Category Archives: B2B

There’s no end to the number of newsletters you can subscribe to. Email marketers have a lot to compete with in their subscribers’ inboxes.

If you’re wondering how email marketers get through, check out free email newsletter templates that make it easier to design a newsletter.

That’s why a solid newsletter template is crucial to designing an email that people are encouraged to click through. Discover some of my favorites below, plus tips for encouraging engagement.

Table of Contents

• Free Email Newsletter Templates
• Best Places to Find Newsletter Templates
• How to Customize Email Newsletter Templates to Increase Engagement

If done well, email newsletters can do wonders to help you build an engaged subscriber base, keep your business top-of-mind, and nurture leads that are already making their way down the funnel.

However, “done well” means more than just serving up great content. In fact, an often overlooked component of the newsletter creation process is the design.

Don’t have time to build out a custom template from scratch?

I’ve scoured the internet for the best resources for email newsletter templates and compiled them below.

Many of the templates have also been pre-tested for compatibility with major email service providers (ESPs) via Litmus — a web service that allows you to preview the way your email will look on different email clients and devices.

Once you find one you like, download the template and customize it to fit your needs. Depending on compatibility, you can even try out newsletter layouts on Google, Outlook, and other email providers.

1. HubSpot

Start using HubSpot’s free Email Template Builder

Price: Free and paid options available

If you’re a Marketing Hub user, HubSpot offers a great collection of email templates you can use on your next marketing email.

No need to log out and search for a template in another marketplace; these templates are available to you right within the tool.

Once you choose a template, you can start using it immediately right in HubSpot — no HTML or CSS required. I specifically use HubSpot for the templates because of how easy they are to use and the variety of options available.

What I like: HubSpot provides a complete, end-to-end solution for all your marketing requirements since it provides access to our comprehensive CRM, centralizing your customer data.

As an email marketing platform, you can look through hundreds of templates tailored to your subject, content type, customer profile, and customer stage in your funnel. These templates can be customized using your unique customer information in the CRM.

The email solution offers excellent analytics and A/B testing capabilities, so you can keep improving your marketing plan over time.

2. Litmus

Price: Free

Litmus offers a free email template collection — from newsletter templates to account management templates. All of the templates have been tested with the platform.

While you are required to create a Litmus account with your email address to access the templates, the templates themselves are free of charge.

What I like: Along with the multiple template options, Litmus provides strong customization options like countdown timers to highlight the urgency of a sale or event, progress bars to encourage brand loyalty, and real-time sentiment monitors, which can increase email engagement and revenue.

With its easy-to-use email builder, you can effortlessly access AI-powered email content optimization capabilities such as suggested subject lines and alternate body text tones. Something that I think is quite time-saving in this day and age!

3. ConvertKit

Price: Free and paid options

ConvertKit is a creative email template platform that’s a great option for bloggers, course creators, and more. ConvertKit comes with email automation tools, sign-up forms, and many more integrations.

To use ConvertKit’s email newsletter templates, you’ll need to sign up for a plan, but the good news is that they offer both free and pro subscriptions.

While this platform is more on the creative side, its vast array of templates and tool integrations will help businesses in any industry upgrade their email newsletter.

What I like: Since ConvertKit is mostly aimed at digital content creators, it helps you grow your subscriber lists, send targeted newsletters, increase product sales, and establish membership sites. You can also easily embed email marketing and subscriber forms anywhere on your WordPress website.

What I find unique about ConvertKit is its ability to use the A/B test function to compare two distinct subject lines.

It will split-test the subject lines (15% for each line) for the first 30% of your emails. The other 70% of the emails will have the subject line that receives the most opens.

4. ZURB: Foundation for Emails

Price: Free

ZURB Studios has 11 responsive email templates available for free, including the newsletter one below. It has a great, fluid layout you can customize with your own colors, images, and wording.

If you want to see how each template looks on different email clients, you can check out screenshots from each template’s email client tests, which are available on the site. These layouts are optimized for most email clients — except for outdated versions of Outlook.

The template kit comes with a separate CSS stylesheet and HTML file to ease the editing process. Most email code editors will place the CSS in line with the HTML itself after both are uploaded separately.

If you’re going to add images to your newsletter, keep in mind that you’ll have to create a separate folder and compress it with the CSS stylesheet before uploading.

What I like: I personally find Zurb’s Masterclass best — because it’s perfect for beginners to learn how to use the templates. You even get three free tutorials on responsive email design.

Pro tip: Once you’ve selected a template, use HubSpot’s free email marketing software to craft your message and send a newsletter out to the world!

5. Postcards

Price: Free, Plus — $16 per month, and Pro — $24 per month

Postcards provides some of the best-designed email template builders on the market that are up-to-date and require no previous coding experience.

