Category Archives: B2B

I’ve been editing videos for almost a decade, both professionally and for my passion projects. So, believe me when I say I know how tedious editing even the shortest videos can be.

Fortunately, many AI video editing tools can help speed up the process of editing, whether you’re a beginner or an expert videographer.

Here are 8 of the best AI video editing tools I’ve found and what I like most about them.

Best AI Video Editing Tools

1. Adobe Premiere Pro

I’ve been using Adobe Premiere Pro for work and for my own passion projects for 10 years, so I was intrigued when the video editing software announced that new AI tools are available on its platform and that more are on the way.

These are a few of my favorite AI tools within Adobe Premiere Pro:

• Text-based editing

This feature allows users to auto-generate their transcripts, highlight text to add clips to their timeline, edit, reorder, and refine their clips like they would a text document.

• AI audio category tagging

I love this feature because it makes audio editing a breeze by recognizing if a clip is music, sound effects, dialogue, or ambient sound and providing access to relevant tools for editing based on the sound type.

• Speech to text

To make your videos more accessible, Adobe Premiere Pro‘s speech-to-text feature automatically generates transcripts in up to 18 languages. It can also distinguish between speakers and create captions that match the video’s cadence and speech pattern.

Price: Plans start at $22.99 per month.

Best For: Intermediate to professional video editors. Though beginners can use Adobe Premiere, it does have a bit of a learning curve.

2. DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve has many AI tools and has incorporated AI into its platform for years. The one I find the most interesting is its facial recognition. Now, bear in mind I have very minimal experience with DaVinci Resolve, so I don’t have much experience with this feature.

That said, its facial recognition allows users to group clips based on the people who appear in them. All I’d have to do is select a group of clips and right-click to select “Analyze Clips for People.” From there, DaVinci Resolve will scan the clips, assess the faces that appear, and group clips with the same faces together.

If you’re editing video of an event with a lot of people and you want to narrow down your clips to include a specific group, this feature will save time and effort.

Price: Users can download DaVinci Resolve for free, or buy the studio version for $295.

Best for: Beginner to expert video editors.

3. CapCut

I can‘t scroll through TikTok for over a minute without seeing a video edited with CapCut. I’ve never used CapCut, but I’m truly amazed by the quality of the videos people churn out using the app.

CapCut is known for being a user-friendly video editing app that is suitable for anyone, regardless of their level of editing experience. Part of what makes CapCut so easy to use is its AI tools, which can do most of the work for you.

For example, let’s say I have a long-form video I want to shorten so I can upload it to a short-form video platform like Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. I can take that long-form video, upload it to CapCut, and identify standout moments, and the app will generate a shorter version of the video.

Price: CapCut is free to use but paid options start at $20.84 per month.

Best for: Short-form video editing for platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts.

4. Runway

Runway is a platform specializing in creating AI tools for video editing and other aspects of visual art. To be honest, I wouldn’t recommend Runway for beginner video editors or those with no experience at all.

The platform can do a lot, but its plethora of tools and their uses can be overwhelming. Even I, an experienced video editor, was only able to assess the tip of the iceberg of what Runway can do.

That said, its AI video generator is simple to use. To test it out, I entered a prompt asking for a video of a cat frolicking in a forest and chasing after a butterfly. The images weren’t perfect, but I can see them being used to figure out concepts or inspiration for shots or art.

Price: Runway is free with limited features, and paid plans start at $12 per user per month.

Best for: Expert video editors.

5. InVideo

I’m pretty familiar with InVideo after using it to create a TikTok video a while back. You can read all about it here if you want to know my experience with InVideo.

In short, I enjoy InVideo because it’s very simple to use. Unlike Runway, I definitely recommend it for marketers and creators who want to churn out simple short-form videos with little to no video editing experience.

My favorite feature of InVideo is its AI text-to-video tool. When I used InVideo to create a TikTok, I entered a script into the text box, selected a few images, and the platform generated a video based on the script in just a minute.

Price: InVideo is Free, and price plans start at $15 per month.

Best for: Editing and generating short-form videos on a tight schedule with little to no experience.

6. ClipChamp

Clipchamp is a video editing app by Microsoft that allows users to easily make videos even if they have no video-editing experience. A standout AI tool is its AI text-to-speech, which boasts over 400 voice styles in 170 languages.

Users can choose a mood, pitch, accent, and gender for the voice.

Price: Free for beginners, and prices start at $11.99 for everyday editors.

Best for: Beginners looking to make short-form videos.

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7. Descript

I found Descript to be pretty easy to use. It‘s a platform boasting a variety of AI tools, and one I find the most convenient is its AI transcript generator. Uploaded a video of myself talking to my cat (don’t judge me), and the AI transcribed it perfectly.

I then uploaded a clip from a concert I went to where the singer shouted the name of the next song over a crowd of screaming fans. The AI misheard the singer, so the transcription was incorrect (the song’s name is actually “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”).

However, Descript allows me to edit the transcription so it’s correct.

Price: Limited features available for free and pricing starts at $12 per person per month.

Best for: Beginners editing quick-hit videos.

8. Wondershare Filmora

Wondershare Filmora is a cross-platform video-editing software that is known to be ideal for beginner and intermediate video editors and creators. I was impressed by the number of versatile AI tools available I found while browsing its site.

One tool that sticks out to me is the AI Frame Interpolation. This feature enhances video visuals without losing quality, increases low frame rate automatically, and supports a variety of video formats including GIFs.

If I want to slow down a video without deteriorating its appearance, the AI Frame Interpolation would be most useful.

Wondershare Filmora’s AI Vocal Remover is also interesting. User can separate vocal and music from a song and keep high quality audio while removing vocals.

Price: There is free version with limited features, and pricing starts at $49.99 per year.

Best for: Beginners and intermediate editors looking to create long or short-form videos.

Video editing can take anywhere from from several minutes to a few hours, depending on the project. If you’re curious about how AI can streamline the process for you and give some of your time back, you now have new tools you can test out for yourself.

Our CRO team made a change that lifted the performance of our paid ads by almost 11% — and they didn’t have to make any deals with supernatural beings to do it.

So while I’m a little bummed that I don’t get to use my Ouija board, the good news is that you’ve already got everything you need to try this out for yourself.

In fact, this tactic is all about what you don’t include on the landing page. Below, I chat with our sorceress supreme of conversion rate optimization to find out what that cryptic advice actually means.

But first, a grave warning …

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Before you go cutting content from your website, a word of warning:

“Yes, this works for us,” says Rebecca Hinton, CRO strategist and principal marketing manager at HubSpot. “But it may or may not work for you, so you always want to test it.”

Rebecca’s tests have helped my program hit triple-digit growth, so I’m going to politely insist you take her word on that.

At HubSpot, we never dive into changes without having the proof to back it up, and neither should you. Your audience could react very differently from ours.

The tactic I’m about to share came from the results of a rigorous experiment, and later on, I’ll show you how to run one just like it.

Okay, now onto the good stuff.

What She Cut

The first change, surprisingly, was to stop sending paid ad traffic to our product pages. Why? Because those pages have too many jobs already.

“Your website has to appeal to all of your customer personas,” Rebecca explains. “People who are new, people who are seasoned, people who are already customers.”

That adds up to a lot of content. And for visitors who landed on your site via a paid ad, it’s a lot of distraction.

To illustrate her point, Rebecca gives the example of a user clicking on an ad that says ‘Download our ebook.’

“If you were to send them to a website with full navigation, maybe they get distracted, maybe they feel like ‘Ah! I just wanted the ebook!’” She throws her hands up in the air in mock frustration.

“But with a dedicated landing page where the primary CTA is about downloading the ebook, now they’ve had a logical experience.”

So her team set out to make a dedicated landing page for each ad being tested. But, as I mentioned above, what’s on those pages isn’t nearly as interesting as what isn’t.

And what isn’t there is about 90% of our website’s navigational links.

Here’s a screenshot of what one of our product pages currently looks like:

Like your Gran’s holiday dinner, there’s a little something for everybody.

Now here’s the paid ad landing page for the same product:

If we stick with the food metaphor, this one would be a working lunch. You get exactly what you came for and you get it fast.

On the dedicated landing page, visitors can only sign up or request a demo. (Or leave, I suppose. But let’s think positive.)

“The point of a landing page is to focus users, so we don’t really want to be linking them out everywhere,” Rebecca says.

And the proof is in the results — which I’ve actually been underselling, because one regional market saw an incredible 83% increase in CVR.

Even if you’re not sold on nixing the nav, you should still be using dedicated landing pages. Rebecca explains why:

“If we send paid ad traffic to product pages, we can’t do any CRO testing. I don’t own those pages.”

Chances are, your team isn’t the only one with an interest in your product pages. That can limit what you’re allowed to change, add, or experiment on.

By creating a dedicated landing page, you’re also creating a sandbox you don’t have to share. (The dream of every middle child.)

“We’d call that a win even if the results were flat because it opened up green space for future testing.”

But now that I’ve covered what not to include, what should you put in those shiny, new green spaces?

How to Make Landing Pages that Land

Since the details depend on your business and what you’re advertising, you’ll need to do a little experimentation. But Rebecca’s got some tips to get you started — and they upend what I’ve always heard about A/B testing.

1. DON’T test one element at a time. Start with big swings and radical changes.

Most A/B testing guides tell you to pick one small change at a time. And if you’re just trying to optimize an already high-performing page, that’s sound advice. But to get these results, Rebecca tossed that out the window.

Start with wildly different versions that will quickly identify trends within your users’ preferences.

“You want to take big swings, and say, ‘These pages are radically different, and it looks like our users are more attracted to this one.’”

Once you’ve got a clear winner, then you can narrow in on smaller details like color choices, CTA language, image placement, etc.

2. Consider the journey, and not just the destination.

Many landing pages mistakenly swing to one of these extreme opposites:

•  Marketers assume conversion will happen on its own, and include too little content.
•  Marketers assume they need to convince every visitor and include too much content.

“Think about the journey starting from seeing your ad to taking the action you want them to take.”

While you want a clear path to the CTA, your landing page should also include content that helps guide that journey.

That may take the shape of testimonials, trust indicators, customer stats, or other kinds of social proof. It may be language that romances the call to action. It may even simply be basic company info.

“Set the stage before you dive into a specific product.”

The exact details will depend on what you’re advertising, but no matter what you include, make sure it creates a logical path to conversion.

But remember that the journey doesn’t stop at the conversion.

“What’s the post-conversion experience?” Rebecca asks. “Is it a thank you page? Is it a purchase confirmation?”

If the landing page is dinner, your post-conversion confirmation is dessert. Nail this, and your visitors will come back for more.

3. Don’t assume you’re going to get a winner.

I’m definitely guilty of this one. If you only have two choices, one of them is going to win, right?

Not necessarily. You could have an inconclusive test with equal results. You could fail to get statistical significance. Your visitors could reject both choices.

“If you have the traffic to support it, test a couple different landing pages,” she says.

More variants won’t necessarily guarantee a winner, but they will help you work through your options faster.

Just be sure you’re not spreading your traffic too thin. Which brings me to the next point …

4. Pay attention to statistical significance.

With too small an audience, your results could just be random chance. Did landing page two really convert better? Or did it just happen to get the visitors who were ready to click?

To know that, you need to make sure your test reaches statistical significance (the probability that your results are due to real factors and not chance.)

Without considering significance, Rebecca’s test may have sent us in the wrong direction entirely.

While her experiment increased the number of signups, it actually appeared to reduce the number of demos by 11.6%.

However, while the team was 99% confident in the signup conversion results, they only achieved 64% significance for the demo results.

(There’s no magic target for statistical significance, but the higher the number, the more confident the results. Imagine crossing the road if you were only 64% confident a car wasn’t barreling toward you.)

So if we hadn’t considered significance, we may have been spooked by the reduced demos and chosen the wrong landing page.

Okay, but how do you figure out what’s significant?

“That’s where you want to use a calculator,” Rebecca says. “I use Convert’s calculator. You plug in your weekly traffic, your weekly conversions, and what percent change you think you’re going to see.”

(For big swings, Rebecca recommends aiming for at least a 10% difference in results.)

The tool then suggests how long you should run your experiment to reach statistically significant results.

“Two weeks is our minimum. We don’t like to go under that. And we try not to go over eight weeks.”

5. Don’t assume that regional successes equal global successes.

In our case, regional testing refers quite literally to different geographic markets. For you, it may mean different store locations, different business units, or different products.

Either way, the lesson is the same: Don’t assume what works for one audience will work for all of them.

“When we get a win in our English-speaking region, we still test in our other regions,” Rebecca explains. “We know that all of them can perform differently, so we can’t just assume that because something won in EN, we can roll it out globally.”

Case in point, the same test saw an 83% increase in our Spanish-speaking market, but only a 33% increase in our French-speaking market.

And while it’s lucky this test enjoyed increases in all markets, it could have easily gone the other way, reducing conversion in one region. If we hadn’t tested it, that’s something we wouldn’t have noticed until we lost enough leads to raise red flags.

How to A/B Test Your Landing Pages

There are two main ways you can test different landing pages:

1.  A/B testing evenly splits your traffic between the variant pages.
2.  Lookback analysis means simply making the change and then comparing the results before and after.

“A/B testing is really the gold standard,” Rebecca advises. “But if you’re unable to do that — maybe you don’t have the traffic, maybe you don’t have the tools — a lookback is your next best option. And it’s certainly better than not testing at all.”

That’s because an A/B test makes sure that any external influences (think holidays, Google updates, kaiju attack, etc.) will impact each variation equally. But if Godzilla strikes during a lookback analysis, you’ll have to scrap your data and start over again.

Since Content Hub’s got a really top-notch landing page testing tool, I’ll show you how to do it there, but you should still be able to follow along if you’re using another tool like VWO or Optimizely.

1. Either create a new page or choose an existing page as the control for your split test.

If you’re already running paid ad campaigns, you might as well test your existing landing page as the control. Even if it’s your product page.

Again, don’t just take my word for it. Try it out!

2. Click on the name of your page.

3. Click the “File Menu” and select “New” then “Run A/B test.”

4. Enter a name for each page variation.

This is an internal name that your audience won’t see, so instead of something editorial, choose something descriptive that will make sense to you long after you’ve forgotten the reason for the test.

Bonus points if you choose something that will make sense to stakeholders who want to peek in on the results.

5. Click “Create variation.”


6. Edit the variation page with your big swings and radical changes.

To faithfully recreate Rebecca’s test, you’ll want to try a version with navigation and one without.

Other than removing extra content (like SEO inclusions and FAQs), that’s all that changed during this experiment.

“The goal was to match the landing page as much as possible,” Rebecca says. “So we did not change the copy and we tried to keep the layouts very, very similar. We wanted it to be an apples-to-apples comparison.”

However, if you’re just getting started with dedicated landing pages, here are some other big swings you might consider:

• Formatting content in paragraphs versus bullet points.
• Including videos versus static images.
• Showing customer logos versus testimonials.

7. To start the test, click “Publish” and then “Publish now.”

Both variations will now be live.

Voilà! You’re ready to make marketing magic.

And if you don’t do what we don’t do, you just might get the results we got.

 

Chris Savage once raised $17.3m in debt to do a leveraged buyout of his own company.

Today, that company is a $67k video marketing platform. I caught up with the Wistia CEO to learn how he sextupled — that’s 6X — Wistia’s product updates.

Lesson 1: Sometimes, just go with your gut.

“Two-pizza team” is a Jeff Bezos term that describes a scrappy business strategy. Basically, your teams should be small enough to suffice on two pizzas. That’s roughly five to eight people. (Unless, of course, one is a college student. Then it’s about one to two people haha.)

After years of over-processed approaches, Savage put Bezos’ philosophy into practice.

Before switching to two-pizza teams, Wistia released 12 product updates annually. This included a new webinar tool and new interactive video elements like in-video quizzes.

After restructuring its product teams and simplifying its strategies in 2023, Wistia released 72 updates — 6X over the year before.

How? By turning away from flawless road maps and exceptional internal comms, and toward innovating based on customer feedback every two weeks.

“This change fostered a more dynamic approach to product development and feedback, and it encouraged constant evolution and learning within the teams,” Savage tells me.

His two-pizza teams consist of product managers, designers, tech leads, and engineers. At their core, they work like a small business within a business.

“The key to innovation is building these small teams that work the way a startup can — in fast sprints,” he says.

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That’s the how. But what I find most interesting is the why: Before, Savage says his employees consistently pitched bulletproof, data-driven projects — but the instinct-driven items, often based on limited customer feedback, were ignored.

“The ideas might’ve had very little data, so they were never at the top of the list,” he says. “But it turns out some of those ideas were the most impactful. It’s completely changed Wistia as a business.”

If your employees are endlessly updating internal docs and polishing fancy slide decks to pitch to leadership, you might want to ask: Is all of this getting in the way of driving bigger impact?

Lesson 2: If a few people like something, go build it.

Savage has a hot take: If you can get 10 people to love your product, you can get a thousand people to love it.

He‘s so confident in this concept that he claims there’s “no need for further testing” once you‘ve proven a few people think it’s a good idea: “We tend to underestimate how universal an experience can be, and we rely too heavily on quantitative data.”

Sometimes, instinct-driven ideas are unvoiced because you don’t feel you have the data to back them up. But if you rely too heavily on quantitative data, you risk ignoring real-time feedback that could lead to your next great idea. (Uber famously started with very little data to support its concept.)

“Zone in on your first happy customers, figure out what they like — and keep doing it.”

Lesson 3: Go all-in on what’s working to grow faster.

Savage is open about his mistakes in the early days: “In the beginning, I really didn’t understand how far we could take Wistia. It’s a very simple mistake: When leaders get something that’s working, instead of doubling down on that type of experience, they diversify instead to mitigate risk.”

While Savage understands the temptation to add new features or products to your repertoire, he fervently believes that only a few offerings drive customer behavior.

“If you could just double down on those things, you would grow faster.”

Keep it simple, stay hyper-focused on that one product or feature that’s likely driving 90% of your adoption, and you’ll soar.

Interested in how AI is changing video forever? Check out my interview with Chris Lavigne, Head of Production at Wistia

Lingering Questions

Each person we interview gives us a question for our next master of marketing.

Last week, Anna Sokratov, the brand manager for a particularly vile-tasting liqueur called Jeppson’s Malört, gave us this question for Savage:

What unconventional marketing approach would you like to take, and how would you go about doing something you haven’t done before?

Savage: My instinct goes to trying to get an awkward product placement in a summer blockbuster — the dream would be like the next Mission Impossible. Ethan Hunt has to use Wistia to decode something.

And it’s egregious — it’d have to be an over-the-top obvious product placement.

Savage’s question for our next master in marketing: What‘s something that you’re doing that‘s working so well, you’re afraid to tell others about it?

Come back next Monday for the answer!

When I was growing up, your first email address was a rite of passage (I see you, smileygirl747 and thegrouchy1). Today, it’s simply a necessity for many daily activities. Need a free email address?

There are dozens of free email service providers available that offer security, ample storage space, and accessibility on both your mobile devices and desktops. But they each have their use cases, and I’d recommend them for different reasons.

In this guide, I’ll explain what each free email account entails, as well as which options offer the best privacy. You’ll also learn about the best email service providers that host your account and integrate with your business website for free right now.

(But if you’re looking for the best email marketing services, check out this article instead.)

Table of Contents

• Types of Email Accounts
• Best Free Email Accounts
• Best Free Email Accounts for Privacy
• How to Make an Email Account
• Frequently Asked Questions About Email

Types of Email Accounts

There are two main types of email service providers to choose from for personal emails: email clients and webmail.

Most options offer both alternatives to best match the end-user’s needs, but it’s still important to understand the different terms.

What are email clients?

Email clients are software applications you install onto your computer to manage the email you send and receive. To access this email, the client interacts with a remote email server.

Examples of email clients include Mozilla Thunderbird and Apple Mail.

What is a webmail?

Webmail is an email you access only from the internet, so it exists primarily on the cloud rather than your computer. Instead of an installed application fetching your email, you can manage your inbox right from your internet browser.

Examples of webmail providers include Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail.

Now, let’s explore the best free email service providers (and the best free email accounts for privacy) you can use — both webmail and email clients included.

I’ve highlighted unique features for each email service provider to help you find the best fit, but remember, regardless of which you choose, you can use our free email signature generator to add that little extra professional touch.

1. Gmail: Best for Productivity and Accessibility

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Type of email: Webmail

Core Features

• 15 GB free email storage.
• 99.9% protection from suspicious/spam emails.
• Text suggestions that help you write emails faster.
• Allows users to un-send emails within seconds of emailing.
• Accessible on all internet-connected devices and browsers.
• AI features to aid in productivity.

Who should use it: Anyone who already uses and loves the rest of Google’s products.

It might seem like an obvious top pick, but Gmail is too versatile not to get our first slot.

Gmail is the most popular email provider globally, with an estimated 1.8 billion users. And according to Litmus Labs, it has the second-highest email client market share.

Ironically, however, one reason Gmail is so popular has nothing to do with email.

Gmail is an email inbox tool you can access once you have a Google account. Since it’s built into Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), creating a Gmail account is more than creating an email account.

With Gmail, you can access a suite of free applications to chat, run video conferences, and share files with the people on your contact list. These applications include Google Play, Google Spreadsheet, Google Docs, and more.

For example, Google Hangouts, available from your inbox’s left sidebar (or the right — you can customize how your inbox is displayed), lets you text and video chat with other Gmail users if you don’t want to send an email.

