Category Archives: B2B

Every business’s goal is attracting and converting leads into loyal customers. 

Doing this requires B2B sales and marketing teams to possess a deep understanding of prospects’ pain points and purchase behavior. In recent years, account-based marketing (ABM) and inbound marketing have been the primary means of procurement.

Today, these tactics aren’t as successful. So what’s a B2B pro to do?

Enter intent data.

In this post, we’re diving into everything you need to know about how intent data is collected. 

Key Takeaways Identify Key Data Sources: Leverage first-party data from your own website and email campaigns, second-party data from partnerships, and third-party data from external providers. Prioritize Data Privacy: Ensure all data collection complies with GDPR and other privacy regulations to maintain trust and avoid legal issues. Utilize Behavioral Tracking: Implement tools to track online behaviors such as page visits, content downloads, and engagement with emails to gather intent data. Integrate Intent Data with CRM: Seamlessly integrate collected intent data with your CRM system to enrich customer profiles and enhance targeting accuracy. Segment Audiences Effectively: Use intent data to segment your audience based on their position in the buyer journey, allowing for personalized and timely marketing efforts. Analyze and Act: Regularly analyze the intent data to identify trends and actionable insights, adjusting your marketing strategies accordingly to drive conversions.

What is intent data?

Intent data, also referred to as purchase intent or buyer intent data, inform organizations of the type of questions potential leads have so sales and marketing teams can provide the answers they’re searching for.

Intent data refers to a collection of consumer online behaviors that indicate whether a prospect has identified a problem, is actively searching for a solution, or has become interested in a specific product or service.

A simple way to remember intent data is that it is what a lead intends to do. 

For instance, a buyer actively comparing products in your category likely intends to make a purchase soon. In contrast, a prospect reading up on your category type likely only intends to research. 

Intent data is based on the type of content a prospect consumes. By revealing what type of content a buyer is reading—such as product reviews or comparison pages—an organization can begin to sell and market to prospects that are ready to buy (and stop wasting resources on those that are not). 

All of this is great information.

How this data is acquired is just as relevant as the insight it provides. 

So, how is intent data collected?

Intent data encompasses the range of online research a potential buyer is conducting across the web, including downloading resources from your company website and interacting with customer testimonials on third-party review websites. 

As such, intent data is collected in numerous ways.

The top methods of B2B intent data collection are from first, second, and third-party sources. 

1st Party Intent Data

First-party data refers to insights collected through channels your organization owns, such as your company website and email campaigns. These channels allow your sales and marketing teams to gather relevant high-quality information in near real-time and communicate with leads directly. 

First-party data is all about the one-to-one relationship between a business and its audience/prospects/customers. It can be collected through cookies and IP addresses to follow leads across your website, content hubs, and company-run communities, such as forums. These insights can also be collected directly from consumers themselves, such as through online surveys and company contact forms. 

Methods to collect first-party intent data include but are not limited to:

• Gathering data from your customer relationship management (CRM) platform 
• Retrieving data from buyer actions on your company website or mobile app 
• Analyzing data inputted on customer surveys or contact questionnaires 
• Usage of smartforms which collect relevant user details in exchange for content
• Sourcing data from buyer email or subscription campaigns 

2nd Party Intent Data

Second-party intent data refers to first-party insights collected by one company and provided to another through an intent data partnership or a monetary payment. 

The company collecting first-party data typically has a direct relationship with the consumers whose insights they sell.

For instance, many second-party intent data sources are software review platforms, such as Capterra and TrustRadius. These platforms operate with the consent of users to track insights like opinions on product features and on-site behavior, then aggregate, anonymize, and sell the data. 

Methods to collect second-party intent data include but are not limited to: 

• Gaining contact information through gated content on review sites, such as demo videos 
• Analyzing product category engagement on software review websites
• Assessing product vendor interactions on software review platforms 
• Reviewing customer surveys through software review providers

3rd Party Intent Data

Third-party intent data refers to insights collected from outside sources that maintain indirect relationships with consumers at the time data is obtained. Third-party data providers scour the internet for consumer insights that can be anonymized and sold to reveal relevant buyer intent. 

Data providers often monitor hundreds of thousands of channels to gather user insights, from advertising networks and consumer search history to governmental and academic sources. These insights are typically segmented into categories like keywords or stages in the marketing funnel. 

Methods to collect third-party intent data include but are not limited to: 

• Acquiring behavioral data from a content publisher’s network of websites and apps
• Paying for consumer online activity, like recent searches, through data providers
• Purchasing bidstream data from ad publishers’ websites or applications
• Obtaining consumer ad engagement via third-party providers

Which intent data collection method is the best for B2B?

With so many marketing and sales activities reliant on relevant and timely consumer insights, intent data collection is integral for B2B organizations.

Take a look at the pros and cons of each data collection method for B2B marketers.

1st Party Data Collection

First-party data is often considered the top data collection method for B2B because it incurs no additional costs to gather; however, there are still a few drawbacks that can limit its effectiveness. 

Pros

First-party intent data collection is both budget- and privacy-friendly, particularly for B2B organizations that must adhere to data protection requirements, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

There are no additional costs to collect first-party data because it’s sourced directly from channels your business owns, such as your company website. Plus, with your company at the helm of collecting and storing consumer insights, it’s much simpler to ensure regulatory compliance. 

Likewise, first-party intent data can be easily connected to specific contacts or accounts your team has been working on—like learning a prospect from a company you’re targeting has signed up for an upcoming webinar. Similarly, these insights are controlled to better match your marketing needs. 

Cons

Though it’s advantageous to your budget, the fact that first-party intent data is limited to your owned channels restricts the visibility and volume of the insights you acquire. Because there is a limited reach, you will only receive insights through actions taken on your company channels. 

So, despite its benefits, first-party intent data alone lacks a lot of the scope required to inform effective sales and marketing initiatives. Similarly, it lacks the scale offered by larger data providers. Plus, it can be difficult to aggregate and analyze first-party data from across your organization. 

2nd Party Data Collection

Second-party intent data is also referred to as downstream intent, as it contains actionable insights gleaned from outside sources that collected the data directly from consumers. But at what cost?

Pros

Second-party data is sourced from real buyers who are currently reading product reviews and running provider or pricing comparisons. In terms of the marketing and sales funnel, second-party data relies on bottom-funnel signals, which indicates that these buyers are preparing to purchase.

Compared to first-party data, second-party insights make it easier for sales and marketing teams to communicate with prospects who are ready to buy. And because 2nd party data is derived from larger review websites, it comes with more context, higher volume, and a higher degree of accuracy. 

Cons

The most obvious con of second-party data collection is the additional cost. While most second-party data originates from data partnerships, they will likely incur some kind of cost. The added cost makes it difficult to compare providers unless your company has a steep budget.

Moreover, the majority of second-party data is constrained to the bottom funnel. Though these insights are beneficial, they lack details on top-of-funnel activity. This makes it difficult to identify accounts that have just located a problem and begun researching, giving competitors an advantage. 

3rd Party Data Collection

Third-party data collection unlocks access to a massive volume of buyer activity; however, you can become reliant on outside providers that may not adhere to industry data protection standards.

Pros

Third-party intent data collection opens the door to the highest volume of buyer insights with the most market coverage. In other words, third-party data collection is the key to accessing outside sources that provide a broader view of accounts’ purchase intent beyond bottom-funnel activity.

Unlike second-party intent data collectors, which aggregate and anonymize insights only, third-party data collectors take it a step further to segment these insights by topical intent. Topical intent can then inform a keyword strategy that better targets and resonates with potential buyers. 

Cons

Like second-party intent collection, gathering third-party insights will come at an additional cost. However, it also comes with additional insights, many of which you must sift through to identify reliable signs of purchase intent. Third-party data alone is not a full picture of the sales funnel.

Because it can stem from ad publishers, 3rd party data may be limited to top-of-funnel signals. For this reason, the topical intent behind searches may require additional details to convert buyers. Plus, it’s integral to find a provider that’s transparent and compliant with consumer data collection.

A combination of 1st Party and 3rd Party Data Collection

First-party intent data collection and third-party intent data collection alone may not provide the full picture of the marketing and sales funnel, but combined, they’re much more impactful. 

Pros

Third-party intent data helps provide context to the first-party intent data your organization has collected. For instance, learning that a prospect who’s been viewing your company’s accounting software website has also interacted with paid ads about analytics helps reveal the pain points they want your solution to address. 

Likewise, because third-party data collection often informs organizations of prospects who have just entered the marketing and sales funnel, organizations can leverage first-party data to initiate communication. This combination allows B2B brands to remain a step ahead of the competition. 

Cons

Though third-party data is often quite robust, it is not as reliable as the insights your B2B organization has sourced directly from potential buyers. Therefore, there is a necessity to vet third-party data providers and confirm the accuracy against the first-party insights you already own.

More importantly, relying on first- and third-party data alone often neglects much of what occurs as prospects make their way through the funnel. With the addition of second-party intent data, your organization can track leads as they begin research, build a shortlist of options, and finally, convert.

A combination of 1st Party, 2nd Party and 3rd Party Data Collection

When it comes to B2B organizations, no initiatives provide a 360-degree view of the entire marketing and sales funnel quite like a combination of first, second, and third-party data collection.

Pros

As mentioned above, a combination of first, second, and third-party intent data collection covers every base as prospects make their way through the funnel. While third-party data may provide insight into the top of the funnel, second and first-party data encompass the middle and bottom.

With a combination of all intent data collection methods, sales and marketing teams can not only identify new leads in near real-time but also understand their pain points and purchase behavior. This process allows for seamless targeting as prospects make their way to ultimate conversion.

Cons

Though a combination of first, second, and third-party intent data collection provides the most robust insights, it also comes at the steepest cost. While B2B organizations can directly gather their own first-party intent data, second and third-party data will each incur separate costs to obtain.

Moreover, the addition of various intent data sources increases the pressure on B2B organizations to maintain proper data protection requirements, such as HIPAA and GDPR. With additional data sources comes the need to ensure that data providers are transparent about how data is collected. 

Pitfalls to avoid when collecting intent data

Here are the top struggles to keep in mind when collecting intent data. 

Allowing departments to work in silos 

Intent data encompasses multiple departments, so it requires the inclusion of all relevant teams. 

Sales reps must be in contact with the marketing department, which tracks the progression of leads through the funnel. They must also be in contact with the content team, who is responsible for creating website pages, product comparison articles, and gated content (like ebooks) that address topical intent. 

In other words, there’s no room for silos when collecting and analyzing intent data. 

Neglecting data protection standards

Data protection standards aren’t merely suggestions, they’re mandatory processes for all B2B organizations. If your organization already collects first-party intent data, it’s essential you comply with standards like HIPAA and GDPR when obtaining, analyzing, and storing consumer insights. It’s equally as crucial to vet any second or third-party data providers to ensure regulatory compliance. 

Quantity taking precedence over quality

What good is a high volume of data if it’s also low-quality? Accuracy must be at the top of mind for intent data collection. Even though a large quantity of intent data is necessary to segment prospects into targeted lists, that data must be timely and relevant for effective marketing and sales initiatives.

Waiting too late to act on sales-ready leads

Whether it’s first-party data collection (like a prospect submitting a demo request form) or second-party data collection (like a prospect comparing product vendors), much of intent data identifies sales-ready leads. Waiting to act on these prospects allows time for competitor sales reps to close the deal in their favor instead. It’s essential to have a timely reaction to intent data signals.

How to do B2B intent data marketing the right way

With the above pitfalls of B2B intent data collection in mind, it’s vital to identify methods to deploy intent data marketing the right way. These four tips can help maximize the impacts of intent data.

Provide intent data in real-time

To avoid waiting too late to act on sales-ready leads, it’s wise to provide intent data to the relevant departments in as close to real-time as possible. For instance, imagine a prospect begins researching topics related to your business or views a software comparison page with your product. 

By creating a workflow that alerts sales reps to this activity, you can leverage intent data in near real-time. For example, an automated trigger on your company’s CRM can instantly deliver intent data to allow reps to communicate with hot leads or have marketers develop related materials. 

Prioritize bottom-funnel leads

Allow intent data to prioritize your list of accounts by the highest likelihood of converting. Intent data should reveal which accounts are at the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel. By prioritizing bottom-funnel leads, you direct resources to those more likely to make a purchase decision sooner. 

Personalize your outreach

Beyond a funnel stage, intent data also reveals exactly what a prospect is looking for—whether it’s viewing a specific product page on your website or comparing two software vendors. From previous online activity to recent Google searches, understanding the topics leads are searching for allows you to customize your content marketing and personalize your outreach for optimal close rates.

Protect against churn risk 

Intent data is not relevant to new customers alone. On the contrary, it can also reveal when a current customer is browsing through competitor vendors on software review sites and inform you if they’re at risk of churn. To keep your churn rate low and customer lifetime value (CLV) high, assess current customer intent data and include remarketing campaigns with your intent data initiatives.

How NetLine can help with your intent data collection

Regardless of your existing marketing abilities, procedures, or technology, NetLine is committed to assisting you. Our aim is to ensure that no one overlooks the immense potential that intent data holds. We invite you to discover these possibilities and understand how your sales and marketing performance could skyrocket. Connect with our team today.

We can’t deny AI’s cultural renaissance. It has become a part of everyday workflows and conversations. HubSpot’s AI Proof & Positioning Report found that workers are most concerned about losing their jobs due to AI, and the #1 reason they don’t use AI is because they worry about becoming too reliant on it.

While I understand how unsettling it can feel to have a tool that seems to do your job better than you (the expert), I’ve recognized that AI is actually just helping me do my job better and faster.

Still skeptical? Read on for more data from our AI Proof & Positioning Report and The HubSpot Blog’s State of AI Report, which surveyed 1100 marketers.

Table of Contents

• AI Productivity Stats
• How I Tested the Best AI Tools for Work
• AI Productivity Tools
• My Takeaways From Using AI Productivity Tools

AI Productivity Stats

AI tools help marketers quickly sift through large amounts of information and present it less complexly. I can attest that, as a marketer, AI tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly have helped me streamline research, present text clearly and concisely, and increase my ability to multitask across several campaigns.

Professionals who have implemented AI and automation into their workflow share that these tools help them get menial tasks done faster, improve the efficiency of their tasks and goals, and free up time that could be better spent on the most critical responsibilities.

In this way, AI is not only improving productivity but also helping to make your job more enjoyable.

Here are some survey results from real industry professionals who see the value of AI in their daily workflows.

1. 75% of respondents either somewhat agreed or strongly agreed that AI helped save time on manual tasks.
2. AI tools give marketing teams 12.5 hours back per week, which equates to 25-26 additional working days per year. This allows marketers to focus on strategic tasks, creative work, and people management.
3. 84% of bloggers/SEOs state that AI and automation have impacted their SEO strategy.
4. 83% of marketers say that AI helps them create significantly more content than they could without.
5. 85% of salespeople using AI and automation say it makes their prospecting efforts more effective.
6. 72% of businesses that have implemented AI tools state that AI and automation make their employees more productive.
7. 68% of business leaders say that AI can help their company scale in a way impossible without it.
8. 53% of marketers who use generative AI to write copy say they only need to make minor edits to the text afterward.

How I Tested the Best AI Tools for Work

So many AI tools exist, each with different purposes and value factors. I believe the best way to test new tools is to apply them to my work — kill two birds with one stone, and all.

To evaluate the productivity tools mentioned below, I applied each during my writing for this blog post. Whether to increase the speed of the actual writing or improve my time management around the writing process, I found the tools below essential to marketers and writers.

While I specifically applied them to my work as a writer, I can confirm that, as a marketer, I already use some of the tools below or would happily implement them in my day-to-day job at Nickelodeon. After all, 35% of marketers say they already use AI and automation tools daily.

AI Productivity Tools

1. Jasper

As a blog writer, I naturally started my research with a content creation tool.

Jasper is an AI tool that helps write all sorts of enterprise-marketing-style content, from press releases to website landing pages to, yes, blog posts. It is the second-most popular AI tool for marketing.

I used the “Brand Voice” feature to link one of my recent HubSpot blog posts. This feature helps the tool establish your “voice” so it can best match that when generating text.

Next, I clicked “Create Content” and toggled to “Create a blog post.” The post you are reading is best served as a listicle, so I chose “Listicle” as my type of post. Jasper then asked me to fill in the topic, audience, and outline.

After filling in this quick information, I hit “Generate now.” Watch for yourself how Jasper sprung to the test.

I didn’t expect the post to be ready to send after Jasper wrote it since AI content is not complete enough to publish on its own about 96% of the time. I was correct in my thinking because the post was far too short and a bit too stiff.

But that’s okay since only 5% of marketers use generative AI to write entire pieces of content. More people simply use it to spark inspiration (35%), create an outline (33%), or get a few paragraphs to expand upon (25%).