With Postcards, you can easily create professional-looking emails with their pre-designed email templates that are customizable.

Their email builder is a game-changer for marketers, designers, and developers who want to streamline their email creation process and focus on what matters: crafting engaging content and design.

What I like: You know why I think Postcards works so well? It’s a no-code platform with exceptional content history and enterprise-level collaboration features. You can store your work in the detailed version history, allowing you to go back in time and recover a successful email template.

6. Flodesk

Price: Free for 30 days

Flodesk is an upcoming email newsletter design platform with over 3,000 email templates and designs to enhance your email marketing. Moreover, I’m a big fan of their contemporary template designs, which are quite eye-catching.

Aside from giving you access to a vast array of templates, Flodesk lets you connect your ecommerce site to help with automation and analytics.

Another benefit of Flodesk is that its subscription price ($38/month) is a flat fee. So, whether you’re sending 200 or 2,000 emails, you’ll pay the same price, and you’ll never have to upgrade your subscription to get all of the perks.

Pro tip: Want to segment your customers when sending them newsletters? Well, Flodesk allows you to sort your audience so that you stay as relevant as possible.

7. 99designs

Price: Free

99designs is a growing online community and collaboration platform for designers and small businesses, and they have a great designer blog and business blog.

As a free offering to their blog readers, they released a set of 45 free email templates — perfect for newsletters, promotional messages, and personalized responses. All of the templates are fully responsive and compatible with all major email clients.

Pro tip: What I think is great about 99designs is that you can also start a design contest to test custom email template options from various designers.

8. Moosend

Price: Free for 30 days, Pro — $9 per month, Enterprise — custom

Moosend is an email marketing platform that makes it easy to design custom emails with a drag-and-drop editor and over 70 premade templates.

Moosend also tracks analytics and sends personalized automated emails to subscribers based on their interests and behavior. If you’re interested in landing pages and subscription templates, it includes those as well.

Moosend analyzes your subscriber base to help your business succeed. Like Flodesk, it lets you connect your ecommerce site to attract more subscribers and store all information in one place.

Moosend is free for the first 30 days, and then you would have to upgrade to pro status for $9/month. However, if you choose the annual pro plan, it comes up to $7/month.

Pro tip: There’s no need to export templates — you can actually send your email newsletters through the platform. This makes it that much more convenient, in my opinion.

9. Bee Free

Price: Free and paid options available

BEE Free is the ultimate solution for creating captivating emails without any coding skills. With its extensive library of over 1,500 responsive templates, you’ll have a wide range of options to bring your email designs to life.

Plus, I love that there’s no sign up needed. You can just start as is.

They provide a drag-and-drop functionality that empowers you to create on-brand newsletter emails easily, ensuring your message resonates with your audience.

Its collaborative features enable multiple team members to work together seamlessly on email templates, streamlining your workflow and boosting productivity.

BEE Free’s seamless integration with Hubspot allows you to effortlessly export your email designs for a smooth transition.

With its extensive template library, user-friendly interface, and seamless HubSpot integration, you can create stunning, responsive email designs in no time.

Pro tip: There’s even an option to hire a designer on the platform who can help you customize your email templates.

10. Campaign Monitor

Price: Free for 30 days, plans start at $11per month

Campaign Monitor is another free email newsletter template and marketing platform. With a variety of email templates for newsletters, welcome emails, and promotional campaigns, Campaign Monitor makes designing emails easy.

Campaign Monitor also compiles your analytics and tracks when emails are sent, delivered, and opened.

For many businesses, email marketing needs to connect to their website or ecommerce site, and Campaign Monitor does just that.

Campaign Monitor has it all when it comes to templates and helps you maximize your sales by staying on-brand and creating a seamless customer experience.

What I like: Campaign Monitor has one of the most unique features I’ve encountered in an email builder. That is — you can lock specific areas of the template so that your team alters only the information you want them to. This protects your brand identity and important business data.

11. MailerLite

Price: Free and paid plans available

MailerLite offers various newsletter templates for promotions, announcements, and more. With its trendy newsletter designs, MailerLite makes sure its customers stay up to date while sending newsletters.

You can customize the templates using either an HTML editor or a drag-and-drop editor. You’re also able to connect your MailerLite account to your website. MailerLite has features that allow you to grow your audience with landing pages, subscription forms, and pop-ups.

MailerLite provides data insights as well. One thing I find useful about MailerLite is that they will send your emails based on your customers’ time zones, allowing you to send emails that get the most opens. MailerLite also provides A/B split testing tools so you can identify the best version of every email you send.