Note: You can also use a free product like HubSpot Meetings to schedule meetings without back-and-forth emails.

Like most email accounts today, Gmail also has an intuitive calendar where you can set meetings and reminders.

Setup experience: First, Google built Gmail’s privacy settings into the user agreement. So, if you have specific security preferences, cater to them before using your new email account.

After you create your email address, Gmail redirects you to a homepage with more privacy settings.

This section asks about your YouTube preferences because the platforms are connected through your Google account.

Unlike other email accounts, you can use your Gmail address to log in to and manage your YouTube account. You’ll also use this account to collaborate on shared documents and spreadsheets from a cloud-based Google Drive.

I like Gmail’s offer of 15 GB of free email storage. This allows me to keep things that are important without worrying too much about hitting the limit.

This email service also has extensive customization options as well. Personalizing your inbox is more than selecting graphics or themes — it lets you decide how you want your email inbox to function.

You can also choose whether you want a reading pane, which emails show up at the top of your inbox, and more.

What I Like

• Each Google account comes with a range of helpful tools and resources.
• You can use “Labels” to create folders to organize your inbox. This helps you organize many emails, especially if you’re using your Gmail account for business.
• There are many ways to personalize your email inbox for your specific needs.
• AI tools

What I Don’t Like

• The tie-ins with other Google products can feel overwhelming if you just want to create a simple email account.
• Primary, Promotions, and Social sections of the inbox can be helpful, but emails don’t always end up where I expect them to, so I often direct all emails to the primary inbox and sort them myself.
• Some settings and options are more intuitive than others, so getting used to this email experience may take longer than you’d like.
• Some settings require you to click “Save” to make changes, while others happen automatically, which can get confusing.
• Nested labels don’t always work properly on mobile.

Pro tip: Google offers a number of free AI tools in Gmail that you can use to be more productive.

Some of these tools, like Tabbed Inbox, which automatically organizes your received messages into different buckets, still need work, but others are quite useful.

For example, Smart Compose uses generative AI to make suggestions about what to write next as you’re composing an email, while Summary Cards organize and showcase all of the crucial information from transactional emails.

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If you are a member of the Workspace Labs program, you can also play around with the “help me write” feature to create emails from simple prompts.

2. AOL: Best for Interface Organization

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Type of email: Webmail (Email client available with paid plans)

Core Features

• 1 TB free email storage.
• One-tap unsubscribe.
• In-app spellchecker to reduce errors.
• Protection from suspicious/spam emails.
• Ability to import contacts in any file format.
• Attachments tab with files you’ve sent or received.
• Accessible from any internet-connected device and browser.

Who should use it: Anyone who uses email for most of their communication.

“You’ve got mail!”

America Online (AOL) — I feel nostalgic just typing those words — was many’s first introduction to email in the United States. And it has quietly kept up with today’s standards for a good user experience, making it still one of the best free email accounts available.

Operating as a division of Yahoo! Inc., AOL delivers your email from its classic news-driven homepage and offers the contemporary spam filters and virus protection you’d expect from an email provider.

You can also send text and instant messages from specific windows in your email inbox.

And AOL does have something over Gmail: more storage. Also, you can import email contacts from a CSV, TXT, or LDIF file, so you’re not creating your “buddy list” from scratch.

Setup experience: The sign-up experience is simple, but it seems arbitrary that there is a limit on characters in the email address. This provider also requires a phone number for verification. I got an error message on my first try signing up.

On the second try, everything went smoothly, and I could easily create my new AOL email account.

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Onboarding is quick and simple — it’s just choosing a theme and text settings. Then, the homepage for my new email account was full of news and ads, which I wasn’t expecting.

There was also an ad at the top of my inbox. When I clicked “Compose” to create a new email, a helpful set of pop-ups showed me how to create emails with their tools.

The AOL inbox also offers spaces to save contacts, photos, documents, subscriptions, and travel.

What I Like

• Large text option is great for accessibility.
• Simplified tools make it easy for many users to create, organize, and send emails.
• The “Views” section offers spaces to save contacts, photos, documents, subscriptions, and travel.
• Huge amount of storage.

What I Don’t Like

• Some add-on features feel dated.
• Ads and headlines distract and fill a sizable portion of the screen.
• Helpful icons on the right sidebar are for calendar features, but they’re small and difficult to see compared to clickable ads.

3. Outlook: Best for Multiple App Integrations

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Type of email: Webmail and Email Client

Core Features

• 15 GB free email storage.
• Option to use add-ins to access other Microsoft apps like Skype.
• Excellent filters to organize and group important emails in folders.
• Provides aliases that add anonymity to your email and protect your identity and inbox from malicious spam.
• Data encryption in your mailbox and after you send an email.

Who should use it: Anyone who uses many platforms to connect with others.

If you ever cringed at the sight of a “Hotmail.com” email address, you can thank Outlook for keeping it alive and well.

Microsoft bought Hotmail in 2012 and relaunched it as Outlook. But there’s good news: The tech giant reinvented the free email service and added many advanced features.

While it touts a calendar and message filter like Gmail, Outlook also integrates with several popular communication apps.

For example, you can connect Skype, Facebook, PowerPoint, PayPal, and even task management software such as Trello. This makes it easy to reach and work with non-Outlook users without leaving your inbox.

Another perk: Outlook offers 15 GB of free storage for each user, along with a super-clean interface.

Setup experience: Creating an email address was super easy. However, the verification puzzle wasn’t very intuitive. So, if you take a non-traditional approach to puzzles, this step may take longer than you expect.

When I opened my Outlook inbox, an ad was already at the top with many others on the right sidebar.

The second email was a “welcome” with details about the Outlook mobile app, extra tools, security, and how to personalize your inbox. Then, a “Get Started” panel appeared in the inbox with a six-point checklist for setup.

If customizing your inbox is important, make some time to set up your Outlook inbox.

You can access personalization choices not in this checklist, like dark mode, notifications, and accessibility, by clicking on the gear icon at the top left of your Outlook inbox.

What I Like

• Outlook is a streamlined, professional tool for business email.
• It’s easy and intuitive to create new folders, label or flag emails, and draft new emails.
• Includes many useful features for sending professional emails, like buttons to prioritize emails and customize your signature.
• Icons at the top right for Skype, OneNote, Calendar, and tips are useful add-ons for users.

What I Don’t Like

• Promotion for other Microsoft products within this free email account can feel distracting.
• Onboarding doesn’t seem as user-focused and comprehensive as other tools.

4. Yahoo! Mail: Best for Lots of Storage

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Type of email: Webmail (Email Client available for iOS)

Core Features

• A mammoth 1 TB free email storage.
• Instant notifications for new emails.
• Connects seamlessly with the Yahoo Calendar.
• Accessible from all internet-connected devices and browsers.
• Advanced sorting and organization of media and documents.

Who should use it: Creatives and anyone who sends and receives attachments frequently via email.

Yahoo! Mail, another well-known platform, sits beside AOL in storage space, but this should be no surprise, as Yahoo! and AOL are under the same parentage. It offers a whopping 1 TB for free, along with a few key social media integrations.

You can have custom background themes and search for key information from your inbox with Yahoo! Mail.

Yahoo! Mail makes it easy to find every photo, video, and document you’ve ever attached or received via email in the tabs on your inbox’s sidebar.

This makes the platform appealing to those who share documents regularly or want an album made of every photo they’ve ever shared.

Setup experience: Overall, this was a similar sign-up experience to AOL. I ran into the same error messages, too. The theme selection pop-up was also similar, but there wasn’t an option to choose larger or smaller text.

Once you’ve completed the theme selection, you’ll be in your Yahoo! Mail inbox. Again, there is already an ad at the top of your inbox and an ad on the right sidebar.

The “Views” menu on the right side works the same way it does on AOL, but it also includes sections for “Emails to myself,” “Shopping,” “Wallet,” and “Receipts.” As someone who frequently sends myself emails as reminders, this is a helpful addition.

If you want more personalization, click the gear icon at the top right. Scroll past themes, message layout, inbox spacing, and message tabs, then click on “More Settings.”

What I Like

• Simple and easy-to-use tool that comes with a free email account and tons of storage.
• Clicking on email draft text connects to Grammarly GO for writing suggestions.
• Easy to use “Views” feature for organizing email and attachments.
• Email is one tab within the larger Yahoo! property for easy access to other resources.

What I Don’t Like

• Not much of an onboarding experience, but the tool is intuitive if you’re already familiar with email.
• It takes several clicks to update your preferences for notifications, security, filters, and more.

5. iCloud Mail: Best for Data Encryption

Type of email: Webmail (Email client available via Apple Mail)

Core Features

• 5 GB free email storage.
• One-click “Unsubscribe” feature.
• Native to Apple products and services.
• Search functionality to find info about an email.
• VIP flagging for automatic filtering of important messages.

Who should use it: People who use a Mac or iPhone and want everything in one system.

If you’re Team Apple, iCloud Mail may be on your list of email service providers as the email address is often needed for Apple tools.

Their free email account has 5 GB of storage that you can use to sync your photos, files, or email.

However, it’s important to note that because the storage is shared between all of your apps and devices, you may eat into your email storage allowance for the month.

Upgraded plans start at $0.99 a month and go up to $9.99 a month.

While it’s free to create an iCloud email address, you’ll need two things to create an account:

• An Apple ID.
• An Apple device that your Apple ID is connected to.

If you have both things, it’s easy to create your new iCloud email account.

You can use this account through the Mail app on your Apple computer desktop or online through iCloud Mail.

The features of these two interfaces are slightly different. For example, it’s easiest to create an out-of-office auto-reply email online.

One of the most significant advantages of using iCloud over other email providers is the ease of integration.

Apple builds its desktop and iPhone mail apps with all email clients in mind, but it pays special attention to making the experience delightful for iCloud users.

What I Like

• This email account has the clean and visually appealing design Apple is known for.
• It’s simple, easy, and familiar to use for Apple fans.

What I Don’t Like

• Apple is more of an ecosystem than a service provider. This interconnection offers extra value, but it can also be frustrating if you’re looking for a simple standalone email service.
• Very little email storage.

6. Mozilla Thunderbird: Best for Managing Multiple Accounts

Type of email: Email client

Core Features

• Smart email organization into folders.
• Browser-like tabs for working on multiple emails.
• Integration with your Google Calendar for task management and meeting scheduling.
• Large extension library to customize your experience with several apps and services.

Who should use it: Anyone looking for a simple but customizable email inbox.

Thunderbird is a free email client from Mozilla (known primarily for Firefox) that offers a quick email inbox setup and a simple, easy-to-use user interface.

However, it is important to note that it isn’t free to create an email address on this platform. If you need one, the tool allows you to create an email address via Mailfence or gandi, but at a cost.

If you’ve already created a free email account on another service, like Gmail, however, you can use this tool to create, check, and send emails from multiple accounts.

The app offers customizable features, such as theme settings and app extensions, to improve your email experience. The email app also allows you to open multiple emails in tabs, like how you would open various web pages in Firefox browsers.

Setup experience: To use this tool, you’ll need to download Thunderbird, so it may not be a fit if you’re looking for an online email platform.

It’s exciting that this is an open-source tool, but the many pop-ups and donation requests added to the confusion I was feeling as I tried to set up my email.

What I Like

• Smart streamlined tool for receiving, sending, and organizing emails.
• Great features for privacy, chat, and more.
• Excellent tool for tech-savvy email users.

What I Don’t Like

• The text in the inbox interface is small. It’s easy to increase the font size in the reading pane for individual emails, but increasing the font size for the interface isn’t intuitive unless you’re tech-savvy.
• Some common processes require multiple steps. For example, you need to create a template and a filter to create an out-of-office auto-reply message.

Pro Tip: While Thunderbird will charge you to create a Mailfence email account during sign up you can create one for free directly on Mailfence’s site. More on this later.

8. Mail.com: Best for Custom Domain Options

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Type of email: Webmail

Core Features

• 65 GB free email storage.
• Attachments up to 30MB.
• Choose from 100+ custom domains.
• Alias addresses.
• Two-factor authentication.
• Add-free premium plans.

Who should use it: Small businesses or entrepreneurs that would like a more unique and custom domain without the price tag.

Mail.com may not be as popular or well-known as Gmail, but it offers many of the same features.

It has the basics like anti-virus and spam security and dedicated apps for your mobile devices, but also up to 10 alias addresses per account (think help@ or support@), a massive amount of storage, a calendar, and online office tools like a word processor and spreadsheet tool.

But what’s its biggest differentiator? That’s got to be its option to choose from over 100 custom domains.

Mail.com’s options make you look a little more polished and established than a Gmail or Outlook email address, but they are still short and memorable.

You can choose from general options like mail.com or myself.com or even industry or profession-focused options like engineer.com or musician.org.

What I Like

• Lots of custom domain options.
• Secure and professional.
• Ample storage.
• Free alias addresses.
• Additional productivity and office tools.

What I Don’t Like

• Business interface -– Between ads and the numerous navigation options, there’s a lot to sort through if you just want to read and send emails.

9. 10 Minute Mail: Best for temporary email addresses

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Type of email: Webmail

Core Features

• Randomized email addresses.
• Addresses are only available for 10 minutes (though you can extend by 10-minute increments).
• Receive emails.

Who should use it: Users claiming offers or testing out forms

As a marketer, it may be blasphemous for me to include this option on our list, but hey, it can be extremely useful.

As the 10 Minute Mail website reads, “the website you are registering with could be selling your personal information; you never know where your e-mail will be published. An email address with a 10-minute lifespan is the best solution to prevent this.”

Ever needed to test out a form on your website or wanted to claim an offer from a website that has questionable security? Or maybe you’ve wanted to snoop on a competitor’s strategy without anyone knowing. 10 Minute Mail is here to help.

Every time you visit the no-frills webmail provider, you’ll be given a randomized temporary e-mail address and inbox that expires after 10 minutes.

Once the clock runs out, you can’t access the address or inbox — but you can extend the time by 10 minutes as many times as you need to, with the click of a button.

What I Like

• Helps keep your primary inbox clean and personal information secure when filling out certain forms.

What I Don’t Like

• No history of emails received.
• Can only receive emails, not send them.

10. Zoho

Type of email: Webmail

Core Features

• 100% privacy from advertisers.
• Encrypted emails to secure sensitive information.
• Customizable domain name.
• Integration with Zoho CRM.

Who should use it: Startups and small businesses.

This is the first of the free email accounts for privacy to make our list, but it holds a ton of potential for businesses.

Most of Zoho’s plans are paid, some for as little as $1 a month. But they have a free forever plan, too.

The first thing you’ll notice about Zoho is its user-friendliness. From integrating with Google Drive, Box, and other cloud-based file managers to its built-in task manager, this email service offers a simple way to accomplish all your daily tasks.

To create an email account, you need to either add a domain you own or purchase one. Then, you have to verify your domain. This can feel complicated if you just want to create a quick personal email account.

But if you’re looking for a free email account for your business, the real difference-maker is the ability to use a custom domain to create free email addresses for up to five users.

The first user to sign up will become the super admin for emails on your custom domain.

What I Like

• Professional and clean interface and email experience.
• A free domain-based email address is a professional plus for new businesses.
• Tons of useful business apps and features.
• Thorough onboarding that walks through 17 key features.

What I Don’t Like

• No chance to test the features of this email service before going through a multi-step setup process.
• The number of apps and features can be overwhelming if you’re looking for a simple tool.
• 25 MB attachment limit, which may be a challenge if you frequently send emails with attachments.

11. ProtonMail

Type of email: Webmail

Core Features

• 1 GB free email storage.
• Optimized inbox for grouping messages into folders.
• 100% privacy (personal information is not required to open an account).
• End-to-end data encryption that eliminates third-party access to your email.
• Compatibility with external email clients like Apple Mail, Outlook, Thunderbird, and ProtonMail.

Who should use it: Anyone who sends and receives sensitive information.

ProtonMail offers just 500 MB of free space, but for the worthy trade of encrypted email, allowing you to send messages that nobody else can see and disappear after a month.

What’s the catch? Is the service hard to use? ProtonMail is easy to use on any device, with no software to encrypt your emails, as with most webmail platforms. Like other email services on this list, its inbox interface is easy to understand.

And, the tool offers quick color-coded labels to help you further organize emails that require the most care and protection.

Setup experience: Creating an account was easy, and the captcha was simple and quick to complete. For Gmail users, Proton quickly suggests forwarding their Gmail accounts to this service.

The onboarding is also inviting and easy to understand. It offers helpful suggestions like changing app logins to your new Proton email address.

This tool is simple and intuitive, and it was easy to create useful folders and labels for my new email inbox.

What I Like

• Streamlined tool for receiving, sending, and managing emails securely.
• A clear focus on data protection and email protection.
• Super easy to set and has clear instructions for forwarding.

What I Don’t Like

• Requires a paid upgrade to remove their branded footer.
• Uses different terms to describe some features, like “Auto-reply” for vacation or away messages, which can be confusing.

12. GMX Mail

Type of email: Webmail

Core Features

• 65 GB free email storage.
• Easy-to-use email filter templates.
• Protection from suspicious/spam emails.
• External account integration to manage all emails (even from other service providers).

Who should use it: Anyone who needs multiple emails with one central inbox.

While you may not have heard of GMX Mail, it’s been around for quite a while (since 1997) — and it has many features that I think make it worth considering.

Now, at a glance, the GMX website will look identical to Mail.com and, frankly, I can’t explain to you why. But both are well-known and trusted email service providers with their share of differences.

Like Mail.com, GMX offers 65 GB of storage and alias addresses, but its big differentiator is privacy.

It allows for email encryption, and data is secured only in Europe according to European data protection standards — arguably some of the best in the world.

It also offers a spam filter and virus and malware scans.

Setup experience: Once I logged in, there was a big ad at the top of the inbox. This was partly confusing because the inbox and other sections have a small font that could be hard for some users to read.

To address this, their instructions recommended I adjust the text size of my browser, which wasn’t what I was hoping for.

When you open an email, it opens a new window with a much larger font. This is good, because it makes the email easier to read, but overall it created a disorienting user experience.

What I Like

• Clear and useful settings for spam detection, virus protection, blocklist, and more.
• Settings on the left-hand sidebar are super convenient and easy to understand.
• Supports emailing in multiple languages and has a built-in translator tool.

What I Don’t Like

• The only way to increase font size in this email tool is to zoom in or out on the browser window.
• Several useful features are so different from other email services they may take some getting used to.
• Some stationery choices feel dated.

13. Tuta (formerly Tutanota)

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Type of email: Webmail (Offline Email Client Available)

Core Features

• Full encryption to guarantee email privacy and zero tracking.
• Sustainable email storage on secure servers powered entirely by renewable energy.
• 1 GB free email storage.

Who should use it: Any individual looking for free encrypted emails without ads

Tuta is a great choice for folks looking for a free private email service provider. They also have business accounts available for a small cost.

This service places a premium on security with end-to-end encryption of internal and external emails, calendars, and contacts using quantum-safe encryption.

It also promises not to scan or track your emails, which we certainly believe as there are no ads on the platform.

Other security features include two-factor authentication (2FA), session handling, and phishing protection.

Setup experience: After signing up, one of the first screens you’ll see is a recovery code. Once you log into your inbox, you’ll see three emails from Tuta.

Each email details what sets this service apart and its dedication to security.

From there, you can click the settings gear at the bottom left of your screen to see menus for updating templates, appearance, and other email settings.

This tool is super simple, so there aren’t many of the extras that other platforms have, but if you’re focused on privacy, this is a plus. The interface is easy to understand and use for its primary function: receiving and sending email.

What I Like

• Open source email account service that prioritizes user privacy.
• Focus on sustainability and environmental impact.
• Simple and easy-to-read interface.
• Streamlined functions make it easy to focus on writing, sending, and organizing email.
• No ads.

What I Don’t Like

• You can attach images or documents, but this tool isn’t for sending images or graphic emails.
• Folders for organization, but no flags, labels, or tags, which can make it tough to find important emails.

14. Mailfence

Type of email: Webmail

Core Features

• 500 MB free email storage.
• Excellent legal protection owing to strict Belgian privacy laws.
• True OpenPGP end-to-end encryption on a secured infrastructure.

Who should use it: Anyone looking for a secure email account that integrates with other tools.

Mailfence is a secure browser-based email service provider based in Belgium. Given the strict privacy laws in Belgium, all your data is locked away from third-party access.

Their free plan gives you 500 MB of email space, which is admittedly quite limited, but if you’re not sending big files, you can make it work.

Fortunately, if you exceed this, you can still enjoy Mailfence for as little as €2.50 a month.

On the paid plan, you can create up to 10 aliases and have five GB of email space, among many other features.

With Mailfence, it’s easy to organize your day and business because you’d be able to easily integrate your email account with your contacts, calendar, and documents.

Setup experience: The landing page after account creation has lots of text to read, which can be a little overwhelming compared to other simpler email services. But the interface is clean and simple once you’re in the inbox.

Some functionality isn’t super intuitive. For example, to create a folder, you click the three dots to the right of your email address at the top.

Based on my experience in other email services, I would expect to add a new folder where the “Tags” option is in Mailfence’s interface.

What I Like

• Easy-to-read user interface.
• Simple encryption options to protect sensitive data.
• A welcome email with email account details is super helpful.
• Clear icons at the top highlight other service features.

