technologies of the last few decades. Social media has changed the way we live, and AI is changing the way we work.

So, I’m going to condense and share the data, research, tools, and strategies that the Foundation Marketing Team and I have been working on over the last year to help you better wield the collective power of AI and social media.

Let’s jump into it.

What’s the role of AI in social marketing strategy?

In a recent episode of my podcast, Create Like The Greats, we dove into some fascinating findings about the impact of AI on marketers and social media professionals. Take a listen here:

Let’s dive a bit deeper into the benefits of this technology:

Benefits of AI in Social Media Strategy

AI is to social media what a conductor is to an orchestra — it brings everything together with precision and purpose. The applications of AI in a social media strategy are vast, but the virtuosos are few who can wield its potential to its fullest.

AI to Conduct Customer Research

Imagine you’re a modern-day Indiana Jones, not dodging boulders or battling snakes, but rather navigating the vast, wild terrain of consumer preferences, trends, and feedback.

This is where AI thrives.

Using social media data, from posts on X to comments and shares, AI can take this information and turn it into insights surrounding your business and industry. Let’s say for example you’re a business that has 2,000 customer reviews on Google, Yelp, or a software review site like Capterra.

Leveraging AI you can now have all 2,000 of these customer reviews analyzed and summarized into an insightful report in a matter of minutes. You simply need to download all of them into a doc and then upload them to your favorite Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) to get the insights and data you need.

But that’s not all.

You can become a Prompt Engineer and write ChatGPT asking it to help you better understand your audience. For example, if you’re trying to come up with a persona for people who enjoy marathons but also love kombucha you could write a prompt like this to ChatGPT:

The response that ChatGPT provided back is quite good:

Below this it went even deeper by including a lot of valuable customer research data:

• Demographics
• Psychographics
• Consumer behaviors
• Needs and preferences

And best of all…

It also included marketing recommendations.

The power of AI is unbelievable.

Social Media Content Using AI

AI’s helping hand can be unburdening for the creative spirit.

Instead of marketers having to come up with new copy every single month for posts, AI Social Caption generators are making it easier than ever to craft catchy status updates in the matter of seconds.

Tools like HubSpot make it as easy as clicking a button and telling the AI tool what you’re looking to create a post about:

The best part of these AI tools is that they’re not limited to one channel.

Your AI social media content assistant can help you with LinkedIn content, X content, Facebook content, and even the captions that support your post on Instagram.

It can also help you navigate hashtags:

With AI social media tools that generate content ideas or even write posts, it’s not about robots replacing humans. It’s about making sure that the human creators on your team are focused on what really matters — adding that irreplaceable human touch.

Enhanced Personalization

You know that feeling when a brand gets you, like, really gets you?

AI makes that possible through targeted content that’s tailored with a level of personalization you’d think was fortune-telling if the data didn’t paint a starker, more rational picture.

What do I mean?

Brands can engage more quickly with AI than ever before. In the early 2000s, a lot of brands spent millions of dollars to create social media listening rooms where they would hire social media managers to find and engage with any conversation happening online.

Thanks to AI, brands now have the ability to do this at scale with much fewer people all while still delivering quality engagement with the recipient.

Analytics and Insights

Tapping into AI to dissect the data gives you a CSI-like precision to figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what makes your audience tick. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing.

The best part about AI is that it can give you almost any expert at your fingertips.

If you run a report surrounding the results of your social media content strategy directly from a site like LinkedIn, AI can review the top posts you’ve shared and give you clear feedback on what type of content is performing, why you should create more of it, and what days of the week your content is performing best.

This type of insight that would typically take hours to understand.

Now …

Thanks to the power of AI you can upload a spreadsheet filled with rows and columns of data just to be met with a handful of valuable insights a few minutes later.

Improved Customer Service

Want 24/7 support for your customers?

It’s now possible without human touch.

Chatbots powered by AI are taking the lead on direct messaging experiences for brands on Facebook and other Meta properties to offer round-the-clock assistance.

The fact that AI can be trained on past customer queries and data to inform future queries and problems is a powerful development for social media managers.

Advertising on Social Media with AI

The majority of ad networks have used some variation of AI to manage their bidding system for years. Now, thanks to AI and its ability to be incorporated in more tools, brands are now able to use AI to create better and more interesting ad campaigns than ever before.

Brands can use AI to create images using tools like Midjourney and DALL-E in seconds.

Brands can use AI to create better copy for their social media ads.

Brands can use AI tools to support their bidding strategies.

The power of AI and social media is continuing to evolve daily and it’s not exclusively found in the organic side of the coin. Paid media on social media is being shaken up due to AI just the same.

How to Implement AI into Your Social Media Strategy

Ready to hit “Go” on your AI-powered social media revolution?

Don’t just start the engine and hope for the best. Remember the importance of building a strategy first. In this video, you can learn some of the most important factors ranging from (but not limited to) SMART goals and leveraging influencers in your day-to-day work:

The following seven steps are crucial to building a social media strategy:

1. Identify Your AI and Social Media Goals
2. Validate Your AI-Related Assumptions
3. Conduct Persona and Audience Research
4. Select the Right Social Channels
5. Identify Key Metrics and KPIs
6. Choose the Right AI Tools
7. Evaluate and Refine Your Social Media and AI Strategy

Keep reading, roll up your sleeves, and follow this roadmap:

1. Identify Your AI and Social Media Goals

If you’re just dipping your toes into the AI sea, start by defining clear objectives.

Is it to boost engagement? Streamline your content creation? Or simply understand your audience better? It’s important that you spend time understanding what you want to achieve.

For example, say you’re a content marketing agency like Foundation and you’re trying to increase your presence on LinkedIn. The specificity of this goal will help you understand the initiatives you want to achieve and determine which AI tools could help you make that happen.

Are there AI tools that will help you create content more efficiently? Are there AI tools that will help you optimize LinkedIn Ads? Are there AI tools that can help with content repurposing? All of these things are possible and having a goal clearly identified will help maximize the impact. Learn more in this Foundation Marketing piece on incorporating AI into your content workflow.

Once you have identified your goals, it’s time to get your team on board and assess what tools are available in the market.

Recommended Resources:

• How to Write a SMART Goal

2. Validate Your AI-Related Assumptions

Assumptions are dangerous — especially when it comes to implementing new tech.

Don’t assume AI is going to fix all your problems.

Instead, start with small experiments and track their progress carefully.

3. Conduct Persona and Audience Research

Social media isn’t something that you can just jump into.

You need to understand your audience and ideal customers. AI can help with this, but you’ll need to be familiar with best practices. If you need a primer, this will help:

Once you understand the basics, consider ways in which AI can augment your approach.

4. Select the Right Social Channels

Not every social media channel is the same.

It’s important that you understand what channel is right for you and embrace it.

The way you use AI for X is going to be different from the way you use AI for LinkedIn. On X, you might use AI to help you develop a long-form thread that is filled with facts and figures. On LinkedIn however, you might use AI to repurpose a blog post and turn it into a carousel PDF. The content that works on X and that AI can facilitate creating is different from the content that you can create and use on LinkedIn.

The audiences are different.

The content formats are different.

So operate and create a plan accordingly.

Recommended Tools and Resources:

• 18 YouTube Templates for Business
• How to Use Twitter for Business (+ Follower Tracking Template)

5. Identify Key Metrics and KPIs

What metrics are you trying to influence the most?

Spend time understanding the social media metrics that matter to your business and make sure that they’re prioritized as you think about the ways in which you use AI.

These are a few that matter most:

• Reach: Post reach signifies the count of unique users who viewed your post. How much of your content truly makes its way to users’ feeds?
• Clicks: This refers to the number of clicks on your content or account. Monitoring clicks per campaign is crucial for grasping what sparks curiosity or motivates people to make a purchase.
• Engagement: The total social interactions divided by the number of impressions. This metric reveals how effectively your audience perceives you and their readiness to engage.

Of course, it’s going to depend greatly on your business.

But with this information, you can ensure that your AI social media strategy is rooted in goals.

6. Choose the Right AI Tools

The AI landscape is filled with trash and treasure.

Pick AI tools that are most likely to align with your needs and your level of tech-savviness.

For example, if you’re a blogger creating content about pizza recipes, you can use HubSpot’s AI social caption generator to write the message on your behalf:

The benefit of an AI tool like HubSpot and the caption generator is that what at one point took 30-40 minutes to come up with — you can now have it at your fingertips in seconds. The HubSpot AI caption generator is trained on tons of data around social media content and makes it easy for you to get inspiration or final drafts on what can be used to create great content.

Consider your budget, the learning curve, and what kind of support the tool offers.

7. Evaluate and Refine Your Social Media and AI Strategy

AI isn’t a magic wand; it’s a set of complex tools and technology.

You need to be willing to pivot as things come to fruition.

If you notice that a certain activity is falling flat, consider how AI can support that process.

Did you notice that your engagement isn’t where you want it to be? Consider using an AI tool to assist with crafting more engaging social media posts.

Make AI Work for You — Now and in the Future

AI has the power to revolutionize your social media strategy in ways you may have never thought possible. With its ability to conduct customer research, create personalized content, and so much more, thinking about the future of social media is fascinating.

We’re going through one of the most interesting times in history.

Stay equipped to ride the way of AI and ensure that you’re embracing the best practices outlined in this piece to get the most out of the technology.

You’ve seen that email marketing works wonders for your business. So, you doubled down and built a massive email list. However, you’ve now hit a roadblock. You can’t send bulk emails through providers like Gmail or Outlook.

Enter: Bulk email service providers.

Over the years of working as an email copywriter, I have had the opportunity to use some of these bulk email services. I was impressed to see how they are equipped to manage large volumes of email while offering top features to track performance.

In this blog, I have listed the key features to look for in a bulk email service and some of the top bulk email software available on the market.

Table of Contents

• What is a bulk email service?
• Reasons to Send Bulk Emails
• Best Bulk Email Services
• Top Features in Paid or Free Bulk Email Service

A mass email software helps you reach a large audience and nurture them one email at a time. In addition to getting direct access to your customer base, you can track how your emails perform and test various methods to increase clicks and conversions.

While traditional advertising methods, such as print ads and direct mail, can have a high return on investment (ROI), it can be challenging to understand how consumers interact with your materials. With a mass email software, you can find out what attracts consumers and what elements lead to more conversions.

Furthermore, many bulk email software offer automation tools — think workflows and sequences. You can more easily move leads down the funnel and retain your current clients.

My experience with email marketing has taught me that using a personal or business email can work in the first few months of starting a business but will quickly become ineffective as you grow. Bulk email services offer a long-term solution.

Reasons to Send Bulk Emails

Not sure if it’s the right time to try a bulk email software? The first question you should ask is, “Is our brand investing in email marketing this quarter/year?”

If the answer is yes, then I believe that’s your sign to invest in an email service.

Here are specific examples of when you would send out a mass email to your subscribers:

• Sales promotions. Say you want to promote discounts on specific products or services. Sending a mass email to your subscribers is a great way to generate sales.
• Newsletters. Do you want to send out exclusive content to your subscribers? Then, a newsletter is the way to go.
• Product updates. A great way to announce a new product feature or line is via email. You can include previews to build up excitement and include calls-to-action (CTAs) for conversions.
• Announcements. Are you updating your hours, prices, or services? Or perhaps there’s been a change in your policy. Notifying your subscribers in an email blast is an effective way to spread the news.

With every email you send to subscribers, you’ll want to remember your goals, audience, time and day, personalization, and compliance with data protection laws.

Best Bulk Email Services

1. HubSpot’s Email Marketing Tool

Start using HubSpot’s free Email tools.

I absolutely love how you can create, customize, and optimize your emails with HubSpot without coding or design experience.

Here is how you can do that:

You can send up to 2,000 emails monthly, which doesn’t include test emails to check functionality. In addition, the platform offers a user-friendly interface, tools like drag-and-drop to design your email easily, tokens to personalize every email, and an A/B testing feature.

This is how the drag-and-drop feature works on the tool:

You can also use their AI Email Writer to help you write copy for your emails. In addition, you can create custom reports based on the data you want to collect and analyze.

What I like: I like how this tool allows you to personalize your bulk emails based on each subscriber’s lifecycle stage. This enables you to deliver better content and effective CTAs that boost engagement.

Pricing: The best part? It’s free.

2. Sender

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Bulk emailing allows your brand to save time and effort by sending mass emails to your target audience at once. Leveraging your email lists increases sales and engagement with promotional offers, flash sales, product updates, newsletters, etc. You can do all that and much more with Sender.

You can not only send it to a large audience at once but also target the right subgroups with smart segmentation and automated triggers. That way, your audience will receive the message they want to receive and when they want to receive it.

This is an example of various automated triggers available in this tool. You can notice that there are different workflows for different events — for example, when a new subscriber gets added to your list or if an online store user abandons their cart.

You can also customize the automation workflow according to your needs.

Additionally, Sender provides premade, mobile-responsive templates for professional-looking emails with a drag-and-drop email builder. Their platform also offers various features such as SMS campaigns, high-converting popups, detailed analytics, a heatmap, and even more. 

What I like: I’m impressed by Sender’s omnichannel approach. It combines email and SMS marketing to deliver effective campaigns that produce great results.

Pricing: Sender offers a free plan with 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month. Paid plans start at $15.83 a month, billed annually.

3. ConvertKit

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As their name suggests, the platform is designed to help you earn more conversions and generate more revenue. ConvertKit is known for its advanced automation tools, including custom email funnels, smart filters, and link triggers.

Furthermore, the platform has a 98% delivery rate, ensuring that your emails will always reach your subscribers. In addition, the average open rate for ConvertKit emails is an astonishing 30%, according to their website.

What I like: I love how ConvertKit provides a visual automation library of pre-designed templates. This helps you kickstart your email campaign with ease, without worrying much about the designs of the bulk emails.

Pricing: ConvertKit offers a free version of its platform for up to 10,000 subscribers. Paid plans start at $25 a month, billed annually.

Here is an example of the various visual automation templates offered:

4. Mailchimp

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I highly recommend Mailchimp if you’re just starting out in email marketing. The platform offers a user-friendly interface and over 100 templates to choose from.

In just a few simple steps, Mailchimp lets you get started with your bulk email campaign. 

Using its prebuilt journeys, you can set up your email automation with ease.

With their free plan, you can send up to 10,000 emails monthly to 2,000 contacts — an ideal option for small to midsize businesses.

Then, as your business grows, you can scale to the premium version. Here, you’ll have unlimited audiences, multivariate testing, and advanced segmentation with up to 200,000 contacts.

What I like: I love how you can customize emails for your prospects based on specific factors, such as spending amount, buying patterns, or predicted characteristics. This makes sure your communications are always targeted.

Pricing: A free plan is available. Paid plans range from $9.18 to $274.30 per month.

5. Drip

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If you have an ecommerce business, I strongly suggest trying Drip for your mass email marketing. The platform offers pre-built email templates that you can customize and a user-friendly workflow builder for automation.

Here is an example of their “Welcome Series” template:

In addition, you can schedule automation based on actions your subscribers take (like viewing a product, abandoning their cart, and making a purchase).
With Drip, you can easily integrate your online store (like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce) to make gathering data easier.

What I like: Drip claims a 99.8% delivery rate, which I find to be very impressive for a bulk email software. Furthermore, I love the ease with which the tool creates behavioral and lifecycle segments that update automatically. This lets you send targeted emails to your audience easily.

Pricing: Prices start at $39 and go up based on your number of subscribers.