What I Like

• The “Brand Voice” feature allows you to upload or link to your or your brand’s writing samples so Jasper can pump out content that meets your unique style. Many writers, like myself, are very protective of our voices, so this feature made me feel comfortable and confident that the text could stay true to me.
• Your content takes just seconds to be written up. You merely need to fill in some brief information about the content, such as topic, target audience, or call to action, and Jasper will quickly use that information to draft a comparable piece. My jaw dropped at how fast the tool pumped out a version — albeit shorter and less delightful — of this very blog post.
• Jasper does a great job of staying within the criteria you request. For my blog post, for example, I listed the exact headline titles and number of tools I wanted to incorporate, and the tool made sure to follow those guardrails.
• You can create a Campaign to keep all your content in one place. If I were using this tool for my job at Nickelodeon, I could organize social and print ads, email newsletters, Instagram post copy, and press releases for the same new kids’ series campaign within the same folder.

What Needs Improvement

• Even though I linked to a recent HubSpot blog post to help establish my voice, the AI-generated post was less personal, much shorter, and more formal than my writing usually is. The idea of “Brand Voice” is smart, but it may require several writing samples before Jasper recognizes your style.

Pricing

• Creator plan: $39/month ($468/year) – 1 user
• Pro plan: $59/month/seat ($708/year) – up to 6 users
• Business plan: Must contact Jasper team for pricing.

2. Grammarly

Grammarly is a tool I’ve been using since college before AI had a name. I’ve always been obsessed with words and grammar (very cool, I know), so I became equally as obsessed with a tool that could improve my writing in real-time.

I have the free Grammarly for Chrome extension, which offers suggestions on various writing-related issues, including correctness, tone suggestions, full sentence rewrites, clarity, engagement, and delivery.

How crazy is that? You can see how Grammarly can provide live feedback while you type. It’s an essential tool for content creators of all kinds. No matter how short or long your text is, having an AI co-creator looking over your shoulder like an AP English teacher is helpful.

Why I Like It

• You can receive writing suggestions as you go (like I do with the Grammarly extension), or if you’d rather type up your text and obtain feedback at the end, you can upload a document or copy and paste an entire body of text directly into the Grammarly tool.
• Grammarly analyzes your piece for the topic and argument and uses its “Increase your impact” feature to suggest how to meet these goals. This elevates the tool from a spelling and grammar checker to an end-to-end writing companion in seconds.
• The power is still in your hands as the writer; while Grammarly offers recommendations on everything from rephrasing a complicated sentence to selecting a more substantial synonym, you make the ultimate decision. I know my writing best, so I choose to exercise my creative liberty when Grammarly’s suggestions are less technical.
• Students and professionals alike can use the “Check for plagiarism” feature to ensure you haven’t accidentally borrowed some phrases from another source.
• The AI tool can easily be integrated into other tools, websites, and apps, such as Microsoft Suite, Google Drive, iOS, Android, and even Hubspot, so you can ensure your writing improves across all platforms.

What Needs Improvement

• As much as I love this tool, I must admit it can sometimes be visually distracting. I’m constantly sifting through dozens of multi-colored, underlined words and phrases, which can become tedious.
• As is true for all AI tools, Grammarly can’t be trusted to be 100% perfect. It’s always best to use your expertise as a writer (or that of a trusted colleague or friend) to give your writing a once-over and ensure Grammarly doesn’t miss an incorrect verb tense or unnecessary capitalization.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0
• Premium plan: $12/month, billed annually (or $30/month, billed monthly)
• Business plan: $15/month, billed annually (or $25/month, billed monthly)

3. ChatGPT

We’ve all heard of it — one of the forerunners in the AI industry. In 2022, OpenAI developed ChatGPT, a chatbot and virtual assistant, and it has quickly become a trusted tool for knowledge, answers, ideas, and support. You can chat about various topics, as seen from the suggested prompts below.

53% of marketers who use AI tools use chatbots. For this blog post, I was curious about what differentiates ChatGPT from other chatbots, so I asked.

As you can see, ChatGPT is unique because it has knowledge of a wide range of subjects and can understand and communicate in a human-like manner. It’s made to converse, so you don’t need to formalize your writing, and it can typically comprehend minor spelling and grammar mistakes, as I tested below:

Why I Like It

• ChatGPT offers priceless assistance to professionals. You can train your ChatGPT to meet your specific professional needs, such as conducting market research or finding ideas for customer surveys, by inputting your brand guidelines into the “Custom Instructions” feature, building templates for prompts, and more.
• It easily integrates with other tools and websites, offering opportunities for personalization, AI-fueled conversations with consumers, and efficient streamlining of information and data across platforms. I recently used the Expedia app’s AI assistant, which has ChatGPT technology, to plan a trip to Charleston.
• You can rely on ChatGPT for many use cases that may otherwise need to be split up across several AI tools. I’ve used it to find out what kinds of influencers are most popular in international markets, discover synonyms for common words, and even learn how to use up leftover produce in my fridge.

What Needs Improvement

• ChatGPT cannot learn in real-time, so its knowledge only exists up until the last time it was updated (currently January 2022). That means some of its information might be slightly outdated or no longer factual.
• While it can communicate like a human, it is not human. ChatGPT might sometimes miss the context for or misinterpret your prompts or questions. It can also provide biased or incorrect information, so its word cannot be relied on as law.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0
• Plus plan: $20/month
• Team plan: $25/user/month, billed annually (or $30/user/month, billed monthly)
• Enterprise plan: Must contact ChatGPT team for pricing.

4. Reclaim

“Reclaim” your time with Reclaim, an AI calendar scheduling app that optimizes your (and your team’s) schedules to increase personal and team productivity, all while prioritizing your work-life balance.

Reclaim boasts giving you back an extra work day every week, with 7.6 more productive hours, which I know I could certainly use.

I completed a good chunk of this post on a rolling basis but found myself a couple of days before the due date with approximately 8 hours of writing left. I used Reclaim to help me optimize my time around my morning workouts, Nickelodeon working hours, and evening social plans to get my post done in time.

Reclaim also offers a variety of professional and personal habit templates to choose from, and it will automatically fit the habit into your calendar for however long and at whatever cadence you prefer.

My work calendar quickly fills up with meetings, so I would use Reclaim to set up Focus Time throughout my week to work on projects and Mindfulness breaks to ensure I take short walks and time away from my screen.

Marketers spend approximately five hours daily on manual, administrative, or operational tasks. AI tools like Reclaim can help the average marketer save nearly 2.5 hours daily on these tasks and spend more time on the things that matter most.

Why I Like It

• It’s hard to schedule time for personal activities such as reading, exercising, or having a proper lunch during the workday. Reclaim encourages you to make time for these things and automatically adds these habits to your calendar.
• The “Smart Meetings” feature analyzes your entire team’s schedules and finds the best time for recurring meetings, so you don’t need to manually look up calendars, email colleagues, and manage scheduling conflicts.
• The “Calendar Sync” feature helped me combine my Nickelodeon, HubSpot, and personal calendars to maximize my time and efficiently prioritize all my commitments.

What Needs Improvement

• The app isn’t as user-friendly as other AI tools I tested. It took some time for me to get acquainted with the various features and to figure out the best way to optimize Reclaim for my HubSpot Blog writing needs.
• Reclaim works best in a work setting if all your team members also use it. Otherwise, you’re unable to exercise some of the best features, like “Smart Meetings.”

Pricing

• Lite plan: $0 – 1 user
• Starter plan: $8/user/month – up to 10 users
• Business plan: $12/user/month – up to 100 users
• Enterprise plan: $18/user/month – over 100 users

5. ChatPDF

48% of marketers today use generative AI tools like ChatPDF to conduct research. ChatPDF has revolutionized the idea of “skimming” into an AI-powered machine. You simply upload any PDF and wait for ChatPDF to absorb the information.

Then, you are brought to a chat page, where you can ask any questions about the PDF. The chat feature is highly beneficial for students and professors looking to summarize lengthy educational materials.

However, it also has endless possibilities for professionals. Received a 50-slide presentation from a client that you need to sift through by the morning? Or a 30-page report from a consumer survey that will provide insights for your next campaign? ChatPDF has your back.

As you can see, ChatPDF helps you digest large amounts of information and pick out whatever data points and conclusions are necessary for your work. I enjoy using this tool as a fact-checker or second set of eyes.

I read through the HubSpot Blog’s State of AI Report, a 33-page PDF, to research some key AI productivity stats and data. Then, I used ChatPDF to double-check my work and ensure I included the most important material in this blog post.

Why I Like It

• This tool is a perfect example of how AI can help us do our jobs better without actually doing our jobs. ChatPDF doesn’t give you any new information; instead, it helps you cut through the noise and get the exact data you need.
• The tool is very easy to use. Its look is simple, which works well for this type of AI tool. Even the most technologically challenged individual can figure out ChatPDF.
• You can upload a PDF in any language. This is especially helpful for me, as I work in International Marketing. Rather than asking my regional marketing teams to translate their PDFs into English before sending them to me, I can accept the original format and summarize it myself.
• I appreciate that, rather than merely summarizing the contents of a PDF, this AI tool introduces a chatbot feature. This way, you ask for precisely what you want, which works twofold — you aren’t bogged down by unneeded information and are forced to have some semblance of the contents since you have to know what to ask for. It prevents us from getting negligent with our work.

What Needs Improvement

• The tool has a very niche purpose. Unlike ChatGPT, which can be used for various personal and professional tasks, ChatPDF has a limited workflow. It does what it does well, but you may not need to use it daily.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0
• Plus plan: $5/month
• Premium plan: $15/month

6. DreamStudio

Stability AI is the owner of a variety of AI products for text-to-image and video generation. Marketers who use AI to generate written and visual content save an average of more than 3 hours per piece, so I was looking forward to testing DreamStudio, the web-based app version of Stable Diffusion 3.

I am not a natural artist or designer, but at Nickelodeon, I occasionally brief our creative teams on a new series (from main characters to animation style to locations), which they then use to inform the creation of the series key art.

Tools like DreamStudio would help me quickly visualize my marketing strategy, which the creative team could use as a diving off point.

I decided to test this tool to generate an image I could use within this blog post (see How I Tested the Best AI Tools for Work).

This prompt was a great example of the capabilities of this text-to-image generator. I added various prompts and filters to hone in on the exact type of image I wanted.

Learning how to write strong prompts that guide image generation is the most effective way to use text-to-image generative tools. Chatbots can help with that by drafting a specific prompt for your desired image, which can then be plugged into DreamStudio.

Why I Like It

• As I mentioned, this is a great way to visually bring your ideas to life. Like a written outline before a blog post, DreamStudio can provide you with an image outline that you can use as inspiration for your design or photography work.
• You can generate imagery to back up a pitch at work. If I had an exciting idea for a Nickelodeon activation, I could use AI-generated imagery to bring my idea to life and help my team visualize it.
• Not all image generators have a “Negative Prompt” feature, but it is very helpful to share not only what you want to see but also what you want to avoid in your image. You can also play with the aspect ratio and the number of images you receive.
• Rather than a monthly subscription, as with other AI tools, DreamStudio allows you to buy credits per image, which offers more flexibility.

What Needs Improvement

• The images generated weren’t always accurate. One of the times I tested my above prompt, the images on the laptop screen resembled scenes from a fantasy movie rather than AI-related imagery. While promising, this tool may take some trial and error to lock down exactly what you’re looking for.

Pricing

• 25 free credits
• $10/1,000 credits: Approximately 5,000 images

My Takeaways From Using AI Productivity Tools

I was lucky to test some of these remarkable AI tools while writing this blog post. I had already used or heard of some, whereas others were completely new.

Grammarly proved to be the most useful tool for me as a writer. I used a free trial of the Premium version, and the intelligence of its suggestions blew me away.

Most of us have to do some sort of writing for our careers, so it is an invaluable tool to take your text from satisfactory to extraordinary.

The tool that surprised me the most was ChatPDF. I had heard of it on social media and was aware that students heavily use it, but I didn’t expect how useful it would be in a work setting. It’s incredibly intuitive and is a great example of how AI can increase efficiency without compromising the standard of our work.

While many may fear AI overtaking their expertise, we can’t deny the significance of humanity in everything we do. That’s why I always use generative writing and content suggestions as only an outline or jumping point.

AI may be able to elevate our lives, but it can never replace what we, as unique individuals, have to offer.

When it comes to website success, what you see is what you get. If the budget is tight or non-existent, free graphic design software can make a real impact on how you present yourself in digital spaces.

As an admittedly lousy product photographer, please believe me when I say that graphic design software is a key reason my small businesses still exist. It’s been a while since I needed to make anything new, but I’m still paying monthly fees for the software I built my visual assets with.

I hope you’ll join me on this new exploration — I’m trying out different free graphic design software suites so I can say from experience which I find to be the best. Hopefully I’ll find free software that works well for me so I can ditch the fees while also demonstrating some software that could fit your needs as well.≠

Table of Contents

• Why fuss with learning graphic design software?
• What is the best free graphic design software?
• How I Tested the Best Free Design Software
• Free Design Software: Features to Look For
• Picking the Right Platform for Graphic Design
• The Best Free Graphic Design Software for Marketers and Beginners

Why fuss with learning graphic design software?

Answer: Visuals are critical to attracting customers, clients, and potential investors. Recent research found that it takes just 2.6 seconds for users’ eyes to focus on a specific area of your website.

Then, it takes 0.05 seconds for visitors to form a general first impression of your site. This means you have just one opportunity to change their minds or reinforce this impression — and it all happens in the first three seconds of arrival.

While compelling text, blog, and social media content can help set your brand apart from the competition, the visual appeal of your site is the first thing users see when they follow backlinks or click through search engine results.

So it really is important to create webpages that are both aesthetically appealing and contextually relevant.

For larger businesses, this often means hiring dedicated graphic designers to develop eye-catching designs and deploy them consistently across web pages, social channels, and various forms of physical advertising.

But what if SMB budgets don’t support this type of spending? This is where free graphic design software can meaningfully support your success.

What is the best free graphic design software?

Businesses and designers vary, and so do their needs. Unfortunately, I cannot just pluck an informed answer out of the void. You’ll have to start with a little research to figure out what you need from design software.

If your research turns up a specific problem — your images aren’t compelling, your text is hard to read, or your color scheme hurts the eyes — you’ll be closer to a solution best fit to your unique issue.

Next, while just about any free graphic design software offers the ability to customize the look and feel of your site without breaking the bank, it’s tricky to tell which one will be the most efficient for you.

More specifically, the one left holding the bag on such a project. Two broad factors impact this outcome: your current skill with graphics and your use case.

Does the design software match your abilities?

The best-fit software is the one that has tools which meet you at your current graphical ability.

For example, if you have no experience with graphic tools, look for a solution that’s simple, streamlined, and does most of the work behind-the-scenes.

If you have a graphic design background or natural inclination, tools with more robust customization and control may be a better fit.

Does the software suit your potential use case?

If you’re planning to revamp your entire site with new colors, images, logos, and menus, you’ll need an in-depth solution that provides this level of control.

On the other hand, if you’re starting small with minor changes to your color scheme or image quality, a deep level of granular adjustment isn’t necessary and can feel overwhelming.

So which software tool is the best fit for your business’s use case and your skill level? I’m going to help you narrow that down as I test several on the market.

How I Tested the Best Free Design Software

I want to offer you actionable insights, and there are several common design projects that businesses regularly need done. I’ll tackle them with each design suite to see what works well and what could be better.

Here’s what I’m looking for:

• Logo design
• Ease of element manipulation
• Social media post creation
• Templates for physical advertising like business cards and mailers

To do this, I’ll be working with one of my own business identities — Threadcraftian — because I already have a collection of assets to plug and play with.

My son and I make pet bandanas in fun prints, so it’s nothing complicated, should be easy to follow, and we’ll get to work with animal images to keep things light.

Free Design Software: Features to Look For

Any graphic design software should have certain features that you will need at some point in your design journey.

If the ones I’m investigating don’t have these, I’ll feel like they are behind the times and we can find something better.

You may end up having to pay for some of these features, but I’m hoping to find at least one suite of tools that can do them all for free.

Feature 1: Flexibility of File Type and Size

In my experience, if you bring in a vector image, it should be able to leave as any file type. If you bring in a PNG, it should be able to leave as a JPEG.

If you bring in a large image, you should be able to shrink it without losing quality. If you bring in a small image, it might warn you that blowing it up could result in losing image quality.

Feature 2: Background Eraser

Having a reliable background eraser where you don’t have to awkwardly outline things with your finger on a mouse pad is a must.

People who do graphic design for a living typically have a screen/pad and stylus solution for this. If you’re just trying to get something done for your business on a budget, though, we need to make sure it’s still going to be easy.