What I Don’t Like

• Some functionality takes some getting used to, like how to use “Tags” effectively.
• Great for plain text emails but not as useful for emails with images or animations.

Bonus: HubSpot Free Email Integration

Get Started with HubS’s Free Email Integration

Type of email: Email Integration

Core Features

• 500 email per day limit. You can send up to 500 emails per day with a free email account. This is a great limit for businesses just starting out.
• Log customer email responses. This tool brings communication into a single space to easily meet customer expectations. It also eases potential customer frustration by placing customer call notes and email exchanges in the same place.
• Schedule email sequences. You might copy and paste templates for customer emails. But why copy and paste when you can schedule email sequences and send customers exactly what they need to know when they need it?
• Update contact records. Keep up with customer contact changes with a single system that connects everything you know about your customer in one place.

Who should use it: Anyone looking for a free way to connect email accounts to customer management or marketing tools.

Like Thunderbird, HubSpot’s free email integration offers an exciting, free way to improve your email experience.

As noted above, many of these free email tools are siloed systems for email creation and management. But what if you want to send beautifully designed newsletters or manage contacts with email?

If you’re creating a free email account for your business, this tool can connect your email to customer relationship management, marketing, and more. This can help your team do more from their email inboxes.

You can track customer conversations, use sales automation for new leads, and send gorgeous marketing emails to your contact list.

Setup experience: Signing up with an existing email, like Gmail, is quick and simple. As soon as you log in, you’ll learn how to send free marketing emails and connect your email to HubSpot’s free CRM.

Get HubSpot’s Free CRM

The step-by-step onboarding process offers a lot of information, so make sure you’re ready to start using this tool when you sign up.

What I Like

• Super tool for sending graphic emails, like newsletters.
• Useful feature add-ons for small businesses looking for free email.
• Excellent walkthroughs to make the most of marketing and integration features.
• Connects to HubSpot CRM and other powerful business tools.

What I Don’t Like

• This free account’s huge range of features can be a lot to take in.
• May not be a fit for someone looking for a personal email account.

How to Make an Email Account

No matter which provider you choose, creating an email is a simple process. But it’s still important to know best practices so you can have one that fits your needs the best.

The purpose of an email is to provide a space for you to have easy, secure communications. Follow the steps below to create an email:

1. Choose an email provider.

Select an email provider based on your user needs. Consider which features, such as top-tier security, email scheduling capabilities, or integrations, are the most important to you.

Also, consider how much storage you will need and what type of provider works best.

2. Choose a username.

Select a username based on the purpose of the account. If it is a professional account, then your name with a significant number will do.

The name of your business will do if it’s a business account. You might also consider [email protected] for professional accounts.

3. Create a secure password.

Email providers generally have minimum requirements for how secure your password must be. These often include a number or a special character.

Follow these guidelines and choose a password that’s unique and has a variety of letters, numbers, and characters to make it extra secure.

4. Secure your account.

Many email providers include ways to add extra security to your account. Take advantage of these features to keep your account and data safe. Setting up two-factor authentication is a great place to start.

5. Write a signature.

Set up an email signature for your account. This saves a lot of time as you are writing emails and helps keep your closing consistent. Include information like your name, your title, and your contact information.

HubSpot’s free email signature generator includes all of these along with social media links and a headshot.

Frequently Asked Questions About Email

What’s the best email service provider (ESP)?

This is a tricky question with no direct answer. The best email service provider is one that addresses your unique needs.

For instance, if you want an ESP with a large storage space, Yahoo! Mail may be ideal because it offers you one TB. If you want an ESP that seamlessly works with Google’s products, Gmail will be your top pick.

If you are a Microsoft fan, you would want to opt for Outlook. And, if you seek an ESP with uber-high privacy and security, ProtonMail may be best for you.

Why does your email service provider matter?

Whether you’re an individual or a business owner, your choice of ESP can impact your email deliverability. A reliable ESP ensures your emails land in your recipients’ inboxes and avoid the spam folders.

If you have a business, you’d want an ESP that goes beyond delivering emails. At some point, you’d need email templates, automation capabilities, and analytics to track your subscribers’ email engagement.

While many ESPs falter at this, HubSpot, a platform used by 194,000+ customers in over 120 countries, excels.

How do I pick the best email service provider for my team?

Several variables must be considered when choosing an email service provider for your team. First, you need to identify your needs and select those that are most important. These needs could include integration options, ease of automation, and customization.

With these needs, you can research ESPs, evaluate their features, check their pricing, and read customer reviews. If your preferred ESPs offer trials, take advantage of that and test them.

Every team has hopes of scaling in the future, so consider picking an ESP that can work irrespective of your team’s size.

Making the Most of Your Email

And with that, you have some of the best options for free email accounts this year. But who knows? Your next email address could be entirely different while giving you just what you need to succeed.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Think about all the times you’ve signed up for things in your life. Did you once download Evernote? Dropbox? Spotify? Maybe you’ve even taken a class on General Assembly.

Each one of these signups is likely a result of an effective call-to-action (CTA).

Think about it: If you hadn’t been drawn in by the copy or design of the CTA or been guided so eloquently through your sign-up process, you would probably use a lot fewer apps and websites than you do now.

In this post, I’ll explain how using strategic CTAs can guide your visitors through the buying journey and highlight my favorite examples.

Table of Contents

• What Is a Call-to-Action (CTA)?
• What Is a CTA in Marketing?
• How to Write a CTA
• Different Types of CTAs
• Best Call-to-Action Examples

What Is a CTA in Marketing?

As a marketer, CTAs are relevant because they encourage your audience to take action on a marketing campaign.

Ultimately, the goal of any marketing campaign is to guide your audience in the buyer’s journey so they eventually make a purchase.

Types of CTAs

Not all marketing campaigns use the same types of CTAs since there are several tactics you can use to guide your audience in their journey.

For instance, a marketing campaign with the goal of gaining more newsletter subscribers might use a form submission, while a campaign enticing users to “learn more” may include a button.

Below I’ve listed common types of CTAs that are used in marketing. Keep in mind that every brand and audience is different so it may be beneficial to A/B test CTA types and designs in order to figure out which ones work best for you.

Buttons

By far the most common type of CTA, buttons are icons with an actionable phrase written in them that entices users to click and take further action.

Button designs can vary based on the brand style and goal of the campaign, but generally, your button should have a high-contrast color so it can stand out on the page.

Forms

Form submission CTAs convert site visitors into leads by offering visitors something in exchange for their contact information. Offers can include downloadable content, product quotes, service sign-ups, subscriptions, and more.

Banners

A CTA banner can be located along the top, bottom, or side of a web page. Banners typically include some type of captivating copy and design that encourages visitors to click on them to take action.

Contextual Links

Usually located within the body copy of a blog post, contextual links contain clickable text that directs users to a related landing page.

Pop-Ups

A pop-up is a CTA in a small window that suddenly appears on the page.

Since users often tune out static CTA buttons and forms, pop-ups can be a great way to communicate an offer or entice users to sign up for your service.

Many websites also use exit intent pop-ups, which are triggered when users are about to leave the site.

Slide-Ins

Similar to pop-ups, slide-in CTAs are meant to capture the user’s attention by “sliding in” from the bottom or the sidebar. Slide-ins are a good alternative to pop-ups since they are less disruptive to the user experience.

1. Keep it simple.

In my experience, the most effective CTAs are often the most simple. For instance, a CTA that says “download now” tells the user that they can download related materials just by clicking on your button.

When writing your CTAs, use understandable and direct language that clearly communicates what action you want your audience to take.

The more jargon or complex sentences you use, the more likely you are to confuse your readers and miss out on a conversion.

Pro tip: More is less, right? I find that to be true as well when it comes to CTAs, so think about making your CTA 50 characters or less. This way, you avoid making the CTA overly complicated.

2. Use action verbs.

I think the most effective CTAs start with a strong action verb to encourage readers to take immediate action. Action verbs inject energy and momentum into your CTAs, making them more vibrant and engaging.

For example, active CTAs like “Buy now” and “Get started” are more motivating than passive CTAs like “Continue” and “Next.”

Keep in mind that some action verbs are better suited for specific purposes.

For instance, CTAs like “Get started” and “Sign up” are good for SaaS conversions, while CTAs like “Buy now” and “Add to cart” are better for ecommerce conversions.

Pro tip: Consider what action you want each customer segment to take. When using action words, pick different ones for each user depending on their buying stage.

3. Create a sense of urgency.

Add a time element to your CTA to create a sense of urgency. I find this encourages your audience to act promptly instead of procrastinating.

It can also foster a fear of missing out (FOMO), driving people to take action to avoid losing out on valuable opportunities or limited-time offers.

Creating a sense of urgency can be done by using phrases like “limited time offer,” “today only,” or “while supplies last.”

Keep in mind that the urgency you convey should always be genuine. Overusing urgency tactics or creating false scarcity can erode trust and credibility with your audience.

Pro tip: To drive more sales, you can use countdown clocks beside your CTAs on digital platforms to graphically emphasize the severity of the situation. In my experience, this works especially well for one-time sales or event registration.

4. Be creative.

CTAs don’t have to be so rigid and formulaic. When writing your CTA, I suggest you incorporate your personality and humor to stand out and make an impact — just make sure that it aligns with your brand voice and drives action.

For instance, instead of writing something generic like “Sign up,” you could go with something more exciting like “Take the leap.”

While both examples encourage your audience to take action, the latter taps into the idea of taking chances and embracing new opportunities, making it more compelling.

Remember, the ultimate goal is to make your CTA compelling and irresistible enough for your audience to take action.

And if your CTAs aren’t getting the most engagement, consider testing out different versions to help you strengthen and refine them over time.

You can take a look at our checklist to see if you’re on track to creating engaging calls-to-action.

Pro tip: Along with testing your copy, I recommend considering the button design that encourages the most clicks and conversions and experimenting with various button dimensions, colors, copy, and placements.

It could require some trial and error.

Different Types of CTAs

CTAs all serve a designated purpose, but keep in mind the language they use can vary. And today, marketers everywhere have put some creative spins on their CTAs to generate the leads their businesses depend on.

Below are a few examples of the types of CTA button copy you might use in marketing:

To help you identify what’s effective and what’s not, I’ve listed out examples of CTAs that totally rock below.

Find examples of CTAs that are simple and effective, others with great call-to-action phrases, and still more that balance multiple buttons on one page.

1. HubSpot

CTA: Download Now

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One of the perks of using HubSpot is the wealth of free resources we offer. This slide-in CTA, which is found in an article discussing marketing intelligence, demonstrates how a well-placed CTA can improve user experience.

I like that it’s unobtrusive and comes in midway through the article, not only prompting readers to “download now” but offering a useful and free resource.

The marketing kit offers an out-of-the-box solution for those who may not know where to start.

How to Replicate This CTA

Offer a free resource that is directly related to the topic of the article it appears on. On HubSpot’s CTA, readers can finish the article and then download the guide with templates to get started making a marketing kit of their own. (Click here to learn how to add slide-in CTAs to your blog posts.)

2. The Budgetnista

CTA: Sign Up For Weekly Goodies!

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Run by personal financial educator and author Tiffany Aliche, The Budgetnista is a one-stop shop for personal finance. In addition to providing content that delights her audience, she’s also a pro at creating inviting CTAs.

Instead of simply putting a signup CTA to promote her newsletter, she uses language that entices the reader to click. “Sign Up For Weekly Goodies” sounds a whole lot more interesting than “Sign up for my newsletter.”

Who doesn’t want weekly goodies?

How to Replicate This CTA

The Budgetnista’s CTA mirrors Aliche’s personality, which I think is a nice touch and helps personalize the interaction. Encourage visitors to take the desired action by using friendly and creative language.

3. Glossier

CTA: I’m in

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Beauty brand Glossier has its marketing image down, in my opinion, showcasing realistic images of women with a variety of skin types.

Who can forget their boy brow campaign? Their website is clean, with lots of white space that makes the photos of the models and makeup pop.

Their CTA is an overlay that appears when you start scrolling down their site. While many would quickly click out of the pop-up, the language Glossier chooses makes you want to stick around.

“Let‘s take this to your inbox” is a clever way to ask folks to sign up for their newsletter. If you‘re down to join simply click “i’m in” and you’re done.

How to Replicate This CTA

Use clever phrasing and imagery that makes your brand more relatable and entices people to take action. Glossier’s CTA, for example, includes an image of a model wearing the brand’s makeup, which makes it even more appealing.

4. 310 Creative

CTA: Book Free Assessment

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Growth agency and HubSpot partner 310 Creative aims to help B2B companies scale and refine the buyer’s journey to increase sales.

Knowing that visitors to the site may not quite know what specific services they need, 310 Creative makes use of a CTA that removes confusion.

The slide-in CTA solicits visitors to book a free assessment to get some clarity on where their business may be falling short and discover why these outcomes are happening.

How to Replicate This CTA

Demonstrate empathy for the visitor and remove barriers by stating the service is free. By describing an issue followed by “If this sounds familiar, let’s talk” it demonstrates that 310 Creative is there to help and understands the frustration.

5. Heyday

CTA: Sign Up And Save

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Heyday is a bit of a rebel in the facial industry. Its minimalist, no-frills approach has made it a favorite among those who just want to see an aesthetician without the fuss and upselling.

That minimalist but friendly approach shows up in their CTA, too. Making great use of some models with glowing skin, this CTA entices viewers to sign up for their newsletter with a discount.

The “sign up and save” button is persuasive, along with the humorous “No thanks, I prefer full-price skincare” hyperlink to opt out.

How to Replicate This CTA

Employ beautiful aesthetics, a discount, and humor to encourage visitors to take the desired action. I think mentioning a value proposition, like saving, helps communicate to readers why they should sign up.

6. VRBO

CTA: Discover your escape

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If you love browsing beautiful vacation homes in your spare time, VRBO is a great place to do it. The brand makes great use of aspirational aesthetics and gorgeous locales.

The dark blue CTA pops against VRBO’s white background, drawing the reader in. Then the “discover your escape” button adds a touch of adventure for those who may be interested in renting a vacation home.

How to Replicate This CTA

Make great use of color and phrasing. VRBO’s CTA communicates that you’re not booking a regular vacation but rather an adventure where they can serve as your trusted guide.

7. Hulu

CTA: Get The Disney Bundle

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Streaming giant Hulu went for a dramatic approach with this CTA. The dimmed background shows off all its television and movie offerings, while the green and white text of the CTA draws your attention to the promotion.

I think it’s clever because it’s a sign-up and upsell in one, informing users that they can get a discount add-on with Disney+ and ESPN+.

How to Replicate This CTA

Entice visitors with the impression they’re getting a deal by offering a bundle and put emphasis on providing value to get visitors to take action.

Here, Hulu’s CTA button says “get the Disney bundle” instead of having a generic button that says “sign up.”

8. Hija De Tu Madre

CTA: Subscribe

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Apparel company Hija De Tu Madre keeps it fresh with a clean, pink and white color scheme that exudes youthfulness and freshness.

Most of what makes their CTAs so appealing is the clever play on words, mixing both Spanish and English, an ode to their target audience.

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Because they’re so dialed into their audience, Hija De Tu Madre can extract more information from their visitors. Instead of just having a CTA that requests an email (first image), they’ve introduced a mobile phone request in a second CTA.

How do they persuade folks to hand over their digits? By offering them a chance to win merch — specifically their popular denim jackets.

How to Replicate This CTA

Offer something visitors consider valuable in return for their personal information — in this instance, a coveted denim jacket will make people more likely to share more information.

In my experience, the key is to know your audience and tap into their interests.

9. Wool and the Gang

CTA: Share Your Knits #woolandthegang

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This CTA from Wool and the Gang will make you feel all fuzzy on the inside. The collage background of customers donning their Wool and the Gang garments, plus a cute pup really draws the reader in and fits with the brand’s audience.

I like that the CTA button states “share your knits #woolandthegang” because it encourages customers to share what they’ve made using Wool and the Gang products, working as both brand promotion and customer engagement.

How to Replicate This CTA

Grab the visitor’s attention by creating a sense of community and enticing visitors to join. This particular CTA also doubles as brand promotion as more customers share their knits across social media.

10. Tweak It Studio

CTA: Personalized Wood Names

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Home decor and design company Tweak It Studio showcases the importance of having fun but clear CTAs.

They get the visitor’s attention with “Just Dropped” in big bold letters to inform readers on new products on offer, then combine it with a CTA button that states exactly what the item is — in this case “personalized wood names.”

I think it’s much more effective than just having a button that simply states “buy now.”

How to Replicate This CTA

Use urgency to get visitors to check items in your online store and clearly communicate where the visitor is heading when they click the CTA button.

11. Evernote

CTA: Sign Up

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“Remember Everything.” Visitors can immediately understand that message the moment they land on this page.

The design on Evernote’s website makes it super simple for users to see the quick benefits of using the app and how to actually sign up to use it.

Plus, the green color of the main and secondary CTA buttons is the same green as the headline and the Evernote logo, all of which jump off the page.

How to Replicate This CTA

Consider using a bright color that contrasts well with the elements on your web page to make your CTA stand out. This can go a long way, even if your text is simple like in the Evernote example.

12. Dropbox

CTA: Sign up for free

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Dropbox has always embraced simple design with a lot of negative space. Even the graphics on their homepage are subtle and simple.

Thanks to that simple design and negative space, the blue “Sign up for free” call-to-action button stands out from everything else on the page.

Since the CTA and the Dropbox logo are the same color, it‘s easy for the visitor to interpret this CTA as “Sign up for Dropbox.” That’s one effective CTA, in my opinion.

How to Replicate This CTA

Negative space can work in your favor if used correctly. Use it to your advantage by allowing your CTA to stand out using your bold brand colors.

13. OfficeVibe

CTA: Subscribe

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Here’s a slide-in CTA that caught my attention from OfficeVibe. While scrolling through a post on their blog, a banner slides in from the bottom of the page with a call-to-action to subscribe to their blog.

The best part? The copy on the slide-in told me I’d be getting tips about how to become a better manager — and the post it appeared on was a post about how to become a better manager.

In other words, the offer was something I was already interested in.

Plus, I like how unobtrusive slide-in CTAs are — as opposed to what my colleague Rachel Sprung calls the “stop-everything-and-click-here-pop-up-CTA.”

I find these CTAs offer a more lovable experience because they provide more information while still allowing me to continue reading the blog post.

How to Replicate This CTA

You can create your own slide-in CTA using HubSpot’s marketing tools. After designing your CTA using our templates, create a HubSpot account.

Go to Marketing > Lead Capture > CTAs in your HubSpot account and follow the CTA instructions here.

14. Netflix

CTA: Join Free for a Month

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One big fear users have before committing to sign up for something? That it’ll be a pain to cancel their subscription if they end up not liking it.

Netflix nips that fear in the bud with the “Cancel anytime” copy right above the “Join Free for a Month” CTA.

I’d venture a guess that reassurance alone has boosted signups. Also, you’ll notice again that the red color of the primary and secondary CTAs here matches Netflix’s logo color.

How to Replicate This CTA

Not only can you get a visitor’s attention with a stark contrast in color, but you can use language in your CTA that entices them to click.

Consider using “Try for Free,” or something similar in your CTA that removes the risk for potential customers.

15. Square

CTA: Get Started

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To achieve effective CTA design, you need to consider more than just the button itself. In my experience, it’s also super important to consider elements like background color, surrounding images, and surrounding text.

Mindful of these additional design components, the folks at Square used a single image to showcase the simplicity of using their product, where the hovering “Get Started” CTA awaits your click.

If you look closely, the color of the credit card in the image and the color of the CTA button match, which helps the viewer connect the dots of what to expect if/when they click.

How to Replicate This CTA

You can use color to help visitors connect the dots whether it’s coordinating similar tones like in this image, or by using brand colors like the Dropbox example.

16. Prezi

CTA: Give Prezi a try

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The folks at Prezi are also into the minimalist design look on their website.

Other than the green dinosaur and the dark brown coffee, the only other color accompanying the predominantly black-and-white design is a bright blue — the same blue from their main logo.

I like that that bright blue is strategically placed on the homepage: the main “Give Prezi a try” CTA, and the secondary “Get Started” CTA, both of which take users to the same pricing page.

How to Replicate This CTA

This page took a minimalist color scheme, but incorporated two CTAs with the same color button that direct visitors to the same landing page.

If your page has a clean, minimalist design, I suggest you consider trying two CTAs with different text to draw visitors in.

17. Full Bundle

CTA: Our Work

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Full Bundle is another company that uses negative space to make their primary CTA pop. The white “Our Work” call-to-action stands out against the dark grays of the background. I think their choice of CTA is strategic, too.

Given that they primarily exist to build out clients’ online presences, it’s important for them to showcase their work — and that’s what most folks are going to their website for.

How to Replicate This CTA

Make creative use of negative space like Full Bundle’s gray tones. As you can see, the different shades of gray make triangles, adding a subtle design element that makes their white CTA pop out at the bottom.

18. Panthera

CTA: Join

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The folks at Panthera are looking for users who really care about wild cats around the world and want to join a group of people who feel the same way.

To target those people in particular, I love how they use language that would speak to big cat lovers: “Join the pride today.” The page itself is super simple: an on-page form with two, simple fields and a button asking folks to (again) “Join.”

How to Replicate This CTA

Establish a connection with your target audience by using vernacular related to your brand that would appeal to them in your CTA. Echoing the same phrase on the page and CTA is clever and reinforces the message.