6. Insycle

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Insycle doesn’t fall under the email provider list. However, this software does work in tandem with providers like HubSpot and Mailchimp to keep your contact list clean.

In my opinion, one of the major downsides of having a subscriber list is the potential for duplicate contacts. This can impact your metrics and make it difficult to tailor your emails. Insycle allows you to clean your contacts in bulk, merge duplicate ones, and avoid overwriting data.

What I like: One of the things I like about Insycle is that it makes data exploration easy. Additionally, its Grid Edit is a great feature that simplifies data corrections, saving you hours of manual work.

Pricing: Pricing starts at $30 per month and scales up to custom pricing based on the services you want.

7. Brevo

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Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is one of the best bulk email software for small and large businesses. A drag-and-drop editor is one of the must-have features for a good email service, and Brevo features one of the most powerful editors on the market.

Aside from that, the service has segmentation features that let you send emails to a targeted audience. This feature helps to improve overall engagement with customers.

What I like: Brevo has a solid reporting system that gives insights about what your readers like. This helps you make better decisions and improve your bulk email campaigns.

Pricing: Brevo has free and premium plans. The free plan lets you send up to 300 emails daily, albeit with the Brevo watermark. The premium plan begins at $25 monthly.

8. Constant Contact

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Constant Contact is a bulk email service that’s great for small businesses and individuals. I love its simplicity and ease of use, features that make it great for beginners.

The service features built-in social media sharing tools, easy tracking and reporting, and integrations with ecommerce centers like Facebook and Shopify.

Its advanced features, like coupons, surveys, and event marketing automation, make it one of the best bulk email services.

What I like: Constant Contact has a wide range of email templates and design samples that fit every business. With just a few clicks, your email campaign will be ready to launch.

Pricing: This bulk email software offers a 30-day free trial, which you can upgrade to a premium plan. Paid plans start at $12 monthly for the Lite plan and can be further upgraded to the Standard plan or Premium plan for $35 per month and $80 per month, respectively.

9. Mailmodo

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Mailmodo offers a free plan that allows you to send up to 10,000 emails monthly, making it an ideal choice for individuals and small businesses. However, if you want more, you can choose from four premium plans that let you send more emails monthly.

Mailmodo’s no-code, drag-and-drop editor makes crafting emails a breeze. Additionally, this bulk email software offers users several customizable templates.

If you ever run into problems while using the service, Mailmodo offers 24/7 customer support.

What I like: I love the MailModos Building Blocks feature, where you can customize your own template for your email campaigns. 
As shown below, you can select every section of your email, from the header to the final CTA and footer.

Pricing: A free plan is available. Premium plans start at $35 monthly.

10. AWeber

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AWeber is a flexible service that only charges users based on their number of subscribers. This flexibility is one of the reasons some users prefer this service.

AWeber also has one of the most extensive libraries of customizable, mobile-responsive email templates. These templates allow you to create and send emails very quickly and easily.

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The platform offers sales tracking and lets you check out the performance of your emails and subscriber information.

What I like: Apart from all their helpful features, their quick and efficient customer service stood out to me. I had some issues with signing up for the tool initially, and their customer service agent connected and assisted me in just a few seconds.

Pricing: They offer a free plan for up to 500 subscribers, and the paid plan starts at $12.50 a month.

11. Mailgun

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Mailgun’s email solutions for email marketing, tracking, parsing, and more make it one of the best bulk email services. In addition, Mailgun’s email API allows developers to easily integrate it into their apps. Furthermore, Mailgun’s email analytics feature ensures email delivery.

What I like: I am a huge fan of Mailgun’s Real-Time Email Validation API which makes sure that your email list always has valid addresses. This saves you time and money by letting you send bulk emails to just valid users. This will also boost your sender reputation in the long run.

Pricing: Mailgun offers a free plan that allows sending up to 5,000 monthly emails. You can opt for its premium plans which start at $35 monthly if you want even more features.

12. SendPulse

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SendPulse is an omnichannel tool that allows you to send emails, push notifications, Facebook messages, and more.

When it comes to emails, this service allows you to create responsive emails without writing a line of code. And if you prefer, you can use any of the 130+ templates available on the platform.

Additionally, SendPulse has a drag-and-drop editor that lets you design subscription forms that can then be integrated into a website. 

Aside from regular websites, SendPulse also supports integration with PipeDrive, WordPress, Zapier, and other tools.

What I like: I find SendPulse’s user-friendly mobile app very useful. It makes managing and tracking your email campaigns effortless. The app lets you access all your reports and statistics from your mobile.

Pricing: SendPulse has a free version available, while paid plans start at $8 per month.

13. Stripo

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Looking for an all-in-one email design platform? Then, I highly recommend using Stripo.

This service offers hundreds of easy-to-use email templates that make your emails look better and help improve conversion rates.

Stripo gives users the tools they need to create all types of emails. After creating the email, Stripo lets you test how it’ll look on different platforms. You can also have colleagues or clients view potential emails before sending them off to subscribers.

What I like: While most tools offer just the drag-and-drop email builder, I love that Stripo offers both a drag-and-drop email builder and an HTML code editor. This lets you design email layouts while also allowing you to add custom code elements to the bulk emails.

Pricing: Stripo has four plans, from free to $95 per month, priced according to the number of recipients and features.

14. SendGrid

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SendGrid is the go-to choice for users looking to create and send transactional emails. It allows you to add contacts via CSV upload, signup forms, or APIs.

In keeping with its focus on transactional emails, SendGrid has features like anti-spam regulations to protect you and your subscribers.

What I like: SendGrid has the ability to easily handle high email volumes. I was really impressed to know that they processed over 64 billion emails during their Cyber Week and 148+ billion emails every month in 2023.

Pricing: SendGrid has a free plan that lets you send up to 100 emails a day. For more features, you’ll need to upgrade to either the $19.95 or $89.95 monthly plans.

15. Mailjet

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Our penultimate choice is a user-friendly bulk email software best for marketers and development teams. Mailjet has a drag-and-drop email builder that lets you quickly create emails and templates.

Mailjet also features an interactive design, so you can give team members access and let them work on it individually.

What I like: Mailjet offers email tracking, which lets you monitor how your sent emails are doing. You can check metrics such as email delivery, bounce rate, and open rate.

Pricing: If you decide to use Mailjet, you can choose between a free plan that lets you send up to 6,000 emails or any of the four premium plans starting at $15 monthly.

16. Omnisend

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The last, but not least, bulk email service on our list is Omnisend.

Omnisend combines emails, SMS, and other channels. You can also create customizable forms for collecting information from website visitors, as shown below.

Additionally, Omnisend makes it easy to divide subscribers into segments, improving the ability to send the right emails to them. With its all-in-one features, automation, and numerous template options, Omnisend is one of the best bulk email services of the year.

What I like: Omnisend offers pre-built automation for email marketing scenarios. From welcome series to abandoned carts and post-purchase engagement, these ready-to-use workflows allow you to create targeted bulk email campaigns easily.

Pricing: New users can use this service for free. However, to fully enjoy the tool, you’ll need to subscribe to a premium plan whose pricing starts at $16 a month.

So, you’re ready to invest in bulk email software. What are the top features to look out for?

I have listed the key features you should look for in a bulk email service. Some of these features will only be available in a premium package. Others will be included in the standard or free versions.

Here’s your complete guide to what factors to consider.

1. User Behavior Tracking

In my opinion, reporting capabilities will be the number one tool you’ll need in any bulk email service you select. What’s the point of investing your time in designing and sending emails if you can’t see how they perform?

You should be able to track key email metrics, such as:

• Open rate.
• Unique clicks.
• Click-to-open rate (CTOR).
• Clickthrough rate (CTR).
• Unsubscribe rate.
• List growth rate.
• Bounce rate.

Email providers with advanced reporting features also allow you to track revenue per subscriber and revenue per email.

2. Drag-and-Drop

A drag-and-drop tool makes designing your email easy. This intuitive feature allows you to select an element from the sidebar, like an image, quote, or button, and drag it to a section of your email.

This will save you time as you determine the best flow for your email and move things around.

3. Email Segmentation and Personalization

Segmentation ensures that your emails are reaching the right people at the right time.

You should look for a bulk email software that allows you to segment your subscriber list based on the following:

• Location.
• Actions taken in the email.
• Purchase history.
• Type of subscriber (e.g., prospect versus current customer).

You can get higher engagement rates when you segment your list, as the content will be more relevant to your recipients.

Furthermore, personalization is one of the key factors in improving email engagement and advancing customer relationships.

4. Split Testing

Split testing, also known as A/B testing, is a great way to understand what resonates with your audience.

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This feature is beneficial if you need help generating high open rates and converting subscribers.

By testing out different subject lines and elements within the body of your email, you can determine what works best.

5. Automation

When you’re scaling your email list, the name of the game is automation.

Say you have a content offer and want to send an email sequence to leads after they download the offer. With an automation tool, you can pre-select which emails will go out, in what order, and after how much time for each email.

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Once you complete the setup, the automation does all the work for you — nurturing your subscribers and moving them through the buyer’s journey.

This hands-off approach allows you to focus on strategy instead of the tedious work of sending out emails. With automation, you can take the guesswork out of the process.

6. Design Templates

If you’re like me, designing isn’t your forte. So, when designing an email, you’ll take all the help you can get.

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A design template based on the type of email you want to send can save you time and ensure you’re following email best practices. This is particularly helpful if you have limited experience designing emails and are just starting out.

What’s great about having a template is that it’s a foundation. You can customize it to fit your needs, but it provides a blueprint from which to work.

7. High Email Delivery Rates

Imagine you work so hard on an email campaign, and it never reaches your subscribers’ inboxes. Frustrating, right?

That’s why verifying your provider’s email delivery rates is essential. You’ll want to select a service with high email delivery rates, as close to 100% as possible.

Grow Your Business

Knowing what to look for in an email service is half the battle.

Now that you have a list of key features and a few tools to choose from, you can find a platform to grow your email list and generate revenue.

Every marketing team is challenged to do more with less — especially nonprofit organizations. Often, resources are tight, and teams are small. Does this like your organization?

I want to help. That’s why I created this nonprofit marketing guide. Your organization might not operate for profit, but it can still get value from the traffic, funds, and awareness marketing brings in.

Bookmark this guide for later and use the chapter links below to jump around to sections of interest.

 

Inbound Marketing for Nonprofits

Your nonprofit organization likely takes up all of your time, and building a marketing plan might seem like an added responsibility that’s just not worth it.

We’re here to convince you otherwise. Inbound marketing is all about creating valuable experiences that positively impact people and your business.

Inbound marketing for nonprofits can help you attract new supporters for your cause, connect to valuable donors, engage your constituents, and inspire your community.

Boost your organization’s awareness and compel action. See firsthand how HubSpot can transform your nonprofit organization.

Here’s how else nonprofit marketing can help.

Nonprofit marketing raises awareness.

Your nonprofit organization is a brand. Therefore you need to raise awareness just like any other business or company. Marketing raises awareness, and brand awareness spreads the word about your organization and your overall cause.

Nonprofit marketing raises funds.

Nonprofit marketing and nonprofit fundraising go hand-in-hand. The more people know about your organization, the more potential funding you can bring in.

Nonprofit marketing drives donor memberships and recurring donations.

Many nonprofit organizations offer donation memberships and monthly giving programs, like this one from charity: Water. These programs are valuable because your organization doesn’t have to fundraise so actively and often. Also, they can actually help you raise more money — the average monthly online donation is $52 ($624 per year) compared to the average one-time gift of $128.

Marketing your nonprofit gets your cause in front of fresh eyes and informs your donors about how they can consistently contribute.

Nonprofit marketing recruits volunteers.

Nonprofit marketing isn’t just for funding. It also drives manpower (and woman-power!) to your organization. Regardless of industry or size, all nonprofits benefit from volunteers, and marketing your organization can help bring in new hands.

Moreover, volunteers are twice as likely to donate as non-volunteers.

Nonprofit marketing promotes your services.

Awareness, funding, and volunteers are integral to your nonprofit, but what about the purpose of your organization? What about the people, animals, or cause you’re helping? Marketing can help with that, too.

The more people who know about your nonprofit organization, the more people you can help.

These are just a handful of reasons you should invest in your nonprofit’s marketing strategy (particularly inbound marketing). 

What is a nonprofit marketing plan?

A nonprofit marketing plan is essentially your playbook for successfully executing your nonprofit marketing strategy and achieving results.

Your plan will consist of promotional materials and initiatives, marketing channels you’ll use to engage your target audience, SMART Goals, and any other materials to aid your strategy.

Now, let’s discuss how to build a nonprofit marketing plan so you can start bringing in new funds, volunteers, and constituents.

Components of an Effective Nonprofit Marketing Plan

Components of an effective nonprofit marketing plan include the following, some of which I will dive deeper into when I explain marketing plan templates: 

Marketing SMART Goals 

What are the goals of your nonprofit marketing plan? What are you hoping to achieve? Once you figure out your goals, dig a little deeper to make them specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely (aka SMART, but we’ll get into that later).

Target Audience Information and Buyer Personas

Your plan should include relevant information about your target audience, such as their demographic, concerns, needs, and what channels they frequent. 

Mission Statement

Your mission statement must include the purpose of your organization, the audience you serve, and how you serve them.

One of my favorite mission statements comes from the charity organization Cradles to Crayons: 

“Cradles to Crayons provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school, and at play. We supply these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities.”

Stakeholders and Staff Structure

Your plan needs a breakdown of internal and external stakeholders, such as board members, managers, directors, paid staff, volunteers, and donors.

Furthermore, your plan needs to make clear how everyone’s role comes together to carry out your organization’s missions and achieve its goals.

Nonprofit Marketing Plan Template

Download your free nonprofit marketing plan template.

Hubspot’s nonprofit marketing plan template can help you organize your nonprofit’s budget, team structure, and channels of choice to create your marketing strategy.

The nonprofit marketing plan template includes sections for developing your nonprofit’s summary, business initiatives, target market, marketing strategy, budget, marketing channels, and marketing technology.

Our nonprofit marketing plan template can help you:

• Complete a SWOT analysis for your organization.
• Develop a marketing strategy.
• Determine the industries and personas of your target donors.

Other Templates to Use

Trust me when I say your nonprofit marketing template will need to be thorough because you need to make sure everyone in your organization is on the same page about goals and your mission.

To make sure your plan is on point, here are some other templates you may want to consider incorporating into your plan.

Budgeting templates

Few things are free in this world, especially when it comes to marketing. So, make sure your marketing plan includes a budget and expenses. If you’re not sure how to organize your budget, check out templates like the one above by clicking here. 

Customer Profile Templates

As I said earlier, knowing your audience is crucial to a successful nonprofit marketing plan. If you’re unsure how to set up customer profiles or buyer personas, then templates like the one above would be helpful to you.

Notice how the template includes information such as behaviors, demographics, and joyful/frustrating interactions. 

Executive Summary

An executive summary briefly outlines to your stakeholders important information in your marketing plan, such as financial information, market analysis, and your organization’s mission. 

Crafting a nonprofit marketing plan might not be too different from a for-profit marketing plan, but debatably, it’s more important. Increasing awareness and constituent engagement without exhausting your hardworking team requires approaching your marketing systematically.

That’s where a nonprofit marketing plan comes into play. Putting systems in place to produce and distribute your marketing content allows you to focus on operating and scaling your nonprofit.

Here’s how to create a successful nonprofit marketing plan.

1. Define your marketing goals.

Your nonprofit marketing plan exists to transform your organization’s mission and big-picture objectives into strategic, actionable goals.