Pro tip: With the free plan, you can create your own custom templates. However, if you want to access their template options, you’ll have to look into their paid plans.

12. Sender

Price: Free and paid options available

Sender is an all-in-one email and SMS marketing platform for ecommerce and small to medium-sized businesses who want to reach out to their customers at an affordable and accessible price.

Sender provides delivery-friendly text and branded HTML email newsletters to connect with your email subscribers and biggest fans.

Choose from a library of 35+ visually stunning, premium-feel newsletter design templates that are fully customizable to your specific business requirements.

In addition, all templates have responsiveness baked into the design so that your emails are guaranteed to play nice on mobile devices.

Besides offering advanced email marketing features such as segmentation and automation, Sender also allows you to design highly responsive and eye-catching pop-ups and forms to attract sign-ups and execute SMS marketing for higher conversions.

Sender has a ton of affordable price points and capabilities even in their free account. With the Free Forever plan, you can send up to 15,000 emails every month to 2,500 contacts at no cost, with premium features such as segmentation and automation bundled together.

What I like: The best part of using Sender is the access to their support team. And not to mention, I was surprised by their swift response time!

13. Constant Contact

Price: $12 per month or $80 per month

Do you run a non-profit? If so, this is the newsletter tool specifically for you. Constant Contact is an email newsletter builder that offers specific templates to help nonprofits raise funds and market their missions.

With hundreds of templates to choose from, you’ll be sure to find a design based on the template you need and what type of nonprofit you run.

The great thing about Constant Contact is the business analytics. While using the platform, you can see when emails are sent, delivered, opened, and shared. You will also be able to see top trends and send personalized emails to your clients.

Constant Contact also connects with your social media profiles, includes sign-up forms, and offers text message marketing tools.

Contacting your non-profit subscribers via text message can be a great advantage because people check their emails, but people check their text messages more.

While Constant Contact is not free, its features more than make up for it. You can start with the basic subscription ($12/month) or upgrade to a premium account ($80/month) to unlock all the features.

What I like: Fundraising is easier with their integration options, such as DonorPerfect, Blackbaud, Neon CRM, and Qgiv. I found it easy to add any features to promote the event properly.

14. Themezy

Price: Free

Download 16 free HTML, CSS, and PSD customizable email templates on Themezy. You don’t have to submit an email address to get started, and there are various color schemes and layouts to meet your email list’s needs.

Pro tip: The templates are designed to be responsive across devices to ensure that your subscribers can read your newsletter. So, if you’re sending emails on every gadget like I am, you can be sure that your template works regardless.

15. Drip

Price: Free for 14 days, then payments based on the number of subscribers

Drip offers email marketing and SMS marketing for ecommerce brands. Drip is a new platform that lets you set up email marketing campaigns through hundreds of customizable templates.

Along with their email newsletter templates, Drip offers excellent customer relations management tools, data analytics, and trend trackers. Through that, you can see how many of your customers bought red shoes within the last year.

As a result, you’ll be able to better market yourself through your campaigns. Drip also has integrations that you can connect to your WordPress website, so you can use Drip without being on Drip.

Drip lets you start with a free 14-day trial, and the cost of your subscription will depend on your number of contacts. For up to 500 contacts, it’s $19/month, and the price goes up from there.

Drip is beneficial to creators and ecommerce businesses because of the various marketing and analytics tools it offers. From email marketing to SMS marketing campaigns, Drip lets you effectively engage your customers.

What I like: You know what I find convenient about Drip? It comes with 150 native integrations, so you can use it with almost any marketing platform.

16. MailPortfolio by SliceJack

Price: Free

If your marketing strategy is heavily reliant on visuals, MailPortfolio is perfect for you. It’s a minimalist template with no added background distractions.

While it was made for those looking to display personal creative portfolios, it’s also suitable for larger businesses and organizations.

The template has been tested with Litmus, is responsive, and works perfectly on all email clients. (Note: older versions of Outlook may not render all of the fonts, and the Android Gmail app is not fully supported.)

Pro tip: Make sure you don’t use the stock images on the MailPortfolio template. You have to change them — otherwise, your newsletters won’t work as well. Something I learned the hard way.

17. Material Design by Paul Goddard

Price: Free

This template is based on Google’s Material Design and has a robotic-retro feel. It is perfect for sending out multi-purpose newsletters featuring new products, events, and other announcements at the same time.

This theme isn’t made for a specific industry, but the template is well-fitting for businesses looking for a timeless, technological look.

Material Design has been tested on Litmus, is compatible with all major ESPs, and is responsive. While its main attraction is its unique design, this theme download also includes customizable HTML files.