19. EPIC

CTA: Let’s start a new project together

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The folks at the agency EPIC use their homepage primarily to showcase their work. When you arrive on the page, you’re greeted with animated videos showing some of the work they’ve done for clients, which rotate on a carousel.

While there are plenty of other places users might click on their site — including their clients’ websites — the main call-to-action stands out and always contrasts with the video that’s playing in the background.

I love that it features friendly, inclusive language —“Let‘s start a new project together” — which gives a hint to users looking for a creative partner that they’re an especially great team to work with.

How to Replicate This CTA

Use inviting language. It’s easy to make a button that just says “join us,” but that’s not very convincing. Consider something friendlier like “let’s work together” or something specific to the service you offer.

20. Aquaspresso

CTA: Send Me Specials Now!

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The whole point of a call-to-action is to direct your site visitors to a desired course of action — and the best CTAs do so in a way that’s helpful to their visitors.

The folks at coffee company Aquaspresso really nailed that balance here with the pop-up CTA on their main blog page.

Here, the desired course of action is for their blog readers to check out what they’re actually selling (and hopefully buy from them).

There are many ways they could have done this, including putting out a CTA that urges people to “Check out our most popular products!” or something very direct.

But I love what they’ve done instead: Their CTA offers blog readers something much more helpful and subtle — an offer for “today‘s specials” in exchange for the reader’s email address.

Adding that the specials are for today only is a great example of a psychological tactic called scarcity, which causes us to assign more value to things we think are scarce. The fear that today’s specials are better than tomorrow’s might make people want to fill it out and claim their offer while they can.

How to Replicate This CTA

The call-to-action above was created using HubSpot’s templates. Consider introducing a sense of urgency for website visitors by using scarcity in your CTA.

You can use phrases like “limited time offer” or “get today’s deals” to motivate visitors to take the desired action.

21. QuickSprout

CTA: Are you doing your SEO wrong? Enter your URL to find out

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No one wants to be wrong. That’s why a call-to-action button like QuickSprout’s slide-in CTA on their blog is so clickworthy.

It asks the reader, “Are you doing your SEO wrong?” Well, am I? All I have to do is enter my URL to find out. Seems easy enough! It’s this language that can really entice visitors to click through.

Plus, having the CTA slide in mid-blog post is a great tactic for catching readers before they bounce off the page.

Traditionally, many blogs have CTAs at the very bottom of each blog post, but research shows most readers only get 60% of the way through an article.

How to Replicate This CTA

Use language in your CTA that grabs visitors’ attention or speaks to a pain point they may be having. The case above uses SEO, but you could use something like “Having trouble converting leads?” and then position your service as the remedy.

(Click here to learn how to add slide-in CTAs to your blog posts.)

22. Grey Goose

CTA: Discover a cocktail tailored to your taste

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Here’s a fun, unique call-to-action that can get people clicking.

Whereas site visitors might have expected to be directed to product pages or press releases from the homepage, a CTA to “Discover a Cocktail Tailored to Your Taste” is a pleasantly surprising ask.

People love personalization, and this CTA kind of feels like an enticing game. The play button icon next to the copy gives a hint that visitors will be taken to a video so they have a better idea of what to expect when they click.

How to Replicate This CTA

Personalization works wonders for establishing a connection with visitors. Consider implementing a CTA that suggests a personalized experience for visitors based on the product or service you offer.

For example, you could say, “Explore plans that fit your budget,” or “Choose a design tailored to your brand.”

23. Treehouse

CTA: Claim Your Free Trial

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A lot of company websites out there offer users the opportunity to start a free trial. But the CTA on Treehouse‘s website doesn’t just say “Start a Free Trial” — it says “Claim Your Free Trial.”

The difference in wording may seem subtle, but think about how much more personal “Claim Your Free Trial” is. Plus, the word “claim” suggests it may not be available for long, giving users a sense of urgency to get that free trial ASAP.

How to Replicate This CTA

If you offer a free trial for your service, instead of just using a button that says “free trial,” I recommend personalizing the experience by using “start your free trial.”

24. OKCupid

CTA: Continue

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OKCupid‘s CTA doesn’t seem that impressive at first glance, but its brilliance is in the small details.

The call-to-action button, which is bright green and stands out well on a dark blue background, says, “Continue.” The simplicity of this term gives hope that the signup process is short and casual.

To me, this CTA feels more like I’m playing a fun game than filling out a boring form or committing to something that might make me nervous. And it’s all due to the copy.

How to Replicate This CTA

I’m a sucker for games — and I know many other people are, too — so if it works for your product or service, try to gamify your CTA to spark interest.

25. Blogging.org

CTA: Countdown Clock

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I don’t know about you, but nothing like a ticking timer makes me want to take action. After spending a short amount of time on blogging.org’s homepage, new visitors are greeted with a pop-up CTA with a “limited time offer,” accompanied by a timer that counts down from two minutes.

As with Aquaspresso’s example in #20, this is a classic use of the psychological tactic called scarcity, which causes us to assign more value to things we think are scarce. Limiting the time someone has to fill out a form makes people want to fill it out and claim their offer while they can.

Curious what happens when time runs out? So was I. Hilariously, nothing happens. The pop-up CTA remains on the page when the timer gets to zero.

How to Replicate This CTA

Similar to Aquaespresso, consider using scarcity to give visitors to your site a sense of urgency to take action.

26. IMPACT Branding & Design

CTA: What We Do

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CTAs can feel really pushy and salesy (yes, that’s a word…) if the wrong language is used. I like IMPACT’s educational approach, where they challenge visitors to learn what the company does before pushing them to take any further action.

This call-to-action is especially intriguing to me because they don’t even use an action verb, yet they still manage to entice people to click.

How to Replicate This CTA

Entice visitors to learn more about your business by using language in your CTA that persuades them to see what you do. Use something like “see our past projects,” “what we do,” or “view our work.”

27. Huemor

CTA: Launch (Do Not Press)

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If you went to a website and saw a “Launch” CTA accompanied by the copy “Do Not Press” … what would you do? Let’s be honest: You’d be dying to press it.

The use of harmless reverse psychology here is playful, which is very much in keeping with Huemor’s brand voice.

How to Replicate This CTA

If your brand is more playful or in the creative industry, you can use that to your advantage in a CTA using gamification or reverse psychology, like Huemor’s example.

28. Brooks Running

CTA: Find out when we have more

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How many times have you hotly pursued a product you love, only to discover it’s sold out? Well, as you might know, it’s no picnic for the seller either. But just because you’ve run out of an item doesn’t mean you should stop promoting it.

Brooks Running uses a clever call-to-action to ensure their customers don’t bounce from their website just because their favorite shoe is out of stock.

In the screenshot above, you can see Brooks touting an awesome-looking shoe with the CTA, “Find out when we have more.” I love how this button turns bad news into an opportunity to retain customers. Without it, Brooks’ customers would likely forget about the shoe and look elsewhere.

When you click on the blue CTA button depicted above, Brooks directs you to a page with a simple code you can text the company. This code prompts Brooks to automatically alert the visitor when the shoe they want is available again.

How to Replicate This CTA

For ecommerce businesses, sending customers to a page that states the item is out of stock can be a turn off for customers and cause them to bounce.

Consider adding a CTA that says “notify me when restocked,” or “find out when we have more” to keep them engaged and gain their email information.

29. Humboldt County

CTA: Follow the Magic

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Humboldt County’s website is gorgeous on its own: It greets you with a full-screen video of shockingly beautiful footage.

But what I really love is the unconventional call-to-action button placed in the bottom center, which features a bunny icon and the words “Follow the Magic.”

It enhances the sort of fantastical feel of the footage, making you feel like you’re about to step into a fairytale.

What’s more, once you click into that CTA, the website turns into a sort of choose-your-own-adventure game, which is a fun CTA path for users and encourages them to spend more time on the site.

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How to Replicate This CTA

Great for travel companies and creative firms, CTAs like Humboldt County’s lure readers in. If your brand has some creative leeway, use it. You could try a phrase like “find your next adventure,” or “plan your trip.”

30. Uber

CTA: Sign up to drive | Start riding with Uber

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Uber’s looking for two, very distinct types of people to sign up on their website: riders and drivers.

Both personas are looking for totally different things, and yet, the website ties them together really well with the large video playing in the background showing Uber riders and drivers having a good time in locations all over the world.

I love the copy of the driver CTA at the top, too: It doesn‘t get much more straightforward than, “Make money driving your car.” Now that’s speaking people’s language.

How to Replicate This CTA

Targeting two types of customers? You can create CTAs for each of their personas similarly to Uber.

31. Spotify

CTA: Go Premium | Play Free

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As soon as you reach Spotify’s homepage, it’s pretty clear that their main goal is to attract customers who are willing to pay for a premium account, while the CTA for users to sign up for free is very much secondary.

It‘s not just the headline that gives this away; it’s also the coloring of their CTA buttons. The “Go Premium” CTA is lime green, making it pop off the page, while the “Play Free” CTA is plain white and blends in with the rest of the copy on the page. This contrast ensures that visitors are drawn to the premium CTA.

How to Replicate This CTA

If you offer both a paid and free version of a service, consider using two separate CTAs, choosing a color that pops for the paid option versus something more understated for the free version.

32. Ugmonk

CTA: Send me the coupon | I’m not interested

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Exit CTAs, also known as exit intent pop-ups, are different from normal pop-ups.

They detect your users’ behavior and only appear when it seems as though they’re about to leave your site.

By intervening in a timely way, these pop-ups serve as a fantastic way of getting your reader’s attention while offering them a reason to stay.

Ugmonk has a great exit CTA, offering two options for users as a final plea before they leave the site.

First, they offer a 15% discount on their products, followed by two options: “Yes Please: Send me the coupon” and “No Thanks: I’m not interested.”

It‘s super helpful that each CTA clarifies what “Yes” and “No” actually mean, and I also like that they didn’t use guilt-tripping language like “No Thanks: I hate nature” like I’ve seen on other websites.

Finally, notice that the “Yes Please” button is much brighter and inviting in color than the other option.

How to Replicate This CTA

Exit intent CTAs are extremely useful for ecommerce. You can offer a discount on services or something else of value to entice visitors to convert.

33. Pinterest

CTA: Continue with Facebook | Sign Up

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Want to sign up for Pinterest? You have a couple of options: sign up via Facebook or via email. If you have a Facebook account, Pinterest wants you to do that first. How do I know?

Aesthetically, I know because the blue Facebook CTA comes first and is much more prominent, colorful, and recognizable due to the branded logo and color.

Logically, I know because if you log in through Facebook, Pinterest can pull in Facebook’s API data and get more information about you than if you log in through your email address.

Although this homepage is optimized to bring in new members, you’ll notice a very subtle CTA for folks with Pinterest accounts to log in on the top right.

How to Replicate This CTA

Allow users to sign up with Facebook or Google in your CTA. This saves visitors time signing up and you’ll be able to gain more information about them.

34. Madewell

CTA: Take me there | What’s next?

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Madewell (owned by J.Crew) has always had standout website design, taking what could be a typical ecommerce website to the next level. Their use of CTAs on their homepage is no exception.

When you first arrive on the page, you‘re greeted with the headline “I’m Looking For…” followed by a category, like ”Clothes That’ll Travel Anywhere.”

Below this copy are two options: “Yes, Take Me There” or “Hmm… What’s Next?” The user can choose between the two CTAs to either browse clothes that are good for travel, or be taken to the next type of clothing, where they can play again.

I think this gamification is a great way to make your site more interesting for users who come across it without having a specific idea of where they want to look.

How to Replicate This CTA

Use gamification in your CTA to persuade visitors to explore your site further. They may not know specifically what they are looking for or how your company can help. Creating fun prompts can help visitors find what they are looking for.

35. Instagram

CTA: Download on the App Store | Get it on Google Play

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Since Instagram is a mainly mobile app, you’ll see two black CTAs of equal size: one to download Instagram in Apple’s App Store, and another to download it on Google Play.

The reason these CTAs are of equal caliber is because it doesn’t matter if someone downloads the app in the App Store or on Google Play … a download is a download, which is exactly what Instagram is optimizing for.

If you already have Instagram, you can also click the CTA to “Log In” if you’d prefer that option, too.

How to Replicate This CTA

If you have an app, consider adding a CTA for each platform visitors can download it from. This removes friction and makes it easier for visitors to download your app without having to search.

36. Barkbox

CTA: Get Started | Give a Gift

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The two CTAs on Barkbox’s homepage show that the team there knows their customers: While many people visiting their site are signing up for themselves, there are a lot of people out there who want to give Barkbox as a gift.

To give those people an easy path to purchase, there are two equally-sized CTAs on the page: “Get Started” and “Give a Gift.”

As an added bonus, there’s an adorable, pop-up call-to-action on the right-hand side of the screen prompting users to leave a message if they’d like.

Click into it, and a small dialogue box pops up that reads, “Woof! I‘m afraid our pack is not online. Please leave us a message and we’ll bark at you as soon as pawsible.”

Talk about delightful copy.

How to Replicate This CTA

Similar to Uber, you can use multiple CTAs to serve different audiences. Play with language and come up with phrases that work best for your brand voice.

37. t.c. pharma

CTA: Find out more | View products

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Turns out Red Bull isn’t its own parent company: It’s owned by Thailand-based t.c. pharma, a company that makes popular energy drinks, electrolyte beverages, and functional drinks and snacks.

Its homepage features two CTA buttons of equal size: “Find out more” and “View products” — but it‘s clear by the bright yellow color of the first button that they’d rather direct folks to “Find out more.”

How to Replicate This CTA

Use color to persuade visitors to take a desired action. If you have a preferred button that you’d like people to click, make it the more prominent of the two.

38. General Assembly

CTA: View Full-Time Courses | Subscribe

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As you scroll through the General Assembly website, you’ll see CTAs for various courses you may or may not want to sign up for. I’d like to point your attention to the CTA that slides in from the bottom of the page as you’re scrolling, though, which suggests that you subscribe to email updates.

Although this feels like a secondary CTA due to its location and manner, I actually think they try to sneak this in to become more of a primary CTA because it’s so much more colorful and noticeable than the CTAs for individual classes.

How to Replicate This CTA

When you create your own CTAs, try using bolder colors — even ones that clash with your regular stylings — to see if it‘s effective at getting people’s attention.

39. charity: water

CTA: Give by Credit Card | Give by PayPal

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Charity: water‘s main goal is to get people to donate money for clean water — but they can’t assume that everyone wants to pay the same way.

The CTAs featured on their homepage take a really unique approach to offering up different payment methods by pre-filling $60 into a single line form and including two equally important CTAs to pay via credit card or PayPal.

Notice how both CTAs are the same size and design — this is because charity: water likely doesn’t care how you donate, as long as you’re donating.

How to Replicate This CTA

For payment CTAs, consider giving visitors options for how to pay. What matters most is that they make the purchase.

40. Hipmunk

CTA: Flights | Hotels | Cars | Packages

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When you land on the Hipmunk site, your main option is to search flights. But notice there are four tabs you can flip through: flights, hotels, cars, and packages.

When you click into one of these options, the form changes so you can fill out more information. To be 100% sure you know what you’re searching for, Hipmunk placed a bright orange CTA at the far right-hand side of the form.

On this CTA, you’ll see a recognizable icon of a plane next to the word “Search,” so you know for sure that you’re searching for flights, not hotels. When you’re on the hotels tab, that icon changes to a hotel icon. Same goes with cars and packages.

How to Replicate This CTA

Use icons to provide further explanation of your CTA to users. It’s both helpful and adds character.

41. MakeMyPersona

CTA: Grab the template! | No thanks

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Here’s another example of a great pop-up with multiple calls-to-action — except in this case, you’ll notice the size, color, and design of the users’ two options are very different from one another.

In this case, the folks at MakeMyPersona are making the “Grab the template!” CTA much more attractive and clickable than the “No, I’m OK for now, thanks” CTA — which doesn’t even look like a clickable button.

I also like how the “no” option uses polite language. I find brands that don’t guilt-trip users who don’t want to take action to be much, much more lovable.

How to Replicate This CTA

Being friendly shouldn’t just be for getting visitors to take the desired action.

Using friendly language is just as important in CTAs for those who would like to opt out. Consider using  “no thanks” or something similar to what MakeMyPersona used to keep it cordial even if customers aren’t ready to purchase yet.

42. TeuxDeux

CTA: Get Started for Free | Try for Free

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Another example of simplistic design, TeuxDeux’s main website features one phrase and two CTA buttons.

That’s it.

Using the company’s colors, the background is just a splash of red and some black. The CTA buttons stand out against the color and emphasize that you can try the product for free.

I like these CTAs because they show that the company understands its audience.

Whenever I‘m researching to-do list apps, I always want to try it before I buy it.

It’s something that people are very particular about and want to test-drive. TeuxDeux’s CTAs show that they understand this about their audience.

How to Replicate This CTA

Know your audience and allow them to test drive your service. Tap into their needs and interests and include them in a CTA to help them navigate to what they need faster, risk-free.

It could be something like “get started for free,” “download templates for free,” or “try for free.”

43. Betabrand

CTA: Get involved

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Betabrand is a clothing company that sells yoga/dress pants for women. Usually, clothing brands tend to use similar CTAs such as “Shop Now.”

However, Betabrand’s homepage CTA is unique in that it involves the audience. Here, users can vote and impact the design of new products.

I think this is a fun way to get the audience involved and do something different.

How to Replicate This CTA

Encourage visitor participation by using a voting or survey type CTA when appropriate. It helps customers develop a personal relationship to the brand because they are contributing to the decision making process.

44. Fabletics

CTA: Limited Edition

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This Fabletics CTA uses several marketing tactics: scarcity and a holiday.

On the homepage, the brand announces a limited edition collection that’s tied to a holiday (Mother’s Day).

Additionally, the CTA uses a bright color so the CTA stands out on the simple homepage.

How to Replicate this CTA

Combine CTA types when it makes sense. For example you could use scarcity with a limited time only promotion for a grand opening, holiday, or to celebrate a new product launch.

45. Ashley Stewart

CTA: Shop the Lookbook

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Ashley Stewart is a clothing brand catered to plus-sized women. In this CTA, the company uses a fun design to entice website visitors. The entire collage of images looks like a behind-the-scenes camera roll, which is interesting to look at.

Additionally, the CTA copy is straight to the point, which is helpful for visitors who are looking to browse.

How to Replicate This CTA

Sometimes short and sweet is the best approach. Use your CTAs to get to the point and get visitors what they want. You could use something like “shop this look,” or “download the guide now.”

46. Amazon Music

CTA: 3 months free

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This is a great example of several of the elements we’ve talked about in one CTA.

Amazon uses two strategically placed CTAs, with a colorful yet simple design, and offers the product for free.

With this CTA, Amazon is promoting one of its own products and services on its homepage instead of other products listed for sale on the site.

The only message they want to get across? That you can try their product, Amazon Music, for free for three whole months. This CTA accomplishes that goal with a simple design.

How to Replicate This CTA

Offering a free trial? Make it known by using a prominent CTA that pops and eliminating unnecessary features that clutter the landing page.

47. Barnes and Noble

CTA: Shop Now

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Barnes and Noble uses a simple CTA to entice visitors to shop a limited collection during the Mother’s Day holiday.

I like this CTA because the landing page design is so cohesive with the branding of the overall company. Additionally, the graphics and the fonts are all interesting and match the brand’s messaging.

How to Replicate This CTA

Create a cohesive look that appeals to your audience and aligns with your brand voice. Play with fonts and colors that compliment each other and are pleasing to the eye. Keep the CTA simple with a “shop now,” or “download now” button.

48. Slack

CTA: Learn More | Contact Us

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Slack uses beautiful, simple design on its homepage to entice visitors to click on one of the two CTA buttons.

I like this example because Slack has two CTA buttons for two different audiences.

If you’re just getting started in your research, you can click “Learn More.”

However, if you’re a repeat visitor and know that you want to talk to a sales person, you can click “Contact Us.”

This is a great example of serving two audiences with the CTAs on your homepage.

How to Replicate This CTA

Serve two audiences with separate CTAs on the same landing page. You can make them distinct using color to contrast the two buttons or draw more attention to the desired choice.

49. Nintendo

CTA: Compare Features

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On Nintendo’s website, the company is focused on answering any questions a visitor might have.

In fact, one of the main CTAs is “Compare Features.” With this CTA, Nintendo answers one of their most popular questions because they understand that many visitors are still doing their research before purchasing a product.

How to Replicate This CTA

Have multiple pricing or feature options? Consider using a CTA that helps users compare their choices so they can make a more informed decision.

Good Call-to-Action Phrases You Should Be Using

It’s a no-brainer that using an engaging and well-thought-out CTA can be the difference between someone converting or not. Below are some examples of phrasing you can use.

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That’s why I’ve created 12 workable phrases that you can use as a template for CTAs.

• Get Your Free Copy/Get Free Access: No one can resist anything for free, so this CTA works great, especially for emails and newsletters. If you’re considering getting first-time users to subscribe to your newsletter service, you could use this to draw them in.

• Start Your Free Trial for X Months/Join Free: Similar to the example above, this can be a good tactic to allow your subscribers to join your platform. This way, they can understand whether they need your service before leaving your page without trying anything.

• Request a Demo/Book a Demo/Schedule a Demo: SaaS companies can engage users by showing them around the platform. Demos are usually free, and I find that they allow you to engage with users without being too sales-y.