For example, let’s say one of your objectives was to protect the welfare of animals in your community (like one of my favorite local rescues, ALIVE Rescue). I’d ask you to brainstorm three to five marketing ideas to advance that objective.

Some ways you could use marketing to advance that objective include:

• Creating and publishing content that educates your community on the state of animal welfare.
• Posting on social media about your organization and the animals you have for adoption.
• Sending a weekly email newsletter sharing your content, adoptable animals, and volunteer needs.
• Hosting a quarterly event with educational resources, foster training, and adoption opportunities.

Next, I’d ask you to turn these ideas into SMART goals. Let’s use idea number one as an example:

acronym	goal
Specific	Educate the community on the state of animal welfare by producing one blog post per week.
Measurable	Increase traffic by 15%.
Attainable	Our blog traffic increased by 10% last year when we upped our publishing frequency to twice a month. A 15% boost in traffic with a 100% increase in production seems attainable.
Relevant	An increase in blog traffic will boost awareness of our organization, educate the community, and alert more people of our adoption opportunities — thus, saving more animals and bringing in more funding.
Timely	We will start producing one post per week and the start of next month.

SMART Goal: By the start of next month, our blog will see a 15% boost in traffic by increasing our content production from two posts per month to one post per week.

This increase will boost awareness of our organization, educate the community, and alert more people of our adoption opportunities — thus, saving more animals and bringing in more funding.

See how I turned the organizational mission into a marketing objective and a SMART goal?

SMART goals are especially important when it comes time to analyze and measure your marketing performance (which I will talk about later), so be sure to finish this step before moving forward in your nonprofit marketing plan.

2. Understand your audiences.

Nonprofit marketing is different from other types of marketing because your organization is likely targeting multiple groups: constituents, customers, volunteers, and donors.

It’s imperative to define and understand each of these audiences (a.k.a. buyer personas) because your marketing will differ based on who you’re talking to. (We’ll get into key messaging next.)

For example, following our animal shelter example from above, an email targeting donors will have different messaging than an email calling for volunteers.

One easy way to organize your different audiences is using a CRM to segment the different groups. By separating contacts with tags and lists, you can easily send marketing messages to the appropriate groups.

3. Craft Your Key Messages

Key messages encompass the information you want your audiences to hear, remember, and share about your nonprofit organization. Crafting these before you employ your marketing is important for a few reasons:

• Key messages keep your organization aligned. No matter who’s doing the marketing, you can be confident the same thing is being said and promoted.
• Key messages simplify your marketing. With these created ahead of time, you already know what you will say in your marketing messaging.
• Key messages help organize your different audiences (as discussed above). As a nonprofit organization, you’re likely talking to donors, volunteers, constituents, and your community — more personas than a typical for-profit business. Developing key messages for each audience informs your team and your marketing to make sure you’re targeting the right groups.

Continuing with our animal shelter example, here’s a look at how you can craft a key message for different audiences.

Key message: We protect the welfare of animals in our community through education, adoption and fostering, and animal advocacy.

• For adoption customers/constituents: By adopting or fostering, or by alerting us of animals in need, you can help us protect the welfare of animals in our community.
• For volunteers: We protect the welfare of animals through round-the-clock animal care and advocacy.
• For donors: You can help us protect the welfare of animals by donating to support animal care, advocacy, and adoption promotion.

All of these key messages have the same purpose and undertone, but they vary slightly depending on your audience. Together with your nonprofit organization’s mission, vision, and goals, these messages will help effectively communicate and market your organization’s needs and purpose.

4. Choose, plan, and create your marketing strategies.

Many marketers jump right to this step — creating and publishing various marketing tactics. Marketing encompasses much more than an advertisement, blog post, or event. To execute successfully, you must complete all the steps before this.

Now that you’ve established your goals (what you want), your key messages (what you’re going to say), and your audience (who you’re going to say it to), you can determine your marketing tactics (how you’re going to say it).

Marketing tactics refer to channels like email marketing, social media, events, and more. We’ve dedicated an entire section to these marketing strategies. Read about them in detail below.

Regardless of which tactic you choose, be sure to conduct thorough planning before and as you execute it. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you prepare:

• What will you do with this marketing tactic?
• When will these marketing activities take place?
• Why is this tactic important?
• Who will be responsible for these activities?
• How much do we plan to spend?
• How does this tie to our organization’s marketing goals?

Tactical planning is an integral part of your overall nonprofit marketing plan. How you approach your marketing strategies and how they impact your organization is just as important as how you execute them.

Before you hit the ground running on any of these strategies, be sure your team has a solid game plan and a full understanding of it.

Featured Resource: Free Marketing Plan Template

Download for Free

5. Analyze your marketing performance.

Your marketing probably won’t perform perfectly from the get-go. That’s OK. Routine reporting and analysis help you figure out what’s working and what you need to change.

As you choose and establish your marketing channels, pay attention to their measurable performance indicators. Here’s a list of examples from our list of marketing strategies below:

Marketing Strategy	Performance Indicator
Email marketing	Email opens
Event marketing	Ticket sales
Video marketing	Video views
Social media	Shares and comments
Website	Page views
Public speaking	Referrals
Content marketing	Subscriptions

Remember the goals you defined in step one? Measuring your marketing performance is essential to stay aligned with those goals.

You can track these performance indicators using tools like Google Analytics, HubSpot, and the analytics tools built into Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and other social media sites.

If you know what you want to measure before you start marketing your nonprofit, you’ll know exactly what to look for — and how to determine success and impact — when your marketing is in play.

You’ve created your nonprofit marketing plan. Now, let’s talk about executing that plan with actionable marketing strategies.

Many of these nonprofit marketing strategies will overlap, like sharing your blog content on social media or releasing an event invite over email. These methods can and should be used in tandem, but I highly recommend introducing each strategy slowly, so your team doesn’t overwhelm itself.

In fact, I recognize that your nonprofit is likely operating with a small (but agile) marketing team. For this reason, throughout these sections, I’ll recommend tips for doing more with less.

Ultimately, though, don’t hesitate to outsource your nonprofit marketing where needed.

Nonprofit Email Marketing

You might be using email sporadically to call for volunteers or confirm an online donation, but that’s not enough. Email marketing for nonprofits is a highly effective marketing resource. Why? It’s personal and powerful.

Here are a few ways to leverage email marketing to reach all of your audiences:

• Send a weekly newsletter with your newest content, updates about your organization, industry data, and volunteer needs.
• Send monthly emails with donation needs and opportunities.
• Set up an email sequence for new subscribers, thanking them for joining and educating them on your organization.
• Set up an email sequence for new donors, thanking them for their contribution and sharing how else they can support your organization.

Also, don’t forget to put information on your website about how to subscribe to your email list. Nonprofit organization, Acumen, does a great job of this by putting subscription opportunities on its homepage and in its main menu.

👉🏼Nonprofit marketing tip: Automate as much as possible. Email marketing automation (like HubSpot) saves precious time and energy for your team and can be the key to growing your email list, donations, and memberships. You can also automate an email sequence triggered by website visitor behavior indicating a high level of interest, such as downloading educational content.

Nonprofit Event Marketing

Event marketing is one of the most effective (and enjoyable) ways to grow awareness of your organization, connect with your community, raise funds, and garner support for your cause.

PAWS, which stands for Pets Are Worth Saving, is another local animal rescue I’m a fan of. They hold a PAWS 5K race every summer to raise awareness and funding for the organization.

This type of event is impactful for multiple reasons:

1. It inspires competition and physical activity. Runners raise money for the organization and participate in the run.
2. It brings people in the community together to celebrate the organization and bring awareness to the PAWS cause.
3. It provides PAWS a channel to promote their services and adoptable pets.
4. It’s fun to attend and be a part of! Many people go to the event to support runners, play with dogs, and simply be a part of the fun, all while supporting and sharing PAWS.

From fundraisers to auctions to competitions, you can organize many different kinds of events to market your nonprofit organization.

Nonprofit Video Marketing

Whether they’re consuming content for work, school, or fun, people prefer video content. As a nonprofit organization, video marketing is a surefire way to garner interest and support from all of your audiences.

Here are a few reasons video can help you market your nonprofit:

1. Video is visual. We process visual content 60,000 times faster than written content. We also remember more content longer.
2. Video is personal. It inspires empathy and emotions, which can’t be said about other types of marketing.
3. Video is educational. Many organizations need to educate their communities on their causes in order to garner attention and funding. Video can help you do that.
4. Video is shareable. Consumers love sharing videos, especially those that inspire and resonate with them.
5. Video is interesting. 60% of people report that video is a media they consume thoroughly. Keep your visitors, followers, and supporters engaged and interested using video.

The Girl Effect, a nonprofit that works to empower girls worldwide, is a great example of video marketing. The organization’s homepage is a video that captures visitors’ attention right away. Moreover, when you click “See more,” the site opens an informative video telling you all about The Girl Effect.

Nonprofit Social Media Marketing

Social media is a highly popular marketing strategy among nonprofits. Not only is it free, but it also provides an avenue for organizations to show their brand personalities and engage with their followers and supporters.

Here are some ways to use social media for your nonprofit marketing, as inspired by a HubSpot study of 9,000 nonprofits:

• Share news about your organization and cause
• Boost brand awareness and recognition
• Fundraise
• Recruit volunteers and employees
• Recognize donors, employees, and volunteers

Don’t forget to use the key messaging you crafted in your nonprofit marketing plan to keep your social media posts consistent and targeted. Also, make the most of each platform to promote your organization, such as the Donate button on Facebook.

HubSpot customer, FIRST, which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is a nonprofit organization that works to advance STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education among children.

FIRST makes use of social media in many different ways, such as using Facebook to post videos, news, fundraisers, and reviews, as well as making use of the Donate button. The organization has amassed almost 100,000 followers.

👉🏼Nonprofit marketing tip: Curate content from volunteers, customers, supporters, event attendees, and donors. Implementing a user-generated content (UGC) campaign lessens your workload and acts as strong social proof.

To enact your UGC campaign, put out a call for constituent stories, images, and videos. Create a hashtag that people can use to alert you of new UGC.

Also, let curation tools work for you. Use Google Alerts and social monitoring tools to alert you when your organization, hashtags, or relevant topics or keywords are mentioned. This provides opportunities to source UGC, get inspiration for new topic ideas, and participate in relevant conversations.

Nonprofit Website

Every nonprofit organization should have a website, which can be created on a CMS such as Content Hub or WordPress. A website serves as a digital home base for your organization and includes critical information — what you stand for and how visitors can participate and help.

Your website also houses important assets like your blog, social media streams, event information, videos, and the rest of your marketing strategies. Lastly, your website serves as a way to intrigue, inspire, and engage your audiences.

Nonprofit organization (and HubSpot customer), American Nursing Association (ANA), is an example of an organization with an outstanding nonprofit website. The site clarifies the ANA mission, shares news and educational content, and informs visitors how to get involved through memberships, events, certifications, or donations.

Nonprofit Public Speaking

People buy into other people, not products. The same can be said about nonprofit organizations. If consumers believe in the people behind your organization, they’re likely to buy into your cause and donate money or time.

Public speaking is one of the best ways for consumers to get to know your leadership team, not to mention spread the word about your cause and organization. Whether you speak at a local event of 100 people or a multi-day conference with thousands, the impact is the same: telling a powerful story to real people who may not yet know about your cause.

Scott Harrison, the founder of charity: water, spoke at INBOUND. While he shared information about the conception and organization of the nonprofit, he mostly talked about the people that his organization helps and how the audience can support the mission. Harrison not only moved an audience of thousands but also effectively marketed the charity: water purpose and brand.

 

Nonprofit Content Marketing

Content marketing and blogging are valuable marketing assets for any nonprofit organization. Here’s why:

• Content educates your audiences about your mission, cause, and industry news and trends.
• Content (and SEO) bring in new visitors, subscribers, donors, and leads.
• Content is shareable and serves as free PR among your audiences.
• Content can be repurposed and made into different types of media, saving your marketing team precious time and energy.

Creating a nonprofit marketing blog isn’t always easy. Teams are short-staffed, budgets are low, and time is precious. Thankfully, there are many ways around those blogging challenges, such as sourcing story ideas from volunteers, donors, and customers and implementing an editorial calendar so you can plan ahead.

One of my very favorite nonprofit organizations is called Blurt Foundation. This UK-based organization exists to increase awareness and understanding of depression and support those who struggle with it.

There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings about depression, so Blurt Foundation uses its blog content and other content resources to educate constituents and supporters.

It also incorporates these content assets into its emails, social media posts, and online store.

👉🏼Nonprofit marketing tip: Save time and resources by repurposing your content. It’s an appreciating asset you can reuse and re-promote repeatedly. Repurposing content to create new marketing assets costs far less than creating entirely new content.

Outline all the ways you could repurpose the content you produce. For example, you could create the following list for your blog content:

• Short versions of posts for use in emails or newsletters with links back to full posts.
• Groups of related posts for report
• Two to three visuals images to share on social
• Infographics with post information
• Reaction pieces to the original post

Since you’re not going to promote and distribute each piece of repurposed content immediately, your content pipeline is never empty.

Check out HubSpot’s free nonprofit content today.

Nonprofit Digital Marketing

You can market your nonprofit using search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). SEO is the process of optimizing your nonprofit’s content to get traffic from organic search results.

On the other hand, SEM is the process of getting traffic and visibility from both organic and paid search.

Nonprofits can use keywords in their blogs, videos, podcasts, and other digital content to improve their search engine rankings.

Image Source

The American Red Cross uses many forms of digital content in its marketing, including YouTube videos.

The organization uses keywords to help search engines rank the content for SEO and help their audience find their content through organic search.

For example, the above video uses the keywords “red cross” and “disaster” in its description to rank in search engine results.

Nonprofits can leverage search engine marketing to increase their contributions through search engine ads.

Google’s Ad Grants program gives nonprofits grants of up to $10,000 per month to advertise their organizations. Many nonprofits — including DonorsChoose.org, We Care Animal Rescue, and SOS Children’s Villages — use Google Ad Grants to attract donations, drive awareness, and recruit volunteers.

Strengthen Your Marketing, Promote Your Cause

Raise your hand if your organization has to constantly do more with less. 👋🏼

If that sounds like your organization, I suggest you use this guide to build a nonprofit marketing plan ASAP. Your organization might not operate for profit, but it can still gain value from the traffic, funds, and awareness that systematic marketing brings in.

These activities and strategies will help promote your organization and take a valuable load off your team’s and volunteers’ backs, freeing them to dedicate more time to your cause and constituents.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in June 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

 

No matter what industry you work in (or your experience level in that industry), a plain, black-and-white resume written in Times New Roman font just doesn’t quite cut it anymore.

But just because resumes have gotten more creative doesn’t mean you need special design software to make your application stand out — some of the best Word resume templates allow you to develop your personal brand while also communicating your experience and career goals. 

Read on to find the perfect template for your next resume, then learn how to write and create your own resume in Microsoft Word.

Download 12 free, editable resume templates.

Free Resume Template Downloads for Word

1. Monogram Header Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

We’ll start with a simple one. This is a HubSpot exclusive resume template that is simple and clean with attractive monogrammed headers to call out each section of the resume. The rest of the design relies on a simple serif font for easy reading, which is a good thing considering that hiring managers only take 7.4 seconds to evaluate a resume. You want your experience section to be easily scannable.

Recommended For: Freelancers

This resume template is best for freelancers. The project section is great for showcasing the skills that would be most applicable for the industry the applicant wants to enter.