Feature 3: Templates

The more templates the better. Saving time by finding something close to what you want and making changes to it can be a huge time saver.

They should, of course, also have a way to start from scratch if you’re just not seeing anything like what you’re trying to accomplish.

Feature 4: Social Post Creation … Maybe Even Scheduling?

I would love to see interactivity between the design software and social platforms, even if it’s through an app you add to the design software.

What I don’t want to do is the gymnastics of creating and saving the image in one program … then going to a social platform to upload the image there, do your SEO work, then schedule.

Having to do that again for every social platform you’re present in? That’s a hot mess.

Picking the Right Platform for Graphic Design

Most of the design suites I use on this list are available on multiple platforms — such as PC, Mac, and mobile — but is there a distinct advantage to selecting one platform over the other?

For beginners, opting for PC might be your best choice. While Macs remain a powerhouse for graphic design, their user interface (UI) is less intuitive than their PC and mobile counterparts. This presents a learning curve you likely don’t need if you’re just getting started with graphic design.

The real answer is: It truly depends entirely on your needs.

• For graphic design professionals, Mac-based solutions may be preferable for their focus on function over form.
• Social media marketers who focus their entire line of work on mobile marketing may need to be able to work efficiently on mobile.
• Small business owners like me who need it to be user-friendly and intuitive? I’ll use this old PC until it disintegrates because it has never let me down.

The Best Free Graphic Design Software for Marketers and Beginners

1. DesignWizard

Platform: Windows

Image Source

DesignWizard ranks among the best free graphic design software for beginners. The tool offers a large database of images along with a host of free templates (over 10,000), plus a simple, easy-to-use interface.

While you can also quickly create custom templates, DesignWizard excels as a front-line, free graphic design tool for beginners.

Testing It Out

Signing up was super simple, but I got snagged on email verification to activate the account. No email came. Five minutes later I hit their “Resend” option and then the verification email showed up in under 10 seconds. Onward!

The interface is very simple, as promised. Three buttons, a search bar, and a slider of project types with an option to start from scratch with an image size of your choosing. The template search bar was top and center, so I did that first.

I tried searching for various social post templates, but the only applicable result was “Instagram Image.” Not great.

The slider of project types shows that they do have templates for Facebook ads, Twitter Post (this is after the name change to X), LinkedIn Post, etc. That’s a little better.

The left sidebar has a Template button, so I clicked that. Here it’s easy to browse by category. Now I’m seeing the huge range of templates. I wonder why the search bar was so ineffective?

I try the search bar on the template page for logos.

Almost everything here has a little crown in the corner indicating that you can only access it if you upgrade to the paid version, so I grab the first free thing I can find: a text logo for a barber shop.

The first thing I need is an image, so I click on “Elements” and choose “Graphics,” and then search for “Pet.” I find a cute, stylish dog that will work for Threadcraftian.

I change the background color to teal, then a nice apricot that I think complements the teal sunglasses and bowtie better. There are no rulers I can see, but I toggle the “Snap”option at the bottom to find the center of the design.

As for text, I head to the top toolbar to change the fonts, typefaces, typography, lettering (whatever you want to call them — no judgment here).

I love that they show the selected word “Threadcraftian” in each font — it’s super easy to visualize your word instead of having to select each font individually to see how your text looks.

Each element moves as a unit, it’s easy to shrink or expand, and there’s a free-floating dot at the top to turn your element, too. It’s kind of slow-moving, which I find a bit frustrating.

It does offer flexibility of resizing. You can easily change your design to the optimal size for each social platform you choose. I changed mine from an Instagram image to a Facebook post.

After you save your design (the little floppy disk icon on top right), you hit the “Share” icon (three dots connected by a line) and can choose between PNG, JPEG, and MP4 — the important basics.

Lastly, background erasure. I go to upload an image of my own to see if I can take out the background. Oh, here’s the price barrier at last. I can’t upload my own assets for free; I can only use their tools to create something.

This is a bummer if you’ve already created logos and branded imagery or a special typeface for your business.

I was not able to find a background eraser even for their own photos.

However, you are able to change the background to be see-through so you can, for example, print just the design elements without having to print a background, which would be ideal for clear stickers or labels.

Despite an easy-to-use interface and no upfront costs, it’s worth noting that most of the more powerful options in DesignWizard are only available in its for-pay version at $9.99/month.

This software is fine for when you need to whip something up real quick, but not great if you want to make adjustments to existing assets. Also, there’s no social posting scheduler. The search continues.

2. Canva

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Whether you’re looking to create an ebook, infographic, business card, or email header, Canva has a template to simplify your process.

The free web design tool, developed by non-designers, offers professional, easy-to-customize templates for just about any design need you can think of. Like logos, which you can then add to website banners.

Testing It Out

Truth: I used Canva to create everything I have for Threadcraftian. I found it to be incredibly intuitive, it works smoothly, and there are bajillions of elements to choose from. The drawback? I needed to invest in the paid version as I skilled up.

The bright side is that for just $15/month, I can do everything I’ve ever needed to.

While Canva’s free version is great for new designers working with templates, you can access more complex tools and features — such as the all-important background eraser, resize functions, and team sharing — in the paid version.

But hopefully by this article’s end, we’ll be able to sniff out one of the more advanced free graphic design softwares that can do things as complicated as the business cards I wanted to make.

One of the downsides of Canva is that it’s used so frequently, and by so many, that people have started recognizing the pre-made templates and elements. There are folks out there who can see a Canva design a mile away.

That’s not a unique problem, though, in web design — experienced designers can look at just about any website and tell you if it was made from scratch or if it’s a familiar template from various no-or-low-code website builders.

Have you seen these popular Canva elements around? I see them everywhere. I still love them.

The thing is, this is not a problem unique to web design, so I don’t think it’s worth any worry if you like using Canva. I was a florist for over ten years and can see popular arrangements from a mile away.

This one is called Morning Melody and it’s by Teleflora. I’ve made it a million times. It still sells like crazy because it’s still cute and affordable. In the same way, your designs in Canva will still work if they look good.

3. Lunacy

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux

Note: Lunacy was the only software on this list that I couldn’t work with directly.

This one looks pretty amazing. Lunacy is a graphic design software specializing in vector graphics editing. It’s absolutely free.

There are no hidden charges, ads, or locked features, making it a powerful and accessible solution for all kinds of designers. It has a special focus on helping beginner UI/UX designers who can’t afford a subscription to expensive graphic design apps like Photoshop.

Even though it’s geared toward beginner graphic designers, Lunacy has a wide range of highly useful tools that provide in-depth and advanced features including a ready-to-use UI kit, placeholder text generator, pen, eyedropper tools, and a whole lot more.

It’s advertised as being fantastic for teams. You can easily share a document with up to 100 teammates and edit it together, comment on others’ work, and get feedback — all in real time. You can also put all of your assets on the cloud, safely and securely, so teams can access various branded elements easily.

If you’re a larger company, you can also opt to keep all of the work on your own secure servers/networks, which they call “Bunker Mode.” This makes Lunacy a strong collaboration tool for graphic design teams and group projects, even with a remote workforce.

But wait, there’s more. Whether you use Windows, Mac, or Linux doesn’t matter, they’ve got you covered. They have native integration with several other software suites, and then apps as well to widen the range of what you can do between programs.

What I love most about this, before I even really get into it, is that the company itself is listening to the people. They welcome input and ideas in an open development model which has given them advantages such as suite translation into 23+ languages.

They have a backlog of features that people have asked for that they constantly work on. You can even vote on features you want or need to get them closer to the top of the backlog for development. This means that Lunacy is living and growing and has every opportunity to get even better with time.

Testing It Out

Now, let’s get it. First you register, then you come back to the main page and choose an operating system and follow the link to the store for your OS.

Download it and choose the “Pin it to Start” so you know where to find it from then on. It offers up a tutorial to click through if you’re new, otherwise it looks a lot like Photoshop.

Oh, hold on. Oh, no — no matter how I move the mouse the whole canvas moves with it. I’ll try some work-arounds. No progress.

I’m closing the Tutorial tab. This brings me to what looks like a very manageable home page. I log in with my credentials from when I registered.

I try to open a new document and … the canvas is still stuck to my mouse movement. I’m looking up fixes, but the Lunacy FAQ and Forum don’t seem to have anything about it. To the internet!

It seems this same issue has happened in Adobe and some other design software as well. The recommendation is to try Alt+V. When I do this, it changes the hand to a pointer but the pointer is still stuck to my mouse movement.

Space bar freezes the canvas in place and changes the hand from open to closed, or closed to open — but it’s still stuck.

I am devastated that this isn’t working for me, because it sounds awesome. I’ve spent over an hour trying to figure this out, and we have lots more software to cover. Live in a world of hope with me and give Lunacy a try, because if it does what it says it can, it deserves a spot on this list.

4. Paint 3D

Platform: Windows

The classic Microsoft design tool is back, free, and updated to deliver more functionality. While it can’t compete with the more robust design tools on our list, Paint 3D comes with eight realistic textures, 2D cutout creation, and a host of 3D elements to choose from along with tools and effects.

If you’re a beginner looking for an easy entry point into graphic design, Paint 3D is a place to start. There’s almost no learning curve, and since it’s made by Microsoft, the tool naturally works well on all Windows 10 devices. I decided to use their 3D library rather than something for Threadcraftian this time.

Testing It Out

I said there’s “almost” no learning curve because some of the tools are not intuitive to me.

It took me a few minutes to see that “Selec”is used to outline a space to add an element to the canvas, but once the element is there you just click on it to move it — you don’t draw an outline around it to select it to then move it.

To try it for yourself, follow the link above, download the installer, open the program, and choose to open a new file or open one you already have. There’s not a whole lot, so you can play with pretty much everything it has to offer within an hour to decide if this is enough design software for you.

For me, the best feature here is the super easy “History” recording. There’s a toggle for “StartRecording” — then you drag the slider and see the history of your piece playing out, then toggle the recording back off and it has made an MP4 video walkthrough of the work you’ve done.

5. Adobe Spark

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Adobe Spark is a free alternative to the company’s popular, for-pay Adobe Illustrator. While it’s not nearly as full-featured, it does support integration with other Adobe products.

It’s easy to use, and it comes with a host of free templates. If you’re looking to quickly create posters or videos for ad campaigns, Spark is a great choice.

Testing It Out

To test it for myself, I’m signing up and it’s asking a handful of questions to get things started on the right foot and collect some consumer data from you — that’s usually the real price for free things.

I’m here to design for a business, I’m in Marketing, I want to work with logos and social media content, and … I like their organic and minimalist styles. Let’s go!

Yes, this has a free, built-in social scheduler. I knew we’d find one eventually.

On the homepage, you can see in the left-hand navigation that there’s a little crown icon that indicates features you’ll need to upgrade to Premium to use.

But this suite gives us free logo templates and a free background remover. I’m going to walk you through using a template to create and then schedule a social post — in this case on Pinterest.

I’m clicking the “Schedule”icon on the left sidebar, and then the “Manage Connections” button in the top right corner.

They let you connect a selection of major social channels at no cost, but for certain ones like SnapChat and YouTube you’ll need to upgrade to Premium. But today I’m just connecting my Instagram and Pinterest accounts.

It’s quick and easy.

Okay, now that our channels are set, I’m heading back to “Home” and typing Pinterest templates into the top search bar. Sooo, there’s over 20,000. Awesome.

Okay, I found one that makes me happy and fits the Threadcraftian brand. I can see right off the bat on the left that I can erase the background of whatever image I have selected for free.

If you guys could see me right now, you’d find me grinning with fingers templed like a villain. I make a few changes with the super intuitive design features and we go from GRWM to GRWP:

Then there’s a bright blue “Share”button at top right. I click that and choose “Schedule Post.” I choose my social channel (in this case, Pinterest), fill my fields with SEO-optimized content, and then choose the date I want this post to go live.

You can review your scheduled posts, edit them, and even just drag and drop the post from one day to another. This is amazing.

I played with making logos and that’s the same as making adjustments to the Pinterest template: easy.

What I would say is that their catalog of elements is not as developed as Canva’s, and I was not able to locate frames that allow you to drag and drop an image inside of them, which I have found handy in the past. Here’s a quick logo.

The last thing I want to check is how easy resizing is. And the answer is … it’s a Premium feature.

The size you start with is what you stay with, so if you need to control that more closely — or if you were hoping to make one design and hit a few buttons to change it to every ideal size for your social channels — you’ll need to pay for that.

I definitely think this is a very powerful and user-friendly design suite. It’s a great starting point for beginners that won’t feel overwhelming, but it’s less useful for more in-depth projects or for experienced designers unless you start paying for features.

The good news is that Spark is available for both web and mobile, meaning you can design anywhere, anytime. Plus, collaboration is one of the free features — you just send an invitation to work on the same design together simultaneously. AI generative fill is also a free option up to 25 credits per month.

6. Krita

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, Linux

Image Source

Krita is a free, open-source painting program made by artists, for artists. Ongoing development of this tool depends on donations and is driven by the needs of the designer community at large.

It’s no surprise, then, that Krita includes a customizable user interface, feature-rich toolset, and a comprehensive resource manager.

Testing It Out

Yep, this is way beyond my ability. Visual arts skills are hard enough when holding a paintbrush — and I don’t even have a graphics pad/stylus. It’s just me and my laptop trackpad against the world, and the world is clearly winning.

This program requires training and/or lengthy study akin to Photoshop. This is actually a bit less intuitive than Photoshop for me.

I was able to locate some templates when opening a new file, and ended up on a comic book page. It clearly has a million tools and features, and every menu opens up at least a dozen more options. It has an animation studio function too.

It’s overwhelming in my hands, but clearly an amazing free suite of tools for someone who knows Photoshop.

For businesses looking to boost their graphic design impact without investing in expensive programs, Krita is a great tool — if they have the help of an experienced designer.

For companies in need of simple, streamlined solutions, other software on this list offers a better fit.

7. Corel Vector (previously Gravit Designer)

Platforms: PC, Mac, Chrome OS, Linux

Image Source

Corel Vector (which used to be called Gravit Designer) is a vector design application created by the makers of Corel Draw.

With a host of tools for creating vector art and a self-adjusting interface, Gravit earns its place among the best free graphic design software for Mac and Windows — the tool is also available for ChromeOS and Linux.

While I don’t technically consider this to be free software, when you sign up for a free trial of Corel Vector, you automatically get access to “Pro” features for the duration of the trial.

This includes the ability to work offline and see version history. However, you lose these features when your trial is up unless you’re willing to pay for a subscription.

Testing It Out

I’m starting on a blank page, and I can tell you immediately that if you’ve never worked with Corel before, you are going to have a harder time with this than other free software.

Around half of the buttons are missing mouseover text, so I have no idea what these icons mean or do. I had to overcome a mental barrier, conjure up my inner Rambo, and just click all the buttons to get to here:

Hmm. This software doesn’t feel natural to me. It has a two-column setup with more granular controls like a good from-scratch designer needs.

It isn’t easy for me to figure out how to bring my own images in. It appears to have some of the functionality of Canva, with libraries of icons, shapes, and images to choose from — like this handsome pup.

The thing is, it’s nowhere near as intuitive as Canva or Adobe Spark, and it’s also nowhere near as granular as Krita. Maybe it could be beneficial as a bridge for people who want to learn more design skills but still appreciate some support from pre-made elements?

Luckily, there are tutorials to show you how to use this program, and there are a lot of them. What I appreciate about the tutorials is that they can dig deep or stay immediately functional for you. You can learn about vectors and rasterization, or simply just learn how to design branded business cards or product mockups.

Something weird to me is that your account is still called a Gravit Designer Account. Worse, I did not see a way to download the Rambo image as any file type other than .gvdesign, which doesn’t play nicely with other programs I run. I ended up doing a screenshot to capture that charming canine up there.

Also, trying to zoom in and out with my touchscreen was jumpy between set zoom percentages. You can overcome that by double-clicking the percentage and typing one in, but other programs have been much smoother for me overall.

This is a solid option if you have Corel skills but not a lot of turn-around time. If you’ve worked with Corel in the past, you’ll be more familiar with the interface and more likely to knock out a project before the trial is up.

To me, it seems like a step backward for Photoshop users. It also feels like it could be a step for people who have historically preferred templates but want to get more familiar with tighter controls.

8. Blender

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Blender is an open-source, 3D creation suite that makes it possible for graphic designers to create everything from rigging and animation to rendering and motion tracking. It also provides support for 2D animation and has an active community of users committed to helping Blender improve.

Testing It Out

This is clearly meant for people who know what they are doing — if they are not already graphic designers in the gaming and film industries, they probably aim to be. There is a manual available, and it is massive. It has its own glossary, index, add-ons, etc. and it does not auto-update, yet there are dailyupdates available.