• Get “X%” Off/Claim $X: I don’t think anyone can resist a good deal, especially if you’ve been looking to purchase something and a discount code randomly pops up. This is a great way to get your users to subscribe to your business as well since most of the time, you’ll need to enter your email address for the code.

• Limited Stock Available/Buy Now — Before It Disappears: If you’re looking to drive urgency within your target audience, these CTAs can be quite effective, especially when you add scarcity to them. So, whenever you want to sell any product, you can use these phrases to drive them to their shopping cart.

• Meet our Team/Speak with Our Experts: Sometimes, your audience wants to know more, but they’d like to go the extra mile to talk to your company’s representative. I find it more personal when you can speak one-on-one about your questions or concerns.

• Complete My Purchase/Treat Yourself Today: At HubSpot, we found that tailored CTAs convert 202% better than basic CTAs. So, adding words such as “my” and “yourself” adds a personal touch.

• Book or Reserve Your Spot Now: Want to add a touch of exclusivity when engaging your audience? Make them feel like a part of the club!

• Get a Quote/Request your Quote: Another CTA showing your customers the value they’ll get.

• Show Me X: In my experience, showing the product or service in action is always useful. This gives your audience a sneak peek.

• Connect with Us/Follow Us: For your audience to engage with you on social media, these phrases can drive them to where you want. All you have to do is show them the way.

• Get Inspired/Let’s Do This: Again, a sense of urgency is the key here. You’re trying to get your audience to perform an action you’d like them to do.

Pro tip: As you run ads, remember to modify your CTA according to the funnel level you aim for. You can also create CTAs with buttons to direct users along common paths when they’re most likely to convert or prioritize certain actions.

Create Your Own CTAs

There you have it. Now you can see just how important a few small CTA tweaks can be. Take inspiration from the examples above and create CTAs that convert.

Full Disclosure: We don’t have data to know if these are all scientifically successful, but these examples all follow our best practices.

If you decide to recreate these CTAs on your site, please remember to test to see if they work for your audience.

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

Short-form video is revolutionizing the way that businesses approach primary lead generation. But do you know why — and how to apply it to your marketing strategy?

When HubSpot started growing back in the early 2000s, the core strategy for primary lead generation was organic search optimization. It worked incredibly well for HubSpot (and many other businesses), helping us grow into the company we are today. But times have changed.

AI advancements and the resulting shifts in Google’s algorithm have significantly disrupted SEO, making the competition for keywords fiercer than ever — and making it more difficult and expensive to rank and drive traffic. Yet many new businesses still turn to this strategy to drive growth in 2024, without looking at other avenues — which Kieran and I believe is a huge mistake.

As discussed in a recent episode of Marketing Against the Grain, we see the future of primary lead generation shifting to short-form video — and the data backs us up. Short-form video was reported as having the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy in 2024, with over 84% of marketers saying that video has helped them increase traffic to their website.

But what are the advantages to short-form video and how can you integrate it into your marketing plan?

Advantages of Short-form Video as a Lead Generation Tool

Short-form video — like YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram reels — offers companies significant advantages over traditional lead-generation strategies. While the specific perks will vary depending on your product and business model, three that Kieran and I find particularly compelling are:

• Scaled distribution: video platforms give businesses access to massive audiences, which is especially valuable for newer companies that are looking to grow their customer base. For example, the number of daily YouTube Shorts views reached 70 billion in 2023.

• AI defensibility: video content is inherently more personality-driven than information-driven, meaning it’s harder to replicate with AI, ensuring your content remains unique and engaging

• Differentiation: with so many businesses still relying on traditional SEO, embracing short-form video sets you apart from the competition and enables you to quickly gain traction in less-crowded spaces

Three Tips for Using Video for Lead Generation

Learn how to test and incorporate video into your marketing workflow by accessing HubSpot’s Video Marketing Starter Pack and considering the ideas below:

1. Lean into storytelling.

“Most brand marketing is boring,” says Kieran. “Instead, try approaching your brand like you’re writing a TV series.”

For example, rather than developing traditional, short-term video campaigns, consider long-term series with recurring characters and plotlines. This storytelling approach establishes a deeper connection with the audience, making your brand memorable.

Also, never underestimate the power of humor. “One of the outlandish things I think someone could do is hire a comedy writer for developing a company’s brand campaign,” Kieran says. Humor again makes your video content memorable while further differentiating you from competitors.

2. Recycle existing content.

Especially for teams with limited budgets and resources, repurposing existing video content is an efficient way to expand your short-form content portfolio.

For example, recycle long-form videos by cutting them into smaller, more digestible clips. Turn webinars into video ads, or customer interviews into testimonials. This approach maximizes the shelf-life of your existing content and enables it to reach a broader audience.

Also, don‘t be afraid to lean into AI. As Kieran explains during the episode: AI tools now enable you to take the text from a blog post and generate a two-minute educational video that perfectly summarizes the blog’s key points. Add AI-generated audio, embed the video back into the blog, and distribute it on other platforms to drive traffic. Instantly, you’ve created a multimodal blog post that engages readers in new ways.

3. Partner with influencers.

Collaborating with influencers allows brands to reach targeted demographics with less effort. For example, I would look for people who have really successful YouTube channels and TikTok accounts with very specific audiences — and then partner with them for sponsored video content or embed my product into their content.

Associating your brand videos with (carefully chosen) creators increases your credibility, as they already have established trust with their followers. Furthermore, value and brand-aligned influencers increase authenticity and ensure your message resonates with a receptive audience.

To watch our entire discussion about the future of lead generation, check out the full episode of Marketing Against the Grain below:

This blog series is in partnership with Marketing Against the Grain, the video podcast. It digs deeper into ideas shared by marketing leaders Kipp Bodnar (HubSpot’s CMO) and Kieran Flanagan (SVP, Marketing at HubSpot) as they unpack growth strategies and learn from standout founders and peers.

A majority of businesses use marketing automation tools nowadays — in fact, studies cite around 56% of businesses currently use the technology, and that number continues to grow.

While marketing automation software can help companies increase efficiency by streamlining their workflows, there are so many options to choose from, full of different solutions with various features and use cases.

I’ll help you cut through the noise to find the top marketing automation platforms, highlighting what they do and how they can help your team.

In this article, I’ll cover:

• What are marketing automation tools?
• How I Tested the Best Marketing Automation Software
• The Best Marketing Automation Tools
• How to Choose the Best Marketing Automation Software

What are marketing automation tools?

Marketing automation tools use software to automate repetitive marketing tasks.

Some platforms only offer email actions, drip sequences, and CRM updates. Others may help with lead scoring, sales lead rotation, SMS, and more.

Automating your marketing tasks can benefit your business by increasing overall efficiency and allowing you more time to work on high-level projects.

For example, you can use marketing automation tools to collect valuable data that can be used to create more personalized marketing campaigns and increase conversion rates.

How I Tested the Best Marketing Automation Software

Every marketing automation platform offers different benefits and features, making it a challenge to narrow down the best option for your business.

That’s why I tested several options for you. Here’s what I looked for when testing the best marketing automation platforms.

Ease of Use

I don’t know about you, but I’m a visual person. If an interface looks confusing, I’m hesitant to dive in. That’s why I look for simple interfaces that indicate the tool is easy to use.

I look for tools with a simple interface that will guide me through the platform when I first use it. It’s also helpful if the platform includes an easy-to-access knowledge base so I can dive deeper into how a feature works when I need help.

Integrations

Marketing automation tools that integrate with your existing tools are essential.

The whole point of marketing automation platforms is to help you save time by making tasks seamless. This is made possible when everything in your tech stack connects.

When testing the best marketing automation platforms, I looked for software with a library of integrations. In my experience, the more app integrations available, the better connected the platform is.

Price

This can be subjective to your budget and business size, but price is still a factor I considered when reviewing these tools.

Tools that offer more features and support can command a higher price simply because they can help you reduce the number of tools in your tech stack.

If you’re just getting started with automation and want to see if you can benefit from one of these tools, it’s also helpful to look for ones that offer free trials. A free trial — or better yet, a free forever plan — lets you experience what the platform offers without fully committing.

Here, I’ve cultivated a list of marketing automation tools to help you sort through your options and feel confident choosing the best solution for you and your team.

1. HubSpot Marketing Automation

HubSpot’s marketing automation functionality is one of the most powerful tools on this list in terms of features. According to the G2 Grid for Marketing Automation, it’s also one of the most popular in terms of customer sentiment.

Of course, HubSpot has a full growth suite that includes sales software, marketing software, and support software, which all integrate automatically with HubSpot’s CRM.

In my opinion, the combined effect of having all of your data and growth activity in one place can unleash tons of creative automation possibilities that would be difficult or impossible if you used separate tools.

As a standalone, HubSpot‘s marketing automation functionality includes an easy-to-use visual board where you can craft simple or highly sophisticated conditional workflows.

I’ve found it can take time to master the tool (you’ll scale up more quickly with the help of HubSpot Academy), but once you get a grasp on it, the creative possibilities are endless.

You can set up simple email list autoresponders or build a smart and complex network of rules designed to target specific users with the exact right email, live chat, website experience, and more.

Basically, HubSpot’s automation tools go far beyond email, so you can scale your growth and spend less time on repetitive tasks.

Price: HubSpot’s email and form marketing automation tools are free. Paid versions of Marketing Hub, which start at $15 per user/month, offer increased access and features.

Did you know? 57% of HubSpot Marketing Hub customers saw an increase in the number of leads generated with their marketing campaigns. Check out our whitepaper for more insights into the business value of Marketing Hub (just like this one).

2. Sender

Sender is a top email and SMS automation tool that is affordable for small and growing businesses. It has everything you need for successful campaigns, from a simple drag-and-drop email builder to in-depth analytics and a heatmap.

I like Sender because you can grow your email list with high-converting pop-ups, customize pre-made email templates, and employ an email design builder to create high-converting emails.

Once your email is ready, you can create automated workflows without a hassle and send the right message to the right audience using smart segmentation.

When I tested Sender, I appreciated that I could get started right away for free. Setting up my first workflow (as shown above) was also very easy and included pop-ups that guided me through the process.

Price: Sender has a Free Forever plan that offers many premium features for up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month. Paid plans start around $15 per month.

Best for: With its emphasis on email and SMS automation, Sender is best for ecommerce brands.

3. ManyChat

Marketing automation isn’t just about email. Imagine automating some of the most repetitive conversations you have with customers on other platforms.

ManyChat functions as a chatbot that can do just that on Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct Messages, WhatsApp, and SMS.

I think ManyChat is great because you can build a bot in minutes with its templates and easy-to-use interface. Plus, the information you learn about your users can be synced to your CRM and other tools.

Price: ManyChat offers a free monthly plan that allows engagement with up to 1,000 contacts via Instagram Direct Messages, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. Additional access and features are available through ManyChat’s paid plans, which start at $15 per month.

What I like: I’m a big fan of using templates to save time and brain power. With ManyChat, you can use one of their many templates or its AI assistant to generate automated messages.

4. MailModo

Mailmodo is a one-step email marketing solution platform. It allows you to create and send AMP-powered interactive emails without coding.

I like that you can use their drag-and-drop template editor to build email templates with interactive widgets that give your emails app-like functionality.

If you don’t want to build one from scratch, you can choose one from their template library, which contains templates for various use cases.

Mailmodo also has a visual customer journey editor that follows the same drag-and-drop concept, making setting up email automations a breeze.

For example, you can set up automations that send an email after a fixed interval or by condition, like when a customer opens an email, clicks on a link, or submits a response.

These workflows are easy to set up and highly customizable to your needs.

Mailmodo’s other features allow you to segment your subscribers dynamically, set up send time optimization to send emails at the most optimal time, test different versions of the same email before sending, and view the performance of your email campaigns in a dashboard.

Mailmodo also offers AI-powered features, such as its AI subject line generator, AI content generator, and an AI template creator.

Price: Mailmodo has three pricing plans: Lite ($39/month), Pro ($79/month), and Max ($159/month). Each plan allows you to send emails to 2,500 contacts, with monthly send limits that increase with each plan tier.

What I like: Free trials were one of the features I looked for when testing these marketing automation platforms, so I was excited to see that Mailmodo offers a free 21-day trial period.

5. SureTriggers

SureTriggers is an automation tool that optimizes workflows and simplifies business procedures.

The plugin assists in the automation of repetitive processes, the reduction of manual mistakes, and the enhancement of productivity on your WordPress website.

I think its ability to integrate with other CRM and marketing tools makes it simple to automate numerous processes and boost productivity.

SureTriggers is a useful solution for companies of all sizes wanting to optimize their marketing automation efforts since it includes features like custom workflows, automation triggers, and reporting.

It also offers an effective and user-friendly solution for automating repetitive operations like lead management, customer service, and email marketing in the field of marketing automation.

By automating these processes, users may save operating expenses, enhance lead generation, and boost customer interaction, all of which contribute to better marketing results.

Price: SureTriggers offers a free forever plan for one WordPress website. Paid plans start at $9 per month.

Best for: SureTriggers is designed for WordPress websites, making it a niche solution for the WordPress network of plugins and tools.

6. LeadSquared

LeadSquared is a one-stop solution for sales execution and marketing automation.

You can capture leads across various campaigns and sources, track their activity, and even segment them based on demographics for a targeted approach to marketing.

The omnichannel platform helps you touch base with leads over email, WhatsApp, SMS, social media, self-serve portals, and more.

Once you plan to scale your marketing efforts, you can set up automated and trigger-based workflows to ensure consistent outreach across platforms.

LeadSquared also allows you to set up dashboards and in-depth, real-time reports for insights into campaign performance.

Price: The marketing automation suite is available in four tiers:

• Essential for $150.
• Basic for $400.
• Standard $1,200.
• Enterprise for $2,500.

What I like: The best part about the emails and landing pages on LeadSquared is that they require no code, which is convenient if you’re a less technical marketer like me. The pages can be completely customized with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor.

7. SendPulse

Having started out as an email marketing service, SendPulse gradually evolved into a full-scale marketing automation platform with a variety of channels to reach existing and potential customers.

Established brands and small businesses alike can build highly personalized message flows that combine emails, chatbots, and SMS notifications.

I found the visual chatbot builder itself to be very versatile as it allows users to create chatbots for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Viber. It also supports ChatGPT integration, which will make the chatbot even more human-like.

Price: SendPulse provides a monthly free plan. Paid plans start at $8 per month.

What I like: SendPulse is an all-in-one platform that even offers an online course builder. If you’ve considered monetizing your knowledge or using courses for lead generation, this platform could be a great option.

8. Moosend

Moosend is an email marketing automation platform that caters to various industries, including ecommerce, SaaS, and agencies.

The automation feature uses advanced website tracking and triggers that allow you to send the right email campaign to those in your contacts who are interested in a specific product or service.

For example, you can set up a cart abandonment series to target potential customers who left their shopping carts without making a purchase.

In my experience, collecting and managing customer data can come in handy as you can use it to craft product recommendation campaigns based on product views.

This data also allows you to create detailed reports of the campaign’s progress and the users’ activity so you can optimize the effectiveness of your promotional messages.

Price: Moosend offers a 30-day free trial, so you can try before you buy. After that, Pro plans start at $7 per month.

Best for: One of my favorite parts of testing Moosend was seeing its agency-side features. Moosend can act as a personal client management hub where you can work on multiple client projects from one place. Plus, it comes with customizations, making this a great option for agencies.

9. Bardeen.ai

Bardeen is an AI automation tool that optimizes workflows. With Bardeen.ai, automation is now as simple as texting a friend.

Bardeen helps streamline your workflow with AI, whether you need to keep your CRM clean and updated, personalize outreach campaigns, or synchronize data across various tools your internal team uses.

What I like best about Bardeen is that it’s a Chrome extension. This made it easy to get started and connect it with my existing workflow right away.

The ability to integrate with other CRMs like HubSpot and over 100 other integrations makes it easy to automate numerous processes and boost productivity.

Bardeen is a useful solution for companies of all sizes looking to optimize their marketing and sales automation efforts. Getting started is easy, with thousands of ready-to-use automation templates to choose from.

Price: Bardeen offers a free forever plan, while a Professional plan starts at $10 per month.

Pro tip: Bardeen is a Chrome extension, so you must be a Google Chrome user to take advantage of this workflow tool.

10. Omnisend

Omnisend is an omnichannel marketing automation platform built for ecommerce. Offering powerful automation workflows, you can get started quickly with pre-built templates that keep online merchants in mind.

With Omnisend, you can add several channels within the same automation workflow: email, SMS, Facebook Messenger, push notifications, and more.

I like that Omnisend also uses a user-friendly visual builder and templates, which make creating workflows, forms, landing pages, pop-ups, and emails quick and easy.

Price: Omnisend offers a free plan with basic email marketing automation that is best suited for small businesses just starting out. Medium- to larger-sized businesses will most likely benefit from Omnisend’s paid plans, which start at $16 per month.

What I like: While I wasn’t able to see too many features available since I don’t have an ecommerce shop (most features required me to connect my shop before I could explore), I like Omnisend’s interface. It’s organized and easy to understand, which makes setting up workflows less intimidating.

11. EngageBay

EngageBay is another marketing automation platform designed specifically for small- to medium-sized businesses.

This software offers a wide range of features, including email marketing, social media management, and website chat.

Other commendable features, in my opinion, include drag-and-drop builders for landing pages and emails, A/B testing, SMS marketing, push notifications, abandoned cart retrieval and reminders, autoresponders, and canned responses.

Price: EngageBay offers a free plan for small businesses, as well as three advanced paid plans that scale with your business needs, starting at $12.74 per user/month.

What I like: I like that EngageBay offers a free plan, making it easy for small businesses to get started with automation, even with a limited budget.

12. Ontraport

Unlike other marketing automation tools, Ontraport is a business automation software specifically designed for entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and small businesses.

While it has CRM and marketing automation functionality, I appreciate that it also has several other features to run and grow a small business, including, but not limited to, email marketing, landing pages, reporting, and ecommerce.

One of the most valuable things Ontraport offers is its focus on reporting and insights. While some tools can be a bit of a black box, Ontraport gives you a clear look at the performance of your campaigns.

Price: Though Ontraport does not have a free plan, it does offer a free 14-day trial with each of its four paid plans. Pricing for Ontraport’s basic plan starts at $24 per month, which includes unlimited email sending and drag-and-drop marketing automation.

Best for: Entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and small businesses.

13. Brevo

Formerly SendinBlue, Brevo is a digital marketing platform that features well-liked automation software suited for both beginner and advanced marketers.

With Brevo, you can design mobile-friendly email campaigns either from scratch or through customizable templates. You can also run SMS campaigns from Brevo. Advanced features include reporting and lead scoring.

Price: Brevo offers a pretty impressive free plan, which includes basic marketing automation functionality, unlimited contacts, and up to 300 emails per day. Paid plans start at $25 per month.

What I like: Brevo offers other software, such as sales and conversations platforms, plus a CRM, so you can seamlessly integrate your tech stack.

14. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is an integrated email marketing, marketing automation, and small business CRM.

ActiveCampaign‘s strongest point is its powerful and flexible marketing automation functionality. I think it’s one of the most comprehensive solutions on the market, and its deliverability is also rated as one of the best in the market.

I’ve found that this probably isn‘t the best tool for beginners or those with low technical capabilities, as it takes a bit more time and effort to learn. But when you do learn the platform, it’s pretty powerful.

Price: ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day free trial. Paid plans start at $15 per month.

What I like: ActiveCampaign’s top-rated deliverability rates are a great selling point if you want to ensure you get into your customers’ inboxes.

15. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement

Formerly known as Pardot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement is a cloud automation solution that mostly serves enterprise clients that have the technical resources and time to learn the platform.

It has a ton of features that automate communication to existing contacts, from CRM integration to email marketing, lead nurturing, and an ROI reporting functionality to make sure your campaigns are working.

You can track all interactions on your website and build predictive lead scoring based on the parameters you set. All of this helps improve marketing efficiency and remove wasted time and effort from your sales team.

I should note that while it is incredibly powerful, this software may not be as accessible or affordable for smaller businesses or entrepreneurs as there is not a free plan or trial.

Price: Plans for Marketing Cloud Account Engagement start at $1,250 per month.

Best for: At its steep price point, this marketing automation platform is best for enterprise companies.

16. Keap

Keap (formerly known as Infusionsoft) has been around since 2001 and has helped thousands of marketers deliver on leads, revenue, and customer acquisition targets.

Keap really flourishes in the small business and solopreneur crowd, and in my experience, I’ve noticed it has a pretty sophisticated user base.

You can set up relatively complex decision trees depending on which lead magnet someone signs up for, how many (and which) emails they open and click, or other contact property data.

As Keap‘s features continue to evolve, long-time customers may prefer Keap’s Max Classic plan since it is most similar to Infusionsoft’s original platform.

Price: Keap offers a free 14-day trial and three different paid plans based on customer needs, starting at $249 per month.

What I like: Keap’s features are best for small businesses that need integrated sales and marketing automation.

17. Marketo

Marketo was founded in 2006 as a marketing automation software company. It was later acquired by Adobe and incorporated into its enterprise marketing cloud.

The Adobe integration means that, if you use Adobe Analytics for data measurement and Adobe Target for experimentation and personalization, you’ll have a powerful enterprise marketing automation and optimization suite.

The tool is typically geared toward enterprise customers — it’s a bit out of range for most small business owners.

Price: Adobe does not offer a free trial or plan for Marketo. Since Marketo’s plan prices are determined by your database size, you will need to reach out to the sales department for a quote.