2. Maroon Sidebar Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

Pulling your more text-heavy information off to the side in an attractive color-blocked sidebar, this resume lets your experience stand for itself in white space at the top. It’s also easily customizable with no difficult-to-manipulate tables or formatting. The sidebars are in movable text boxes that can even be removed if you wish.

Recommended For: College Graduates

This template is best for young professionals starting their careers. This adjustable resume template can give you full customization options for your first resume.

3. Centered Bar Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This resume takes on a different look than most resumes, centered around a single bar. This makes the resume more visually striking, which could draw attention as hiring managers are evaluating candidates. It also puts emphasis on the objective with your chronological experience supporting it underneath. All of this is in an attractive serif font that is elegant and classy.

Recommended For: College Graduates

This template is great for college graduates to show their most recent accomplishments. The “Objective” section will help you showcase where you are trying to go in your career.

4. Modern Initials Resume

File Type:.docx

Download this template here

The modern initial resume template organizes your experience, education, and skills in a simple, easy-to-digest layout. You can download it as a .docx file. 

Recommended For: Early-state professionals

I like this resume template for early-stage professionals (3-5 years of experience) because it lets you call attention to the key aspects of your experience and briefly summarize the skills that make you a qualified candidate. 

5. Bold Serif Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

Speaking of serif fonts — this resume puts forward an element of grace and formality with its font choices. It’s perfect for individuals who are looking for more organic colors than the ones more typically found in resumes, and the colors are also easily changed in Microsoft Word’s theme settings. It also includes a skill-level bar, adding a nice visual touch to the template.

Recommended For: College Students

This template is great for college students to demonstrate their internship experience. The volunteering section gives a rounded viewpoint of your accomplishments if you are just leaving college.

6. Strategist Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

High-level strategy demands a range of skill sets — project management, media, planning, and more. So, strategist resumes need space to hold a lot of information without overwhelming the reader.

This design is clean and pleasing to the eye. It’s easy to scan and customize based on your specific experience.

Recommended For: Project Managers

The “Areas of Expertise” section stands out on this template. This gives you a chance to draw a clear connection between your professional experience and what you’re capable of.

7. Modern Chronological Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This resume template is available from Microsoft itself, and it’s one of many free templates the company has prepared for those who depend on Microsoft Office tools to create content. Yes, it’s written in Times New Roman — don’t freak out.

Designs like this can borrow an old-school typeface and still impress recruiters with a clean layout and subtle use of color. You can also change the font if you wish (and the same goes for every template in our list).

Recommended For: Developers

The “Skills” section is perfect for candidates in the tech industry. A candidate can showcase the languages they are fluent in and show a variety of accomplishments, successfully demonstrating their capabilities as they move into a new industry.

8. Digital Marketing Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

The digital marketing resume below comes from our own collection of resume templates, all of which open directly in MS Word.

Coming with two pages total, this sheet holds a wealth of information and offers the perfect amount of style while maintaining professionalism. Mid-level marketers all the way up to CMOs can find this template valuable.

Recommended For: Mid-Level Marketers

In this resume template, mid-level marketers can effectively showcase a variety of their skills, as well as their portfolio and other media pieces.

9. Black and White Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

The Black and White resume template below suits professionals who prefer using color and shading to add structure to their resume.

The black banner at the top contrasts the applicant’s name nicely to help make him/her more memorable to recruiters. The gray banner just below the header is perfect for a summary or career objective — it makes one’s goals known but doesn’t overpower the experience listed below it.

Recommended For: Graphic Designers

If you’re a graphic designer, this is the resume to showcase your art. This template has a monochromatic color scheme, but if you are a designer, you can easily take it to the next level.

10. Modern Design Resume Template

File Type:.docx

This simple but effective resume template covers everything you want to share in your applications. The basic color choice also helps you stand out. 

Recommended for: College students or interns 

This template lets you outline your objective, skills, and abilities, making it an excellent option for interns and college students who might still need to gain significant working experience but have a skillset they want to call attention to. 

11. Simple Chronological Resume

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This no-frills, chronological resume template places section headers on one side and relevant information on the other, giving you ample space to highlight your experience and expertise. 

Recommended for: Working professionals

If references are relevant to the job you’re applying for, you can keep the section in. Otherwise, you can remove it and use the extra space to add more information about your experience. 

12. Urban Development Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

The illustration on the top-left of this template shows who the designers at Hloom had in mind for this resume: civil engineers. But because it’s a Word document, that graphic is easy to edit and replace with an image that represents your line of work. Are you an analytics buff? Design a clever bar or line graph icon and place it next to your name in blue (or whatever color you’d like!).

Recommended for: Civil Engineers

If you’re a civil engineer who wants to display your accomplishments, this is the template to use. There’s a section that lets you list all of your achievements and notable opportunities that made you grow as a civil engineer.

13. Mandy Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here. 

This resume template stands out because of its simplicity. Sections are clearly laid out and scannable, and the subtle color choice adds a unique flair. 

Recommended for: Industry professionals

I like this resume template for anyone in a unique industry because you’ll be able to summarize your experience right off the bat, making it easy to display your qualifications.

14. Email Marketing Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

Red color never fails to stick out on a sheet of paper, especially if it’s included in small amounts. This resume template for email marketers captures that balance.

In addition to the professional title in the top right-hand corner, this template also stands out with a thin sans-serif font, helping make a lot of text easier for a recruiter to digest and read through.

Recommended for: Email Marketers

If you are an email marketer who wants to highlight successes in your previous campaigns without boring the viewer with the details, this resume template is perfect for displaying bite-sized information.

15. Teaching Resume Template

File type: .docx

Download this template here. 

This simple resume template lets educators outline their goals as instructors, key teaching skills, and highlight the important experience that makes you the best fit for the role. 

Recommended For: Teachers or educators

I like this template for teachers or educators because the additional sections for communication and leadership summaries let you expand on how you demonstrate the key expected qualities of any effective instructor.

16. Info Pop Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This one, also from Hloom, gives you exactly what the name suggests: ample space for the info you need, with headers that pop just enough to get your employer’s attention.

Although the template fits a ton of text, its soft color palate prevents the document from seeming overwhelming.

Recommended For: Experienced Professionals

This resume gives a lot of information all at once, which is perfect for professionals with more than eight years of experience. The layout makes it easily scannable and easy for a recruiter to read.

17. Strong Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This resume template features bold sections of color that fill the page. This format is perfect for interns who don’t have a lot of professional experience yet. It’s also useful for roles where a portfolio or other resource is a priority for hiring managers.

Recommended For: Interns

Make the depth of your interest, knowledge, and creativity more important than how long you’ve been working with this template. Sections for education, learning more, and describing yourself and your brand make it easy to share what you’re about.

18. Dark Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

Ironically, a dark background could be just the thing to ensure your resume doesn’t fall into the black hole of resumes piled on the hiring manager’s desk.

Using soft, yellow font, the resume template below inverts the usual color scheme of a resume without trying too hard to be creative.

Recommended For: C-Suite Executives

If you have years of experience in an executive position, this design has a bold and unique design that will separate you from the pack. What’s more, it has an area where you can list your achievements, relevant skills, and notable opportunities, allowing you to showcase your effectiveness as a leader.

19. Skilled Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This resume design by Hloom communicates a truly professional tone. The template’s muted colors work well with its clean layout.

Recommended For: Professionals in All Industries

Whether you’re just starting out in any industry or looking to change careers, this template is suitable to highlight your skills and qualifications to propel you to the next level.

20. Inbound Marketing Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

Here’s another resume template dedicated to the digital marketer. This sheet offers all the inbound marketing language you need to express your values as a passionate, brand-loyal professional.

Like a few other templates on this list, it also uses just a dash of vibrant color in the applicant’s name at the top (where it matters most).

Recommended For: Communications and Marketing Candidates

This template is great for candidates moving into a communications or marketing role. Aside from its amazing visual appeal, this template creates a sense of connection with the reviewer by adding a personal touch.

21. Smart and Professional Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This is another sharp template that offers a basic but confident design for any professional. The warm-colored panel on the right-hand side is pre-formatted for a written profile, where you can write a summary of your background or a form letter to each employer.

Just be sure to personalize this messaging to each new recipient so it works for the job you’re applying to. This template is available on Freesumes, and is free to users once they share the page to Facebook or Twitter.

Recommended For: Young Professionals

This resume is great for someone starting their career who needs a little guidance on how to best display notable experiences related to the job posting. Also, it’s an editable template that can easily be personalized to appeal to the HR rep reading the resume.

22. Face Forward Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

It’s not typical to add a picture to your resume. In fact, it’s actively discouraged in some industries. But for roles where your image is a selling point, this is a great choice. The photo at the top is small and subtle, but it also makes the simple design stand out.

Recommended For: Models, Actors, and Real Estate Agents

This resume template is especially useful for working professionals with a lot of experience or a range of non-traditional experiences. There’s also room to highlight unique skills and qualifications.

23. Spick and Span Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

There isn’t a better name for the template below. The Spick and Span resume might be the cleanest-looking sheet on this list.

It uses boldface, all-caps, and gray typeface to structure various headers of the document differently and maximize the hiring manager’s reading experience. And all that minimalism makes the professional headshot at the top pop off the page.

Recommended For: Creatives, Designers, and Developers

Resumes that look like this can be the work sample. If you have a background in illustration or design, making your resume stand out will be a great nod to your future employer. Get creative with your resume’s design if you want to work in an illustrative industry.

24. Timeline-Style Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

Similar to the Centered Bar resume earlier in the post, Hloom’s Timeline template is a super simple but creative way to tell your story.

You can convey your progression through various jobs you’ve held on one side of the vertical line, and more static elements of your background — such as skills and education — on the other.

Recommended For: Editors and Copywriters

This template has a sleek and clean look that places the focus on the highlights of your experience rather than on the minor details. If you have a background in editing or copywriting, this resume is the perfect way to showcase your skills in a concise and effective narrative — without the fluff.

25. Florist Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here. 

Despite being labeled as a Florist resume, this basic template is easily customizable and suitable for anyone entering the job market. 

Recommended For: New graduates or early-stage professionals 

Even If you have little experience, this resume lets you showcase the unique skills and abilities that set you apart.

26. Content Production Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This basic resume template is suited for content producers at all career stages. By spreading out the header and “Skills” text horizontally, the resume below fits a lot of crucial information comfortably on one page (of course, it also comes with a second page if you need it).

Recommended For: Content Creators and Videographers

This resume will help content creators showcase their biggest projects and most notable accomplishments. It’s great for showing how your scope of work has increased over the years, solidifying your expertise in that field.

27. Fresh Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This is perhaps the most imaginative of all the Word-based resume templates on this list — with both a skills meter and a comic headshot.

The template was designed by Venkata Naresh and comes with 12 different versions of this design. Have you created a Bitmoji of yourself? Do you think your employer would find it creative? Match the template and add it as your photo.

Recommended For: Creative Artists or Digital Marketers

If you need a resume template that will showcase your artistic skills without being too casual or informal, this is perfect for you. You can also add in notes of your accomplishments, relevant skills, and qualifications for the job.

28. CV Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

The curriculum vitae-style resume below flips the typical two-column resume so the basic applicant information is listed across the right side, rather than the left.

Feel free to change the color of this sidebar in Microsoft Word if dark red isn’t your thing — the template can pull off any color you wish.

Recommended For: Graduate Candidates

If you are a graduate student entering the workforce, having a CV-style resume will demonstrate the depth of your knowledge first and showcase how your continued education will contribute to your future work environment.

29. Management Resume Template

File type: .docx

Download this template here. 

Recommended For: Managers or leaders 

I like this resume template for managers or leaders because the unique format lets you call attention to your key career goals and give a timeline of the experience leading to you being a well-qualified leader.

30. Entry-Level Resume Template

File type: .docx

Download this template here.

When you’re early in your career, a customized resume is key. This template is simple, with a clear structure and spaces to highlight important skills, education, and experience.

The design uses accessible fonts to create a clean and professional look that you can personalize for your brand.

Recommended For: Young Professionals and Career Changes

At this stage in your career, it’s essential to add useful data and examples to your resume to show hiring managers what you can bring. The easy-to-read fonts and headers in this template will help you highlight relevant details in your resume.

31. Goldenrod Resume Template

File type: .docx

Download this template here.

This template, also offered on Freesumes, dares to use yellow as the dominant color — but doesn’t sacrifice professionalism in the process.

The document anchors the education section to a thick, bright banner across the bottom, but you can likely change this to a skills section with some simple editing in Microsoft Word.

Recommended For: Architects

This clean-cut design represents a candidate who is all about precision. This template would serve candidates who have experience in architecture or construction.

32. Resume Template With Personal Endorsements

File type: .docx

Download this template here.

What makes this resume unique is the space for references on the lower left-hand side. Does your field need others to vouch for your experience? This resume gives you room for three solid recommendations.

Recommended For: Brand Marketers or Personal Influencers

If you work in branding or have a large social media following, you can show your ability to create a cohesive message with this resume template. Feel free to change the color scheme to suit your brand.

33. Creative Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This one was designed by the stationery experts at MOO and is offered for download by Microsoft. Simple but vibrant, this template hugs the text with an artistic header and footer — great for recent graduates who need to fill empty space on the page.

Recommended For: Photographers and Other Creatives

If you are a photographer who does freelance work, this is a great template to showcase your experience. This will give your hiring manager or client an excellent first impression because it showcases your creative ability without sacrificing the important elements — your accomplishments.

34. Modern Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This resume embraces simplicity with a slight touch of color to make things a bit more interesting. It also nicely sections off Skills and Education notes from the Work History list.

With LiveCareer.com, you can generate a template with your basic information and then download it to add small details.

Recommended For: Young Professionals

This resume gives a modern twist on the resume. It’s perfect for those looking for a fresher look than the traditional resume.

35. Functional Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This NovoResume.com template is colorful and includes a place for your headshot which could make you look both interesting and confident to an employer.

Recommended For: Media Professionals

A colorful format like this one might be great for a media or advertising professional who wants to keep their job application visually memorable to prospective employers.

36. Elegant Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

If you’re looking for simplicity and efficiency rather than something colorful, consider this Elegant Resume Template from Jofibo.

With Jofibo, you can select this or other similar templates on the website, enter your information, and then download it quickly and easily.

Recommended For: Marketing Candidates

If you are a mid-level marketing candidate, use this fun template to showcase all of your expertise and accomplishments. It’s an eye-catching template that displays your creativity and ability to engage.

37. Blue Corporate Resume Template

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

Because of the color and image, it’s pretty memorable. But, for those who prefer a more conservative resume look, this template is fairly simple.

Recommended For: Corporate Candidates

This template is great for accomplished candidates moving into a high-rank position. This layout allows you to fit plenty of accomplishments, and the conservative look organizes the fullness of your career neatly.

38. Concept Resume

File Type:.docx

Download this template here.

This resume is perfect for displaying a clear timeline of your career history. It’s ideal for a seasoned professional who may have a lot of experience and wants to display it on one to two pages.

The template also allows you to highlight your competency level in various areas, giving the recruiter an easy way to spot your expertise.

Recommended For: Candidates in the Tech Industry

This resume is great for people in the technical space because it adds a touch of color and feels more compact, which will allow you to get right to the point about your key skills, certifications, and work experiences.

1. Open Microsoft Word on your computer.

If you have Microsoft Word installed on your computer, open the program and let it load for a moment. There will be a couple of helpful options waiting for you on the first screen, specifically for resume creation.

2. Select either “Basic Resume” or “Bold Resume” from the template menu.

Once you’ve launched MS Word, a window of templates will appear. Scroll down until you see the template options designed for resumes — there will be at least two of them. Double-click the one that suits your style and personal brand, but don’t be too particular about design just yet — you can customize these templates quite a bit.