Pro tip: What I’ve learned is that if you’re having trouble downloading the template, you can access it from Paul’s Google Drive link, too.

18. Briar by SliceJack

Price: Free

Briar is the perfect newsletter template for marketers looking for a fluid, minimalist design featuring images and text that don’t overshadow each other.

It’s perfect for sending out regular newsletters, and you can customize the inline CSS files.

The template has been tested with Litmus and works with all major ESPs. However, some older versions of Outlook may not render all Google fonts. Also, the Android Gmail app is not fully supported.

Pro tip: One hack I learned is that you can easily use these templates for your MailChimp campaigns with their own HTML file.

19. EmailOctopus

Price: Free

EmailOctopus is a marketing service that launched a series of 11 templates that can be used to create newsletters for a variety of industries.

Whether you’re marketing for a fashion brand or a medical supply company, one of the templates will fit your needs.

The templates have the “typical” newsletter look but allow you to add product announcements, feature stories, and CTAs wherever you’d like.

All of the templates can be modified through any WYSIWYG editor, and the downloads include the HTML files.

These templates have been tested through Litmus across all major ESPs and are responsive to all screen sizes.

What I like: EmailOctopus is also GDPR compliant, so I find using all their free templates safe.

20. MailBluster

Price: Free and paid options available

MailBluster brings you an interactive solution for the best email newsletter design. Apart from all the essential email marketing features, MailBluster includes a hefty lot of free email newsletter templates.

Choose from a mass collection of their newsletter templates or create from scratch to build your own. Also, you can customize your own template by editing the existing one from their large template gallery.

These templates are compatible with all major ESPs. Combined with their powerful drag-and-drop editor and email automation feature, you can automate your email newsletter effectively.

Additionally, MailBluster also features interactive real-time tracking and reporting, list segmentation, A/B testing for email marketers, and more.

So, design eye-catching email templates and boost your sales via MailBluster!

What I like: MailBluster offers a free option that allows you to send 62k monthly emails and unlimited subscribers. This is probably the best deal for any company wanting bulk email services. Plus, what I love most is that they provide one-to-one support regardless of the price tier you’re in.

1. Feshto by Liramail

Price: $59 for an all-in-one bundle

Feshto is an email bundle that helps ecommerce companies feature products in their newsletters and share testimonials from satisfied customers. It comes with a weekly digest module, which is their version of a newsletter.

The module features a chic, clean design that ensures your images and copy are not distracting from each other. You can choose from their various layouts, such as “Weekly Digest,” “City Story,” and “Blog Article.”

As mentioned, these templates are perfect for product features and testimonials from satisfied customers. While the default themes are black and white, you can make edits in your preferred WYSIWYG editor.

Feshto’s templates are responsive and compatible with all major ESPs.

2. ThemeForest

Price: $6-$29 per template

ThemeForest is an awesome resource for email templates if you have some budget to spend. Their library has over 460 newsletter templates in all different colors, styles, and themes.

The templates are rated using a four-star system, and you can filter by rating, price, recency, and popularity.

Here’s one example from its library:

Market – Responsive Newsletter with Template Builder ($20)

This template has eight prebuilt layouts, 24 color variations, 24 full-layered PSD files, and more. Plus, it’s supported by all major email clients.

3. HubSpot Email Copy Templates

Price: Free

If you’re looking for written templates that you can put into your email tool, these are the templates for you.

HubSpot offers free email templates that empower you to market and sell your business over email without writing a single line from scratch. These free email template downloads save you time and money.

The templates can be downloaded right to your computer and can be used by any type of business.

4. Mailchimp

Price: Free to $350 per month

Mailchimp is an all-in-one marketing platform that helps small and large businesses scale and grow their business through marketing techniques and automations.

Mailchimp has a variety of pre-made templates in its email newsletter tool.

Aside from giving you over 100 designs to choose from, Mailchimp also gives you the option to download their Email Blueprints, which allows you to customize HTML templates.

5. ActiveCampaign

Price: Free to $259 a month

ActiveCampaign is a full-service email provider that offers email marketing automation and CRM tools.

Its library of newsletter templates allows you to create conversion-optimized, visually impactful emails without touching a single line of code.

ActiveCampaign is free, but you will need to sign up for an account to use and view their email templates. You can use the majority of their templates for free, but if you want some customization, you’ll want to upgrade to a paid account.

6. Canva

Price: Free — custom pricing per month

Canva is an online graphics software that provides free templates for a multitude of things like Instagram posts, resumes, and email newsletters.

Canva is a great tool because you can find free templates for specific niches like fashion, tech, culinary, and many more.

While there is a paid tier, many of the premade templates are free, and you can add your own customizations without having to pay extra.