I don’t know that my computer can even run this program on my geriatric laptop. Their community forums suggest downloading an old version to see if you like it before investing in more powerful hardware. Good to know, but we’re going for it.

So … it seems to be functional, and I tried the video editor, seen above, thinking maybe I could edit something existing. But I can’t seem to get any of my .MP4 files to open. I can’t get my .MOVs to open, either. I guess my paltry files aren’t strong enough for this beast.

Okay, here is the 2D editor, one more among manyBlender editing suites.

I was able to figure this out a little bit — it’s basically drawing a picture that’s a little bit different each time to get from point A to point B, and the bottom is the measure of time over which those changes happen to make it appear to move.

I made a Ze Frank-level animation about how I feel like a Sparkling Fraud trying to figure this out — and it worked. But I was not able to figure out how to export it. Sorry, friends.

While Blender is a powerful tool, it’s not ideal for beginners. Complex menus and a truly stunning number of design options mean you need to know your way around graphic design programs to make use of this tool.

I asked a couple of friends in the graphic design industry about Blender — adjectives that came up were “beefy” and “overwhelming,” but also the idea that it has its place.

One said that Blender is great for modeling, but using it can feel disjointed because of the open source aspect where anybody can add what they want.

Another reported that some tools are going to be better — and better documented for use and troubleshooting — than others. A third recommended spending a few weeks doing various tutorials to learn how to use it, starting with The Donut.

9. Inkscape

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Inkspace’s tagline is “draw freely” and it lives up to that mantra — there’s no cost for this graphic design tool and it packs a host of features for both beginners and experienced marketers.

I heard that the sluggish controls can frustrate some users if they’re looking to quickly create and publish designs. I went ahead and made sure to uninstall everything I’ve tried thus far before installing this one.

Testing It Out

Not bad. It gives the look of the complicated programs, but I didn’t find this nearly as intimidating.

I was able to choose the sizing for a print product — in this case, a business card. I was also easily able to import some fun and colorful elements from my brand.

I like that the tools most people know and use for any number of programs are readily available. Not as intuitive as, say, Adobe Spark, but this feelslike something I could learn.

The drop-down menus are very familiar, and they keep options categorized in a nested way that I can understand.

Even if I don’t know the tool’s name, I know that it’s a subcategory of something larger that I do have an idea about. I was able to explore it and make some things happen in a way I couldn’t with, say, Krita or Blender.

In addition to cross-platform support and an active community who adds to the programming, Inkscape is known for superior vector art options and wide format compatibility.

10. SketchUp

Platforms: Windows, Mac

SketchUp offers both free and paid design plans, with its no-cost version still offering substantial advantages for designers.

A robust modeling platform, it’s a great tool for creating 2D or 3D designs for furniture or other complex objects. It’s parent company is Trimble, so you start by signing up for a Trimble ID, then it takes you to the in-browser interface.

Testing It Out

Let’s see if I can design a new booth for Threadcraftian for markets this fall.

Oh, check this out. There’s an Instructor on the right-side toolbar that goes over how to use each tool and even has an animation to show you what will happen. Awesome, that is exactly what I need.

Okay, but seriously — everything should have this feature. It took a hot minute for me to get the hang of the order of operations: select the surface you want to change, hold shift to select multiple surfaces, then select the move tool to move the object.

My attempt is not perfect by any means, but it definitely gets the idea across of what I have in mind.

I would definitely use this again and take the time to dig deeper. The problems I had were rotating a cylinder and measuring exactly. There’s probably a way to freeze movement along one axis that is helpful, but I couldn’t figure that one out.

With a fairly easy-to-use interface and several sources of support, SketchUp is a great tool if you’re looking to create product pages that feature in-depth images and dimensions. Potential drawbacks include limited storage space as well as no mobile support for free plans.

11. GIMP

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

GIMP is one of the most popular open-source design tools. It’s often compared to its closest for-pay competitor, Photoshop, with users on both sides making passionate arguments for one platform over the other.

It can be developed with a number of programming languages including Python, Perl, Scheme, and others. There are loads of plug-ins and scripts available, and the workspace is highly adjustable.

You’ll be able to design logos and print advertising, but it doesn’t do social scheduling unless someone programmed a plug-in for that. I decided to create a website banner — there were pre-set sizes to pick from — yet I was able to specify a custom 1200×400 pixels.

Testing It Out

I actually did find this to be pretty intuitive. I was able to lay down a shape and use the “Warp Transform” to turn a black dot into a bird body and a white dot into a wing to create a bird. Same for a spool of thread. Then I used the pencil feature to create the needle with thread that the bird is holding.

It was easy to import the colorful background for Threadcraftian, and I was able to lay out the text in Bremlin. The layers were easy to use and I found a lock feature that joined the wing and the body of the bird into one moveable layer. It was also easy to export this website banner as a PNG.

I can see why people like this. There are a ton of options, but it doesn’t feel so overwhelming.

At first, when I right-clicked and saw whole rows of more options I was a little intimidated, but then realized that they were all the same as the top row of menu categories. It was just a quicker way to access the tools in place where working.

It is easy to see why GIMP gets high praise as a free design tool for its support of all file formats, ease of digital retouching, and ability to quickly create new designs from scratch.

In addition, GIMP features a customizable interface that allows more experienced designers to make use of the tool’s capabilities. Worth noting: GIMP does not support any Photoshop plugins.

12. DocHipo

Platform: Web

DocHipo is a popular choice for marketers looking for easy-to-use graphic design software. You’ll get access to free templates for designing your marketing collateral, such as posters, flyers, brochures, presentations, business cards, social media posts, advertisement graphics, and more.

The advertised advantage of using this graphic design software is its range of exclusive design assets, such as illustrations, icons, stickers, and animations. You can also access millions of stock photos and hundreds of free fonts. Let’s give it a spin.

Testing It Out

At first it looks like the only thing to do is use their templates, but once you click into a template type, you have the option of a blank template to work with. It prompts you to add widgets and then start your manipulations.

I’ve chosen to do a Facebook Ad this time, so it sets the canvas to 1200×628 for me. I was able to enter the Pantone hex code for apricot, the current color of the year.

It is a lot like Canva in that there are a number of free options, but the best ones have the little golden crowns to indicate they come with a paid upgrade.

You can insert maps, create QR codes, and make collages for free. I keep searching for design elements and icons like animals, dogs, cats, and there’s just not much of anything.

The elements, graphics, and illustrations — even the paid ones — are just okay. Nothing stellar. This seems to benefit marketers who want to grab and go with pre-made templates. Here are some of the elements I found:

Generative AI images is a paid feature, but with so many photos I don’t see why you’d need it unless your company wants you to use AI. There is also an AI text generator, but as a professional writer, I’m sure you can guess what I think of that.

Version history is also a paid feature. It looks like you can use AI translation for free until the very last step, but then it pops up that it’s a paid feature. Grr.

At last, we hit the big advantage: photography. There really are a ton of photos to choose from, rivaling or surpassing Canva. This was the feature I thought would do well enough for a Facebook ad:

DocHipo’s drag-and-drop editor makes it easy for beginners to customize designs within minutes, and includes widgets to connect your Typeform or Jotform accounts.

Its intuitive interface makes it a strong choice for graphic design software for beginners. Users can take advantage of a free plan, but you are likely to be happier with the paid version for more advanced capabilities.

13. Genially

Platform: Windows

Genially is known for making design easy with a user-friendly interface and robust options that allow designers to create their own artwork from scratch. The shining jewel of this software is that you can leverage pre-built templates to add interactive features such as buttons, layers, and hidden text.

I haven’t seen anything designed to create interactive elements yet, so this is super interesting. Now that I see what this is capable of, I’ll make a fundraising pitch with information about the business and an eye toward growth.

Testing It Out

This is extremely cool, but when I got to the very end, it turns out that downloading it is a premium feature. The reason is that they provide you with a link to the interactive piece that is branded. So it works beautifully, but people will know it’s because you used their product.

The free version of Genially has no limits on the number of projects you can create and there are now more than 12,000,000 users worldwide designing with Genially and supporting the community.

There is a caveat, however. While the free version is substantive, some features — such as offline viewing and brand personalization — are reserved for paid plans only.

Creating a Great First Impression

The first thing users see when they land on your website significantly impacts their perception of your brand — and their likelihood to become paying customers.

The right graphic design software ensures your site delivers visual value from first impressions to eventual purchases, streamlining the process of ongoing aesthetic adjustment.

Knowing that visuals are so important, weighing your access to various platforms, and being honest about your own skill level, which software will you choose?

For me, Adobe Spark won the day with its wide range of easy-to-use features at no cost. I’ll be moving over from Canva to save my little business the monthly fee.

Should I decide to work on my design skills, I think I’ll go with Inkscape or GIMP.

When I feel like growing my marketing skills? I’ll definitely spend more time exploring Genially. To me, engaging interaction with a brand from the first click creates a great first impression.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in December 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Your project’s success hinges on a single crucial factor: clarity.

When we say clarity, we’re talking about crystal-clear instructions on who does what. Everyone involved in the project, from employees to stakeholders, should know their roles and responsibilities inside out.

Any confusion or oversight can lead to misunderstandings or conflicts, derailing your project faster than you can imagine.

That’s where the RACI matrix comes in. When integrated into your project lifecycle (PLC), this simple yet powerful approach spells out project roles and responsibilities, guiding your team toward collaboration and improved outcomes.

Click here to get HubSpot’s free RACI Matrix Template for your team

What is a RACI chart?

A RACI chart, also called the responsibility assignment matrix, visually maps out the roles of every individual involved in a project across four categories: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.

Each letter in the RACI acronym tells you who’s in charge of a specific task or deliverable in the project:

• R for those who execute tasks (Responsible)
• A for the decision-makers who hold ultimate responsibility (Accountable)
• C for the trusted advisors whose insights refine project execution (Consulted)
• I for those who track progress or take decisions at every project stage (Informed)

With this breakdown, every project participant knows their responsibilities, reducing mix-ups and driving project success.

What does RACI stand for?

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RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.

Here’s a closer look at each component:

Responsible

The Responsible person executes the task and is responsible for completing it. There can be several people responsible for the same task. Their mission is to perform the delegated task.

Example: Business analysts, developers, content writers, graphic designers.

Accountable

The Accountable person owns the task, approving deliverables and overseesing its completion. There’s only one accountable individual or authority per task. Their mission is to ensure the task is executed properly.

Example: Business owners, project managers, department heads, team leads.

Consulted

The Consulted person provides guidance and knowledge to help complete the task. They advise and share insights before big decisions are made, contributing to the task’s efficiency. There may be more than one individual consulting.

Example: Software architects, content editors, compliance officers, legal counsel.

Informed

The Informed person is kept aware of the project‘s progress but doesn’t actively intervene in its completion. There may be more than one person who fulfills this role. Their mission is to stay updated on the progress of the project or task.

Examples: Project committee members, executive leadership, external clients, customer support teams.

RACI Responsible vs Accountable

The Responsible person is task-oriented, whereas the Accountable person is outcome-oriented.

Interestingly, the same person can sometimes be both Responsible and Accountable for a task. This overlap often occurs in small teams or startups where resources are limited.

For example, a project manager might be planning and executing a project task (Responsible) and ensuring its success (Accountable).

• As Responsible, the project manager may directly handle specific tasks. For instance, they might develop the project timeline or create reports.
• As Accountable, the project manager ensures all tasks are completed on time and meet the project’s standards. They provide updates to stakeholders and approve final deliverables.

Why is it important to define RACI roles?

Defining RACI roles holds a single person or team accountable for each task. This has a twofold effect: 1) it reduces confusion and overlap, and 2) it promotes ownership and commitment to results.

Additionally, it helps you avoid situations where multiple team members are working on the same thing or against each other, improving team communication and collaboration.

Think of it like this: A RACI chart facilitates project processes. It helps in identifying bottlenecks and addressing issues, leading to better project outcomes without delays.

How to Create a RACI Matrix

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Eager to implement RACI into your team’s project planning? Follow these steps to create a RACI matrix for your company:

Step 1: Define the project scope and goals.

Wrap your head around what the project is all about — project scope, objectives, deliverables, and timelines. List out every single task or activity required for completion. This way, when you‘re outlining roles and responsibilities later, they’ll sync perfectly with project requirements and goals.

Let us explain — suppose you’re leading a software development project to create a new mobile app for a client.

Here, your goal can be to create a user-friendly, task-management app for busy professionals. As for the scope, the app may offer relevant features like intuitive task creation, organization tools, scheduling, reminders, and progress tracking.

Step 2: Create project tasks and milestones.

Break down the project into smaller tasks and milestones. Each task should be clear and measurable to ensure accountability and progress tracking.

Following our mobile app example, tasks may include gathering requirements, UI/UX design, frontend development, backend development, testing, and deployment. Milestones could be completing the design phase, achieving code freeze, running user acceptance tests (UAT), and launching the app on app stores.

Step 3: Identify project roles and stakeholders.

Identify all the players who’ll be executing tasks and making key calls throughout the project lifecycle. Project managers, team leads, subject matter experts, UX designers, clients, and other relevant stakeholders—round up the whole group.

Step 4: Assign responsibilities with RACI.

Next, for each task or milestone, decide who‘s doing what. Let’s continue with our mobile app example to illustrate.

• Responsible (R): Assign specific tasks to team members based on their skills. For instance, you can have UI/UX designers tackle wireframes and mockups, while developers take care of coding.
• Accountable (A): As the project head, you‘re ultimately accountable for the project’s success. You’ll oversee the entire development process, aligning it with client needs and making those crucial calls to keep things on track.
• Consulted (C): Rope in stakeholders and experts for advice. For instance, you can consult with clients to gather requirements or loop in QA testers to ensure quality standards are met.
• Informed (I): Keep stakeholders informed about the project. Share milestone achievements with stakeholders, update clients on progress, and keep end-users in the loop about app releases.

Step 5: Map out the RACI matrix.

It’s time to create the RACI matrix.

List all project tasks vertically and roles horizontally. Each intersection represents who’s involved in what. Use clear and concise language so that every participant knows their (and others’) roles.

For example:

Step 6: Review and validate.

Take a moment to review the RACI matrix with stakeholders.

Make sure it aligns perfectly with project goals and expectations. You must also validate and adjust each role’s responsibilities based on team and client feedback.

Step 7: Share with the team.

Once it’s good to go, share the RACI matrix with team members and project stakeholders.

This way, everyone will know their part to play and what’s expected in terms of teamwork, communication, and decision-making as the project unfolds.

Note: Creating a RACI matrix isn’t a one-and-done task. Continue monitoring it throughout the project lifecycle, tweaking as needed to keep up with shifting needs, team dynamics, and scope adjustments.

Free RACI Matrix Template

Don‘t want to start from scratch? Use HubSpot’s Free RACI Matrix Template to create a RACI chart for your projects.

Compatible with Excel, Google Sheets, PowerPoint, and Google Slides, this template is designed to enhance project coordination and productivity and improve communication flow.

Use it to simplify task delegation by breaking down duties and doling out roles and responsibilities in one convenient document — and effortlessly keep tabs on project progress.

Download our RACI Matrix Template

When should you use a RACI matrix for project management?

Use a RACI Matrix for project management in the following situations:

• Complex projects with many parts and players: RACI keeps everyone aligned and clarifies responsibilities, preventing tasks from falling through the cracks.
• Projects involving multiple departments or teams: It eliminates overlaps and gaps in responsibilities, sets clear expectations, and reduces the learning curve.
• Project reviews: It helps evaluate and adjust roles to ensure ongoing alignment and effectiveness.
• Managing numerous stakeholders: It clarifies who to approach for information or decisions, maintaining clear and efficient communication lines.
• Teams struggling with responsibility clarity: It defines accountability, distributes workloads evenly, and prevents finger-pointing.
• High team turnover: It provides a structured outline of responsibilities, helping new hires understand their roles quickly, and streamlines decision-making processes.

RACI Matrix Example

Here’s an example of a RACI matrix for a marketing campaign project, created using our free RACI template:

Here, the main tasks are: content creation, social media management, and performance tracking and communication.

The RACI matrix assigns roles (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) for each task. This ensures everyone’s on the same page and keeps the communication flowing smoothly throughout the campaign.