Best for: If you already use other Adobe products, this could be a seamless tool to add to your tech stack.

18. GetResponse

GetResponse is marketing automation software with many different layers and features. Its affordable Email Marketing plan includes basic autoresponders, templates, and a list size of 1,000 contacts.

GetReponse’s more premium plans include powerful features like drip campaigns, contact scoring, event-based automation, ecommerce tracking, and more.

In general, I found this software easy to use. You’ll typically find good results from the tool, although it works best with the simpler features, like email newsletters. It can become trickier to work with the platform if you plan on implementing complicated conditional logic and marketing automation.

Price: GetResponse offers a free 30-day trial. Paid plans start at $19 per month.

Pro tip: GetResponse offers a discounted plan — 50% off monthly plans — for nonprofits.

19. Drip

Drip is one of the few marketing automation tools on this list that is primarily focused on ecommerce marketing automation.

It provides one of the more “open” platforms, claiming that it plays well with “pretty much any marketing strategy you want to put in motion.”

Additionally, I found email to be one of its strengths. Some email marketing and automation features include unlimited email sends, pre-built workflows, and multi-channel marketing.

Price: Though Drip does not have a free plan, it does offer a free 14-day trial. Paid plans are based on your number of email contacts and start at $39 per month.

What I like: Drip excels in personalization and analytics. Overall, I found it to be a powerful tool for ecommerce marketing automation.

20. Mautic

Mautic is the only open-source marketing automation platform on this list. Founded in 2014, Mautic has grown quickly and is seemingly picking up steam with high-tech companies.

Currently, over 200,000 organizations use Mautic, and it is available in over 35 languages.

Price: Free

Best for: For more technical marketers who want access to open-source codes.

How to Choose the Best Marketing Automation Software

A more niche marketing automation product may be better for SMB and B2C environments, but B2B and enterprise companies may need a platform with wider capability.

Here are some key areas to consider as you evaluate marketing automation software products to choose the one that’s right for you:

1. Determine your budget and business needs.

If automation’s benefits can be summed up with one statement, it’s this: It will make you more efficient, so you can focus on the tasks you enjoy and that have the highest return.

With that in mind, you’ll want to evaluate the price as you consider capability.

For SMBs and B2C organizations focusing primarily on email, a scaled-down system might be sufficient. However, with more advanced needs, enterprise (and thus higher ticket) software is more cost-efficient in the long run.

I recommend you choose a provider that’s reasonably priced but can also grow with you as your needs change. After all, reducing bloated operations is critical to scaling effectively.

2. Evaluate the software’s ease of use.

Automation isn’t a simple thing to implement, so make sure the interface of the software will work with you, not against you. See if you can find screenshots of the UX or demo the software so you can determine if it looks simple and easy to navigate.

Automation can be technical, so I suggest looking for providers that have robust knowledge bases, tutorials, and other customer support options.

3. Explore analytics and reporting options.

You’ll want to be able to measure the success of any drip campaigns you have running, so make sure your automation software will keep track of the metrics that matter most to you.

In B2B and enterprise environments with many stakeholders, you may also need advanced reporting abilities such as personalized dashboards or automatic reporting via email.

For example, HubSpot’s marketing analytics software lets you set up custom dashboards to monitor anything from website traffic analytics to email signups, top-performing revenue sources, and more.

4. Research integrations.

How well does the marketing automation software play with your existing stack? Integrations allow you to manage data and get more from your tools.

Pro tip: You can find our essential apps for marketers in HubSpot’s App Marketplace.

5. Consider potential limitations.

Some automation software platforms may limit the number of actions in a month or the database size you’re allowed.

Going into any evaluation, I suggest you know how many contacts you have, how many emails you send on average, and what you want the software to achieve.

This will prevent you from underestimating the cost of your automation software.

6. Request a demo.

Before making a final decision, consider reaching out to each provider’s sales team to request a demo or sign up for free trial offers.

Trying out a marketing automation tool before you buy it can help you determine which features best serve your needs.

Getting Started With Marketing Automation

There are tons of options for marketing automation software. It’s all about choosing the right one for your business purposes, budget, and technical expertise.

Want something incredibly powerful and limitless? It may end up costing more and taking time and effort to learn. The cheaper options, by comparison, might have too limited a scale.

Ultimately, it’s a trade-off that you need to weigh for your business.

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

One of my favorite things to do on my personal website is to dig into web analytics.

I don’t consider myself a technical person, but over the years, I’ve learned to love what metrics like pageviews, new visitors, and traffic sources can tell me about my site visitors.

Not only that, but they also opened my eyes to new business opportunities — which is gold for freelancers like myself.

In this guide, I’ll be covering everything you need to know about web analytics, so you can truly understand which data points mean what, interpret your findings correctly, and make data-backed decisions for your website and business.

We’ll be covering the following points below — click on any of the jump links to skip to that section:

• What is web analytics?
• Importance of Web Analytics
• What is web analytics used for?
• Web Analytics Examples
• Web Analytics Best Practices
• Web Analytics Tools
• Web Analytics Pitfalls to Avoid

There are tons of data you can collect to understand how people interact with your website and identify opportunities for improvement.

You can track overall traffic, bounce rate, traffic sources, new and returning visitors, time spent on site, and much more.

Let’s take a closer look at why web analytics is important below.

Importance of Web Analytics

Web analytics is critical to the success of your business. Here are some specific ways it can benefit your website.

It provides audience insights.

One reason web analytics is important is that it gives you better insight into your site visitors.

For example, one web analytics metric is traffic source. This data tells you not only through which channel your visitors are finding your website but also their geography.

You may think your customers are based on the West Coast and find you through LinkedIn, but your web analytics may show you that a majority of your visits come from mobile searchers in the Northeast.

It improves user experience.

In my experience, web analytics enables you to better understand your site visitors and use those insights to improve their experience on your site.

For example, if you discover that the majority of users on your site are using a mobile device, then you can focus on making your website more mobile-friendly.

Or, if you see that a specific page gets a lot of traffic, you can make sure the page is optimized for the information visitors need.

You can also move the page navigation to a more prominent spot on your website to make sure it’s easy to access.

It guides your SEO strategy.

Web analytics can also shape your content and SEO strategy. By looking at your top-viewed posts, you can begin to identify what types of content and topics perform best with your audience.

For example, if you notice how-to WordPress tutorials make up the majority of your top viewed posts, then you might shift and narrow your focus from definition articles about anything web-related to how-to WordPress tutorials.

Or, maybe you look at your site’s traffic sources and notice that organic and email traffic are your top drivers and paid channels are your lowest. In that case, you might shift resources to invest more in your organic strategy than paid.

Now that we have an idea of web analytics and why it’s important, let’s look at some key metrics you might track to measure progress against — and eventually meet — overarching business objectives, like increasing traffic, leads, and revenue.

Pro tip: Want to quickly see how your website ranks? Use our Website Grader to find out what your website rating is and how to improve it.

What is web analytics used for?

Web analytics is used to improve your website so you can better meet visitors’ needs, improve conversions, and ultimately generate more business.

The amount of data can be overwhelming at first. That’s why I think it’s important to identify a few key metrics, particularly as you’re getting started.

For example, you might start by focusing on the bounce rate for a few key pages on your site.

If visitors are quickly bouncing from your homepage, then that indicates they’re not finding the information they’re looking for quickly or easily enough.

From there, you can identify possible next steps, like redesigning your website navigation.

Before you read on, I want to note that various analytics tools may have slightly different definitions of the following terms. It‘s best to consult your particular tool’s documentation to understand exactly how each is calculated.

Pageviews

Pageviews are the total number of times a page was viewed on your site. A pageview (or view) is counted when a page on your site is loaded by a browser.

So, if a person were to view a page on your site and reload the page in their browser, that would count as two views.

If a person viewed one page, viewed a second page on your website and then returned to the original page, that would count as three views.

Pageviews can give you an idea of how popular a page on your site is, but my experience has taught me it’s important to look at this number in context with other metrics — something a traffic analysis tool can help with.

A page with a high number of views for a post isn’t necessarily popular since a small group of visitors could be responsible for a lot of those views.

A high number may also indicate that a page was confusing and required visitors to return to it multiple times.

Unique Pageviews

Unique pageviews are the total number of times a page was viewed by users in a single session. In other words, a unique pageview aggregates pageviews that are generated by the same user during a session (which I’ll define below).

So, if a person viewed the same page twice (or more times) during an individual session, unique pageviews would only count that pageview once.

Unique pageviews discount instances in which a user reloads or visits the same page in the same session.

That’s why this metric helps you get a better understanding of how many visitors are viewing pages on your site and how popular individual pages are.

Sessions

A session is a group of interactions — including not only pageviews, but activities such as call-to-action (CTA) clicks and events — that take place on your website within a given time frame.

The timeframe of a session varies by web analytics tool. For example, sessions in Google Analytics and HubSpot’s traffic analytics tools last 30 minutes by default.

A session ends, and a new session starts for a user when either:

• A) there has been 30 minutes of inactivity and the user becomes active again
• B) the clock strikes midnight, or
• C) a user arrives via one traffic source, leaves, and then comes back via a different source.

That means if a user lands on your site, leaves, and returns within 30 minutes, Google Analytics and HubSpot will count it as one session, not two.

On the other hand, if a user is inactive on your site for 30 minutes or more but then clicks on a CTA or takes another action, Google Analytics and HubSpot will count it as two sessions, not one, even if the user never left your site.

New Visitors

New visitors — also termed new users, unique visitors, or new visitor sessions, depending on the web analytics tools — are the number of unique visitors on your website.

As the name implies, a new visitor is an individual who visits your site for the first time. Healthy websites will show a steady flow of new visitors over time to make up for those who lose interest.

These individuals are identified by a unique identifier. For example, when using HubSpot, the HubSpot tracking code is installed on your site. Then, visitors to your site are tracked by the cookie placed in their browser by this tracking code.

Two important notes to keep in mind: First, a single visitor can have multiple sessions and pageviews on your site.

Second, unique visitors are not an entirely accurate metric. That’s because most web analytics tools use cookies to track visitors, which doesn’t always distinguish new visitors from returning ones (which I’ll define below).

For example, if a person visits your site via their mobile phone and then on their personal computer, they’ll be counted as new visitors on both occasions.

Returning Visitors

Returning visitors (or users) is the number of visitors on your website who have visited before. Not all web analytics tools include this metric, but some — including Google Analytics — do.

In Google Analytics’s Audience reports, you can look at behaviors to see the ratio of new to returning users on your site.

In my opinion, looking at both new and returning visitors metrics is great for getting a sense of how well you’re retaining your visitors and how effective you are in attracting net new visitors at the top of the funnel.

Your ratio of new to returning visitors will depend on several factors, including your industry, how long you’ve been around, and whether you offer incentives to return to your site.

But, if you’re an established website that’s seeing returning (or new) visitors top 80% of your traffic, attempt to balance this out by attracting more new visitors or retaining old ones.

Again, keep in mind that this metric won’t be completely accurate if the web analytics tool uses cookies to track visitors.

Traffic Sources

Traffic sources show where your site visitors are coming from. Like visitor information, this metric is usually collected via the tracking code on your site.

The number of traffic sources you can track will vary depending on the web analytics tool. HubSpot’s traffic analytics tools track multiple categories, including:

• Organic search.
• Referrals.
• Organic social.
• Email marketing.
• Paid search.
• Paid social.
• Direct traffic.

Ideally, you want to increase all sources of traffic. But, your biggest focus should be organic search, which is traffic that comes from non-paid search results in search engines like Google.

This source has the potential to drive huge amounts of traffic to your site. Plus, I’ve found improving this channel often improves other channels, like referrals and social.

Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that leave your website after viewing a single page.

You can look at bounce rate as a site-wide metric or a page-level metric. At the page level, bounce rate is the percentage of sessions that started on the page and did not move to another page on your site.

Generally, a bounce rate of 40% or lower is considered good, 40% to 70% is average, and anything above 70% is considered high.

If your site’s overall bounce rate is high, it might help to identify individual pages with high bounce rates.

A high average page bounce rate might indicate there’s a problem with the page’s loading time or that external links are not opening in a new tab or window, among other reasons.

To learn what actions you can take to reduce your bounce rate, check out our 6 Steps to Reduce Your Bounce Rate.

Web Analytics Best Practices

Many aspects of web analytics are specific to your business: what metrics you track, how you build out website analytics reports, and what tools you use.

However, there are some best practices that can help anyone collect, analyze, and report website data more effectively. Let’s look at a few.

1. Pick metrics that align with your business objectives.

Focusing on only one or two metrics won’t provide enough insight into how visitors are interacting with your site, but tracking every single metric might provide too much information to be actionable.

To ensure you’re focusing on the right metrics, start by plotting your business objectives. Think about your website’s top priorities.

Do you want to lower your site bounce rate? Are you looking to attract more new visitors or better retain existing ones?

Once you have one or more objectives in mind, I recommend come up with specific strategies you’ll implement to achieve them.

These may include fixing broken links and images, changing your site’s copy, or better optimizing for your mobile audience, which probably makes up around half of your traffic.

You’re now ready to narrow down what metrics will help you track your progress toward achieving your goals and, ultimately, your business objectives.

2. Use data to drive decision-making.

After collecting your data, determining whether or not you met your goals is only the first step. The next — and arguably more important — step is using that data to test, experiment, and make changes on your site.

For example, say you identified some high-value content, like your Services and Pricing page, through user testing and feedback in your web design process.

However, these pages aren’t getting much traffic.

In this case, you might move the navigation links for these pages to a more visible part of your site or implement SEO measures on these pages to rank higher and capture more organic search traffic.

3. Don’t limit your focus to traffic.

Understanding and reporting traffic data — including pageviews, top traffic sources, and most viewed pages — is important. But it’s just one piece of your website performance. High traffic doesn’t necessarily mean success.

For example, if you’re getting millions of pageviews but no conversions, then you’re probably not meeting all your business objectives.

Or, if new visitors consistently make up a high proportion of your traffic, consider why that might be and how you can attract return visitors more effectively.

4. Always pair data with insights.

If your web analytics report shows that your website received 1 million unique pageviews and 400,000 new visitors this month, that doesn’t mean all that much.

Reporting only the numbers provides an incomplete picture of your website performance. For all we know, these numbers could indicate:

• An increase from last month.
• A decrease from last month.
• Little to no change in pageviews or visitors month-over-month.
• An increase last month but a major year-over-year decrease.

That’s why you must pair your data with insights.

If you instead report that your website got 1 million unique pageviews, which exceeded last month’s unique pageviews by 20% and also showed a significant increase year over year, then the data is much more meaningful and actionable to you and your fellow stakeholders.

5. Look at your data in context.

While collecting and analyzing data, I recommend you think about it in context.

What variables or larger forces could be impacting the numbers? For example, algorithm updates, seasonality, and bots can all have a major impact on your traffic and other metrics.

Imagine that a few pages on your site saw major spikes in traffic. These posts weren’t updated recently, so you look where this traffic came from.

If the traffic mostly came from one country where you usually don’t see much traffic, this was likely malicious bot traffic, which accounts for a quarter of all internet traffic.

In my experience, viewing your data in context can help you better understand, analyze, gain insight, and make informed decisions with your data.

If you find analyzing data overwhelming, I suggest checking out an advanced analytics consulting service. They can help you uncover insights that drive your strategy so that you can achieve your business objectives more effectively.

6. Share and ask for feedback from stakeholders.

As an analyst, you want to provide information to stakeholders in a way that is understandable and actionable. You also want to ask for information and ideas from these stakeholders.

They can provide valuable feedback on how they use the data, what else they want to see or understand about their users or website, and how they think they can improve the user experience or other issues the data uncovers.

Web Analytics Tools

Measuring organizational success requires more than one metric — and more than one tool. Let’s take a look at some web analytics tools you can combine for high-quality data.

1. HubSpot Marketing Analytics & Dashboard Software

Get HubSpot’s Free Marketing Analytics Software

With HubSpot’s free marketing analytics and dashboard software, you can measure the performance of all your marketing assets.

This includes website and landing pages, emails, blog posts, social media accounts, CTAs, and more — all from one dashboard.

I like that you’re able to track your customers’ complete lifecycle, measure traffic overall or on a page-by-page basis, and add multiple reports to your dashboard so you’re tracking your most critical metrics in one easy-to-access place.

You can even break down reports by user characteristics for more fine-grained analysis.

HubSpot’s free tool is ideal for anyone looking for built-in analytics, reports, and dashboards so they can make smarter, data-driven decisions.

What I like: Analytics is fully integrated into everything you do in HubSpot, ensuring you always have the right data available when you need it. There’s no more digging through spreadsheets or datastreams — with HubSpot, everything is accessible and actionable, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned expert.

2. Google Analytics

Used by over 28 million websites, Google Analytics is the most popular web analytics tool.

With it, you can track pageviews, unique pageviews, bounce rate, traffic channels, user retention, average session duration, sessions by country, sessions by device, and more.

You can also build reports about your audience, acquisition channels, engagement, and conversions.

Understanding the value, flexibility, and popularity of Google Analytics, some platforms offer unique integrations with this tool.

Analytics Amplifier, for example, is a HubSpot app that allows users to match HubSpot customer behaviors — including “hot leads” and “deal amount” — with real-time Google Analytics data.

If you want to learn more about this tool, check out our Ultimate Guide to Google Analytics.

However, I think the sheer amount of metrics, reports, and integrations that can be tracked or created using Google Analytics might be overwhelming.

Users without SEO or technical expertise, like content creators, may find it difficult and prefer a Google Analytics alternative.

What I like: Google Analytics is unmatched in popularity. It gives website owners an all-encompassing view of their site activity and is relatively easy to set up and link to any live site. Plus, Google Analytics offers many powerful capabilities for free.

3. Crazy Egg

Used by over 300,000 users, Crazy Egg is a unique web analytics tool that provides heatmaps, scroll maps, and other visual reports to show you exactly how your visitors are interacting with your site.

Thanks to Crazy Egg’s tracking code, you’ll be able to watch what visitors are hovering over and clicking on in real time via heatmaps.

Crazy Egg also offers comprehensive A/B testing so you can test various content variables like color, copy, and content placement. You can then see how it affects the user experience and conversions.

In my opinion, this makes Crazy Egg an ideal alternative or supplement to Google Analytics for users interested in conversion optimization.

What I like: I like that Crazy Egg is a user-friendly tool for conducting heatmap and scroll map testing, A/B testing, and screen recordings of user interactions. These are great means to better understand users in qualitative and quantitative ways and gain insights to improve the user experience on your site.

4. Semrush

Semrush is a comprehensive SEO tool for keyword research, website audits, competitive research, backlinks, and more. In my experience, these are important elements that contribute to your website and content visibility.

Best for: If one of your website or business goals is to improve your search traffic, then using a tool like Semrush or Ahrefs is essential. Not only do these tools help you understand how you rank in the search engine results pages (SERPs), but they also show you how to improve your website content and technical SEO aspects.

5. Hotjar

Hotjar offers visual behavior insights through surveys, funnels, and heat maps.

The heat maps specifically include mouse movement tracking, which I think is a game-changer for web analytics.

Not only does this data tell you which links and pages visitors are hovering over or clicking on the most, but it also lets you know which content they’re most interested in and how long they spend looking at it.

Pro tip: Hotjar has a free forever plan, so if you’re new to web analytics or on a budget, this option is invaluable.

6. Chartbeat

Chartbeat is a content analytics software for content publishers. It offers intelligence and real-time analytics features to enable media websites to understand what content their audience engages with.

Chartbeat’s goal is to help publishers grasp what keeps their audiences reading and scrolling within their online publications.

What I like: One of Chartbeat’s most popular features is its real-time dashboard. As a former journalist, I know how quickly trends and stories emerge. It’s essential to have insights into real-time web analytics that tell you how readers are reacting to new content.

7. SimilarWeb

SimilarWeb is a competitive landscape analysis tool that enables you to compare your website with one of your direct competitors.

Not only can you see how competitors rank in the search results, but you can also track their performance — such as traffic and engagement — over time.

Best for: If you know who your competitors are and you’re actively competing for the top spot in the search engine results page, then I think this tool is essential.

Web Analytics Pitfalls to Avoid

Like anything else, web analytics can come with its challenges. If you aren’t careful about what you’re tracking (and why), you can easily find yourself in a pitfall.

Here are some potential issues you may experience.

Tracking Too Many Metrics

I’m certainly guilty of this. Whether I’m checking my own web analytics or digging into a client’s, it’s tempting to want to analyze all of them.

But not every metric is important to your overall goals. To get the most out of your web analytics, it’s important to focus on a few key metrics that contribute to your website’s and business’s success and don’t get distracted by the rest.

Inaccurate Data

While most web analytics data is accurate and helpful, not all of it is correct.

For example, one of the most frustrating challenges of web analytics is spam traffic, which is traffic from bots or inaccurate sources. While you can try to set up website blockers that prevent this, it’s best to ignore data that seems inaccurate.

Plus, considering that we’re already on the path towards a cookieless internet and more people are opting out of letting their website activity and behavior be tracked, it’s easy to assume that not all of the data is accurate.

Relying Too Much on the Data

I’ve shared the many ways tracking web analytics can be useful for your website and business goals. But another pitfall you can potentially run into is overreliance on this data.

Your web analytics are only one small part of your website’s overall visibility, performance, and role in the business. The worst thing you can do is make major business decisions based purely on what your web analytics is pointing to.