7. Adobe Express

Price: Premium — $9.99 per month, teams — $12.99 per month

Adobe Express, formerly known as Adobe Spark, is another browser-based graphic design tool that has a multitude of templates and functions to help any company create a newsletter.

Similar to Canva, Adobe offers premade templates based on industry categories like photography, architecture, and fashion. To access the templates, you must sign up for an account with Adobe.

8. CakeMail

Price: Free

CakeMail is an email marketing tool that includes user-friendly automation tools and allows you to create customizable emails for any person, occasion, and niche.

CakeMail offers over 50 free editable email templates that are divided into smaller niche categories.

One of the advantages of CakeMail is that you do not have to sign up to use the email templates provided, but if you would like to see how your email campaigns are performing, you can register for an account.

9. MJML

Price: Free

MJML is an HTML-based email designer. They have a wide variety of free templates that are customized for the type of email marketing your company is trying to do, including newsletters, promotions, and seasonal emails.

Once you find a template that you like, MJML allows you to see the template and the HTML code in real time as you edit it.

Because MJML is HTML-based, you will have to copy your code and transfer it to the HTML editor in an email marketing service to use the template.

10. TemplateMonster

Price: Varies, pay per template

TemplateMonster offers a variety of email newsletter templates, all of which are available for relatively low prices.

Their templates are clean, customizable, and easy to use, and they’re compatible with most major email clients, such as Gmail and Yahoo Mail.

Additionally, the templates come with built-in responsive layouts for screen adaptability and PSD sources for a litany of customization options.

11. Microsoft Office Templates

Price: Free and paid email templates

Microsoft Office has a variety of tools, including extensive templates that can be used for Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

You can further narrow down your templates depending on the category of your business. While Microsoft does offer free templates, they are limited. For paid templates, you have to download Microsoft 365.

How to Customize Email Newsletter Templates to Increase Engagement

1. Choose headings wisely.

To help with the overall flow of your email, you need to refine your headings and subheadings.

Not only do they draw attention to the most important parts of your newsletter, but they also divide sections and give your text a visual hierarchy to help readers process information in the correct sequence.

2. Create a cohesive look.

Choose consistent typography, colors, and spacing to give your email a cohesive look. You’ll want to choose colors that complement each other and don’t overwhelm the eye.

Knowing a little color theory will pay off and help you create engaging emails.

3. Add your logo and brand colors.

Speaking of cohesiveness, swapping the template’s stock colors for your own branding can quickly create a cohesive design. Use your own logos and brand color scheme so that all of your marketing materials have a similar theme.

4. Keep it short.

No one wants to open a newsletter to see a wall of text. You want your messaging to be concise so that readers can quickly scan it while getting all the pertinent information they need.

5. Put images to use.

Images can greatly increase the readability of your newsletter and provide much-needed buffers between text.

Images and infographics are also great ways to display information in an engaging way. They should be high-quality and in line with your brand’s messaging.

6. Make it mobile-friendly.

As more people use phones to access email, you’ll want to make sure your newsletter has a mobile-friendly design. Choose a responsive design that adapts to whatever mode (tablet, mobile, or desktop) your readers are using.

7. Use clear CTAs.

Increase conversions and engagement by using attention-grabbing CTAs. Entice your readers to click using persuasive language, eye-pleasing colors, and proper placement.

Using a contrasting color design will help your CTA stand out. I find that adding a well-designed button can attract subscribers’ attention and prompt them to take action.

8. Test and make adjustments.

To find the best newsletter format, you’ll need to use A/B testing to determine which performs better. Test out different designs over a set period of time, compare results, and go with the one that performs the best.

Get Started on Your Email Marketing Newsletter

Ready to draft your next email newsletter campaign?

Download one of the excellent newsletter templates from the template galleries and landing pages above. Then, learn how to craft an email newsletter your audience will want to engage with.

Editor’s Note: The post was originally published in December 2018 but was updated for comprehensiveness in December 2019.

Duplicate data is the bane of spreadsheet solutions, especially at scale. Given the volume and variety of data now entered by teams, it’s possible that duplicate data in tools like Google Sheets may be relevant and necessary, or it could be a frustrating distraction from the primary purpose of spreadsheet efforts.

The potential problem raises a good question: How do you highlight duplicates in Google Sheets?

I’ve got you covered with a step-by-step look at how to highlight duplicates in Google Sheets and find duplicates in Google Sheets, complete with images to ensure you’re on the right track when it comes to de-duplicating your data.