Tips for Creating an Effective RACI Matrix

• Engage stakeholders early: Get stakeholder input before you start with RACI. Put in the effort to understand their perspectives and expectations and accordingly chalk out the tasks and roles.
• Adopt a user-centric approach: If you want your team to continue using the RACI matrix, make it user-friendly. Don’t overcomplicate it—use clear and concise language and avoid jargon, so nobody has trouble grasping their roles and responsibilities.
• Prioritize clarity and ownership: Many users make the mistake of limiting the RACI scope to role assignment. While that’s crucial, focus on ownership. Each individual should feel accountable for completing their tasks successfully.
• Don’t overload roles: Be mindful of workload distribution when assigning tasks. Avoid overloading individuals or teams with too many responsibilities. Otherwise, task owners may get burned out and become less effective at their roles.
• Choose decision-making authority: For every task, the whole team should know who has the final say on specific tasks for decisions to avoid confusion and conflicts.
• Encourage collaboration and communication: While the RACI matrix delineates individual roles, it thrives on collaboration and open communication. Encourage team members to share insights, seek support, and provide feedback to boost overall project performance.
• Provide training and support: When assigning roles, make sure each participant has the necessary skills and resources to fulfill their responsibilities. If needed, offer training sessions or access to relevant tools and resources to support them.
• Regularly review and revise: Treat your RACI chart as a dynamic document that evolves with the project. Seek participant feedback and review it regularly to assess its effectiveness and relevance. Adjust the roles and responsibilities as needed so it’s always in alignment with project objectives.

RACI Model Alternatives

RACI is an excellent project management approach, but it’s not your only option.

Here are the top RACI model alternatives to consider:

DACI (Driver, Approver, Contributors, Informed)

DACI offers a clear roadmap for assigning roles based on involvement levels. The Driver takes the lead, the Approver gives the final nod, Contributors actively contribute, and those Informed stay updated throughout the project lifecycle.

This model is a perfect fit for decision-making processes or projects involving multiple stakeholders who need to be engaged and informed about outcomes.

RASCI (Responsible, Accountable, Support, Consulted, Informed)

RASCI combines responsibility with support. The Responsible ones tackle tasks, the Accountable party ensures success, Support providers offer assistance, those Consulted provide valuable expertise, and the Informed are kept updated.

It’s a handy tool for projects where collaboration and support are essential, like cross-functional initiatives or team-based projects.

RAPID (Responsible, Accountable, Perform, Input, Decide):

RAPID outlines roles according to various levels of involvement and decision-making. Responsible individuals perform tasks, Accountable individuals oversee outcomes, Performers get things done, Input providers offer insights, and Deciders make the final calls.

RAPID is ideal for complex projects with intricate decision-making processes, especially in hierarchical organizations.

Make RACI a Team-Driven Initiative

Once you’ve created your RACI chart, focus on the next steps: communication, alignment, and execution.

Hold a kickoff meeting to discuss the chart with your team. Use this meeting as an opportunity to clear any confusion and ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. It’s also a chance to gain buy-in from team members, creating a sense of ownership and commitment to the project.

Encourage open communication and collaboration among team members to address any issues or roadblocks. And keep updating the RACI chart as needed to align with evolving project goals and objectives.

As a digital marketing expert, I’ve tried several strategies over the years. And one thing I’ve learned is that marketing nonprofits requires a specialized approach.

Unlike businesses, nonprofits don’t sell products or services. Instead, they want people to support a noble cause.

Their marketing budget is also usually limited, but social networks come to the rescue. They’re free, run 24/7, and have a global audience already present.

In this guide, I’ll explain how to use social media for nonprofits and share some of best practices when creating content on each platform.

How to Leverage Social Media for Nonprofits

According to HubSpot’s 2024 Social Trends Report, 82% of marketers found that social media marketing was effective for their brands.

Experts who’ve worked with charitable organizations also vouch for social media as an effective marketing strategy for nonprofits.

Will Yang, head of growth and marketing at Instrumentl, says, “It enables direct interaction with the audience, allowing nonprofits to foster personal connections with their supporters — an essential aspect of fundraising and advocacy work.”

We’ve established that advocating for your cause on social media works. But does that mean marketing on all the social media channels is the best move? Not so much.

While it’s great to have a diversified nonprofit social media strategy, focusing on too many platforms at once uses up a lot of time and resources.

So, instead, I suggest selecting two to four platforms that work best for my cause and sticking to them until you reach your social media goals.

My favorites are Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X. Since each platform has its unique features and user preferences, you should follow different strategies to maximize my content’s impact.

1. Facebook

I’ve been using Facebook ever since I got my first smartphone.

But even though it’s one of the oldest social networks, it still remains the most popular among brands. HubSpot’s research found that 65% of B2C brands use Facebook as one of their top marketing channels in 2024.

And this is true for nonprofits as well. The 2023 Nonprofit Tech for Good report states that 96% of nonprofits have a Facebook Page.

Consider No Kid Hungry, a charity organization that aims to end childhood hunger in the U.S. The nonprofit has gained over 318,000 followers by regularly posting about its campaigns and activities on its Facebook Page.

Numbers aside, I prefer Facebook due to its simplicity and versatility. I’ve had success promoting all types of content, from texts and videos to infographics and polls. Let’s look at some strategies I follow.

How to use Facebook for nonprofits:

• Livestreaming. Compared to pre-recorded videos, livestreams give organizations higher engagement rates. You can provide real-time updates about your nonprofit’s activities by livestreaming them. At the same time, viewers can make donations through the livestream itself.
• Using the donation button. During a fundraising campaign for unsheltered people, one expert created a dedicated Facebook Page with a donation button. This made it easier for supporters to make donations once they visited the page.
• Joining Facebook groups. Groups allow nonprofits to reach a global audience that shares the same passion. You can post on different Facebook groups to ask for donations or volunteers. You can also manage your own group, where you can share updates with supporters.

2. Instagram

With 50% of B2B and 53% of B2C brands active on Instagram, it currently ranks as the third most popular social media platform among businesses. In fact, 23% of brands achieve the highest engagement on this platform.

However, Instagram only promotes visual content formats like images and videos. This can pose a challenge if you prefer writing about your brand. However, Instagram can unleash creativity.

Using various reel templates, memes, and other social media trends for nonprofits, you can turn serious charity information into fun content your audience will love.

Hilarity for Charity’s Instagram post recently grabbed my attention while scrolling through my newsfeed.

I like how they used a popular reel template to create a playful atmosphere while educating the masses about Alzheimer’s disease.

The organization spreads awareness about the condition using its own mascot, trending audio, and an eye-catching message.

How to use Instagram for nonprofits:

• Partnering with influencers. Influencer marketing is one of the key strategies to increase audience interaction, and Instagram is a great place to find public figures who are passionate about charitable causes. You can ask influencers to create reels showcasing their support for your cause.
• Cross-sharing. If I make a post on Facebook, I can share it on Instagram with one click. So, even if you’re low on time, you can quickly run a campaign on two social media platforms at once.
• Using Instagram Stories. You can use Instagram Stories to build curiosity among your followers and get them to visit your profile. Stories typically include sneak peeks into your latest campaigns, shoutouts to supporters, and some behind-the-scenes shots of volunteers working.

3. TikTok

With 39% of B2C brands using TikTok, this video-based platform is a solid choice for social media marketing. It supports charities not just through fundraising but also by rolling out new features.

For example, in 2023, TikTok donated $250,000 to the Rare Impact Fund while introducing features like sleep reminders and screen-time limits to support mental health.

TikTok’s demographics largely consist of people below the age of 34. This means I can easily reach Gen-Zers and younger millennials on the app.

Other nonprofits also use TikTok for growth and increased reach. American Cancer Society, for instance, has built a good presence on TikTok and has gained over 26,500 followers.

Xavier English, co-founder of Supermix, shares these tips: “If you’re trying to reach a really wide audience of people in a younger age bracket for a cause that has mass appeal, you’re probably more likely to find them on TikTok, which has a younger user base.”

How to use TikTok for nonprofits:

• Creating video content. I regularly create videos about field activities, fundraising campaigns, and event planning. This shows supporters how I’m spending their donations.
• Using Donation Stickers. I also make sure to add Donation Stickers to all my videos. This way, followers can directly make donations without spending time searching for a link.
• Uploading short videos. TikTok allows video uploads of up to three minutes. However, I upload shorter videos that are less than 30 seconds because these get the most engagement.

4. X (Formerly Twitter)

Modern businesses are shifting their focus to video-based platforms, which explains why only 31% of B2C brands view X as a top social media platform. However, I still consider X a great nonprofit marketing channel.

But it’s not just me. Other nonprofits have had great results on this platform. Consider Oceana International, an NGO dedicated to saving and restoring the oceans. It has amassed more than 496,000 followers on X.

X has a massive celebrity presence, which means you can grab the attention of celebs who might be interested in working for your cause.

Creating content on the platform is also easy, as it allows users to add short captions to images and videos.

However, what’s tiring about X is that I need to post daily. Otherwise, engagement rates quickly die down, and it becomes difficult to increase your reach once more.

How to use X for nonprofits:

• Organizing content into threads. X posts (formerly tweets) have a limit of 280 characters. But I’ve found that threads are a great way to get around the limit. Not only do they allow me to share more information, but they convince the X algorithm that my posts are engaging.
• Posting during prime time. The trick is to post at a time when users are most active. That’s when I get the highest engagement. In my experience, 12-3 PM is the best time to post on X.
• Using actionable CTAs. Another way I increase my engagement on X is by using calls-to-action like “Share if you support this cause” or “100k likes, and we’ll organize free health checks this month.” This encourages people to interact with my posts through likes, reposts, and comments, increasing my reach.
• Creating branded hashtags. Using popular hashtags can help you reach a large audience. You can also create your own hashtags and encourage followers to use them in their posts.

Similarly, hundreds of other nonprofits have successfully created social media campaigns on platforms like Reddit, Threads, and LinkedIn. The platform you choose depends on your goal and the demographics you want to target.

Meagan Jackman, president and CMO of The Harkey Group, provides guidance to help you choose the ideal platform:

“If a nonprofit needs corporate donations, the team should turn to LinkedIn. If there’s a youth nonprofit looking to speak to parents, they should leverage Facebook. If the message is informational, YouTube is a great medium.”

The ultimate goal is to be where your target audience can find you.

Support Your Cause Through Social Media for Nonprofits

You’ve probably faced a fair share of struggles when marketing your nonprofit organizations. However, building a strong social media presence on Facebook, X, TikTok, and Instagram made it easier to reach a global audience that shares your passion.

By following best practices and social media trends for nonprofits, you can leverage your social media accounts to create brand awareness and engage with your target audience.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in June 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

I’ve been helping people create letters of recommendation for jobs they want, internships, promotions, and more, for over ten years. I’ve learned during this time that if you’re not selling yourself effectively, you won’t make a lasting impression.

A recommendation letter differs from a resume or a cover letter because it comes from someone who knows you well, so it should feel more personal.

Read further to discover how to write a letter of recommendation that will help you land the job or opportunity you’ve been dreaming of.

Table of Contents

• What is a letter of recommendation?
• Do I write my own letter of recommendation?
• How to Write a Letter of Recommendation [+ Free Template]
• Free Letter of Recommendation Template
• Letter of Recommendation Samples to Inspire You
• Tips for Creating Effective Letters of Recommendations
• How to Ask For a Letter of Recommendation

What is a letter of recommendation?

A letter of recommendation is a one to two-page description of your merits from someone who has a particular insight into your character, work ethic, projects you’ve completed, and more.

Typically, a letter of recommendation is written by someone who is an authority figure to you, such as a past employer or manager. This person should be able to recommend your professional work or academic experience.

Do I write my own letter of recommendation?

You might be thinking, “Wait, don’t I have my (boss, colleague, or friend) write a letter of recommendation for me? Why must I read this blog to create a letter of recommendation?”

You can, of course, ask them to write a letter of recommendation for you from scratch. But don’t be surprised if it takes them a really long time to write it. Even then, it may not meet your expectations.

There’s nothing wrong with giving the person you’re asking an outline, a list of your past achievements, or even a draft of a letter of recommendation.

In fact, it’s expected that you will give the writer an idea of what you want them to include in the letter of recommendation while still allowing them the creative freedom to add their spin.

They can adjust whatever the letter is to fit what they feel comfortable signing their name to, and you will save them a significant amount of time — meaning you get a better letter of recommendation faster.

How to Write a Letter of Recommendation

Whether you’re writing a letter of recommendation for a professional or academic opportunity, the basic elements are the same.

Start by including the date and recipient’s information, introducing the writer, describing the applicant and their performance, and signing off with the writer’s contact information.

A long relationship with the candidate or a deep familiarity with their work is an important element of writing a letter of recommendation.

When ideating which details of your professional relationship to include, ask yourself which projects they worked with you on, what strengths you admire in them, specific moments they came through for you, and what you’ll miss about working with them when they leave.

Remember, a letter of recommendation is more than just a list of their professional experience, that’s what a resume is for, as the writer you can give a hiring manager insight into the personality of the candidate and if they’d be a good fit for the role.

Check out this free letter of recommendation template to get started.

Letter of Recommendation Format

1. Date

Including a date is important for establishing the validity of a letter of recommendation.

Use the specific date that corresponds with the candidate’s last day at an organization or even some time after they worked with the writer of the letter of recommendation.

If you’re asking for a letter of recommendation from a coworker or boss while still employed, be sure to tread lightly as most employers won’t be thrilled to recommend you to a job when you’re leaving.

If you do trust that they are ok recommending you, despite leaving the company, go ahead and put that day’s date.

2. Recipient’s Information

Write out the name, position, and company of the person the letter of recommendation is going to. Or, if you’re not sure what companies you will be applying your letter of recommendation to, feel free to keep this section generic so you can fill it out later as opportunities arise.

3. Introductions

Introduce the writer of the letter of recommendation. Remember, use the first person (whether you’re the person writing the letter of recommendation, or the receiver creating a draft).

Go ahead and list their areas of expertise, education, current title, and anything else applicable. If the writer is a previous manager you’ll want to list their position, how long they’ve been at the company and their education. You should also say how long they’ve worked with or known you.

4. Performance and Qualifications

Use this section to talk about the commitment of the letter’s requester in your organization. You

can also mention their most notable traits, skills, and abilities through adjectives.

This section is the bulk of your letter and the most important part. Remember, your boss/coworker/friend can put their own spin on what you say in the letter, you’re just giving them an idea of what you’d like included.

Ask yourself these questions when writing this section:

1. How can I tell the story of my accomplishments?
2. What personal details need to be included?
3. What motivates me?
4. What challenges have I overcome?
5. What are my most relevant skills?
6. Why do I want to work at this company or apply to this school?
7. What makes me a good fit for this role?

Here’s an example of what answering these questions might look like:

“Jane Doe became my employee in 2016 after transferring from the Sales department. She is extremely motivated by sales-centric goals, employee satisfaction, and choosing tactics that deliver a high return on investment.

In my time working with Jane Doe, I’ve watched her tackle challenging projects, such as when our startup was bought out by a bigger brand.

She made sure each member of her team transitioned seamlessly while also still meeting her quarterly goals, an accomplishment that only one other team at the company achieved during this time.

Her background in sales has made her a friendly team player, a wise financial decision-maker, and an influential leader. She would be an excellent fit for any role that needs someone who is going to meet hard-to-reach targets, lead a team to excellence, and maintain organization.

In my time working with Jane Doe, I’ve often used her as my go-to-person because I know she is both reliable and hard-working.”

Don’t forget to write this section in the first person, and don’t be afraid to really sell yourself and your achievements!

If you’re not comfortable with being this specific, here’s an example that leaves space for the writer to put in their own thoughts.

“[NAME] became my employee in [YEAR] after transferring from [DEPARTMENT]. She is extremely motivated [ENTER PERSONAL QUALITIES].

In my time working with [NAME], I’ve watched her tackle challenging projects, such as [PAST PROJECT(S)]. [SENTENCE ABOUT WAS DONE WELL].

Their background in [ENTER BACKGROUND] has made them [FAVORABLE PERSONAL QUALITIES]. They would be an excellent fit for any role that needs [DESCRIPTION OF ROLE THEY’RE APPLYING FOR].

In my time working with [NAME], [DESCRIPTION OF HOW WE’VE WORKED TOGETHER IN PAST].”

5. Contact Information

Finally, you can close this letter wishing the applicant luck in their new professional stage. Most importantly, provide detailed contact information, as interviewers will need to confirm the information provided in this document.

How long should a letter of recommendation be?

Like a cover letter or a resume, a letter of recommendation should be about one page long. I’ve often erred on the side of shorter than longer because you really can say everything you need to in one page.

If you’re having a hard time whittling your letter of recommendation down to one page, consider asking a friend with writing experience to edit it down to the most important details, or even using AI tools to help you.

Free Letter of Recommendation Template

Writing your letters of recommendation from scratch can be time-consuming and difficult. Download your free recommendation template (pictured below) here as a Google Docs or Microsoft Word file.

Letter of Recommendation Samples to Inspire You

Now that you have the letter of recommendation template downloaded, you might be wondering where to start.