Instead, web analytics should be used as insights to inform your website’s role and strategy in your company.

Using Web Analytics to Improve Your Website

Whether you’re a small business, ecommerce site, or enterprise company, web analytics can help you and your company grow.

I’ve personally found that web analytics data can uncover new opportunities for both your website and the business as a whole. But it doesn’t tell the entire story.

I recommend focusing on a few key data points relevant to your goals and doing your best to ignore the rest.

When you track the right ones, web analytics can vastly improve your website content, user experience, and overall site ranking.

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

There’s no doubt that in the last few months, you’ve run into Google’s new AI search tool. Often, the tool provides a helpful summary (though sometimes it’s laughably wrong).

While the tools themselves are evolving every day, it seems generative AI search engines aren’t going anywhere. Since Google launched its AI search, it’s already made leaps in relevance and accuracy.

I’m a big fan of not having to scroll through a page of results to find a quick answer, so I’m excited to see how it continues to evolve.

But as a writer, I’m curious to discover what this will mean for the future of digital content. How will this affect the type of work we do, and how will we need to adapt our writing for AI-driven search?

In this article, we’ll explore the insights we already have about writing for generative AI and raise questions we still need answered.

Table of Contents

• How AI Search Has Changed Content Marketing
• How to Write for AI Search
• 7 Helpful Tips on Writing for AI Search

How AI Search Has Changed Content Marketing

1. New Information Retrieval

AI-powered generative engines have majorly shifted how users are retrieving the information they’re searching for.

Instead of providing sources for the user to read, generative engines are providing summaries to answer questions in less time.

Recently, I was trying to plan a movie date with a friend to see A Quiet Place: Day One. She was about to leave on vacation, and I wanted to see if the movie would be in theaters when she got back.

I searched “how long are movies usually in theaters.”

I got an answer without clicking on a single page.

2. Less Spam

Earlier this year, major search engines like Google started cracking down on what they considered spam or unoriginal content — many of which were AI-generated.

AI search engines don’t respond well to spammy content and, instead, are looking for high authority, highly structured articles that the bots can easily scan.

As a result, it seems that quality is above quantity when it comes to what’s most important with your content (though many argue that was already the case).

Let’s talk about one of my favorite examples: recipe blogs.

In the past, if I wanted to find a pad thai recipe through Google, a lengthy article using the phrase “pad thai recipe” dozens of times would rank highest.

I’d scroll through long personal anecdotes I didn’t care about with no tips for actually cooking the dish.

Now, the top recipe is from Recipe Tin.

I still have to scroll before getting to the recipe. However, the content focuses on genuinely helpful tips. Nagi, the writer, discusses what makes pad thai authentic, her brand recommendations for ingredients, and techniques.

This information helps me cook the dish better.

I don’t have to parse through spammy content. I get real tips that I know came from a human.

Image Source

And to clarify: This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use AI to support your content creation. It just means you need to make sure the content is beneficial to readers.

3. Lower Web Traffic

As AI-generated answers start popping up on search engines, websites have seen lower levels of web traffic overall. Top-ranked websites have seen traffic dips as significant as 10%.

This makes sense, given that many users are stopping at the summary instead of proceeding on. This adjustment means the goal of content might not be to rank highly but, instead, to be used by AI and cited in summaries.

I’m not immune to this, even as a content creator. I considered running a half marathon and wanted to see what a training plan might be.

I could Google to see what experts suggest. Instead, I shared a little bit about my skill level and constraints. Then ChatGPT made me a plan.

That was an easy experience that took way less time than searching for an answer.

4. A change in traffic source.

The above point has a bit of nuance. Most content can expect a dip in traffic, but for content that’s highly visible to large language models (LLMs), you could see an increase in engagement by upwards of 40%.

That’s because the goal of writing for AI search is to be cited as a source. When you’re cited in a summary on Google AI Search, users can easily click on your content to learn more.

My HubSpot editor, Kaitln Milliken, recently had her dog spayed and directly benefitted from AI search. She looked up “how do I take care of my dog after she’s spayed.”

“The AI overview had some helpful tips out the gate, but I wanted to learn more,” Milliken says. “I clicked on the articles in the overview first — partially because it was easy, but also because I trusted that these sources had authority.”

5. De-emphasis on SEO.

What makes an article great for search engines is a bit different than what makes an article great for AI bots.

Whereas SEO is focused on keywords, backlinks, and searchability, generative engine optimization (GEO) emphasizes highly structured articles with lots of sources. This guide on GEO can be a helpful resource as you learn the differences.

How to Write for AI Search

Now that you understand the way AI search has changed the content landscape, let’s look at a step-by-step guide for writing for AI search.

I also asked Kaitlin Milliken, who assigned hundreds of articles a year from the HubSpot blog, for her perspective.

Step 1. Find original ideas with high search traffic.

If I’m tasked with writing a blog and I don’t receive a brief, I’ll start by trying to find an original idea around a topic.

In an ideal world, I’d discover a topic with high search traffic and low competition, but often, I settle for making sure that there’s plenty of traffic driven to the topic.

If I receive a brief and the topic isn’t original, I try to find a unique spin on it. Is there a way I can introduce new information here? Can I tie together two topics that haven’t been related to one another before?

Milliken says that today’s search landscape focuses on EEAT, or expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness.

While AI can give general best practices, the content that performs best has insight that can only be learned through lived, human experience.

“We know what search terms people want to know, so that’s always on our assignment docket. However, I need the writer to bring a unique, trustworthy perspective to the piece,” she says.

She describes a hypothetical blog post about solving customer service.

“Let’s say you’re the writer and you work in customer service. What’s the de-escalation tip that you use regularly? Then, give me an anecdote about why it works. A bot can’t do that. That’s what readers actually want,” Milliken says.

Step 2. Research, research, research.

Then, I start by digging into research. I’ll focus on finding primary sources with statistics and data that add credibility to my piece.

You can’t always control the ideas you’re writing about, but you can make sure there’s new and fresh information in it to set your article above the rest and provide a comprehensive answer to AI search bots.

“At HubSpot, we’ve noticed that original data from surveys we conduct rank well in our search landscape. We want our writers to use this data plus whatever the latest data online might be. That bolsters trustworthiness, which reads well in AI search,” Milliken says.

Step 3. Organize your content clearly.

The key to writing for AI search is a great structure. When I research first, I can organize my content clearly without having to go back and rewrite.

I’ll start by identifying H2s and then find spots where I can use lists. Often, there are parts of the article that lend themselves to lists, so I take some time to organize the list items before I start writing.

Want an example? Take a look at the article you’re reading. I have subheadings and organized lists throughout.

Step 4. Ask experts.

A significant way to set yourself apart from AI bots that are scanning your content is by including novel, expert information. This is a best practice for SEO, too, and it helps to boost your article’s credibility.

Send some emails to experts asking for their opinions, tips, or advice. Your readers will love hearing directly from folks with deep knowledge of the topic they’re reading about, and AI bots will be more likely to cite your content.

That’s part of the reason I asked Milliken to share her insights for this piece.

Step 5. Use unique and clear language.

Finally, avoid literary clichés and overused words. Instead, focus on straightforward language.

This is an important editing step, too — cut out all the fluff and unnecessary complexity. AI engines favor content that is both unique and easy to understand. Clear messaging makes it easier for them to generate solid summaries.

Step 6. Measure your content’s performance.

HubSpot is making it easy to see how your content is performing with the AI Search Grader microapp. This is one of the first tools on the market that can help you track how your content is performing on AI search engines.

7 Helpful Tips on Writing for AI Search

A lot of AI search best practices are still emerging, but some rules of thumb for AI search writing are becoming clear. Here are seven tips for writing for AI search.

1. Provide comprehensive coverage.

Generative engines prefer content that offers a comprehensive overview and answers potential follow-up questions, so take time to cover topics thoroughly and from multiple angles.

Keep in mind what the AI bot is trying to do — find a way to fully answer the user’s query with a useful and relevant summary. The more comprehensive you are in your content, the easier it is for the AI bot to do its job.

2. Cite your sources.

Credibility seems to be a major determinant of what AI bots are using to fuel their responses, so citing your sources is an absolute must.

Use primary sources and statistics whenever possible, and make sure to include links to where the information came from.

3. Lean on industry experts.

Novel, human information seems to be frequently picked up by AI bots, so be sure to incorporate expert opinions and advice into your content.

Google isn’t penalizing AI-written content, but it is penalizing content that isn’t rich in information. Use the expertise of SMEs to make sure your content stands out to both readers and AI bots.

4. Emphasize scannability.

Structure and scannability seem to be two of the most important factors in whether or not your content is optimized for AI search. That means you need to:

• Incorporate lists whenever possible
• Limit large chunks of text
• Prioritize H2s and H3s that guide the reader through the text

It’s also suspected that AI bots have a few preferred patterns of text. This isn’t verified yet, but I recommend experimenting with various formats and structures.

5. Write conversationally

AI summaries are written conversationally, so it’s helpful to the bot if its original sources are written conversationally, too.

Avoid industry jargon whenever possible and keep your writing to a 7th-grade reading level in most cases. You want your content to be easy to read for both your users and AI bots.

Leigh McKenzie, an SEO expert, shares his insights on this tip.

“Writing in a more conversational manner is becoming increasingly valuable. In an era where automated content can often sound robotic, we crave authenticity,” McKenzie says.

“Content that includes anecdotes, personal statements, and real-life problem-solving resonates more with readers, and I believe we will see a continued shift towards this style.”

6. Use AI writing tools

Writing tools can help you reach greater visibility through SEO and GEO.

Tracking your metrics can show you if your content is being used by generating engines, and microapps can suggest improvements for search engine visibility and even grade GEO.

7. Keep up to date on AI search information

AI search best practices are constantly evolving. While these recommendations are emerging as ways to improve your AI search performance, it’s best to keep an eye on AI search engine updates.

McKenzie stats that keeping up with new information on AI search is incredibly important when it comes to keeping your digital content up-to-date.

“From my experience, the biggest takeaway in navigating the generative SEO landscape is the importance of adaptability. SEO is not static, and being flexible and open to new strategies is crucial for success,” McKenzie says.

Writing for Bots and for Humans

Whenever there’s a shift in the digital content landscape, I get excited. I love learning new things and, with something as game-changing as AI, there’s a lot to discover.

Test formats. Play with expert quotes. Use different kinds of structures. Now’s the time to get really creative and see what works.

AI changes so much every day, so I’m excited to see how digital content changes in the next year or two. Will we still be using SERPs? Will we only be searching through AI engines?

I’m not sure — but I’m excited to see what happens.

 

As a millennial marketer, I can tell you quite a bit about the internet—we practically grew up together!

Nowadays, the internet and marketing go hand in hand, so you need to know what digital marketing is and how to use it if you want to meet your audiences where they’re at—online!

In 2024, there are 2.71 billion online shoppers, a third of the world’s population—underscoring the need for a strong digital presence. With that in mind, I’m here to discuss all things digital marketing. Keep reading to learn more. 

• What is digital marketing?
• Why is digital marketing important?
• Types of Digital Marketing
• What does a digital marketer do?
• Inbound Marketing vs. Digital Marketing: Which is it?
• Does digital marketing work for all businesses?
• How to Do Digital Marketing
• Digital Marketing Examples

How does a business define digital marketing?

Digital marketing is vital for your business and brand awareness. It seems like every other brand has a website, and if they don’t, they at least have a social media presence or digital ad strategy.

Our 2024 State of Marketing Survey found that Social media is the highest-return marketing channel and will see the most growth in 2024. 

Overall, digital marketing is defined as using numerous digital tactics and channels to connect with customers where they spend much of their time: online.

The best digital marketers have a clear picture of how each digital marketing campaign supports their overarching goals.

Depending on the goals of their marketing strategy, marketers can support a larger campaign through the free and paid channels they have available.

A content marketer, for example, could create a series of blog posts that generate leads from an ebook.

A social media marketer might help promote those blogs through paid and organic posts on the business’s social media accounts, and the email marketer could create an email campaign to send those who download the ebook more information on the company.

There are a few major benefits of digital marketing:  

1. You can focus your efforts on only the prospects most likely to purchase your product or service.

Digital marketing allows you to identify and target a highly-specific audience with personalized and high-converting marketing messages.

For instance, you might use social media targeting to show ads to a certain audience based on variables like age, gender, location, interests, networks, or behaviors.

Alternatively, you might use PPC or SEO strategies to serve ads to users who’ve shown interest in or searched for specific keywords related to your product, service, or industry. 

Ultimately, digital marketing helps you conduct the research necessary to identify your buyer personas and refine your strategy to ensure you’re reaching prospects most likely to buy.

2. It’s more cost-effective than outbound marketing methods.

Digital marketing helps you track campaign performance day to day, so you know which channels are performing well and which aren’t. This information helps you optimize your campaign budgets for high ROI.

A digital marketing strategy allows you to pivot continuously, ensuring you never waste money on channels that don’t perform well.

For instance, if you work for a small business with a limited budget, you might try investing in social media, blogging, or SEO – three strategies that can give you high ROI even with minimal spending.

3. Online marketing evens the playing field within your industry and allows you to compete with bigger brands.

If you work for a small business, it’s likely difficult for you to compete with the major brands in your industry, many of which have millions of dollars to invest in campaigns.

Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to outrank the big players through strategic digital marketing initiatives.

For instance, you might use long-tail keywords to create high-quality content that ranks on search engines. Search engines don’t care which brand is the biggest, but it does care about prioritizing content that resonates best with target audiences. 

4. Digital marketing is measurable.

One of the biggest benefits of digital marketing is that it gives a start-to-finish view of all the metrics that matter to your company — including impressions, shares, views, clicks, and time on the page.

Unlike most offline marketing efforts, digital marketing allows marketers to see accurate results in real time.

If you’ve ever put an advertisement in a newspaper, you’ll know how difficult it is to estimate how many people flipped to that page and paid attention to it. There’s no surefire way to know if that ad was responsible for any sales at all.

On the other hand, with digital marketing, you can measure the ROI of pretty much any aspect of your marketing efforts.

Here are some examples:

Website Traffic

With digital marketing, you can see the exact number of people who have viewed your website’s homepage in real time by using digital analytics software available in marketing platforms like HubSpot.

You can also see how many pages they visited, what device they were using, and where they came from, amongst other digital analytics data.

This intelligence helps you prioritize which marketing channels to spend more or less time on based on the number of people those channels drive to your website.

With digital marketing, you can identify trends and patterns in people’s behavior before they’ve reached the final stage in their buyer’s journey, meaning you can make more informed decisions about how to attract them to your website right at the top of the marketing funnel.

Content Performance and Lead Generation

Imagine you’ve created a product brochure and posted it through people’s letterboxes — that brochure is a form of offline content. Unfortunately, you have no idea how many people opened your brochure or threw it straight into the trash.

If you have that brochure on your website, you can measure how many people viewed the page it’s on, and you can use a form to collect the contact information of those who downloaded it.

It’s twofold: you measure how many people engage with your content and generate qualified leads when people download it.

Attribution Modeling

An effective digital marketing strategy combined with the right tools and technologies allows you to trace all of your sales back to a customer’s first digital touchpoint with your business.

We call this attribution modeling.

It allows you to identify trends in the way people research and buy your product, helping you to make more informed decisions about which parts of your marketing strategy deserve more attention and which parts of your sales cycle need refining.

5. It’s easier to adapt and change an online marketing strategy.

A great benefit of digital marketing is the ease with which you can change your strategy. Adapting a digital marketing strategy is much easier than other, more traditional forms of marketing, like mailers or billboard advertising.

For instance, if an online ad isn’t delivering as expected, you can quickly adjust it or pause it to yield better results.

6. Online marketing can improve your conversion rate and the quality of your leads.

As digital marketing makes it simpler to measure your marketing efforts, this makes improving your conversion rate simpler as well. Being able to measure the effectiveness of each tactic helps you develop better strategies.

Continuously refining your methods improves your conversion rate. Investing in online marketing ensures that everything is optimized for the highest amount of conversions.

Additionally, not all leads offer the same value for your business. Digital marketing allows you to target a specific audience, which will yield higher-quality leads that are more likely to become customers.

Connecting your business with the most valuable leads will directly improve your conversion rate.

7. You can engage audiences at every stage with digital marketing.

Engaging your audience as early as possible is essential. Making a connection at the first stage of the buyer’s journey helps push the lead through the customer funnel.

Using digital marketing allows you to accomplish that from start to finish and at every point in between.

Online channels allow you to follow the entire buying journey of your customers. Understanding and analyzing how customers are move and operate is important for converting leads.

Digital marketing allows you to track them through that process. And, even if they don’t convert in the early stages, it at least helps ensure they have made a connection with your business.

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the most common digital marketing tactics and the channels involved in each one.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This is the process of optimizing your website to “rank” higher in search engine results pages, thereby increasing the amount of organic (or free) traffic your website receives.

The channels that benefit from SEO include websites, blogs, and infographics.

There are a number of ways to approach SEO in order to generate qualified traffic to your website. These include:

• On-page SEO: This type of SEO focuses on all of the content that exists “on the page” when looking at a website. By researching keywords for their search volume and intent (or meaning), you can answer questions for readers and rank higher on the search engine results pages (SERPs) those questions produce.
• Off page SEO: This type of SEO focuses on all of the activity that takes place “off the page” when looking to optimize your website. “What activity not on my own website could affect my ranking?” You might ask. The answer is inbound links, also known as backlinks. The number of publishers that link to you, and the relative “authority” of those publishers, affect how highly you rank for the keywords you care about. By networking with other publishers, writing guest posts on these websites (and linking back to your website), and generating external attention, you can earn the backlinks you need to move your website up on all the right SERPs.
• Technical SEO: This type of SEO focuses on the backend of your website, and how your pages are coded. Image compression, structured data, and CSS file optimization are all forms of technical SEO that can increase your website’s loading speed — an important ranking factor in the eyes of search engines like Google.

For a real-life example on how to successfully implement SEO into your digital marketing strategy, check out our case study on Canva here:

2. Content Marketing

This term denotes the creation and promotion of content assets for the purpose of generating brand awareness, traffic growth, lead generation, and customers.

Want to learn and apply content marketing to your business? Check out HubSpot Academy’s free content marketing training resource page.

The channels that can play a part in your content marketing strategy include:

• Blog posts: Writing and publishing articles on a company blog helps you demonstrate your industry expertise and generates organic search traffic for your business. This ultimately gives you more opportunities to convert website visitors into leads for your sales team.
• Ebooks and whitepapers: Ebooks, whitepapers, and similar long-form content helps further educate website visitors. It also allows you to exchange content for a reader’s contact information, generating leads for your company and moving people through the buyer’s journey.
• Infographics: Sometimes, readers want you to show, not tell. Infographics are a form of visual content that helps website visitors visualize a concept you want to help them learn.
• Audio or visual content: Television and radio are popular channels for digital marketing. Creating content that can be shared online as a video or heard on the radio by listeners can greatly broaden your potential audience.

Stumped? Download 150+ content creation templates by clicking below: 

Download These Templates

3. Social Media Marketing

This practice promotes your brand and your content on social media channels to increase brand awareness, drive traffic, and generate leads for your business.

If you’re new to social platforms, you can use tools like HubSpot to connect channels like LinkedIn and Facebook in one place.

This way, you can easily schedule content for multiple channels at once and monitor analytics from the platform as well.

On top of connecting social accounts for posting purposes, you can also integrate your social media inboxes into HubSpot, so you can get your direct messages in one place.

The channels you can use in social media marketing include:

• Facebook
• X
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• Pinterest

Many marketers use these social media platforms to create viral campaigns. Partnering with a popular content creator or participating in a trend that resonates with a wide audience is a viral marketing strategy.

The purpose is to create something shareworthy in the hopes that it will organically spread across a social media channel.

Don’t know how to get started with social media marketing? Download our free social media content calendar to get your social strategy up and running.

 

Download These Templates

4. Pay Per Click (PPC)

PPC drives traffic to your website by paying a publisher every time your ad is clicked.

One of the most common types of PPC is Google Ads, which allows you to pay for top slots on Google’s search engine results pages at a price “per click” of the links you place. Other channels where you can use PPC include:

• Paid ads on Facebook: Here, users can pay to customize a video, image post, or slideshow, which Facebook will publish to the news feeds of people who match your business’s audience.
• X Ads campaigns: Here, users can pay to place a series of posts or profile badges to the news feeds of a specific audience, all dedicated to accomplishing a specific goal for your business. This goal can be website traffic, more X followers, tweet engagement, or even app downloads.
• Sponsored Messages on LinkedIn: Here, users can pay to send messages directly to specific LinkedIn users based on their industry and background.

PPC can be hard to grasp at first, so we’ve created a beginner-friendly guide to get you started. Download it below: 

Download This Guide

5. Affiliate Marketing

This is a type of performance-based advertising where you receive a commission for promoting someone else’s products or services on your website. Affiliate marketing channels include:

• Hosting video ads through the YouTube Partner Program.
• Posting affiliate links from your social media accounts.

This is part of the relatively new wave of influencer marketing. Creating a campaign using influencers can be a highly effective form of affiliate marketing. Finding the right content creators can take your digital campaign to the next level.

6. Native Advertising

Native advertising refers to advertisements that are primarily content-led and featured on a platform alongside other, non-paid content.