Table of Contents

• How to Find Duplicates in Google Sheets
• Highlighting Duplicate Data in Google Sheets
• Step-by-Step: How to Highlight Duplicates in Google Sheets (With Pictures)
• How to Highlight Duplicates in Multiple Rows and Columns
• How to Remove Duplicates in Google Sheets

How to Find Duplicates in Google Sheets

Google Sheets is a free, cloud-based alternative to proprietary spreadsheet programs and — no surprise, since it’s Google we’re dealing with — offers a host of great features to help streamline data entry, formatting, and calculations.

There are two ways to remove duplicates in Google Sheets: conditional formatting and the UNIQUE function. I’ll go over both below, but, before you start following along, I have two things to note: 

1. You can run multiple conditional formatting rules at a time, so you don’t need to delete any to run your conditional formatting rule to delete duplicates. 
2. You won’t get an accurate duplicate count if you have any extra characters or spaces in your data, so you need to make sure your set is clean. Even an accidental extra space will count it as a separate data point.

Let’s dive into how you can highlight and remove duplicates in Google Sheets. 

Highlighting Duplicate Data in Google Sheets

Google Sheets has all the familiar functions: File, Edit, View, Format, Data, Tools, etc., and makes it easy to quickly enter your data, add formulas for calculations, and discover key relationships. 

While other spreadsheet tools, such as Excel, have built-in conditional formatting tools to pinpoint duplicate data in your sheet, Google’s solution requires a little more manual effort. 

So how do you automatically highlight duplicates in Google Sheets? While there’s no built-in tool for this purpose, you can leverage some built-in functions to highlight duplicate data.

Step-by-Step: How to Highlight Duplicates in Google Sheets (With Pictures)

Here’s a step-by-step guide to highlighting duplicates in Google Sheets:

Step 1: Open your spreadsheet.

Step 2: Highlight the data you want to check.

Step 3: Under “Format”, select “Conditional Formatting.”

Step 4: Select “Custom formula is.”

Step 5: Enter the custom duplicate checking formula.

Step 6: Click “Done” to see the results.

Step 1: Open your spreadsheet.

First, head to Google Sheets and open the spreadsheet you want to check for duplicate data.

Step 2: Highlight the data you want to check.

Next, drag your cursor over the data you want to check to highlight it.

Step 3: Under “Format”, select “Conditional Formatting.”

Now, head to “Format” in the top menu row and select “Conditional Formatting.” You should then see a popup window titled “Conditional format rules.” 

Step 4: Select “Custom formula is.”

Next, you need to create a custom formula. Click the down arrow underneath “Format cells if,” and select “Custom formula is” from the dropdown menu. It’s the last option to choose from, so you can scroll right to the end.

Step 5: Enter the custom duplicate checking formula.

To search for duplicate data, we need to enter the custom duplicate checking formula, which for our column of data (A) looks like this:

=COUNTIF(A:A,A1)>1

The formula searches for any text string that appears more than once in a data set. The default highlight color is green, but you can change it by clicking on the paint can icon in the “Formatting style” menu. 

Step 6: Click “Done” to see the results.

And voilà — we’ve highlighted the duplicate data in Google Sheets.

How to Highlight Duplicates in Multiple Rows and Columns

You can also highlight duplicates in multiple rows and columns if you have a larger data set. The process starts the same as above, but you enter an expanded data range in the Conditional format rules menu to account for all the cells you want to compare. 

I’ll use the same example above as a starting point, but I’ll add a few more names so we use a formula to search across three columns: A, B, and C, and also across rows 1-10.

To start, repeat steps two – four from above, but enter the following equation during step 5: 

=COUNTIF($A$2:G,Indirect(Address(Row(),Column(),)))>1

This will highlight all duplicates across all three columns and all ten rows, making it easy to spot data doppelgangers:

Find and Highlight Duplicates in Google Sheets With the Unique Function

Another way to find duplicates in Sheets is to use the UNIQUE function, which looks for the unique values in your designated range and produces a duplicate-free list. Here’s the formula: 

=UNIQUE(RANGE)

Note: This formula can only identify duplicates in a single column. 

There’s only one step to this method, which is entering your formula into an empty cell. Continuing with the same data set from above, I entered =UNIQUE(A1:A10). The image below is my duplicate-free list (on the left).

To use the UNIQUE function to find duplicates in multiple columns and rows, use this formula: 

 =UNIQUE(TOCOL(RANGE))

A drawback to using the UNIQUE function to find duplicates in Google Sheets is that it spits out a separate duplicate-free list instead of highlighting and deleting them. It creates an added step since you’ll have to manually remove duplicates with your new list as a reference, so I recommend this method for those with a smaller data set who don’t mind a few manual updates. 

Alternatively, this method is an excellent option for producing a cleaned list to start fresh.