3. Fill in your name and contact information at the top.

When your resume template opens, you’ll see placeholder text for each line of your resume, starting with your first and last name at the top. Delete this header text and enter your name, as well as any contact information by which you want the recruiter to contact you.

4. Draft a brief summary of your experience and goals.

Use the first line below your name and contact info to describe who you are, what you do, and what you’re looking for in your career.

My Recommended Reading:

• How to Write About Your Professional Background
• 27 of the Best Professional Bio Examples I’ve Ever Seen [+ Templates]

5. Enter your school and latest education.

List any relevant degrees or certificates you received through schooling. You can safely exclude secondary education if you’ve graduated from an accredited college.

6. Describe each job you’ve held using the lines prompted on the template.

Your professional experience is frequently the most important section of your resume, so feel free to rank this section above your skills and education, depending on how many jobs you previously held.

My Recommended Reading:

• Resume Tips to Get You The Job You Want, Straight from Recruiters
• How to Write a Simple, Effective Resume (+20 Examples)

7. List all relevant skills.

If you have experience in certain software, exercises, problem-solving, or management techniques, use them to populate your skills. Your resume’s “Skills” section helps reveal what all of your previous jobs or related experiences have in common, based on what they taught you and what you provided them.

My Recommended Reading: 

• 17 Recruiter-Approved Skills for Your Resume That’ll Help You Get the Job

8. Describe any relevant accolades and accomplishments.

Finish out your resume with any personal accomplishments or accolades you think a hiring manager in your industry would appreciate. Although this section shouldn’t include a Most Improved recognition from little league, for example, it should definitely include your Marketer of the Month award from your last position.

Next, let’s talk about another easy way to create a resume in Word — templates.

How to Upload External Templates Into Word

1. Download your template.

2. Double-click on your chosen template.

Your new template will open in Microsoft Word and is ready for editing.

You can also try the following series of steps if the instructions above aren’t working.

1. Download your template.
2. Open Microsoft Word.
3. Click File and scroll to Open.
4. Click on the folder where you downloaded your templates.
5. Open your chosen resume template and begin editing.

How to Find Resume Templates in Word

1. Open Microsoft Word.

2. Click New on the left sidebar.

3. Choose one of the resume template options in Word.

These templates are visually appealing and are ready-made to send with your job application.

If you already have Microsoft Word open on your computer, follow the directions below:

1. Click File in the top left corner.
2. Scroll to New from Template.
3. Choose one of Word’s resume templates.

Next, let’s cover how to format your brand-new resume in Word.

How To Format a Resume in Word

Even the brightest, most beautiful resume template will need some editing to fit your goals and information. We’ll go over it piece by piece.

1. Add your resume text.

Sometimes adding resume text to a template is as simple as copy and paste. Other times, this task can be an exercise in frustration.

To make sure this process goes smoothly, remove any text formatting before you paste your resume text. If you’re working on a Mac, you can clear formatting with a tool like Text Editor.

2. Set the right margins and font size.

Most resumes have one-inch margins on all sides for easy printing. Most Word documents will automatically have one-inch margins, but it’s best to double-check or create them yourself. Here’s how to create one-inch margins for your resume:

1. Click Layout in the top navigation of your Word document.
2. Click Margins.
3. Choose the Normal setting, where it states 1″ on the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the document.

Lastly, choose an easy-to-read font size. 12 pt. fonts are standard for most resumes. But if you have a particularly long CV, you may want to choose a smaller font size to make your resume easier to scan.

3. Create headers.

You should separate each section (such as education or work experience) with a header.

If you’re formatting a basic resume, you can create a header in Word by selecting Styles from the formatting options at the top of your document workspace. If you can’t see this workspace, try clicking Home at the top left.

• Try Header 1 for your first and last name at the top of the page.
• Header 2 is great for the “Education,” “Work Experience,” and “Skills” sections.
• Use Header 3 for employer names and job titles.
• Then, use normal text to fill in the details of your accomplishments, skills, and educational background.

You can also use this feature to adjust the headers in your template.

4. Create dividers.

If you want to visually divide your resume into different parts, you can create dividers to split up the information and make your resume more scannable.

Here’s how to add dividers:

1. Go to Insert.
2. Click Shapes.
3. Select the line icon to draw a line in your Word resume.
4. Use the Format Shape menu on the right to adjust the style of your line.

Another shortcut to create dividers is pressing “=”, “_”, or “*” three times and hitting enter. These shortcuts will create a variety of dividers that can add dimension to your resume.

5. Add bullet points.

The truth is, no hiring manager will read a paragraph of information. So, we recommend using bullet points to list your accomplishments and responsibilities.

You can add bullets using the icons in the formatting window at the top of your document workspace. Check out bullet point styles by clicking the arrow to the right of the bullet points icon. Then, choose the style you like best.

6. Adjust spacing and indentation.

White space on a resume gives your reader visual breathing room. This helps them understand which parts of your resume are most important. To create that white space, use the spacing and indentation tools in Word.

Line spacing options will increase the space between lines in your document. This creates more white space between lines of text.

Use the formatting buttons at the top of your document workspace to add or remove indentation. Keep in mind that you may change more than one section of text if you make indentation changes.

7. Review for formatting consistency.

When you’re formatting a resume, it’s easy to get so involved in what the text says that you may forget how it looks. Another common pitfall is focusing your energy on how to make everything you want to say fit on a single page.

But you need consistent formatting to create a professional first impression for your resume.

Once you’ve finished formatting, do a quick scan of your new resume.

• First, check that all your headers, sub-headers, and text sections are the same font and the same size.
• Next, take a look at your bullet point, dash, and other styles. Make sure that sizes and styles are consistent throughout your resume.
• Finally, scan your resume to make sure that the spacing is consistent. Try squinting at your document to see if some sections have more white space or indentation than others.

These kinds of issues are often easier to notice on a physical resume, so scan a printed copy if you can.

How to Save Your Resume

Remember, once you’ve finished personalizing your resume, you’re not ready to submit an application yet.

Let’s go through the instructions you’ll follow if you’re saving a resume you created from a template for the first time:

1. Click File

2. Scroll to Save As

3. Name and save your new resume.

If you click Save instead of Save As, you’ll save your new resume over the template. So, it’s a good idea to use Save As if you think you may need to start over with the template. If you don’t, you might end up wasting the time it takes to find and download your resume template again.

Once you’re done editing your resume in Word, you may also want to save it in PDF format. This helps you make sure that your resume’s format will stay the same for everyone who receives it.

Tips for Using Word Resume Templates

1. Choose the right template for your industry.

Whether you’re in marketing, sales, engineering, or another field, resume expectations will vary. Check out online resumes from other professionals in your field. Then, choose a template that aligns with those examples to find the right format to showcase your skills and experience.

2. Keep your formatting consistent.

Consistency is key when it comes to formatting your resume. Font styles, sizes, bullet points, and colors should be the same throughout the document. Consistent formatting gives your resume a polished and professional look.

My Recommended Reading: 

• Exploring the Best Resume Formats — The Complete Guide

3. Try advanced formatting features.

Experiment with styles and sections to create a unique resume that stands out. These features offer you more control and consistency as you format your resume.

4. Use headings to organize your resume.

Headings make it easy for employers to scan your resume and find the information they’re looking for. Make headers stand out with a distinct font or style.

5. Experiment with advanced layouts and tables.

Try adding columns or text boxes for visually appealing sections or to highlight key details. Test out different layouts to see what gets the best results.

6. Add a visual timeline.

The hiring manager for your dream role may be more interested in your progression than your job titles. Try crafting a visual timeline using SmartArt or shapes to show your career progression. This can also be an interesting way to show your work history or educational background.

7. Personalize the template to reflect your personal brand.

Templates are an amazing starting point, but don’t forget to personalize your resume to reflect your personal brand.

Add a distinct color scheme, fonts, or a personal logo to leave a lasting impression on potential employers.

Make the Most of Resume Templates in Word

Resume templates can help you unlock the power of pre-designed layouts to create a gorgeous and professional resume. This makes it easy for you to focus on compelling content for a powerful resume. With one simple download, it’s easy to show employers what you’re capable of and stand out with every job application.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in 2018 but was updated in May 2020 for comprehensiveness. This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure to learn more about how we use AI.

Are cover letters necessary? I’m not in HR, but I’ve been approached by applicants who wondered whether their cover letter would actually be read.

My answer isn’t very popular: “Sometimes.” Sometimes it will be read. Other times, you can get away with just sending in your resume — like when you network your way into applying for a position.

The truth is, you can’t really predict on a case-by-case basis — and you’re better safe than sorry. For the most part, having a cover letter will give you an upper hand in ways your resume doesn’t.

It allows you to show off your writing skills, provide details that you couldn’t fit on your resume, demonstrate your passion, and show your willingness to put in as much time and effort as possible.

If you’ve ever rolled your eyes or balked at an application that required a cover letter, this guide is for you. I’ll go over how to write a cover letter and provide cover letter templates to help you perfect your own.

Seems fairly basic, right? Cover letters can hold different levels of importance to an employer depending on your industry and the job you’re applying for.

49% of recruiters say sending a cover letter along with your resume boosts your chance of landing the role.

If you do plan to write a cover letter, keep in mind there are certain qualities it should have that are not included in the definition above.

How to Write a General Cover Letter

Job searching can be tedious and timely, so you may find yourself applying for dozens of jobs in the process.

To make this process simpler, I find that having a general cover letter that you can easily tweak to fit different job openings is a game changer. 

Here’s how to write a general cover letter so that you don’t to keep writing a new one from scratch with every application. 

1. Write Your Heading 

Your heading should always include your name and contact information. For years, it was also common to include your physical address and that of the recipient, but nowadays, it may not always be necessary. 

“I used to always include my physical address and that of my employer, but I stopped after realizing it takes up so much room and just feels archaic,” says HubSpot blogger Erica Santiago.

She says, “I’ve never gotten any mail sent to my home from prospective jobs, and I’ve never had to mail my application. So, I just include my city and state in my heading, especially if the job posting explicitly states the company wants some based in a specific region.” 

So, should you include the company’s address in your cover letter?

“This is probably odd, but I always include the company’s address because I like to think it shows I did my research,” Santiago says. “I’ve sent probably over 100 cover letters in my life, and I eventually found myself at HubSpot, so I have to be doing something right (laughs).” 

If you think physical addresses are taking up too much space in your cover letter, then consider omitting them. I’ll touch on contact information again later. 

2. Greet the recipient 

Avoid “To whom it may concern” if possible. I find that greeting the recipient that way gives the impression that you didn’t take the time to research who you should be addressing. 

Instead, try to look up the name of the hiring manager or recruiter. Doing so shows attention to detail and care—qualities employers love to see. 

If you can’t find a name, “Dear Hiring Manager” is fine. 

3. Introduce yourself and explain your intentions.

State early on who you are, what position you are applying for, and why. Often, businesses may be hiring for multiple roles, so you want to ensure whoever is reading your cover letter knows exactly why you’re reaching out. 

4. Highlight your qualifications, skills, and passion for the job.

This is where things get a little tricky. Your attached resume will also include skills and qualifications, so you may think you just need to regurgitate what’s in your resume, right? Wrong. 

Obviously, some information may overlap, but your cover letter is a chance to go into more detail than you could on your resume.

For example, Let’s say a potential employer is looking for a self-starter and results-driven person.

This is a great opportunity to mention when you took it upon yourself to spearhead a project that generated more revenue for your previous or current company. 

Connect your skills and qualifications to your unique accomplishments. 

Finally, show that you are passionate about the opportunity. 

“I once had an interview with a pet insurance company,” Santiago says. “I worked into the cover letter my love for my two cats, how pet insurance grants me peace of mind, and how I want to help give that same peace of mind to others via the job position.”

She explains, “Cover letters are a chance to show your personality, your sense of humor, your motivations, and your passions. All these things can make you stand out from other other applicants.”

5. Leave space for customization. 

Your general cover letter should be designed so that you can easily update it to appeal to whatever opportunity you’re applying to.

So, leave a blank space for the hiring manager or company’s name, and format it so you can add or remove skills and qualifications as needed.

6. End with a  “thank you” and mention how to contact you.

Santiago says she always includes a variation of the following sentence at the end of her cover letters:

“I would love to discuss this opportunity more via an interview. I can be reached via email, LinkedIn, and phone at XXX-XXX-XXXX.”

She explains, “I always hyperlink my email and LinkedIn profiles, along with having them spelled out somewhere in the heading.”

General Cover Letter Example

The above general cover letter example includes many of the same points I made about how to create one.

Notice the company’s address is included but not the applicants and that there are blank spaces for the writer to change information such as the recipient, positions, and skills. 

My only critique of this example is that it could use more personality and a punchier hook (more on hooks later).

What to Include in a Cover Letter

So, what should you include? I covered a bit of this already, but I want to dive a little deeper.

Don’t worry, I’ll let the 11 templates below this list do most of the talking. No matter which one you download, pay attention to the following elements — all of which should shine through in the letter you send to your future manager.

1. Contact Information

Cover letters shouldn’t just carry your contact information but also that of the company to which you’re applying. Contact info includes your phone number, email address, and any social media accounts you’re willing to share and receive connections to.

As I said earlier, home addresses aren’t always required, but they can be a helpful reassurance to the employer that you already live nearby and would have no trouble coming into the office.

Avoid offering phone numbers, email addresses, or actual addresses that belong to your current employer.

Using your personal Gmail address over your work email, for example, ensures your correspondence with recruiters remains separate from all of your current work communication.

2. A Personal Address Line

For as often as you see “to whom it may concern” at the top of cover letters today, do your best to avoid writing this exhausted line.

Address lines that specify a person or company grab your reader’s attention much more quickly, and show the employer that you’ve taken the time to tailor your application letter to them.

Don’t have the name of the hiring manager? “Employers at [company name]” will do just fine.

3. A Hook

A “hook” is a clever introduction that “hooks” your reader into wanting to learn more. Think about yourself as a job candidate — what makes you unique?

What about your career might a recruiter be intrigued by that you can package into an interesting first sentence?

4. Why You’re Qualified

Again, today’s best applications describe why this experience qualifies the applicant for the job they’re applying for.

For example, don’t just state that you spent three years writing for a company blog. Explain that this type of work lends itself to managing your new potential employer’s content calendar every week.

5. General Knowledge of the Business

Grammatical errors could mean your application is thrown in the trash, but that’s not the only thing that could get your letter tossed aside.

Using a generic “one-size-fits-all” cover letter — especially if you forget to change the name of the company — will also hurt your chances of landing an interview.

So, if you take the time to write a cover letter, take the time to comment on the business itself. Why are you applying to this company? What about their business stuck out to you as a professional?

Now, let’s take a look at an example cover letter, what makes it effective, along with 11 templates you can download or draw inspiration from.

 Cover Letter Example

Image Source

The example above illustrates how to write a marketing cover letter using the elements I listed.

Besides the contact information and the address line, the first few paragraphs explain why the candidate is qualified for the position. This example uses specific data to show why they would be a good fit.

Additionally, in the second to last paragraph, the candidate discusses why they’re interested in the specific company, demonstrating general knowledge of the business.

By combining all the elements to a cover letter, this is a great example to use for inspiration.

Featured Resource:5 Professional Cover Letter Templates

Download These Templates for Free

14 Free Cover Letter Templates for Your Next Job Application

Template 1: Basic

Image Source

The example above is a basic (but great) cover letter. The numbered sections are explained in more detail below.