The free HubSpot letter of recommendation template gives you:

• Compatibility with Word or Google Docs
• Easily identifiable space to describe the abilities, attitudes, and skills of the person you are recommending by following the template structure
• The capability to edit the letter to align with your company’s corporate image
• Options to print or send the letter of recommendation in your desired format

Try filling out each blank part of the template with the applicable information. It will then begin to look something like this example:

Generic Employee Letter of Recommendation Sample

[New York City, April 15, 2024]

[Mr. James Big]

[Chief of Business Operations]

[VIC or Very Important Company]

To whom it may concern:

Please accept my warm greetings. As the CEO at Business International, it is a great pleasure for me to provide this employment reference letter for Jane Doe, who has served as Head of Sales.

She has worked at this company for five years. During that time, I have confirmed that Jane has the necessary experience to carry out her job to the highest standards of the company and with the values that I consider essential.

At Business International, Jane has shown interest and efficiency in the tasks of Head of Sales. Given our working relationship, I have observed that she is extremely motivated by sales-centric goals, employee satisfaction, and choosing tactics that deliver a high return on investment.

She made sure each member of her team transitioned seamlessly while also still meeting her quarterly goals, an accomplishment that only one other team at the company achieved during this time. Her background in sales has made her a friendly team player, a wise financial decision-maker, and an influential leader.

She would be an excellent fit for any role that needs someone who is going to meet hard-to-reach targets, lead a team to excellence, and maintain organization. In my time working with Jane Doe, I’ve often used her as my go-to girl because I know she is both reliable and hard-working.

It is for this reason that I highly recommend her to your company, as I have witnessed how the response to her assignments has added value and growth to our company, just as I am sure she will be able to contribute to the new organization where she will work.

This letter is extended at the request of Jane Doe for the purposes that best suit her.

Thank you,

[Rebecca Johnson]

[CEO]

[Business International]

[businessinternational.org / [email protected] / 123-456-7891]

This is a good starting point but still pretty generic, because when you read this letter of recommendation, you’re not super sure that the writer actually knows who it’s being sent to.

It feels more like a general recommendation of Jane, instead of someone who knows her very well recommending her for a specific job. It feels generic because it lacks important details about Jane’s performance and her work personality.

Let’s spice it up a bit. Here’s another sample that’s been adjusted to better describe Jane and what she does for the company:

Better Employee Letter of Recommendation Sample

[New York City, April 15, 2024]

[Mr. James Big]

[Chief of Business Operations]

[VIC or Very Important Company]

Mr. James Big,

As the CEO of Business International, it is a great pleasure to provide this employment reference letter for Jane Doe, who has worked for five years as Head of Sales at Business International.

I am thrilled to recommend Ms. Jane Doe to your organization. As you read further, you will find she will be a great asset to any organization looking for a high performing Head of Sales.

During our past five years, I’ve watched Jane flourish as she’s moved from a customer success manager into her role as Head of Sales, managing a team of twenty sales associates. About three years ago, our startup company was bought by Business International, and Jane took the transition in stride.

She led the way for her team during the transition by ensuring each team member onboarded their new role and tasks, worked with employees we gained during the transition, and even still met her quarterly sales goals. In fact, she was one of only two departments that still met their goals during the transition phase.

Jane’s background in sales has made her a friendly team player, a wise financial decision-maker, and an influential leader. I’ve often used Jane as my go-to girl because I know when I give her a task, she won’t just meet my expectations but will rather wow me with her ingenuity and creative problem-solving.

I’ve heard firsthand from Jane’s customers just how beloved and appreciated she is. One customer even raved about her persistence in solving a problem he had with billing.

Jane went above and beyond to ensure the customer’s problem was solved while also forging a strong relationship that has led to customer retention and referrals. Jane maintains a 95% customer retention rate, one of the highest at our company.

For this reason, I highly recommend her to your company. I am sure Jane will be able to contribute greatly to VIC, and I’m excited to watch her career trajectory.

Thank you,

[Rebecca Johnson]

[CEO]

[Business International]

[businessinternational.org / [email protected] / 123-456-7891]

Did you notice that this letter of recommendation felt a lot more personal?

It still uses the basic elements that every letter of recommendation should have, but there’s a lot more attention to detail, including storytelling and important statistics. When you write a letter of recommendation for yourself or someone else, include lots of details to avoid sounding generic.

Tips for Creating an Effective Letter of Recommendation

1. Use statistics.

Just like a resume, a letter of recommendation needs to quantify what you’ve accomplished. You offer proof of your performance and accomplishments by including at least one statistic in your letter.

Here are some possible stats you can include in your letter:

• Number of customers you’ve retained or onboarded
• Number of sales you’ve contributed to
• Any statistic you’ve improved upon (ex., improved SEO results by 11%)
• Number of projects you’ve completed over a set amount of time
• Dollar amount of influence you’ve created for the company
• Number of employees you’ve managed or trained

The possibilities for including statistics in your letter are endless. Try making a list of as many as possible and then narrow down which ones you think are most important and relevant to the position you’re applying for.

2. Be specific and simple.

Anyone can churn out a generic letter of recommendation that, upon further scrutiny, doesn’t really say a lot. The more specific you are in listing your accomplishments, the more you’ll avoid generic platitudes.

Hiring managers want to see that the writer of your letter of recommendation knows and understands you. If your letter of recommendation sounds generic, they might doubt how close you are and why you’d choose someone who doesn’t know your accomplishments to write your letter of recommendation.

When you’re working on being as specific as possible, you should also try to edit out any filler words that aren’t needed. It’s common for letters of recommendation to say the same thing more than once, but I’d limit mentioning something like a job title to only twice (with the exception of your name).

Consider reading your LOR out loud to identify which sentences should be cut.

3. Tell a compelling story.

If you’ve been a part of an organization for a while, you likely have an interesting story.

That story might be about how you went from one lower-ranking role to a higher-one, and it would include details about the hiring process, accomplishments that got you promoted, and how you’ve managed in that role since obtaining it.

Or, your story might be about a difficult project you completed, with details like deliverables you achieved, the impact you made, revenue goals reached, etc.

Check out HubSpot’s guide on storytelling to get a better idea of what story your letter of recommendation should tell.

4. Get personal.

Think about the person who will write and sign off on your recommendation letter.

What are some of your best memories with this person? Were there long lunches where you talked about shared interests, or meetings where they made you feel valued? Think about what their favorite memories with you might have been.

This is one section where you will definitely want to jog their memory to get a personal story or quality of yours that they appreciate. Feel free to list some of your favorite moments for them to reference if they so choose.

How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation

If you want to get an employer to agree to write your letter of recommendation, you’ll want to follow a few basic steps.

Step 1: Assess your relationship.

You won’t want to ask just anyone to write you a letter of recommendation.

If you have multiple managers up the chain of command, choose the manager that has worked the closest with you unless your working relationship hasn’t always been smooth.

If you’re not completely sure that the person you’re asking has a high opinion of you, don’t ask them to write your letter of recommendation.

Some letters of recommendation have to be submitted anonymously to maintain integrity. You’d hate to ask someone for a letter of recommendation just for them to submit a weak or unfavorable letter.

Great candidates for writing your letter will have:

• A good working relationship with you
• A knowledge of your past accomplishments
• An understanding of your growth at the company
• A willingness to help you out by writing a compelling letter

Step 2: Write your own letter or create an outline.

While the Hubspot Free Letter of Recommendation Template is a great starting point, you won’t want to just send them the template and hope for the best.

Write your own example letter, or create an outline/list of information you want included. Before you even ask for a letter of recommendation, this step should be completed, so you can give them your example letter or outline at the very beginning to avoid wasting their time.

They’re also more likely to agree to write your letter of recommendation if they know they won’t be starting from scratch.

Step 3: Ask for your letter.

When you ask someone to write you a recommendation, you’re asking them to do you a favor. Return the favor by including a sweet treat, or gift, or taking them out to lunch when you ask for their help.

Be sure to let them know what kind of deadline you’re working with and ask if they’d like periodic reminders leading up to when you need the letter of recommendation.

Step 4: Write a thank you note.

This final step is optional, but I highly suggest you do it.

Once you’ve received your letter of recommendation, write a thank you note to your recommender. Include details about them that you admire.

Remember, there’s a good chance the hiring manager or school might reach out to your recommender to ask them more questions, so you’ll want to remain on good terms with them.

Using Your Letter of Recommendation

Now that you have your completed letter of recommendation, be sure to use it as much as possible. Jobs often only ask for a resume and a cover letter, but that doesn’t mean you can’t also attach your letter of recommendation.

If a job limits your attachments, contact the hiring manager on LinkedIn and send over your letter of recommendation.

Creating a letter of recommendation might be a process that you repeat, especially if you’re applying for academic spots and positions, as they often require more than one.

Use this free template whenever you have to start over on a letter of recommendation. If you need multiple letters, consider having each address a unique aspect of your work or school experience.

Are you noticing your traffic from Google starting to go down? Algorithm updates in 2024 have shaken traditional SEO.

Recent Google algorithm updates are disrupting search engine optimization (SEO), shifting the focus from traditional tactics and long-tail informational queries. Founders and CMOs are now turning to content and community-driven strategies to boost engagement and visibility.

At HubSpot, we saw firsthand how these updates impacted previously high-performing articles and pages, leading to declining traffic, reduced visibility, and an urgent need for new, responsive marketing strategies.

As Kieran and I discuss in a recent episode of Marketing Against the Grain, creator-generated content has shown promising results in connecting businesses and their audiences in a way that SEO alone no longer can. These shifts not only signify a pivot in marketing logistics but also an evolution in how we engage with our customers and shape our brand presence cross-platform.

Marketing teams, founders, and CMOs are testing these new approaches to engage their audiences and improve their online visibility. But what’s working — and what’s just noise?

Here are 6 trends that Kieran and I are seeing on the rise in a post-SEO world.

Post-SEO Content and Influencer Trends

1. B2B Creators & Creator Channels

Even before the algorithm updates, marketing channels like Google search and paid ads were becoming less effective at driving exponential growth in traffic. Meanwhile, platforms favoring creators and indirect conversions, such as podcasts, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, are gaining traction. Why? “Because B2B is having its creator moment,” says Kieran.

Creator-focused channels prioritize personalities over brands, fostering person-to-person connections between customers and products or services. Particularly for B2B companies, integrating creator-led strategies — whether through influencer partnerships or hiring creators in-house — is now crucial.

2. Outbound Marketing and AI

We’re seeing a significant boom in outbound marketing and sales, which I believe will continue for the next three to five years while the internet recalibrates after the recent algorithm changes and new inbound channels emerge.

Therefore, to stay ahead, it’s becoming even more important to sharpen your sales and marketing team’s proficiency with AI tools. For example, AI can streamline prospecting efforts and personalize outreach, making it easier to identify and engage potential leads.

3. Video Content

“I see a world where YouTube maybe becomes Google’s core business long term,” says Kieran. And I absolutely agree, as video content is far harder to replicate and much more defensible from AI.

Kieran goes on to emphasize that pivoting towards “more difficult” content like video can offer marketing teams significant leverage. Why? Easier content strategies become less effective quickly because everyone adopts them. So while pivoting your strategy to invest in platforms like YouTube and partnerships with video creators may require more time and effort upfront, it can lead to lower costs per lead and higher engagement in the long run.

4. Product Differentiation

Adopting a strategy of being “different in every way” like James Dyson’s approach — which we discuss in further detail on the podcast — ensures that your product stands out. Differentiation is essential, especially as markets become more saturated and traditional strategies become commoditized.

I believe a product needs to be at least ten times more differentiated to succeed. Taking product differentiation to another level will be a core trademark of successful companies over the next five to ten years.

5. Community-Driven Platforms

Another significant result of the algorithm update is that community-driven sites like Reddit and Quora can have preferential search engine ranking over traditional informational articles, as these platforms are also difficult to replicate with large language models and artificial intelligence (AI).

For marketers, this means that previously high-ranking content may be outranked by a rich Reddit or Quora thread on the same topic. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly important for businesses to establish a presence on these community-aggregated sites to stay connected to users.

6. Founders as Creators

This last trend is a controversial take but I believe that if you are considering starting a company, you need to be a creator in that market for six to 18 months before starting that company.

Founders who build an audience using media channels such as YouTube, newsletters, and podcasts can create significant authority and trust within their industry. Building a strong personal brand early on helps founders get to know and engage their audience, fostering loyalty and trust even before the product hits the market.

Navigating the Post-SEO World

Adapting to recent shifts in SEO means aggressively rethinking your approach to running your business and marketing teams.

For an in-depth analysis on even more strategies, 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.

Imagine you have hundreds of files in a folder labeled “Important Files.” Some of the files are named by date, some by subject, and some by author.

You have to sift through all of them to find a review of the new neighborhood pizza place. Without a consistent filename or organizational structure, you’re not going to find that review anytime soon.

That scenario illustrates the value of technical SEO, which I learned about while managing a project to rebuild a previous employer’s website from the ground up.

The original website didn’t have a consistent formula for creating new URLs — it was like a folder full of erratically named files — which made it hard for search engines to index and rank new pages.

Without an appropriate URL structure, implementing a keyword-based SEO strategy wouldn’t have done us much good. We needed a strategy that met us where we were.

I share this because it demonstrates two of the most important points in this nine-step guide to drafting an SEO proposal: 1. Know your potential client’s needs, and 2. Use clear, easy-to-understand language.

Table of Contents

• What is an SEO proposal?
• What to Include in an SEO Proposal
• The Future of SEO: Is AI Taking Over?

What is an SEO proposal?

When a potential client wants to level up their search engine optimization (SEO), you’ll need to draft a successful proposal to win their business.

I talked to half a dozen experts to create this SEO proposal template, which I encourage you to adapt to your own needs and clientele.

The experts represent a wide range of experience, including nonprofits, tech companies, small businesses, and large corporations.

Everybody handles SEO proposals a little differently, but there are some clear do’s and don’ts — including one piece of advice that every single expert mentioned.

1. Goals: Begin your proposal with a few key goals, which you’ll define based on technical research and getting to know your client and their needs.

Your job as an SEO professional, after a discovery call with the potential client, is to identify what problems you can solve for them. This usually begins with a website audit.

“I always start with an audit, because I can’t improve something if I don’t know what’s going on,” Merove Heifetz, founder and chief digital strategist of Acquisition Digital, tells me. “The audit is really foundational.”

Brent D. Payne, founder and CEO of Loud Interactive, shared a little bit about his audit process. He begins by looking at the client’s Google Search Console for current rankings and traffic. He also likes to get clients’ revenue models to see “how many dollars they typically get from a web visitor.”

Armed with this data, he spends several hours doing keyword research using tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush, and uses AI to organize keywords into categories and subcategories. The result is a massive spreadsheet — we’re talking 50,000 or 60,000 lines of data — that reveals strengths and opportunities.

You can also download HubSpot’s free keyword research template to help organize and analyze data collected during this step.

HubSpot’s own Head of EN Growth, Rory Hope, advises aligning your SEO strategy with your client’s business goals very early in the relationship. “It will allow you to plan the SEO roadmap more closely to those goals whenever possible,” he says.

Pro tip: The website audit is key, but don’t discount how fruitful a good conversation can be. Tory Gray, CEO and founder of The Gray Dot Company, says that “it’s really important to listen to the client.

What are they looking for? How can you give them what they need? Because if you can reflect that in the proposal and the work that you do, [you] will stand out.”

Hope agrees. “Focus entirely on the client, their business, and problems and pain points.”

Can AI do it for me?

It can certainly help! Many people in the SEO industry use AI to organize and interpret huge amounts of data gleaned during website audits and competitor research. This can be a huge time-saver when you’re defining goals.

It’s worth noting that a lot of seasoned professionals have invested in proprietary AI tools. Payne says that Loud Interactive spent three months programming one such tool — and it’s reduced a month’s worth of work to three hours.

2. Executive Summary: In a few sentences, lay out the broad strokes of your plan using jargon-free language.

“Describe the service [you’ll provide] in as broad, friendly, and approachable terms as possible,” says freelance marketing strategist Rachel Claff.

There’s plenty of time to get into the weeds; right now you just want to demonstrate that you understand the client’s goals and have a strategy for meeting them.

Claff suggests structuring your proposal like a funnel, with the broad services outlined at the top, and going into more detail in the scope and budget.

Pro tip: Use plain language. Every SEO expert I talked to, regardless of their specialty or industry, emphasized how important it is to leave the jargon at the door. Write like a human, be friendly, define acronyms and other industry terms, and be clear and concise.

Can AI do it for me?

As long as you’re prepared to edit out jargon or other unclear language, tools like ChatGPT can speed up this process.

3. Research and Analytics: Based on your research and website audit, provide a few key insights.

This one may be hard to hear if you love a good spreadsheet (I see you), but your proposal should contain just a few key insights.

Phillip Lunn, CEO and co-founder of West Loop SEO, says, “Don’t burden potential clients with terms and data that could be reserved for the person behind the computer doing the implementations.”