BuzzFeed-sponsored posts are a good example, but many people also consider social media advertising to be “native” — Facebook advertising and Instagram advertising, for example.

7. Marketing Automation

Marketing automation refers to the software that automates your basic marketing operations. Many marketing departments can automate repetitive tasks they would otherwise do manually, such as:

• Email newsletters: Email automation doesn’t just allow you to automatically send emails to your subscribers. It can also help you shrink and expand your contact list as needed so your newsletters are only going to the people who want to see them in their inboxes.
• Social media post scheduling: If you want to grow your organization’s presence on a social network, you need to post frequently. This makes manual posting a bit of an unruly process. Social media scheduling tools push your content to your social media channels for you, so you can spend more time focusing on content strategy.
• Lead-nurturing workflows: Generating leads, and converting those leads into customers, can be a long process.You can automate that process by sending leads specific emails and content once they fit certain criteria, such as when they download and open an ebook.
• Campaign tracking and reporting: Marketing campaigns can include a ton of different people, emails, content, webpages, phone calls, and more. Marketing automation can help you sort everything you work on by the campaign it’s serving and then track the performance of that campaign based on the progress all of these components make over time.

8. Email Marketing

Companies use email marketing as a way of communicating with their audiences. Email is often used to promote content, discounts and events, as well as to direct people toward the business’s website.

The types of emails you might send in an email marketing campaign include:

• Blog subscription newsletters.
• Follow-up emails to website visitors who downloaded something.
• Customer welcome emails.
• Holiday promotions to loyalty program members.
• Tips or similar series emails for customer nurturing.

Learn more about email marketing with our free guide: 

Download This Guide

9. Online PR

Online PR is the practice of securing earned online coverage with digital publications, blogs, and other content-based websites. It’s much like traditional PR but in the online space.

The channels you can use to maximize your PR efforts include:

• Reporter outreach via social media: Talking to journalists on X, for example, is a great way to develop a relationship with the press that produces earned media opportunities for your company.
• Engaging online reviews of your company: When someone reviews your company online, whether that review is good or bad, your instinct might be not to touch it. On the contrary, engaging company reviews helps you humanize your brand and deliver powerful messaging that protects your reputation.
• Engaging comments on your personal website or blog: Similar to how you’d respond to reviews of your company, responding to the people reading your content is the best way to generate productive conversation around your industry.

If you don’t have a dedicated PR team, it can be hard to get started. Luckily, we’ve got you covered. Download our free PR kit below: 

Download This Guide

10. Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing refers to a marketing methodology wherein you attract, engage, and delight customers at every stage of the buyer’s journey.

You can use every digital marketing tactic listed above throughout an inbound marketing strategy to create a customer experience that works with the customer, not against them.

Here are some classic examples of inbound marketing versus traditional marketing:

• Blogging vs. pop-up ads
• Video marketing vs. commercial advertising
• Email contact lists vs. email spam

11. Sponsored Content

With sponsored content, you, as a brand, pay another company or entity to create and promote content that discusses your brand or service in some way.

One popular type of sponsored content is influencer marketing. With this type of sponsored content, a brand sponsors an influencer in its industry to publish posts or videos related to the company on social media.

Another type of sponsored content could be a blog post or article highlighting a topic, service, or brand.

12. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

When a potential lead is searching for a product or business related to yours, it’s a great opportunity for a promotion. Paid advertising and SEO are two great strategies for promoting your business to capitalize on those future leads.

Search engine marketing is another way to increase website traffic by placing paid ads on search engines. The two most popular SEM services are Bing Ads and Google Ads.

These paid ads fit seamlessly on the top of search engine results pages, giving instant visibility. This is also an example of effective native advertising.

13. Instant Messaging Marketing

Marketing your products through messaging platforms is a fast way to reach potential leads, even for those who haven’t offered up their cell phone number.

For example, you can send messages directly to a mobile phone via text or on platforms like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. It’s a simple way to let your audience know about flash sales, new products, or updates about their orders.

If your customers have questions or need more information, it’s also a convenient way for them to connect to customer service. You should also consider implementing live chat on your website here.

This way, first-time website visitors will have a quick and easy way to reach out in case they have any questions about your products or services, while you get to promptly offer the details necessary to solve the visitor’s query — details which may lead to an on-the-spot conversion.  

The digital marketer focuses on each channel’s key performance indicators (KPIs) to properly measure performance. For example, a digital marketer in charge of SEO might measure their website’s organic traffic. 

At small companies, one person might own many digital channels and tactics described above, while larger companies typically have a specialist focused on one or two brand channels.

Here are some examples of these specialists:

SEO Manager

Main KPIs: Organic traffic

SEO managers work to rank a business on Google SERPs.

Using various SEO strategies, this person might work directly with content creators to ensure the content is high-quality and up to Google’s standards, even if the company also posts this content on social media. 

Content Marketing Specialist

Main KPIs: Time on page, overall blog traffic, YouTube channel subscribers

Content marketing specialists are digital content creators. They might keep track of a blogging calendar, or develop a content strategy that includes video.

They often work with people in other departments to ensure products and campaigns are supported by promotional content on all digital channels. 

Social Media Manager

Main KPIs: Follows, Impressions, Shares

A social media manager’s role depends on each company and industry. But above all, social media managers manage social media by establishing a posting schedule for the company’s written and visual content.

They might also work with a content marketing specialist to develop a strategy for which content to share on social media. 

(Note: Per the KPIs above, “impressions” refers to the number of times a business’s posts appear on the newsfeed of a user.)

Marketing Automation Coordinator

Main KPIs: Email open rate, campaign click-through rate, lead-generation (conversion) rate

A marketing automation coordinator helps choose and manage the software a marketing team uses to understand customer behavior and measure business growth.

Many of the marketing operations described above might be executed separately, so it’s important for there to be someone who can group these activities into individual campaigns and track performance. 

Inbound Marketing vs. Digital Marketing: Which Is It?

Inbound marketing is a methodology that uses digital marketing assets to attract, engage, and delight customers online.

Digital marketing, on the other hand, is simply an umbrella term to describe online marketing tactics of any kind, regardless of whether they’re considered inbound or outbound.

Digital marketing is often compared to inbound marketing, but it doesn’t differentiate between ‘inbound’ and ‘outbound’ methods.

It’s more of an umbrella term for all marketing that involves digital communication, while inbound marketing is more of a strategy.

Digital outbound tactics put a marketing message in front of as many people as possible online — regardless of whether it’s relevant or welcomed.

For example, the garish banner ads you see on websites that push a product or promotion to people who aren’t necessarily ready to receive it. 

Marketers who employ digital inbound tactics use online content to attract their target customers by providing assets that are helpful to them.

One of the simplest yet most powerful inbound digital marketing assets is a blog, which allows your website to capitalize on the terms which your ideal customers are searching for.

Does online marketing work for all businesses?

Digital marketing can work for any business in any industry. Regardless of what your company sells, digital marketing still involves building buyer personas to identify your audience’s needs, and creating valuable online content.

However, that’s not to say all businesses should implement a digital marketing strategy in the same way.

B2B Digital Marketing

If your company is business-to-business (B2B), your digital marketing efforts are likely centered around online lead generation, with the end goal being for someone to speak to a salesperson.

The goal of your marketing strategy might be to attract and convert the highest quality leads for your salespeople via your website and to support digital channels. 

Beyond your website, you’ll probably choose to focus your efforts on business-focused channels like LinkedIn, where your demographic is spending their time online.

B2C Digital Marketing

If your company is business-to-consumer (B2C), depending on the price point of your products, it’s likely that the goal of your digital marketing efforts is to attract people to your website and have them become customers without ever needing to speak to a salesperson.

You’re probably less likely to focus on ‘leads’ in their traditional sense and more likely to build an accelerated buyer’s journey from when someone lands on your website to when they make a purchase.

This can mean that your product features are higher up in the marketing funnel than it might be for a B2B business, and you might need to use stronger calls-to-action to inspire purchases. 

For B2C companies, channels like Instagram and Pinterest are often more valuable than business-focused platforms like LinkedIn.

What types of digital content should I create?

The kind of content you create depends on your audience’s needs at different stages in the buyer’s journey.

You should start by creating buyer personas (use these free templates, or try makemypersona.com) to identify what your audience’s goals and challenges are in relation to your business.

On a basic level, your online content should aim to help them meet these goals, and overcome their challenges.

Then, you’ll need to consider when they’re most likely to be ready to consume this content in line with their stage in the buyer’s journey. We call this content mapping.

With content mapping, the goal is to target content according to:

1. The characteristics of the person who will be consuming it (that’s where buyer personas come in).
2. How close that person is to making a purchase (i.e., their lifecycle stage).

In terms of the format of your content, there are a lot of different things to try. Here are some options we’d recommend using at each stage of the buyer’s journey:

Awareness Stage

• Blog posts. Great for increasing your organic traffic when paired with a strong SEO and keyword strategy. (You can plug your search terms into our blog topic generator to get content ideas and generate readily optimized outlines.)
• Infographics. Very shareable, meaning they increase your chances of being found via social media when others share your content. (Check out these free infographic templates to get you started.)
• Short videos. Again, these are very shareable and can help your brand get found by new audiences by hosting them on platforms like YouTube.

Consideration Stage

• Ebooks. Great for lead generation as they’re generally more comprehensive than a blog post or infographic, meaning someone is more likely to exchange their contact information to receive it.
• Research reports. Again, this high-value content type is great for lead generation. Research reports and new data for your industry can also work for the awareness stage, though, as they’re often picked up by the media or industry press.
• Webinars. As they’re a more detailed, interactive form of video content, webinars are an effective consideration stage content format as they offer more comprehensive content than a blog post or short video.

Decision Stage

• Case studies. Having detailed case studies on your website can be an effective form of content for those ready to make a purchasing decision, as it helps you positively influence their decision.
• Testimonials. If case studies aren’t a good fit for your business, having short testimonials around your website is a good alternative. For B2C brands, think of testimonials a little more loosely. If you’re a clothing brand, these might take the form of photos of how other people styled a shirt or dress, pulled from a branded hashtag where people can contribute.

1. Define your goals.

When you get started with digital marketing, it’s critical to identify and define your goals since you’ll craft your strategy with them.

For instance, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, you might want to focus on reaching new audiences via social media.

Or maybe you want to increase sales on a specific product — if that’s the case, it’s more important you focus on SEO and optimizing content to get potential buyers on your website in the first place.

Additionally, if sales are your goal, you might test out PPC campaigns to drive traffic through paid ads.

Whatever the case, it’s easiest to shape a digital marketing strategy after you’ve determined your company’s biggest goals.

2. Identify your target audience.

We’ve mentioned this before, but one of the biggest benefits of digital marketing is the opportunity to target specific audiences – however, you can’t take advantage of that benefit if you haven’t first identified your target audience.

Of course, it’s important to note your target audience might vary depending on the channel or goal(s) you have for a specific product or campaign.

For instance, perhaps you’ve noticed most of your Instagram audience is younger and prefers funny memes and quick videos — but your LinkedIn audience is older professionals looking for more tactical advice. 

In any case, having a thorough understanding of how users react to your content across different marketing channels is a must. You’ll want to vary your content to appeal to each specific audience for maximized results.

This is where data becomes all the more important. You can use platforms like Google Analytics to monitor website visitor behavior or native social media analytics tools to see how your followers engage with your social posts, for example.

However, it’s best to access all this data within the same place — it helps spot any similarities or discrepancies between audiences and see how each strategy contributes to your overall marketing goals.

This is where dedicated marketing analytics platforms, like HubSpot, come in handy. These solutions offer the tools necessary to see what content works best for each channel, examine how users move from one marketing channel to the other, as well as compare your marketing strategies’ results side-by-side.      

If you’re starting from scratch, however, feel free to take a look at How to Find Your Target Audience.

3. Establish a budget for each digital channel.

Your budget will depend on the elements of digital marketing you use. 

If you’re focusing on inbound techniques like SEO, social media, and content creation for a pre-existing website, the good news is you don’t need a big budget at all.

You can aim to create high-quality content your audience will want to consume, where the only investment you’ll need is your time.

You can get started by hosting a website and creating content using HubSpot’s CMS.

For those on a tight budget, you can get started using WordPress hosted on WP Engine, using a simple theme from StudioPress, and building your site without code using the Elementor Website Builder for WordPress.

With outbound techniques like online advertising and purchasing email lists, there is undoubtedly some expense. What it costs comes down to what kind of visibility you want to receive as a result of the advertising.

For example, to implement PPC using Google AdWords, you’ll bid against other companies in your industry to appear at the top of Google’s search results for keywords associated with your business.

Depending on the keyword’s competitiveness, this can be reasonably affordable or extremely expensive, which is why it’s a good idea to focus on building your organic reach too.

4. Strike a good balance between paid and free digital strategies.

A digital marketing strategy likely needs both paid and free aspects to truly be effective.

For instance, spending time building comprehensive buyer personas to identify your audience’s needs and creating high-quality online content that converts them, you’ll likely see strong results despite minimal ad spend. 

However, if paid advertising is part of your digital strategy, then the results might come even quicker.

Ultimately, aim to build your organic (or ‘free’) reach using content, SEO, and social media for more long-term, sustainable success.

When in doubt, try both, and iterate on your process as you learn which channels — paid or free – perform best for your brand.

5. Create engaging content.

Once you know your audience and have a budget, it’s time to start creating content for the various channels you will use.

This content can be social media posts, blog posts, PPC ads, sponsored content, email marketing newsletters, and more.

To create conversion-focused content consider using Content Marketing Software. With this software, you can utilize an AI-powered content writing tool, repurpose blog posts into content for other channels, and improve your content quality by optimizing it with built-in SEO recommendations.

6. Optimize your digital assets for mobile.

Another key component of digital marketing is mobile marketing.

In fact, smartphone usage as a whole accounts for 69% of time spent consuming digital media in the U.S., while desktop-based digital media consumption makes up less than half — and the U.S. still isn’t mobile’s biggest fan compared to other countries.

This means optimize your digital ads, web pages, social media images, and other digital assets for mobile devices is essential.

If your company has a mobile app that enables users to engage with your brand or shop for your products, your app falls under the digital marketing umbrella, too.

Those engaging with your company ovia mobile devices need to have the same positive experience as they would on a desktop. This means implementing a mobile-friendly or responsive website design to make browsing user-friendly on mobile devices.

It might also mean reducing the length of your lead generation forms to create a hassle-free experience for people downloading your content on the go.

As for your social media images, it’s important to always have a mobile user in mind when creating them, as image dimensions are smaller on mobile devices and text can be cut-off.

There are lots of ways you can optimize your digital marketing assets for mobile users, and when implementing any digital marketing strategy, it’s hugely important to consider how the experience will translate on mobile devices.

By ensuring this is always front-of-mind, you’ll be creating digital experiences that work for your audience, and consequently achieve the results you’re hoping for.

7. Conduct keyword research.

Digital marketing is all about reaching targeted audiences through personalized content — all of which can’t happen without effective keyword research.

Conducting keyword research is critical for optimizing your website and content for SEO and ensuring people can find your business through search engines.

Additionally, social media keyword research can also help market your products or services on various social channels.

You’ll still want to conduct keyword research even if you don’t have a full-time SEO strategist. Try creating a list of high-performing keywords related to your products or services, and consider long-tail variations for added opportunities.

8. Iterate based on the analytics you measure.

Finally, to create an effective digital marketing strategy for the long term, it’s vital your team learn how to pivot based on analytics.

For instance, perhaps after a couple of months you find your audience isn’t as interested in your content on Instagram anymore — but they love what you’re creating on X.

Sure, this might be an opportunity to re-examine your Instagram strategy as a whole, but it might also be a sign that your audience prefers a different channel to consume branded content.

Alternatively, perhaps you find an older web page isn’t getting the traffic it used to. You might consider updating the page or getting rid of it entirely to ensure visitors are finding the freshest, most relevant content for their needs.

In any case, having access to all of this data in the same place through platforms like HubSpot analytics can be a godsend. You can track performance across multiple channels within easy-to-digest dashboards, compare their results side-by-side, and get all the data necessary to quickly spot new opportunities and adjust your strategy.

Digital marketing provides businesses with incredibly flexible opportunities for continuous growth — but it’s up to you to take advantage of them.

I’m ready to try online marketing. Now what?

If you’re already doing digital marketing, you’re likely reaching some segments of your audience online. No doubt you can think of some areas of your strategy that could use a little improvement, though.

That’s why we created a step-by-step guide to help you build a digital marketing strategy that’s truly effective, whether you’re a complete beginner or have a little more experience.

Next, let’s look at some examples of digital marketing that will be sure to inspire you.

1. Lego’s Rebuild the World Campaign

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This is a great example of a digital marketing campaign because it says something about the brand. In this campaign, Lego takes a stance on important global issues as a way to connect with its audience.

Nowadays, it’s becoming increasingly important for companies to discuss global issues and show alignment with their customers in that way. The major play of this campaign is to help share the brand’s story and messaging.

Given that 82% of customers shop from brands that share their values, this was a good move for the toy brand.

Pro-Tip: Consider a cause or concern important to your target audience. Then find a way to incorporate your stance on the matter in your marketing to show viewers that you share in their values. 

2. Dove’s Reverse Selfie Campaign

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As we continue to learn how social media affects children, especially young girls, Dove decided to send a message. The Reverse Selfie campaign shows the reverse of what a teen girl did to prepare for a selfie and photoshop the picture.

The purpose is to increase awareness of how social media can negatively impact self-esteem.

This is an excellent example of what marketing content can look like when you know your audience intimately.

By knowing its audience of real women, many of them parents, Dove was able to bring light to an often overlooked consequence of the growth of social media.

What I Like: Dove’s campaign shows the importance of knowing your audience to create relatable, understandable, and compelling content.  

3. Jennifer Lopez’s #InTheMorningChallenge

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In this social media campaign, Jennifer Lopez created a dance challenge to promote her new song. With this challenge, fans would do the same dance in their pajamas and in dress up clothes.

This was a successful social media campaign as the video had over 16 million views and over 5,000 posts.

Using social media is a great way to engage your audience and get them to participate with your brand one-on-one.

What I Like: The #InTheMorningChallenge is a great example of a challenge that is fun and simple enough for fans to participate in on their own. When creating a challenge or trend to promote your brand, remember K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart).  

4. Always’ #DayoftheGirl Campaign

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This is another digital campaign focused on emotional marketing. With this campaign, Always asked their own employees what tips they would give to girls. T

he women offer their valuable insight in a way meant to inspire everyone for International Day of the Girl, an international holiday that occurs annually in October.

Again, this isn’t a campaign where the product is mentioned much, but that isn’t the point. The point of this digital campaign was to inspire its audience.

What I Like: With that message, they could reach even more people, increase brand awareness, and show their audience that the brand aligns with their values.

5. Topicals – Email Marketing

Topicals, a skincare company, uses email marketing as part of a digital marketing strategy. The image below displays a marketing email that advertises a subscribe and save deal, where people get 20% off refills if they choose to subscribe.

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Pro-Tip: Notice how Topicals uses bold letters and colors to emphasize their deals and CTA button. Make sure to do the same in your own emails.

6. Ashley White – Affiliate Marketing

Ashley White is an esthetician who uses affiliate marketing. In her X profile, she includes a link to a personal Linktree page where she shares referral codes and discounts for people that shop with her codes and links. 

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What I Like: As she markets herself as an ambassador for these companies, the businesses generate brand awareness as someone visiting her Linktree might be inspired to try a new brand (and an influencer recommendation can make this inspiration even more powerful). 

7. Samsonite – Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing is a great example of digital marketing, where brands bid on keywords and showcase ads for their products in SERPs when someone queries a related keyword. 

The image below is an example from Samsonite, where a query for the word “luggage” surfaces various luggage options from known brands that have created ads to feature their products front and center in search results. 

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8. Yes Williamsburg – Sponsored Ad 

Yes Williamsburg uses native advertising within its Instagram feed to share a paid sponsorship with a local Brooklyn business.

The Reel is tagged as a paid partnership, but it appears organically in a users feed like a standard post. The ad is also in line with Yes Williamsbug’s usual content of sharing information about unique local businesses for people to try. 

Pro-Tip: Today’s audiences (especially Gen-Z) do not like to be blatantly advertised to, so creating content that feels organic and natural is more helpful than content that feels like an advertisement. 

9. HubSpot Blog – Content Offers

Content offers are a form of digital marketing where businesses share helpful content with site visitors that it knows will benefit them.

For example, the HubSpot Blog often features content offers and learning material for people to learn more about the blog topic. 

For its blog post 11 Marketing Strategies for Black Owned Businesses, readers that want to know more about developing a marketing strategy can download an ebook for further learning. 

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10. For Keeps Bookstore – Local Business SEO

A search engine optimization strategy for many local businesses is an optimized Google My Business profile to appear in local search results when people look for products or services related to what you offer. 

For Keeps Bookstore, a local bookstore in Atlanta, GA, has optimized its Google My Business profile for local SEO so it appears in queries for “atlanta bookstore.”

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Integrate Digital Marketing Into Your Strategy

Any opportunity where you can connect to your audience is an opportunity to convert a lead or acquire a customer.

Digital marketing creates so many more of those opportunities by allowing you to reach prospective buyers through a wide variety of channels.

Whether it’s social media platforms, websites, text messages, or any online medium, it’s an invaluable way to promote your business, service, or product.

Editor’s Note: This blog post was originally published in September 2019, but was updated for comprehensiveness.