1. Header

The level of formality your header has will depend on the company to which you apply. If you’re applying to a formal business, it’s important to use a formal header to open your cover letter, like in the sample above.

Put your address, the date, and the company’s address. But if you’re applying to a company that isn’t as formal, you don’t need to include yours and the company’s addresses. You can still include the date, though.

2. Greeting

Using “To Whom It May Concern” is okay, but you may want to take the time to research the name of the recruiter or hiring manager online.

If you do your research and aren’t confident you found the right name, then you should definitely use the generic greeting — but if you are sure, then it shows you put in the effort to find their name and it will catch the recruiter’s eye.

If you have the recruiter’s name, do you greet them by their full name, or by their courtesy title (i.e. Mr., Ms., or Mrs.)? Similar to the header, it depends on the company’s level of formality.

If you’re applying to a corporate business, you may want to consider using “Mr. Snaper” instead of “Jon Snaper.” If you’re applying to a start-up or a business with a more casual culture, you can use “Jon Snaper,” as shown in the example.

3. Introduction

Your opening paragraph should, in 1-3 sentences, state why you’re excited to apply and what makes you the perfect candidate. Get right to the point, and don’t worry about explaining where you found the posting or who you know at the company.

This isn’t a place to go into detail about why you’re a great candidate — that’s for the second paragraph. Here, simply list a few key reasons in one sentence to set up the rest of your letter.

Keep in mind that the recruiter may cross-reference your cover letter with your resume, so make sure the two sync up.

4. Paragraph 2: Why You’re a Great Fit for the Job

Next, sell yourself and your experience by choosing one or two concrete examples that show why you’re a great fit for the position. What did you do at a previous company that gave you relevant experience?

Which projects have you worked on that would benefit the new company? How will your prior experience help this company grow? Stay humble in your explanation of credentials while still showing that you would be an asset to the team.

Use this paragraph to show you’re genuinely excited and interested in the position.

5. Third Paragraph: Why the Company Is a Great Fit for You

While it’s certainly important you’re a good fit for the job, it’s also important that the company is a good fit for you.

“A cover letter typically describes why you’re great for a company — but how will you benefit from getting hired?” asks former HubSpot Team Development Manager Emily MacIntyre. “We want to know why our company appeals to you, and how it will be a mutually beneficial working relationship.”

In the third paragraph, show you’re serious about growing and developing your career at this new company. What impresses and excites you about the company?

Is there something that you feel strongly about that aligns with the company’s goals? For example, the candidate in the sample letter used this space to show his personal commitment to environmental causes aligns with the company’s green initiatives.

6. Strong Closer and Signature

Don’t get lazy in the final few sentences of your cover letter — it’s important to finish strong.

Be straightforward about your interest and enthusiasm about the new position, and tell them you’re available to talk about the opportunity at any time. Be sure to include your phone number and email address.

At this point, the ball is (rightly) in the recruiter’s court to decide how to follow up.

Last but certainly not least, thank them for their time and consideration. Use a formal sign-off like “Best,” “All the best,” or “Sincerely,” and finish by typing out your full name. You don’t need to sign it with a pen.

Template 2: Data-Driven Marketing Cover Letter

Get it here.

When applying to a data-driven position, it might be tempting to inject your cover letter with, well, the data to describe what you’ve done for other employers.

But in an application letter — particularly for the marketing industry — how you convey this data is just as important as the data itself.

The cover letter template above, which we created here at HubSpot, can help you present the data that’s most important to you as a candidate such that it’ll matter to your future employer.

Notice the three bullet points near the center of the letter above, preceded by the statement: “… I’ve developed a strategy that has helped the company achieve …”

This setup is important, because while you can add as many statistics as you want to this template, your data points should describe how your current/former business benefited from your work, rather than how you, yourself, benefited.

Template 3: Straight-to-the-Point Cover Letter

Get it here.

Harvard Business Review contributor David Silverman hailed the above cover letter example as “The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received.”

For context, Silverman believes there are only a handful of times when writing a cover letter is actually necessary:

1. When you know the name of the hiring manager.
2. When you know something about what the job requires.
3. When you’ve been referred to the job personally.

Under those three circumstances, a straight-to-the-point cover letter like the one above could be your best bet. Because it’s so concise, however, make a point to add your own letterhead above the message itself.

It might be easy for a recruiter to sift through a short and sweet cover letter like the one above, but it’s just as easy for it to get lost in the shuffle of their application list without a unique design or format.

Template 4: Referral Cover Letter

Get it here.

Just because a friend or colleague recommended you for a job doesn’t mean the company is all set to hire you. Therefore, the cover letter template above is written specifically for referrals.

We made this one here at HubSpot. Download it here (it comes with four other cover letter templates, too).

As you can see in the picture above, the first paragraph of the cover letter is dedicated entirely to acknowledging the circumstances of your applying: You know someone who works there — no harm in that.

But there might be harm in not mentioning it to the hiring manager. Telling the reader about your connection at the company shows you’re aware and confident of the actions you take to get the opportunities you’re interested in.

Ultimately, it’s better than the recruiter hearing about your employee connection from somebody else.

As for the rest of the cover letter, treat your message the same way you would if you had applied with no connection from within. Your skills and successes are no less important because of your internal referral.

Template 5: Photo Letterhead Cover Letter

Get it here.

The cover letter template above was designed by Microsoft Office, and as comprehensive as it looks, it’s completely free to download and modify.

As it looks right now, this cover letter contains about half photo, half text. Feel free to shrink (and change) the image to give yourself more room to tell your story. Of course, a nice washed-out image that expresses who you are can be part of that story …

Template 6: Digital Creative Cover Letter

Get it here.

This sixth template is perfect for the applicant who wants to emphasize the many different digital channels they areon. This template goes well with a resume of the same format.

As you personalize this letter with your own experience, make note of the social networks and industry software included in this template.

You’ll see there’s additional space along the top to add your LinkedIn and personal website to fill with your own information.

You can improve upon this template by formatting your most important highlights and accomplishments with bullet points. This will make the document easier to read for the hiring manager and emphasizes the value you provide.

Template 7: Marketing Manager Cover Letter

Get it here.

Our seventh cover letter comes from Monster.com. This cover letter, shown above, is focused specifically on a marketing role.

Notice how the writer includes references to important marketing metrics and terminology.

If you’re applying to a data-driven role, you might not want to fill the page with a story of your experience in paragraph form, like Template 1 does at the beginning of this article.

Instead, consider highlighting three (or four, or five) of your successes that you believe the hiring manager would resonate most with, in bulleted form.

As a marketing professional, breaking up your letter with bulleted details like the ones above shows a respect for the hiring manager’s limited time — a mentality that all marketers must understand when communicating with a brand’s audience.

Template 8: Career Day Follow-Up Cover Letter

Get it here.

This is a unique kind of cover letter from Princeton University.

LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Monster, and Indeed might take the lion’s share of your job searches online, but still some employment opportunities come out of a trade show, job fair, or similar networking event.

For those occurrences, you have the follow-up cover letter template above.

This cover letter has everything you need to help an employer recall a conversation you had with him/her at a career fair.

As you can see in the second paragraph, the letter is particularly useful to people who are about to graduate college.

Template 9: Logo and Watermarked Cover Letter

Get it here.

Here’s another cover letter template from Microsoft Office.

This one has a light touch of color in the design just above the letterhead, but make no mistake — the template caters to any professional looking to make a good first impression on their future employer.

Don’t let the logo space on the top-right of the page confuse you. This can be the logo of the company to which you’re applying — to quickly get the attention of the recruiter — or your own logo.

Perhaps you freelance on the side or simply like branding yourself. This cover letter template is meant for customization.

Template 10: Data Scientist Cover Letter

Get it here.

This is our second template from Princeton University. While this is focused on a data scientist role, it is an excellent template to use for students applying to jobs prior to graduation.

The text emphasizes how the applicant’s academic research and projects makes them an ideal candidate for the position. The format is also simple enough to submit as a pdf, as text in an email message or an application text box.

Template 11: Business Cover Letter

Get it here.

The cover letter template above is perfect for entry- and mid-level marketers who want to show a little extra professionalism in their opening note to a potential employer.

The multi-colored header (you can change the color if you wish) shows just the right amount of creativity and can go quite well with a resume of the same style. If you don’t have enough experience to fill the entire page, don’t worry.

Feel free to write to a length you think is representative of who you are and what the hiring manager wants to see.

No matter how long your final cover letter is, the above template is your opportunity to show your attention to detail — from your contact information in the top header, to the personalized address line where you can include the name of the hiring manager.

Like I said, “to whom it may concern” is pretty outdated, anyway.

Template 12: Entry-Level Cover Letter

Get it here.

The cover letter template above, written by HubSpot, is specifically designed for entry-level applicants.

When you only have a few years experience, it’s important to display how you gained your skills and what you learned from your education or internships.

Additionally, it’s important to mention why you want to work at the company you’re applying to.

No matter your experience, the template above will help you decide what skills you want to highlight and flesh out in your cover letter.

You can download it here (it comes with four other cover letter templates, too).

Template 13: Healthcare Cover Letter

Get it here.

What stands out to me in this cover letter is the direct, straight-to-the-point bullet points that reference the job posting.

The cover letter, created by The Balance Careers, cuts down on repetition by following the “I have” statement with six bullet points that highlight the applicant’s strengths, including “I have … practical knowledge of creating and implementing care plans” and “I have … a proven track record of compassionate, effective care”.

Additionally, phrases like “I’d love to put my skills to work for your clinic” and “Please contact me at your convenience and let me know how I can help you” focus on what the business will gain as a result of hiring the applicant, rather than what the applicant is looking to gain.

Template 14: Freelance Cover Letter

Get it here.

If you’re looking for freelance work, your biggest goal is to get your strengths across quickly, so busy clients won’t pass by your cover letter entirely.

Additionally, if you’re sending out multiple cover letters to different clients, you’ll want to target each one to that client’s unique goals.

For instance, if one client is looking for SEO-optimized content related to marketing, you’ll want to highlight past experience writing marketing content; this will change if, for instance, the client is looking for fitness content.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to structure your cover letter so you start with a) past credentials or references, and b) bullet-point information related to the client’s goal, as shown in the cover letter above.

Template 15: Director Cover Letter

Get it here.

If you’re applying for a Director position, you’ll want to start by explaining how you’ve either successfully handled a similar role in the past, or why you believe you’re qualified and ready to handle new responsibilities for the first time.

In the cover letter above, the candidate does a good job outlining how she succeeded in a leadership role previously:

“For the past five years, I have successfully developed and maintained all data systems, including schedules and records for a business employing more than 100 people.”

You’ll want to demonstrate how your skills align with a Director position — both through organization and leadership — and, when possible, where you received recognition for your hard work (i.e. “I earned an award for Most Valuable Administrative Staff Member”).

Write a Winning Cover Letter

Writing a cover letter is easier said than done. Don’t hesitate to spend a lot of time writing and editing it.

Tap into the incredible potential of AI tools, such as the HubSpot paragraph rewriter, to infuse each paragraph with a flawless touch of excellence. Or, ask a friend or family member to read it over and give you feedback.

If the recruiter does end up reading it, you’ll be thankful you did.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.

I’m an inclusive marketing consultant and the founder of Thompson Media Group. I also follow a gluten-free diet for health reasons. When I go to a restaurant’s website, I’m wondering, does their menu work for “People like me?”

Your ideal customers are going to have these questions, as “people like me” often refers to an identity consumers hold.

And, people with underrepresented and underserved identities often wonder about how their identity might impact the degree of success they can achieve with your brand and, if it will impact whether they’ll feel like they belong.

It’s up to you to ensure your brand sends the right signals with your content — to communicate “You Belong Here,” to all the people you want to serve. And, one of the best ways to do that is with an inclusive SEO strategy.

In this post, I’ll explain how to implement inclusive SEO strategies that help you draw in a diverse audience.

How to Communicate “You Belong Here” to The People You Serve

When you know the ‘why’ behind your customer’s questions, it’s easier to create SEO-based content that gets to the heart of what they need to learn about you.

My pro tip is to focus your efforts on delivering experiences that make it easy for your ideal customers to feel like three key statements are true for your brand:

1. “This brand sees me and my identity.”
2. “People like me have achieved success here.”
3. “The customer experience for people like me has been considered.”

Let’s dive into how you can deliver on these ideals.

1.”This brand sees me and my identity.”

No one wants to feel invisible but, unfortunately, people from marginalized communities often feel ignored by brands who focus all their attention on those who are part of the “mainstream.”

That’s why people who are often ignored are so thrilled when a brand takes the time to “see them.”

I keynoted a conference a couple of years ago. Afterward, I saw social media comments from attendees who had referenced how the speaker lineup at the conference made them feel.

Here’s one example where the attendee felt “seen” because she liked seeing women of color like her represented by conference speakers.

And in the other example, the attendee felt invisible because she didn’t see any speakers in her age group.

In the State of Representation in Marketing study I conducted, 63% of respondents over 50 said it was important for them to see people in their age group represented in the brands they buy from.

Overall, age was the second most important factor to them in terms of areas of representation consumers of all ages needed to see to feel like they belong.

Make your customers feel seen by using your content to acknowledge that your customers are different in a way that feels authentic.

2. “People like me have achieved success here.”

The people you serve are coming to you because they want you to help them solve a problem, but not everyone achieves success at the same rate.

Over the years I’ve educated many clients about how consumers’ identities have a direct correlation to the degree of success they achieve.

As a brand, it is important for you to be aware of whether specific customers aren’t thriving as others are. This awareness positions you to put solutions in place to close any existing gaps.

Here’s an expert interview I conducted that explains this concept a little further, using an example called “The water vs. the fish principle.”

In this episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast, I go deeper into various factors that influence your customers’ success, such as race, gender, and sexual orientation, along with advice on how to mitigate them.

In the State of Representation in Marketing study, 52% of consumers said customer testimonials were the area of representation most important to them for the brands they are considering buying from.

Showcase people from underrepresented and underserved communities achieving success with your brand. Doing so will give people who share those identities confidence that they can achieve success with you as well.

3. “The customer experience for people like me has been considered.”

I haven’t met anyone who enjoys feeling like an afterthought.

But, far too often, consumers from underrepresented and underserved communities are treated like afterthoughts in the experiences brands deliver. This, in turn, results in a less-than-stellar experience when interacting with a brand.

In the video below, Erin Perkins, a disability advocate, shares her frustration with a common brand experience.

My pro tip is to show your customers they belong with you by delivering stellar experiences that work for all the identities you’re serving.

From talking to thousands of consumers, I’ve learned it is often the small details that make stellar experiences.

One consumer shared about a delightful experience at a hotel, “the towels were super plush and oversized to fit anyone’s size.

It is the small things.” Another consumer expressed gratitude that she didn’t have to ask for an accommodation with one brand, because it “was already available.”

And another consumer told me she wished brands knew “everyone is different, but we all wanted to be treated the same.”

Your customers, no matter their identity, want to feel like they are important as they go through your customer experience.

When consumers feel they are important, they are more likely to be loyal to you as a result. Consumers who feel like a burden or an afterthought will go somewhere else.

Components of an Inclusive SEO Strategy

Once you’ve defined which identities your brand will champion, focus on delivering content that speaks directly to those consumers.

Below I’ll go over the key components of an inclusive SEO strategy that will help you do exactly that.

1. Include SEO-optimized content on your website that answers common identity-based questions.

Many people from marginalized communities are aware of the ways in which they are different and how that impacts their experiences as consumers.