How to Remove Duplicates in Google Sheets

In addition to highlighting duplicates, you can also use Google Sheets to delete duplicates with the Data Cleanup feature. Below, I’ll show you how.

Step 1: Select any cell.

Step 2: Navigate to the header toolback, select “Data,” then “Data cleanup,” then “Remove duplicates.”

Step 3: In the popup window, select the columns you want to delete duplicate data from, then select “Remove duplicates.

Note: If you have a sheet header, make sure to select “Data has a header row” so it’s not included in the duplicate search. 

All duplicates are now gone!

Dealing With Duplicates in Duplicates in Google Sheets

Can you highlight duplicates in Google Sheets? Absolutely. While the process takes more effort than some other spreadsheet solutions, it’s easy to replicate once you’ve done it once or twice, and once you’re comfortable with the process you can scale up to find duplicates across rows, columns, and even much larger data sets.

Besides your content, using one of the best fonts for resumes may help you get a recruiter’s attention. Studies have shown recruiters typically scan a resume for six to thirty seconds before deciding if an applicant is fit for a role.

With only a few seconds to demonstrate your qualifications for a position, every detail counts — including the font you use. The question is, what are the best resume fonts to pass the six to thirty-seconds scan?

I asked HubSpot recruiters to reveal the seven best fonts for your resume and what they consider in terms of design ‌so your resume can stand out in a pile.

Table of Contents

• What is the best font for a resume?
• Expert Advice on Choosing the Right Font
• Top 7 Best Fonts for Resumes
• Does Using The Best Resume Fonts Even Matter?
• Worst Fonts for Resumes
• Ideal Resume Font Sizes
• Resume Font Tips
• Choosing a Resume Font: FAQs

Featured Resource: 12 Free Resume Templates

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What is the best font for a resume?

Here’s a hot take — I don’t think there is one best font for a resume.

I think most folks would lean toward Times New Roman or Calibri, but there are so many factors that go into choosing a font that works best for you.

• What industry are you in? Certain industries, like law, have font standards, so it’s not a bad idea to align your resume accordingly.
• Is your resume text-heavy? Some fonts work better in smaller sizes and in tighter formats than others.
• What’s the company culture like? Times New Roman might be a great fit for lawyers, but it might not be the best choice if you’re joining a company with more of a relaxed vibe.

So, my non-answer is … it depends.

If I absolutely had to pick my favorite, I’m going with Helvetica because it’s clean, simple, and easy to read (even in smaller sizes). Plus, it’s available on most, if not all, devices.

But don’t take my word for it. Let’s hear what the experts have to say.

Expert Advice on Choosing the Right Font

To evoke a sense of style, professionalism, and uniqueness, you must put effort and consideration into your font choice. When speaking with recruiters, it quickly became apparent that classic fonts are still the best options.

“I’m a big fan of the ‘classics’ for resumes — Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and Cambria. I’m a little old school, but I think they are the cleanest and exude professionalism,” said Johanna Fleming, a former senior recruiter at HubSpot.

Riley Kundtz, the former senior MBA campus recruiter at HubSpot, agreed.

“I find the classic formatting and Times font helpful when reading a dense resume from an experienced MBA candidate.”

Times New Roman has become a bit controversial lately. It was the go-to font for many years because it’s traditional and recognizable, but lately, some are opting against it.

“For me, it’s all about legibility and cleanliness. I prefer sans-serif fonts like Helvetica, which is modern and elegant, over serif fonts like Times New Roman,” says Glory Montes, a technical recruiter at HubSpot.

“Overall, I would just stay away from a font like Times New Roman; it’s overused and reminds me of long nights writing course papers in college,” adds Glory.

Georgia is one font The New York Times uses and is similar to Times New Roman. It’s a bit wider, making it easier to read.

Paulina Valdez Franco, former executive recruiter at HubSpot, agrees with this take.

“My two favorite fonts are Helvetica if you’re looking for a clean and classic look, and Georgia, if you want a more modern and fun look,” she said. “The latter is also designed to read well on screens.”

Helvetica is widely used in advertising and works equally well for text-heavy pages and documents.

A lesser-known font that’s a great option for your resume is Garamond, recommended by our former team lead of engineering recruiting at HubSpot, Rich Lapham.

“Recruiters have an idea of the skills they are looking for on a resume, so if you try a new style or format, it can be tougher for recruiters to find the information they are looking for,” he said. “Keep it clean and simple.”

Franco added that Arial and Calibri are great choices to play it safe.

Bridget LeMon, HubSpot’s global emerging talent and university recruiting senior manager, echoes this.

“It’s totally acceptable – and becoming more common – for candidates to stray away from the resume norms of Times New Roman and Calibri,” she said. 