The goal of your proposal is for the potential client to become your client. They don’t need to see 20 pages of data — but they do need to trust that you’ve built an SEO roadmap that will achieve their business goals.

Pro tip: To avoid overwhelming a potential client, Payne doesn’t open with his 500-megabyte spreadsheet. He uses insights from the data to create 12-page Google Slides presentations, which are a lot more palatable for the layperson.

Can AI do it for me?

Almost certainly, depending on your comfort and experience with AI tools. It’s not a substitute for your own experience and insight, but it can speed up your research and analysis. As Payne puts it, “AI is an efficiency tool.”

4. Opportunities: What specific areas can you help your client achieve significant results?

Don’t underestimate the power of a case study to demonstrate the value of your work. Claff says that many clients are surprised by how quickly they see results, so using a previous success as an example is more persuasive than simply promising to “boost your SEO.”

Rory Hope says, “Demonstrate the value you‘ve achieved for other clients. Include quotes. And if you can’t share primary data, use a third-party tool like Ahrefs to show the visibility uplifts.”

Can AI do it for me?

If you’re using case studies from your own experience, you’re your own best resource. That doesn’t mean AI can’t help, especially if you have access to proprietary tools.

5. Trade-offs: Be crystal clear about the scope of your proposal, both in terms of what is included and what isn’t.

Tory Gray gave me a great example of what this can look like.

Her firm often works with nonprofits that want to avoid the word “charity,” but “they still want to show up [in searches] for ‘climate change charity’ or ‘water charity’ or whatever they focus on. So how do they do that?”

It’s a tricky question that she navigates through a lot of conversation with the client. Clients have different levels of comfort; one might be comfortable using the word “charity” in alt text that describes images, and another might want to avoid it altogether.

When Gray proposes solutions, she ensures that the client understands the trade-offs.

If your proposal includes “musts” and “nice-to-haves,” note these in your budget (step 8) to avoid scope creep.

Pro tip: “Be 100% above board and make sure [you’re] delivering the right information,” Gray says. And be humble: Gray also uses this as an opportunity for the potential client to correct her if there’s been any misunderstandings.

Can AI do it for me?

Your experience is one of the most valuable things you can bring into a client partnership. If you often work with clients with complex requests, use AI to help spark ideas, but rely on your own experience with similar challenges.

6. Expectations and Deliverables: In clear, plain language, lay out what you’ll need from your client and what they can expect from you.

What information will the client need to provide upfront, and on an ongoing basis? What aspects of the project require collaboration? What kinds of results should they expect to see?

Rory Hope puts it succinctly: “Outlining what SEO can and can’t achieve is very important for expectation management.” He suggests building this into your SEO roadmap by including organic traffic leads and revenue uplift projections next to each SEO priority.

Pro tip: Hope adds, “Clearly list out each deliverable that you’ll be completing for a client, both at the beginning during the audit phase, but also as an ongoing part of the strategy. Consider your key decision-maker, and use language that will appeal to that decision-maker.”

Rachel Claff stresses that a successful proposal hinges on listening to your client, and offers this example: “Pinpointing keywords is a collaboration between the two of you … If you ask [the client] for their optimal keywords, it’s not always going to match with what will actually get them the most return.”

Your client — let’s say it’s the new neighborhood pizza joint — may want their website to be on the first page of search results for “pizza.”

I used Ahrefs’ keywords explorer and found that “pizza” will be “super hard” to rank for, so I’d suggest an alternative to the client that will meet their goal of increasing foot traffic.

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Pro tip: Be specific and don’t promise what you can’t deliver. Phillip Lunn says that although his clients expect him to bring in more high-quality traffic, he likes to set more specific expectations based on the client’s current digital presence and the data he’s gleaned.

Can AI do it for me?

Every SEO expert I spoke with, even those who lean heavily on AI tools, emphasized the importance of getting to know your client. Expectations and deliverables are specific to each client, so tread carefully if you use AI.

7. Timeline: Because SEO isn’t a one-and-done proposition, include your recommendations for both the short- and long-term.

Some potential clients, especially if this is their first serious foray into SEO, may think that it’s something you do once.

But “the processes undertaken to gain organic traffic are slow and steady — because that’s really what organic traffic is,” Merove Heifetz says.

Your timeline should include your estimates for research, implementation, and maintenance.

Can AI do it for me?

If you have estimates for certain tasks, AI can definitely help you build a realistic timeline.

8. Budget: What can you reasonably accomplish within your client’s budget?

What do you charge, and what is your payment schedule? This is also a good place to revisit expectations to avoid falling prey to scope creep.

Rory Hope suggests including the number of hours your team will allocate to the project. “The more granular you can be, the better,” he says, “as it builds transparency” with the client.

Tory Gray adds a note of advice for people starting out in SEO: “Don’t be afraid to charge more. … Don’t undervalue yourself or the value you are bringing to this business — and how much money you are going to make them.”

Pro tip: Heifetz provides “specific recommendations and the level of priority for those recommendations.” Clients need different levels of support, so she also offers options: The client can implement strategies with her supervisory support, they can divvy up the work, or Heifetz’s team can handle all of it.

Can AI do it for me?

Just be sure you double-check its math.

9. CTA: What is the clear, simple next step your potential client needs to take to sign a contract with you?

The call to action should be the easiest, quickest step of your proposal: Tell your potential client how to become your actual client.

Can AI do it for me?

Sure it can, but do you really need it to? The call to action shouldn’t change much from proposal to proposal, so whether your potential client needs to click a button or reply to an email, let them know what the next step is.

The Future of SEO: Is AI Taking Over?

If you’re just getting started in the client-facing side of the SEO industry, you may feel the pressure of artificial intelligence closing in around you.

Our experts are resoundingly clear on this point: AI isn’t going to replace humans. “SEO isn’t dead or dying,” Merove Heifetz tells me. “It’s just changing.”

Brent D. Payne uses proprietary AI in his work, and he predicts a significant price reduction in the not-too-distant future, because AI makes it so easy to scale up. But he agrees: “I don’t think SEO will ever go away.”

It would say that. But our SEO experts agree.

Payne also points out, “People are slow to adopt new technologies. We were slow to trust the internet. We’ll be slow to trust AI.”

In the background of Payne’s Zoom window, I noticed an Apple Macintosh Classic, a model that was discontinued in the early 1990s. He said, “I like the juxtaposition to the AI work that we’re doing.

I think it shows how far we’ve managed to come over the past 30 years when it comes to society. And I want it to be a constant reminder that humanity will continue to evolve with technology.”

Using the SEO Proposal Template

Just as SEO differs based on a client’s goals, resources, and industry, so will your proposals.

Use our free SEO proposal template as a guideline, and adapt it for your own needs and clientele. You aren’t going to be replaced by robots anytime soon.

As the person sending the HubSpot marketing emails, I know the importance of crafting email sequences that nurture relationships, drive website visits, and encourage sales. I’ve learned the hard way that the types of emails you send significantly impact engagement.

With 87% of marketers planning to maintain or increase their investment in email marketing, it’s an excellent time to ensure you maximize your email ROI.

We wanted to dive deep into what marketers are doing right (and not so right), so we ran a study asking marketers about their results from different types of emails.

After several all-nighters reviewing the results, I’ve put together takeaways and tips to power your email marketing strategy.

Table of Contents:

• Types of Emails with the Highest Engagement
• Types of Emails with the Lowest Engagement
• Finding the Right Types of Emails for Your Marketing Strategy

But which of these marketing mail types get the most engagement, and which fall flat? Let’s dig into what our survey found.

4 Types of Emails With the Highest Engagement

The four types of marketing emails with the highest engagement are multimedia, basic, discount, and articles.

1. Multimedia Emails

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In our survey, 41% of marketers said that multimedia emails captured the highest engagement, making it the best email type on the list. People generally spend less than 10 seconds reading brand emails, so you need to catch their attention fast.

I like to use multimedia elements like videos, photos, GIFs, and interactive elements to grab my audience’s attention, and I’m not the only one.

Chad DeBolt, search marketing director at marketing agency Surchability, says, “Visual content is processed faster and can convey complex information succinctly. For instance, embedding a video tutorial in an email led to a 20% increase in click-through rates for one of our campaigns.”

When I use multimedia in welcome emails, it makes a strong first impression with new subscribers. I also use enticing graphics to ensure ongoing engagement with email newsletters and lead nurturing campaigns.

Why multimedia emails work:

• Visuals like images, videos, and GIFs quickly capture attention.
• Multimedia elements support more dynamic storytelling.
• Interactive elements encourage engagement.

2. Basic Emails

The word “basic” may sound boring to some, but in my experience, regular emails do well because they are familiar.

Almost everyone communicates with friends and family via email at some point, so basic emails get a cognitive read bias.

Other marketers see the same, with 38% finding that basic emails highlighting relevant links provide the highest engagement.

In sales campaigns, I find a series of emails with light imagery the most effective.

For example, this simple and clear email from YouTube quickly highlights the benefits of YouTube Premium, offers free introductory pricing, and leads up to a specific action without feeling overly promotional.

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Because they read like personal emails, these basic formats are a staple in most of my sales funnel automations where I want to follow up and build relationships with potential customers.

Why basic emails work:

• The lack of distractions makes it easier to bring focus to a call-to-action.
• Minimal use of brand imagery feels less promotional.
• A conversational style supports relationship-building.

3. Discount Emails

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Everyone loves to save, myself included, so I’m not surprised promotional emails with discounts made our top four list. In fact, for 32% of marketers, these emails are the number one email type for delivering engagement.

When I’m looking to drive sales, I find that promotional codes, sales announcements, and sending free resources can provide a nice boost or pull double duty and act as reengagement emails.

However, in my experience, discounts alone don’t guarantee high engagement. Greg Zakowicz, senior ecommerce expert at marketing automation firm Omnisend, recommends that marketers include value-adds, social proof, and product recommendations to increase the engagement of offer emails.

Zakowicz says, “By using customer data such as website browsing and purchase history, brands can automatically insert customer-specific recommended products into each email, increasing the likelihood they engage.”

I’ve also found that including the promotion or special offer in your email subject lines increases open rates.

Why discount emails work:

• Discounts can help convert new customers and re-engage inactive subscribers.
• Subscribers may search inboxes specifically for discounts.
• Limited-time offers increase urgency through fear of missing out (FOMO).

4. Article Emails

Article format emails are a newcomer to this list, with 24% of marketers listing them as their highest engagement message type.

They’re also a great email example of how information gets attention. Similar in theory to blog content marketing, the articles come across less as a sales email and more as a helpful friend.

I like that these emails provide value right away by including the original content in the email instead of making readers click through to a website.

And because these emails don’t ask for a purchase, I find them to be excellent lead-nurturing emails. Since there’s no click-through to track, it also simplifies my metrics tracking to open stats.

I particularly like this example from Bloomreach which dives right into a relevant topic for its ecommerce audience. They use the article to provide valuable content, gain credibility, and create relevance around their links so readers are more likely to engage.

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Why article emails work:

• Readers get value right away without having to go to a website.
• Thought leadership doesn’t come across as sales-y.
• Articles provide relevant content for in-text links.

4 Types of Emails With the Lowest Engagement

There’s no perfect marketing email, but some fall far short compared to the highest-performing marketing email types (and may even increase the dreaded unsubscribe rates).

Let’s dive into which types of emails received the least votes from marketers when asked about performance.

1. Product/Service Announcement Emails

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Only 21% of marketers say emails announcing new products yield the most engagement. These can be less effective because they’re more sales-y than other types, and if the product isn’t relevant to a subscriber, they’ll ignore the message in their inbox.

Personally, I see announcement emails as a balancing act. Generic product announcements without a hook are almost like cold calling. However, it can pay off if I lean into personalization and advanced segmentation to get the announcement to targeted customers.

For example, let’s say you own a pet store and want to announce a new line of cat food. If you divide your email list into segments based on pet type, you can pull lists of cat owners and dog owners. Then, email the cat owners only and increase your engagement chances.

Your shopping cart abandonment lists are also great resources for targeting customers. Use abandoned cart emails to increase engagement by highlighting products your subscribers have already viewed.

Be careful to avoid sending too many, though, as too many notifications of new messages can turn customers away.

How to improve results:

• Leverage behavior-based automation triggers, such as abandoned shopping carts.
• Use advanced segmentation for increased relevance.
• Personalize the subject line or body copy.

2. Industry Content Emails

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Except for specialized industries like aviation, most customers don’t care what’s happening in our world; they are more interested in the product and service. Only 16% of marketers get the most engagement from industry-topic emails.

In my experience, I find that they lack urgency compared to other messages in my inbox. I’m likely to move these to my “Read Later” folder and completely forget about them.

That said, I still like these types of emails as a low-stakes way to nurture leads or when I’m using my email marketing strategy to establish thought leadership. The key to leveraging these kinds of emails is to let your audience know how it helps them and tie it back to your products and services.

Offering an opt-in choice for industry-related emails can also help improve engagement with this type of email by letting customers self-target. I’ve seen this most commonly for news outlets and publication websites, like the Washington Post below, but it can work for ecommerce and B2B as well.

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How to improve results:

• Let readers choose to opt in for thought leadership newsletters.
• Tie the content back to an audience pain point or goal.

3. Emails Promoting Contests/Competitions

I admit this one surprised me when I was digging through the data. Only 16% of marketers said their highest engagement emails promoted contests and competitions.

The combined effort to enter and the expectation of low winning odds may be the culprit. Plus, if you’re sending these emails during peak work hours, there’s a good chance your subscribers have higher-priority tasks on their minds.

While these types of emails may not have the highest engagement rates, they can still be a fun way to encourage subscriber participation when used in moderation.

For example, I recently received an email from Canva challenging subscribers to design a galaxy using their new Text to Image feature.

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Instead of trying to sell people the new feature, Canva encourages people to try it out by using a fun competition. As a result, people who don’t have an immediate need or use for the feature now have a reason to explore it right away.

To get the most out of email contests and competitions, I integrate social media and user-generated content to encourage engagement in a fun way — especially for existing customers.

Asking people to post media with a contest hashtag is an excellent way to get people to engage and create user-generated content (UGC) for your brand.

How to improve results:

• Integrate social media so your audience can see others participating.
• Tie contests into relevant product or service features.
• Send these emails outside of work hours.

4. Event Announcements

Falling far behind the pack, today’s busy schedules make event announcements hard to sell. Only 10% of marketers say upcoming event announcements for conferences, live streams, and webinars get the most engagement.

In my experience, time crunch and lack of urgency work against this type of email. Unlike a discount email that lets your readers save money now, an event sign-up promises the benefit later and competes with other tasks on their schedule.

I like to focus on relevance and creating urgency to boost the engagement for these emails. For example, this event invitation from Figma leverages an early bird discount offer to add immediate value and put email subscribers on the clock, both of which encourage engagement.

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Figma reinforces benefits to the customer, like networking opportunities, access to major product announcements, and expert insights on hot topics, including AI.

How to improve results:

• Include words that create urgency in the subject line and body copy.
• Use early bird discounts to create an immediate value-add.
• Tie the event details to significant subscriber benefits.

Finding the Right Types of Emails for Your Marketing Strategy

My personal results fall right in line with what other marketers are saying in our survey. As I’ve learned, the types of messages you use in your email marketing campaign impact its overall engagement and ROI.

Effective email campaigns can help you drive more sales and convert new subscribers into loyal customers.

That said, the best results have come when I combine the most effective templates with relevant email content and tools such as personalization and segmentation.

Using our survey results and my insights can help you get a jump on the competition in inboxes.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in November 2023 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Fact: In 2024, basically everyone is a content creator, but not everyone is a “content creator” — at least not in the sense we’re talking about here.

Content creators are members of the creator economy, committed to building and monetizing their personal brands and audiences.

With a reputation for offering flexibility, creative freedom, and low cost to entry, “content creator” can sound like a breezy dream job. But it’s far from easy, and those who succeed deserve their flowers.

Want to be one of them? Though I haven’t earned the title “content creator” personally, content is a pillar of my life. And I certainly know the tricks of the trade. Here’s what you need to know to become a content creator and some important truths to remember.

Table of Contents

• What is a content creator?
• How to Become a Content Creator
• Tips for Aspiring Content Creators

Truth #1: The creator economy is crowded.

According to our 2024 Consumer Trends Report, one in five consumers consider themselves content creators or influencers in some form. That number jumps to 45% when we zero in on Gen Z and Millennials. But what do they do exactly?

A content creator is someone who consistently creates content on a specific topic or for a particular audience. This content can be entertaining, helpful, or educational, written, visual, or auditory.

Now, I know. This seems like a vague “catch-all” definition. Under it, you could say “content creators” have existed for centuries.

But we’re not talking about traditional performers, artists, or media folks (i.e., journalists, comedians, photographers, videographers) here.