To minimize friction and poor experiences, they will often do advanced research to find out whether or not a brand is for them before making a purchase.

Having SEO-optimized content on your website will help them find the information they need quickly.

In addition, the fact that you’ve taken the time to proactively provide content about the specific topic they’re concerned with showcases that you “see” consumers who have this need and that you considered their experience in advance.

For example, I follow a gluten-free diet. Anytime I’m considering a new restaurant, I need to browse their menu in advance to find out if there are options for me to eat.

However, restaurants often don’t have that information available on their websites. Sometimes I conduct a secondary search to try and find a menu, but I land on unrelated websites like Find Me Gluten-Free.

It’s a missed opportunity. And, almost every time this happens, I end up going to a different restaurant that caters to gluten-free diets and clearly highlights this in its menu options online.

This page from Google’s website is a good example. It showcases the accessibility features of Google Pixel phones by including a sponsored video.

It also includes testimonials from individuals in the disability community who use the features to accomplish their goals.

My pro tip: Think about the various identities of the people who have the problem your brand solves. Then brainstorm what common identity-based questions they will have, and create content on your site that makes it easy for them to get the answers to their questions, so they can move forward with you.

2. Create an optimized Google Business Profile.

My husband once searched ‘peluqueria’ (the word for barbershop in Spanish) on Google, and got no local results. When I queried “barber shop,” I got a result for a location less than 50 feet from where we stood.

Simple adjustments to that business’ Google Business Profile, would have helped it appear for my husband searching in Spanish.

Vero Massage Therapy is a great example of an optimized Google Business Profile, as it makes it clear to LGBTQ+ and Latino communities that they are welcome at the spa.

Salon 54, pictured below, also does a great job at this by including key accessibility information to let all visitors understand their options.

To activate this inclusive SEO strategy for yourself, create a Google Business Profile and add the attributes that make sense for your brand based on the customers you serve.

I have a podcast episode, linked below, all about how to optimize your profile for multiple languages and identity groups.

Real customers can also leave reviews (and you can encourage them to do so) of your business highlighting their experiences.

When prospective customers see uncurated reviews from people like them on your profile, it gives them the confidence they need to take the next step forward with you.

The image below is from Klickrr, a text-marketing software company that has customer reviews on its Google Business Profile.

3. Understand your brand’s values and how you live those values over time.

HubSpot’s Consumer Trend Survey found that consumers care that companies take a stance on social issues, and 42% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand based on their commitments to diversity and inclusion.

The people you serve want to know what your brand values are, and how you practice them on a daily basis.

This could look like creating content that talks about your journey to inclusivity and how you build relationships with and support different communities.

I think MindBodyGreen is a great example of doing this successfully, especially with their blog post highlighting why they removed the word “infertility” from their website.

Sephora also does this by highlighting their progress toward their diversity goals.

The Home Depot also communicates its lived values with content highlighting its “Retool Your School” program, which supports historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

The program has existed for 15 years, and the brand’s YouTube channel even has a playlist of the impact the program has had on campuses over the years.

My pro tip is to implement this component of an inclusive SEO strategy by creating content that highlights your values, and then continuing to publish SEO-optimized content that demonstrates how you’re living your values.

Your customers won’t know about your values or how you live them if you don’t tell them. It isn’t bragging, or being performative to talk about the work you are doing and the impact you are having on communities.

It’s an inspiring way for the people you serve to see what you’re doing and hold you accountable to your goals.

Besides, the more consumers are able to see your commitment to causes and communities that are also important to them, the more drawn they will be to your brand.

Small Tweaks Can Make Your SEO Strategy More Inclusive

Any effective strategy has to start by understanding your customers.

Acknowledge the diverse identities of your customers, and work to deliver experiences through your content that satisfy the questions people with different identities might have when it comes to your brand.

When you show that your values align, conversions increase.

Welcome to HubSpot’s Expert Edge Series, where we interview top execs at major brands to explore their perspectives on the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the industry.

Over the past few months, you might’ve noticed a shift in HubSpot’s social strategy.

The more traditional B2B posts have given way for a social media presence that is funnier, more casual, and definitely more meme-ified.

Which led me to wonder: What’s the reason behind the shift?

As HubSpot’s Global Director of Social Media, Bryna Corcoran, told me: “About seven months ago, we started to speak to the next generation of marketing or sales reps — we started to use the Gen Z and millennial tone-of-voice. We started to dabble in internet culture; we started to post memes, which, you know, definitely got us some questionable faces. We started to make it more of a conversational community. And it’s working.”

Turns out, it’s more than just working. In the past seven months alone, HubSpot’s social team has seen 84% year-over-year growth on LinkedIn.

Here, Corcoran shares with me her tips for growing a LinkedIn community, as well as her broader insights on how to succeed across social platforms in 2024.

HubSpot’s Director of Social On Creating A Strong LinkedIn Strategy, Becoming Relevant to Gen Z, and Experimenting Constantly

LinkedIn’s Audience Has Changed: So Your Content Should, Too

When I sat down with Corcoran, the first question I asked her was simple: Why LinkedIn?

She told me there are several reasons. For one, some users have found it harder to thrive on X (previously known as Twitter), so they’ve gradually migrated to LinkedIn for that similar “open-forum town square” feel.

Additionally, more Gen Z’s and younger millennials are now turning to LinkedIn for career development and job searching.

So the social team saw an opportunity: Why not test out their Twitter tone-of-voice — short, text-only casual posts, or what she calls “shower musings” — on LinkedIn?

And it blew up.

Corcoran says, “In the beginning, we were unsure how our new strategy would perform, so we treaded lightly by posting only a few times a week. But I’m happy to report that we’re gaining followers faster than ever, and that’s because we’re taking a personal approach.”

She adds, “It’s almost like we’re turning HubSpot into a person, rather than a brand, by discussing the musings of how our customers are thinking or feeling on a daily basis as they try to grow their companies.”

LinkedIn’s Users Expect to Interact With Businesses on the Platform, So It’s a Good Platform to Lean Into

There’s another benefit to LinkedIn, too — while Instagram and Facebook are largely for personal connections, users expect to interact with businesses on LinkedIn. In fact, it’s the purpose of the channel.

In other words: Businesses aren’t breaking through quite as high of a barrier on LinkedIn when it comes to figuring out authentic ways for users to interact with them.

As Corcoran told me, “Don’t sleep on LinkedIn — It is one of the most credible platforms. To be on the platform, you need to put your real first and last name, and your work history is accurate, and you’re a reflection of the school you went to or the company you work for … so you’re much more likely to contribute thoughtfully on LinkedIn compared to other platforms.”

She continues, “So what we’ve found on LinkedIn is a vibrant community of people who just like being on the platform, and like sharing their thoughts. Of course there are debates, but they’re healthy debates. And so we’ve found people who are inspired to engage with us, talk to us, talk to each other, have civil discourse, laugh with us, and thumbs-up each other’s comments.”

One other big plus and differentiation for LinkedIn? Its ability to amplify your content to new audiences simply by engaging with the content. If Corcoran and I are connected as colleagues but I don’t follow HubSpot and she comments on or likes a HubSpot post, LinkedIn will auto-publish that interaction and post to my own feed. Which means LinkedIn provides incredible opportunities to broadcast your content to reach new prospects and leads simply through light-weight engagement.

Take an Audience-First Approach With Any Social Strategy — While Also Leaning Into Cultural Relevancy

Roughly six months ago, Corcoran and her team decided to develop new, fresh personas for their social channels to enable them to take an audience-first approach. Now, when they’re crafting a piece of social content, they’re able to keep that person top-of-mind.

For instance, one persona they’ve developed is the sales rep who is trying to get their cold calls answered. From there, it’s easier to brainstorm clever, relatable text-based thoughts that could resonate with that persona and make her feel like HubSpot understands their challenges.

Corcoran told me she also looks at cultural moments. “We look at things that people are talking about outside of the HubSpot universe. What’s top of mind for them? If we can connect to what’s going on in culture, it’s even stickier and more relatable.”

She adds, “In the beginning, there was a little bit of the ‘let’s try everything’ method, because it was uncharted. So we decided to test a lot: Does our audience gravitate to a Barbie meme? Are we rubbing people the wrong way if we lean into grammatical errors because that’s how Gen Z types?”

Now, before Corcoran’s team posts anything, they ask themselves three questions:

• Who is this for?
• What’s the HubSpot way in?
• How can we connect it to culture?

If they can strike those three things well, they typically find success. But, as Corcoran points out, they don’t crush it every time — and they’re still learning.

You Might Be Surprised By What Types of Content Performs Best With Your Audience, So Testing is Key

When HubSpot won a G2 award recently, Corcoran’s team posted a traditional, official asset to highlight the award. And it got widely shared.

But then, later that afternoon, they decided to post a meme, instead.

As Corcoran told me, “That blew up. People were really energized by the fact that we had a little bit of swag with our G2 announcement. And the more fun, personality-driven approach accomplishes the same goal for us as the more corporate-looking post: Driving awareness.”

One thing we’ve found,” She adds, “is if a post is too polished or clean on social, it gets misunderstood as an ad. So if we’re doing a video, we take a TikTok or Reels approach where it’s just 30-seconds shot on an iPhone and we put it out.”

If you work for a B2B company, it can be tempting to pigeonhole your brand on social as polished, professional, and formal. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case — the more you can personify your business, the easier it will be for decision-makers to connect with your brand.

Of course, what works best for one business will flop for another. So it’s equally critical you continue to test and iterate over time. At the end of each month, for instance, Corcoran and her team look at every single post and say, ‘Okay, how did this one perform? Was it short and easy-to-read? Was the graphic too corporate-y?’

As Corcoran notes, over time, you begin to notice themes. And those themes can help you get better at predicting what performs well with your audience … and what doesn’t.

(Bonus Tip: Corcoran suggests posting on LinkedIn three to four times per week; but she encourages businesses to avoid posting on the weekends, since people typically aren’t using the platform during their time off. Additionally, she’s seen the most success posting first thing in the morning, around lunchtime, or around 5-6 PM — basically, when people are waking up, when they’re taking a lunch break, or when they’re winding down after work.)

Shares Means Your Content Connected Emotionally With Your Audience

Finally, I asked Corcoran how she measures success on social. How does she know her team’s social posts are driving business impact?

Here’s how Corcoran thinks about it: “We know a Miley Cyrus meme won’t get you to purchase software, but we want you to be aware of HubSpot — that we’re present, that we’re culturally relevant — so that we’re top-of-mind when you are in the buying motion.”

She continues, “Our master goal is brand awareness and product consideration, and the way we measure brand awareness is through engagement: Whether that’s liking, commenting, or sharing.”

In particular, she told me she gets really excited about shares — because that tells her that the content connected emotionally with the user on some level. It means a user slowed down and said, ‘This is so relevant to me that I need to share it with someone else.’

Corcoran says, “Oftentimes, that person will share with someone who hasn’t heard of HubSpot, and suddenly they’re curious about us.”

With Social, Be Willing to Test the Boundaries 

Ultimately, if there’s one thing I learned from Corcoran, it’s this: B2B businesses have historically played it safe when it comes to creating engaging content on social media.

But social media users’ expectations are rapidly evolving, and it’s critical your business continue to evaluate and iterate on its own social strategy to reach new audiences and drive brand awareness in 2024 and beyond.

If you’re anything like me, you’re consistently working out of at least 20 browser tabs, four journals, a yellow legal pad or two, and myriad Post-it notes stuck around your computer monitor.

To the average director, it’s nothing short of chaos, but to the regular blogger—it’s evidence of a (desperate) need for an editorial calendar.

Table of Contents

What is an editorial calendar?

Editorial Calendar Benefits

Who should use an editorial calendar? 

How to Create an Editorial Calendar

Editorial Calendar Examples

Content Calendar Sample

My experience as a blogger has taught me that without a mutually agreed-upon system for planning, writing, and scheduling content every week, anyone can find themselves in a pile of missed deadlines, unedited blog posts, and a fair amount of team tension.

There’s no such thing as a perfect editorial calendar — it all depends on the needs of your team. Nonetheless, there are several questions you should ask yourself to determine what your editorial calendar should look like. These include:

• How frequently are you publishing content? Do you have stuff going live every day? Once a week? Perhaps multiple times a day? Find out how often you publish to figure out the best way to visualize your editorial calendar.
• Do you create more than one type of content? If you upload as many videos to YouTube as you publish articles to your company blog, your editorial calendar will need to distinguish between the two.
• How many people will use this editorial calendar? The best editorial calendars allow multiple people to brainstorm, collaborate, and offer feedback on assignments in real time — directly on the calendar.
• What are the various stages content goes through before it’s published? How complex is your content pipeline? Is there a substantial review or approval process that each piece of content goes through? Make sure your calendar can distinguish between two similar assignments that are in different stages of creation.
• What format will you use to organize this calendar? You’ll want to choose the system that best aligns with your goals and your team’s workflows. 

Put these points into practice by learning how to create your content calendar. Or, keep reading to learn how an editorial calendar can boost your business. 

Editorial Calendar Benefits

While an editorial calendar can take time to organize and put in place, this strategy can greatly impact your content marketing.

Improves content quality and consistency.

Planning content in advance makes it easier to create consistent content an audience can rely on.

Plus, I can’t emphasize enough how an editorial calendar gives much-needed structure for creating batches of content.

This lets you focus on ideation and content creation separately, giving you more energy and focus to create quality content.

More chances to innovate.

Change is the only constant in marketing strategy. With an editorial calendar, you have a clear view of what content aligns with your new strategy and where to innovate.

This approach also gives you time and space to think of creative angles for each piece of content.

Supports accountability.

Content marketing has a lot of details. Not everyone needs to know what blog or hashtag gets posted when, but an editorial calendar can help every member of your team stay accountable for their pieces in the puzzle.

Streamlines processes.

As your business grows, you might find some processes will also grow more complicated and tasks that were once simple will take up more time.

But an editorial calendar can simplify these processes. It can give your team an easy overview of an entire project, quarter, or campaign from start to finish. This helps different departments and teams coordinate and streamline their efforts.

Better teamwork.

Simplified processes and better accountability mean that your team can work better together.

This lets each member of your team spend more time using their unique abilities to create great content for your business. It also simplifies training and retaining your best employees.

Improves your team experience.

According to 2022 Reclaim.ai research, 76.6% of surveyed marketers say more time for focused work would resolve their burnout.

An editorial calendar creates a consistent plan and a better employee experience. This reduces the stress and uncertainty that can lead to burnout in marketing teams.

Offers clearer data insights.

Editorial calendars offer a clear record of:

• Content types
• Assets to include in published content
• When to publish

This record makes it easier to track content performance. With this tracking in place, your team will be set to optimize and improve your content to meet your goals.

Who should use an editorial calendar? 

There are many industries and professionals who benefit from using editorial calendars to organize, track, and post content. 

Here’s a brief list I made of businesses and industries that should use editorial calendars: 

Public Relations 

Editorials are a must-have in the public relations industry because professionals in the field must keep track of and schedule materials such as press releases and promotional content.

It’s especially important because the materials are released through various channels such as social media, email, television, websites, radio, and more. 

Newspapers/Magazines and Other News Outlets

“I used to write for a newspaper in my early career as a journalist,” says HubSpot blogger Erica Santiago. “I needed an editorial calendar to track when my work would get published or when I had to publish another contributor.”

Newspapers, magazines, and news websites are constantly fielding new content and an editorial calendar helps to ensure the right content is getting posted at the right time and the right place.

Corporate Communications Teams 

Corporate communications teams need editorial calendars for the same reason public relations professionals need them. Editorial calendars keep the team organized and ensure content is posted timely and through the right channels.

Individuals and professionals who should use editorial calendars include: 

Content Creators 

Whether you’re a blogger, YouTuber, TikToker, or podcaster — you absolutely need an editorial calendar. Content creators use editorial calendars to plan and schedule their content in advance. 

Social Media Managers and Coordinators 

“A friend of mine is a social media coordinator for a streaming company, and he uses an editorial calendar to manage and schedule the different posts he needs to put out to promote various shows,” Santiago says.

“He manages at least five to 10 different TV show accounts. I can’t imagine how frazzled he’d be without an editorial calendar,” she explains.

How to Create an Editorial Calendar

A successful editorial calendar is a living project that your business will change as you grow and scale your social media and content strategy. To start the process of creating your own, I have some resources to simplify the process.

Okay, time for me to give you what you came for. With all the different types of calendars you can create, let’s discuss the types you can choose and how to plan the rollout of your content.

1. Define your target audience and content themes.

Before you begin plugging content into your editorial calendar, be sure to review your content strategy. Scan for content topics, buyer persona needs, and training your team might need to create winning content.

Trust me when I say you’ll need this information to schedule the right content at the right time.

2. Outline content goals and KPIs.

For effective resource management, I strongly suggest using your goals and metrics as a jumping-off point for your editorial calendar. This can simplify reporting and make it easier to quickly gauge the performance of new strategies.

3. Choose a format for organizing your editorial calendar.

Talk to your team about their preferences and work habits before picking a format. Ask each team member:

• Where they’re working from
• What tools they’re using
• How they organize their content creation
• Collaboration needs

Image Source

Types of Editorial Calendars

An editorial calendar is essentially a planning tool. Experience has taught me that there’s no such thing as a perfect editorial calendar, but some formats will be better than others at helping you solve your team’s goals.

Here are some of the different ways to format your editorial calendar and what I see as the pros and cons of each format:

Editorial Calendar Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet is a simple way to organize your content.

Image Source

Pros

• Easy data aggregation and organization
• Cost-effective
• Short learning curve and accessible, making collaboration easy
• Easy to customize
• Integration with calendar apps and content management tools

Cons

• Hard to visualize your calendar
• Limited options for collaboration
• Difficult to get a clear breakdown at a glance
• Can be clunky for tracking multiple channels

Content Calendar

A content calendar is a more detailed version of the editorial calendar spreadsheet and helps users visualize content timing.

Pros

• Makes it easier to organize content details
• The most straightforward way to know what’s going out and when
• Can include keywords, color coding, tags, assignments, and content types

Cons

• There’s more to project and content management than publishing dates
• Can be time-consuming to put together
• A calendar may not always be effective on its own

Project Management Tool

Tools like Trello or Asana can be helpful for complex or multi-channel editorial calendars.

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Pros

• Presents a clear editorial workflow
• Designed for complex project management
• Customizable
• Offer collaboration and visualization like a Kanban board

Cons

• Can be overwhelming
• Has a steeper learning curve for new team members

Editorial Calendar Applications

I love project management tools like Monday.com or CoSchedule can also offer mobile applications. This on-the-go access can help streamline editorial calendar creation and maintenance.

Pros

• Offers easy access to your editorial calendar
• Has choices for content creation, planning, and assigning
• Includes collaboration tools and analytics

Cons

• Can be expensive
• May be difficult to customize

Choose the best format and decide on how you’ll implement it. Pick the tool or platform that offers the features or interface your company needs most.

4. Designate your main marketing channels.

Most businesses will be creating distinct content and messaging for each marketing channel. So, choose carefully.

Once you’ve selected your top channels, make thoughtful decisions about organizing this content in your editorial calendar.

Editorial calendars are highly visual tools. If you’re not a visual thinker, keep in mind that 65% of people are visual learners, so other people on your team may be.

I also suggest making your editorial calendar easier to interpret with visual cues. Differentiating your calendar with a different color for each channel you post on can cut confusion for your team.

You can also divide post types or subject matter using visuals to ensure you schedule the right content at the right time.

5. Assign roles and responsibilities.

Roles and responsibilities can seem obvious when a content strategy launches, but this clarity can fade over time. That’s why I encourage including details like writing, editing, publishing, and image creation in your calendar.

This simple step makes processes, roles, and deadlines clear. It also creates accountability for every member of your team.

6. Study your competition’s posting frequency.

We all need a little inspiration—including me!

Look to other businesses posting in the same industry or niche as yours. Then, study which competitors are successful in capturing attention and how they got to that level of success.

Let me be clear, I am not at all suggesting copying others’ content subject matter or the exact dates or times they post.

Instead, pull inspiration and make your own editorial calendar to grab attention on the days or times competitors aren’t posting. This tactic can also help you find gaps in your content strategy.

No one likes a copycat. 

7. Plan your posts consistently.

Content planning is an incredibly important component of any strong marketing strategy.

As Carsyn LeClere, Strategist at Blue Frog, told me:

“Content planning helps provide a better view of all your marketing initiatives and how they play into each other. It’s important to have because it ensures you don’t duplicate content efforts, cannibalize a topic, miss any initiatives, or neglect any part of the buyer’s journey.”

She adds, “Being able to plan content at a high level allows you to focus on content that matters and makes it easier to produce content that’s consistent with your brand story.”

Organizing your editorial calendar for posting on the same weekly schedule can drive exposure for your content and improve engagement.

Posting on a frequent basis keeps your followers coming back for more. Social media platforms reward profiles that drive this engagement with more visibility. And search engines reward content that searchers love to click.

After all, these platforms want to capture and maintain people’s attention too.

When you create a patterned or consistent posting cycle, you’re using each channel in an optimized manner.

For example, if you publish email tips on Tuesdays, your audience will rely on those tips and look for them. If you publish the same useful tips at random, your target audience might miss that content.

So, regular posting keeps your audience engaged and builds a stronger connection with them.

Creating a content calendar that has a clear schedule of posts will help you stay consistent and maintain a steady flow of content.

8. Audit and adapt your editorial calendar as necessary.

It may take some time to perfect your editorial calendar.

If you begin with low engagement in the first couple of months, run a content audit and adapt your content calendar to better engage your followers.

Then, schedule regular audits to measure your content performance and use your content calendar to track the value of any strategic changes.

This is how creating an editorial calendar will make your content marketing more streamlined, organized, and effective.

Editorial Calendar Examples

You didn’t think I’d give you all this information and not include examples, did you? Of course, I’ve got you covered.

To help you implement an editorial calendar, here are real examples from a few of the most successful content teams out there. Check them out below and find out what makes their calendar so useful.

1. HubSpot Editorial Calendar [Template]

Platform: Excel

Free Download

The interactive HubSpot Editorial Calendar Template was built for writers and content strategists to outline their posting strategy.

Included are prompts for the content’s title, meta description, URL, CTA, and more. This template is completely free and can be used on both Google Sheets and Excel.

2. Buffer’s Editorial Calendar

Platform: Trello

This is the actual editorial calendar of Buffer, a social media content scheduling platform.

Naturally, the company’s content is supported by an editorial calendar that describes an assignment’s author, title, publish date, and where it is in the company’s editorial workflow.

Content can be in the “Ideas” stage, in the “Pipeline,” “In Progress,” or “Editing”.

Each rectangular tile shown above represents an individual piece of content — whether it’s a blog post, video, or even a podcast episode.

As you might be able to tell, Buffer’s editorial calendar is built on Trello, a popular project management tool.

And although you can use Trello more than one way, Buffer uses most of its available features so everyone has the information they need within a few clicks — regardless of what they do for the company and how the calendar affects their work.

3. Unbounce’s Editorial Calendar

Platform: Google Sheets

This is the editorial calendar of Unbounce, a creator of landing pages and related conversion tools for marketers as well as a HubSpot integration partner.

Unlike Buffer, this company uses Google Sheets to manage its entire content production, and the way they’ve customized the spreadsheet above would be pleasing to the eyes of any content creator.

In addition to organizing their projects by month, what you might notice from the screenshot above is that Unbounce also sorts their content by the campaign they’re serving — as per the first two columns on the left-hand side.

This allows the business to see what multiple assignments — listed vertically down the third column — have in common, and track content that extends beyond the Unbounce blog.

Shown below, the Unbounce blog has a separate editorial calendar in Google Sheets that allows the blog to work alongside the larger company initiatives.

Nonetheless, using spreadsheets for both content workflows has proven to be the best choice for the company’s growing operation.

“We’re a small content team, so other platforms would likely overcomplicate things,” says Colin Loughran, editor-in-chief at Unbounce.

Ultimately, this editorial calendar keeps Colin’s team in sync.

“While we try to lock dates a few weeks in advance,” he explains to me, “the reality is that sometimes we need to make changes very quickly. A product launch might move into a slot we’d planned for something else, for instance, or a guest contributor will be delayed in delivering a revised draft. When that’s the case, having a centralized resource that everyone can check is a necessary safety blanket.”

4. Hootsuite’s Content Calendar

Platform: Google Sheets and Hootsuite Planner

Hootsuite, another social media scheduling platform, has a ton of content to publish both daily and far out in advance. That makes their content calendar a major component of their production strategy.

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Due to the volume, the Hootsuite team creates content far in advance using Google Sheets to plan and organize across channels. Once the strategy is created and executed, posts that are ready to be published are represented on Hootsuite Planner.

Content Calendar Sample

Ready to make your own editorial calendar?

No matter which platform you ultimately want to work out of, a spreadsheet can help you take inventory of what content you have and how quickly it moves from start to finish.

Try our free Blog Editorial Calendar Templates.

Use the templates linked above to organize, categorize, and color code. These templates can help you target the right readers, optimize posts with the best keywords, and pair each topic with a killer call-to-action.

In this download, we’ve included three different templates for you to choose from.

Why three? I  recognize that not all content teams are the same. While some feel most efficient with a centralized editorial calendar solution, others may need the gentle push of an upcoming deadline right on their calendar.

So, you’ll have access to all three templates in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and Google Calendar.

Plan Out Your Editorial Calendar with Ease

With a little customization, your blog calendar will be running smoothly, leaving you time to be the content-writing, lead-generating machine you strive to be.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published May 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

As a social media marketer or someone trying to build your social media presence, you know that it isn’t enough just to post new content — the times you post also play a crucial role.

So, if you are wondering what the best times to post on social media in 2024 are, I have got you covered. In this post, I have compiled some of the key statistics from leading studies on the best times to post on social media.

Best Time to Post on Instagram

Instagram has surpassed 2 billion monthly users, with most of its base accessing the platform via mobile.

Here are some of the most recent and relevant studies around the best time to post on Instagram:

• Based on analyzing 5.5 million social media posts, Buffer states that the best times to post on Instagram are 7 AM to 8 AM on weekdays.
• According to the same report, the best day to post on Instagram is Friday. The worst day is on Sunday.
• The worst times to post are 11 PM to 12 AM and 1 AM to 2 AM.
• SocialBee suggests that the best times to post on Instagram are between 11:00 AM and 02:00 PM on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and at 10:00 AM on Saturdays.
• According to a SocialPilot study on over 50,000 Instagram accounts, the best time to post on Instagram is between 7 AM and 9 AM.
• Later states that the best time to post on Instagram is 4 AM.

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While posting at the right time is important, it is also important to optimize your posts with the right caption so that they reach the maximum audience. You can use tools like Hubspot AI Social Media Caption Generator to easily create engaging and impactful copy for your posts.

Best Time to Post on Facebook

When it comes to the best times to post on Facebook, marketers report almost identical numbers as they do on Instagram.

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• According to Buffer, the best time to post on Facebook is between 9 and 10 AM.
• The best days to post on Facebook are Fridays. The worst are on Saturdays and Sundays.
• The worst times to post are 4 AM to 5 AM and 11 PM to 12 AM.
• According to SocialBee, the best times to post on Facebook are between 8 AM and 1 PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Best Time to Post on X (Twitter)

After analyzing over 1 million tweets, Buffer found that the best times to post on this text-based social media platform is 11 AM on Mondays and Fridays.

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• SocialBee states that the best time to post on X is between 9 AM and 4 PM on Thursdays and Fridays.
• For better engagement, SocialPilot suggests posting in the mornings between 8 AM and 10 AM and evenings between 6 PM and 9 PM on weekdays.
• On weekends, it’s best to post between 11 AM to 5 PM.

Best Time to Post on LinkedIn

Roughly 31% of U.S. adults use LinkedIn to network and share their professional endeavors. It’s no surprise that it’s the only social platform to report a weekday as one of the top days to post.

 

• CoSchedule suggests posting on LinkedIn at 12:00 PM, 10:00 AM, and 1:00 AM.
• The best days to post, according to them, are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Wednesdays.
• The lowest-performing days are Sundays, Saturdays, and Mondays.
• According to Buffer, you can get high engagement if you post between 9 AM and 5 AM on weekdays.
• SocialPilot states the best time is between 10 AM and 12 PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Best Time to Post on Pinterest

• The best times to post on Pinterest, according to CoSchedule, are 12:00 PM, 6:17 PM, and 8:02 PM.
• The worst times are 4:00 AM, 5:00 AM, and 1:00 AM.
• The best days to post are Fridays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
• According to SocialPilot, the best times to post on Pinterest are on Fridays at 3 PM.
• On weekends, posting on Saturdays from 8 PM to 11 PM is ideal.

Best Time to Post on YouTube

82% of U.S. adults use YouTube and data from a 2023 Pew Research study suggests that its reach is growing. So, how can you get the best reach on the platform? Let’s dive in.

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• Buffer states that videos shared between 3 and 4 PM on Fridays tend to get the highest number of views.
• According to SocialPilot, the best time is between 2 PM and 4 PM on weekdays.
• Sunday is the best day to post, between 9 AM and 11 AM.

While reports and surveys state one thing, YouTube experts have a slightly different opinion on the best time to post on YouTube.

This is what Robert Benjamin, a social media expert with more than 708K subscribers on YouTube, has to say.

“Personally, I have found the best time to post to be 10 AM – 12 PM, but this can be largely dictated by the relationship that you have with your audience. My recommendation to anyone uploading YouTube content is that they try to post on a regular schedule so that their audience knows when to expect a video.”

Jensen Tung, a content creator and entrepreneur with more than 457K subscribers, believes that the best time to post depends on your audience demographic and time zone.

He states, “There is no one-size-fits-all best time to post. It depends on your audience’s demographic and the time zone most of your viewers are in … YouTube Studio can show the exact hours your audience watches your content. Let that data inform your posting time.”

Best Time to Post on TikTok

Since 2020, TikTok has become the go-to short-form video platform for Gen-Z and Millennial consumers.

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• Studies by SocialPilot show that the best time to post on TikTok is 10 to 11:50 AM, 2:30 to 4 PM, and 6:30 to 9:30 PM from Tuesdays to Thursdays.
• Hopper states 10 AM to 11 AM mid-week as the overall best time.
• According to Buffer, the best time is 2 PM on Mondays, 4 PM on Wednesdays, and 8 AM on Saturdays.

Creating an Effective Posting Schedule

Although each social network sees its engagement increase at specific hours and days of the week, you’ll still have to tailor your approach to your audience.

Use this data as a guide if you don’t have enough data yet. Once you start posting regularly and have collected data, review it to determine when your audience is most active on the platform and what posting schedule they respond to the most.

You may find that certain content types work better when posted at certain times. For instance, your videos may perform well when posting in the morning, while your images may do better in the late afternoon.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in 2017, but was updated for comprehensiveness.