When we say “content creators” in 2024, we mean:

• Social Media Influencers: Individuals with large, engaged audiences who value their opinions on social media.
• Podcasters: Individuals who host podcasts. (Surprise!)
• Vloggers: Individuals who post videos of their daily lives or their unique perspectives online.
• Bloggers/Writers: Creators who publish long-form written content.
• User-Generated Content (UGC) Creators: Creators who create a variety of content focused on showcasing products or offerings by brands.

Sure, the media and artists can create content too. Just look at The Dancing Weatherman, Nick Kosir.

But the title “content creator” is really reserved for individuals who focus on creating content for their digital audience and generating income through sponsorships, affiliations, and collaborations. People like Mr. Beast.

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(I mean, I highly doubt the 207 million people Linktree found claiming to be content creators worldwide all fall into this bucket. True content creators are a totally different beast. Get it?)

We also don’t mean content marketers like myself.

Content Marketers vs Content Creators

Yes, both content marketers and creators produce content to reach audiences. But there are key differences.

Content creators tend to work for themselves. Their efforts go toward building their own brands and public personas as well as creating content primarily on social media. (More on that in the next section.)

Content marketers tend to work for others. They are professionals who implement various content marketing tactics to promote other products, brands, or offerings.

This may entail creating social media content. However, it also includes articles, videos, slide decks, infographics, podcasts, website pages, emails, ad copy, and white papers.

Interested in learning more about content marketing? Check out our free Content Marketing Certification in HubSpot Academy.

What types of content can a creator make?

The world is a content creator’s oyster when it comes to the types of content they can make, especially thanks to artificial intelligence (AI).

But the most common are blog posts, podcasts, or a mix of videos, photos, and graphics on social media.

The medium or type really depends on the creator, audience, platform, or even the subject matter. For example, take a “gamer.”

If a gamer showcases a new video game, their audience will likely want to see what the game looks like. They’ll want to see the graphics in action and hear feedback on what it’s like navigating and playing. Video is best suited to meet these needs.

With 10.8 followers, streamer KaiCenat posts videos like this frequently on Twitch.

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But of course, Twitch is not the best platform for every creator or content.

Where do content creators post their content?

Statistically speaking, Epidemic Sound found TikTok to be the top platform for generating income among creators, followed by YouTube. However, what platform works for you depends on your brand and audience.

Here are some of the most popular by creator type:

• Social Media Influencers: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, LTK
• Podcasters: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, YouTube
• Vloggers: YouTube, TikTok, Twitch
• Bloggers/Writers: Personal websites, Substack, Medium, Patreon
• UGC Creators: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube (but honestly, wherever the brand takes them)

Consider our gamer example again. Gamers typically share things like gameplay, reviews, and hacks. Knowing this, streaming on Twitch or posting videos to YouTube makes more sense than Instagram or a podcast.

On the other hand, a fashion blogger is probably turning to Instagram and an LTK page to enable their followers to shop most easily. Think creator Smita Patel.

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But that’s enough of the basics. Let’s get to the good stuff.

How to Become a Content Creator

Truth #2: Like all good things, becoming a skilled content creator will not happen overnight, and many people will never get there.

Being a content creator requires boundless dedication and, in an algorithm-driven world, sometimes a bit of luck. But with these steps, you’ll certainly put your best foot forward in achieving your goals.

Regardless of the specifics, there are some foundational steps to becoming a truly successful content creator. Here, I’ve broken the process down into eight steps.

1. Uncover your niche and audience.

If you’re considering becoming a content creator, you likely already have an idea of the topics you want to discuss or the audience you want to reach.

Maybe you have a background as a social media manager and want to share tips with small businesses and entrepreneurs. Or perhaps you paid off a ton of debt and want to share your personal finance tips with new college grads.

Creator Christine Buzan started her career in print media and marketing, assisting on fashion photoshoots. Today, she teaches nearly 800k followers on Instagram how to pose and look their best in photographs.

Whatever you choose to focus on will be your niche or positioning, and all the content you create should align. But don’t feel pressure to settle into a niche right away.

Content creator Vanessa Lau shares that you don’t necessarily need to have a niche as soon as you get started.

“If you are just starting out, I would say that experimenting with a broader niche and broader audience is going to help you accelerate the journey of finding that niche over time,” she shared on her YouTube channel.

“The mistake that I see a lot of aspiring content creators making is they stress so much about finding a niche to the point where they don’t create any content at all,” she said.

Translation: Put your ideas out into the world and see what hits and what doesn’t.

2. Develop your style and personal brand.

Ask yourself:

• How do you stand out?
• What makes your content different?
• How will it look and feel?
• What would make someone be able to recognize it even if it wasn’t on your platform?

Your brand is what makes your content unique and special. This could include the colors and fonts you use but also music, words, or taglines. It could also be your personal style of presenting information.

The creator who immediately comes to mind for me in this respect is Lilly Singh.

Lilly Singh first became a public name as YouTuber IISuperWomanII, sharing satirical skits and vlogs about growing up in a South Asian family.

But even as her career progressed beyond this niche — acting and producing films, authoring books, and being one of the first women ever to host a late-night talk show — her signature brand and humor remained.

The key to finding your style and personal brand like Lilly? Be yourself.

Content creator Erica Schneider has built a large following on X (formerly Twitter) by sharing writing and editing tips. These are common topics, but Schneider stands out by weaving her voice and personality into everything she shares.

She suggests creators show up as themselves too.

“Sounds simple, but it’s easy to lose your voice in a sea of templated tips,” she posted. “Let your personality out. Add your unique flare. Take a stance for or against something.”

Audiences may click on your content for the information, but they come back for the personality.

Pro Tip: Other creators’ styles can inspire you, but don’t copy them. Find something that genuinely resonates with your personality and let it shine through in your content.

And, remember, style can be anything. Don’t force humor or sarcasm just because “everyone else is doing it.” Do what you’re comfortable with, and you’ll find your audience quickly.

3. Determine your platform(s).

As we discussed earlier, there are dozens of platforms to post your content. But where will you find the most success?

When deciding which one(s) to focus on, consider three things: your niche, your audience, and your content format.

Niche

Some topics are more prevalent on particular platforms than others. Furthermore, some platforms are better suited to action (such as shopping) than others.

Consider your subject matter and the action someone would usually take after learning about it. Would they want to subscribe to know more? Would they want to buy something?

You’ll want where you post your content to make sense for what you’re talking about and your audience’s behavior.

Target Audience

Posting content is pointless if it’s not getting seen by the right people. You need to meet your target audience where they already are. Publish content where they hang out.

Say you’re targeting Gen Z. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are the social media platforms they frequent the most. Trying to reach baby boomers? Turn to Facebook. Corporate executives? Maybe your platform is LinkedIn.

Dig deep into the nuances of your target audience and buyer persona to determine where they are actively visiting. This is the fastest and easiest way to get in front of them and build a following.

Content Format

Make sure the platform you choose is optimized for your preferred content format.

For instance, if your topic calls for long-form videos, YouTube is likely your best option over TikTok, which has a maximum duration of 30 minutes.

If you share primarily static graphics, then YouTube would make no sense. Opt for Instagram.

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4. Create a content calendar.

Next, sit down and make a list of the content you plan to publish.

Success as a content creator depends on consistency. You must regularly share content related to your niche to grow and maintain your audience and relevance. So, plan ahead.

Create a content calendar for as far into the future as you can. I recommend mapping out at least two weeks and having your content ready a week before publishing so you aren’t left scrambling at the last minute.

HubSpot has a social media calendar template to help you get started.

5. Invest in any necessary tools.

For most content creators, a smartphone is the only thing they need to get started. But, if you have the means, some additional tools can give your content that little extra something.

Visual content may mean investing in graphic design software (i.e., Canva or Adobe Illustrator) or video editing tools (like CapCut). Maybe it’s a ring light or a studio backdrop.

For copy, perhaps, it’s a pro subscription to Grammarly or, for podcasts, audio editing software like Descript.

Take some to think through what might be beneficial and get your toolbox together.

6. Create!

Now for the fun part — actually creating your content.

You’ve been waiting for this, so enjoy and give it your all.

Perfection is the enemy of productivity. So don’t let it stop you from getting content published.

Bloopers and mistakes are human, and people love creators who are human. So don’t be afraid if you fumble your words or forget a point. These little things can actually make content more engaging.

Plus, the sooner you ship content, the sooner you can start analyzing what works and what doesn’t.

7. Track performance and refine.

Hitting “post” or “publish” doesn’t mean you’re done with your content. Now you need to track its performance and use that information to guide future creations.

What posts got the most views, comments, likes, and shares? What wasn’t as popular? These insights help you know what to lean into in the future.

If you’re a HubSpot user, our free Marketing Analytics tools makes tracking many of these social metrics easy.

8. Create a portfolio.

Creating for the sake of creating is great, but if you can get paid for it, that’s even better. So, this last step is all about money.

Influencer Marketing Hub says one in ten influencers makes upwards of $100k a year.

How do they do this? Well, some platforms like YouTube will pay you for creating content when you’ve built a large enough audience and engagement. But if you’re not at the level yet, you need to establish brand deals or collaborations.

A brand deal can come in many forms:

• Sponsored Post or Ad: A brand pays you or offers a free product in exchange for a post about their product on your platform.
• UGC: A brand pays you to create a piece of content for them to use on their platforms or in ads.
• Affiliation or Partnership: You talk about a brand or product and get a commission if someone buys through your referral link.

(For a deeper dive, check out our article “Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: What You Need to Know.”)

Regardless of the arrangement, a portfolio is often the first step in making it happen.

When one of your creations performs well, or you’re simply proud of it, document it in a portfolio.

Having a collection of your best work makes it easier to pitch brands you would like to work with or simply share what kind of content someone can expect.

Pro Tip: Need help building an online portfolio? HubSpot’s Content Hub is a great free solution.

 

Once you get going, remember these tips to start leveling up your game as a content creator.

1. Stay true to your brand/niche.

Once you find your brand/niche, stay true to it.

Creating content on a topic or product that is completely irrelevant to your audience or area of expertise is not only ineffective but confusing.

The content you share should be a natural fit. You should be able to speak confidently about the topic or product and with genuine passion.

Success as a content creator is all about trust and authenticity. People follow creators and influencers because they feel connected and believe they have their best interests in mind.

If something you post is off-brand or simply going in for a hard sell, your audience won’t buy it — literally and figuratively. So, be strategic about the content you post and the deals you accept.

Popular productivity expert Ali Abdaal has done a great job of staying true to his niche.

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In this video, Abdaal shares 12 productivity tools, including messaging app Slack. As a Slack Partner, he includes an affiliate link in the video’s description, offering viewers a generous discount and earning him a commission.

Now, clearly, Adbaal benefits from talking about the tool. But because it is within his niche and gives his audience relevant value, that doesn’t matter.

2. Read content about your industry every day.

Creating great content that resonates with your target audience means staying current in your industry.

This sets them up nicely to understand what’s going on in the world and how that shapes their audience’s mindset. It also enables them to react quickly and get in on trending topics or memes to stay relevant.

The Marketing Millennials — a meme account beloved by myself and many of my teammates is a master of this. Take this post after the launch of Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poet’s Department.

Subscribe to newsletters, listen to podcasts, set up alerts, and read industry publications and blogs.

Also, ask your audience what they’re reading and watching these days and follow suit. By discovering where your audience spends time online, you can learn even more about the topics and types of content they’re drawn to.

3. Write on the regular.

As content thought leader and author Ann Handley says, “Everybody writes.”

Successful content creators understand the importance of exercising their writing muscles, even if they’re not bloggers or writers by focus.

Doing so helps flesh out ideas and identify nuggets that could come to fruition later. It is also needed for creating video scripts, podcast notes, and snappy post captions.

Get in the habit of writing by doing it daily or every other day. I‘m not saying you need to write a polished, 1500-word essay on an industry-relevant topic daily. Rather, set aside 10 or 15 minutes to jot down some thoughts and ideas.

Content creator Zak Sherman shared his daily writing routine, demonstrating that you don’t need to write essays to practice writing. Even sending an email can be an exercise in crafting your words and finding your voice.

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If you run into writer’s block (even the best of us do), leverage HubSpot’s Free AI Content Writer to get you going.

4. Study your audience.

Truth #3: Content creators are often at the mercy of their audience; sometimes, those needs and expectations can feel limiting.

But ultimately, your audience is why you have the platform and influence you do. You‘ll find new opportunities to help and create if you continuously listen to them.

One of the most important qualities of all successful content creators is that they know their audience inside and out. Keep a pulse on yours.

Tracking and analyzing specific metrics can help determine if your content resonates with your audience.

For instance, a high open rate tells you your subject line spoke to your subscribers if you have a newsletter. A high click-through rate lets you know that people wanted to know more about what you wrote about.

Look for key behaviors, interests, and trends and respond accordingly with your content.

If you’re still stuck, ask your audience directly. Tools like SurveyMonkey or even Instagram Polls and Question Stickers make it easy to reach an engaged audience.

The people who are genuinely invested in your content and brand will be more than happy to share feedback.

5. Curate other people’s content (when it makes sense to).

There’s no shortage of people curating content these days.

In fact, curation is built into most platforms in the form of “shares,” “retweets,” and “repost with your thoughts.”

But successful content creators know it’s not enough to simply republish relevant news as is. Sharing how the information is relevant to you is key.

Freelance writer and content creator Kat Boogaard offers a weekly newsletter to subscribers who want her tips and insights on freelancing. One section of the newsletter is dedicated to other relevant resources.

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Get in the habit of curating content when you have something valuable to add.

Now that you’ve started scouring the internet regularly for industry news, you probably have a wider depth of knowledge than you think.

6. Offer solutions, not just commentary.

While sharing your thoughts is important, don’t stop there.

The people consuming your content aren’t interested in just hearing you talk — at least not all the time. They come looking to satisfy specific needs. Provide actionable tips and walk them through the solutions you’re suggesting.

This is a tip Stylist Nina Walder regularly implements in her content.

Here, you’ll notice she verbally tells viewers to “save and follow for more tips.” She also includes steps to access her free course in the caption.

This is similar to what content marketers do when publishing an article and ending with a call-to-action to a relevant offer. We give readers value through the article content and provide them with direction on what to do next with the offer.

7. Understand your metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs).

I can’t lie to you: I don’t like metrics. I often try to run from them, but they catch up to me as they’re crucial to reaching any goal. That includes becoming a successful content creator.

Publishing content doesn‘t mean you’ll automatically catapult to fame. Rather, your audience and impact will hopefully improve and grow slowly.

Tracking KPIs is how you monitor that growth is happening and ensure that it does. Let me explain.

A KPI is a specific metric you’ve chosen to measure how well your content is doing against your goals. For example, if I want to reach more people on YouTube, my KPI may be channel subscribers. To reach my goal, I would:

1. See where my subscriber number sits currently.
2. Set a number and a date by which I would like to reach it.
3. Look at the subscriber number regularly (say weekly) to ensure my work is leading to that growth.

Some other KPIs that content creators might track include:

• Number of impressions or views
• Number of shares
• Number of comments
• Number of followers
• Click-through rate (if you have a link or call-to-action present)

Monitoring metrics can also help your plan and refine your content strategy.

8. Network at every opportunity.

Great content creators know they didn’t get where they are today alone. It’s also thanks to those who taught, inspired, and pushed them to think differently. They know that there is always more to learn and to be open to new ideas.

Networking forces you to do just that. It‘s a time to connect but also listen to outside points of view.

Never miss an opportunity to get in the room with fellow creators and learn from them. That means online (they aren’t called social networks for nothing) but also in person. Attend conferences, meet-ups, and workshops.

Have business cards or your QR codes handy to stay in touch. These connections can lead to learning and professional opportunities.

9. Question everything.

Great content creators are curious by nature; curious about their existing knowledge as well as the world around them. It’s these thoughts that lead to engaging content.

So, get in the habit of questioning the status quo.

Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to play devil’s advocate. Taking a less popular view on a topic can be difficult at first, but it helps you stand out and attract an audience who will be interested in what else you have to say.

Critical thinkers make great content creators.

‘Create’ Your Own Destiny

Truth #4: Not everyone has what it takes to be a content creator.

But don’t let this scare you.

Becoming a content creator essentially means becoming an entrepreneur, and the scale of your success is in your hands.

It takes confidence to put yourself out there, but humility is needed to recognize that you have to put the work in to stand out from the competition.

It takes originality, authenticity, fierce dedication, keen strategy, and a great deal of self-management, resilience, and organization.

Just know that being a successful content creator starts with passion.

If you are passionate about your niche and audience and the value or message you have to share with the world, the steps outlined above will be a breeze.

And more than anything, you’ll be in a prime position to launch a well-thought-out and fruitful content creation career.