“Avenir Next and Muna are two excellent font options if you are looking to break the status quo.”

Ultimately, you‘ll want to consider the position you’re applying for when choosing a font. To Glory Montes’ point, certain more creative roles might benefit from a unique font than Times New Roman.

Best Fonts for Resume

1. Times New Roman

Times New Roman font has been popular for resumes for decades.

This serif option is easy-to-read and communicates formality. Online, the font is uniform and accessible across various platforms and operating systems.

Best for: Word documents. PDFs can host unique fonts. However, a standard font will be helpful if your resume is uploaded as a Word document.

Advantages

• It has a classic and professional look, making it an excellent choice for applicants targeting corporate positions.
• It’s a standard font used in most word processors, making it an accessible option for any device.
• It’s easily readable in print and on-screen.

Disadvantages

• Times New Roman’s outdated look may not appeal to all industries, and some may consider it bland or generic.
• This font may make your resume blend in with the rest due to its ubiquity.
• It’s a heavy serif font, taking up more space than other options.

2. Arial

Arial is a sans-serif font that has become popular for its clean and modern look. 

Arial’s straightforward and minimalist design has made it a popular choice for applicants targeting creative positions.

Best for: Resumes submitted online, where readability is essential for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) used in recruitment.

Advantages

• Arial offers simplicity, which allows your content to stand out. 
• It has strong legibility in small font sizes, even in print.
• It’s ideal for applicants trying to fit all the necessary information in their resume on a single page.

Disadvantages

• The font’s overuse in branding and design has led to its association with a non-innovative style. 
• Arial’s uniformity may not suit industries such as graphic design or creative writing seeking to showcase creativity and flair.
• It may make the text appear less formal and inappropriate for specific job applications.

3. Avenir Next

Avenir Next is a modern typeface gaining popularity among designers and recruiters. Avenir Next’s appearance is characterized by its geometric shapes, open contours, and strong lines.

Its clean, contemporary look has become a popular font choice for resumes.

What I love: Avenir Next is a scalable font. It maintains its readability even at small sizes, and its geometric shapes make it a perfect choice for digital resumes.

Advantages

• Avenir Next’s sleek and modern design makes it an excellent choice for applicants targeting creative industries.
• Its clear, simple lines offer a sense of elegance, while its legibility gives recruiters a sense of professionalism.

Disadvantages

• Avenir Next may not be as widely recognized.
• It could be difficult to read on some computer systems without the font installed.
• It’s a premium font with a higher price tag.

4. Helvetica

Helvetica is a widely recognized and popular font used on resumes, particularly in the design industry.

It’s clean, classic, and timeless. This font is popular with professionals, design enthusiasts, typographers, and Wes Anderson.

What I love: The font is available in multiple weights, making it easier to differentiate headings and sections in the resume.

Advantages

• Helvetica is easy to read and has a professional, straightforward appearance.
• The font‘s popularity means that job recruiters and hiring managers are familiar with it.
• Helvetica’s clean lines give the resume a structured and well-organized look, making it ideal for those in finance, law, and business management.

Disadvantages

• The font’s ubiquity in resumes may make it feel overdone and uninspired. 
• With so many applicants using the font, your resume may struggle to stand out.
• Helvetica‘s minimalist design can also work against you if your resume has limited content.

5. Calibri

Calibri is a contemporary design, making it a popular choice for creating a visually appealing and easy-to-read resume.

What I like: Calibri offers a sense of uniformity across different platforms, making it an accessible and reliable option for applicants.

Advantages

• The font has been designed with legibility in mind, making it an excellent option for resumes.
• Calibri’s modern look creates a sleek appearance, making it ideal for job seekers looking to highlight their contemporary skills.
• Calibri is also lighter than other font options, making it an ideal choice for single-page resumes.

Disadvantages

• Calibri is one of the default fonts available in most word-processing programs, so it’s not unique or personal.
• The font can be perceived as informal, making it less than ideal for formal industries, like law or finance.

6. Cambria

Cambria’s classic design features elegant serifs, making it a perfect choice for job seekers. You can easily create a traditional, professional-looking resume that stands out.

What I like: Cambria’s generous spacing between characters and lines makes the resume much easier to read and stands out from other fonts.

Advantages

• Cambria has a classic yet modern appearance.
• The font‘s serifs give it a timeless look that is perfect for job seekers in more traditional industries such as finance or law.
• It’s  highly readable, even in smaller font sizes, which makes it an excellent choice for information-heavy resumes.

Disadvantages

• Some recruiters and hiring managers might view the font as old-fashioned or generic.
• Cambria’s heavy serifs may be problematic for those trying to keep their resume to a single page.

7. Georgia

Georgia is a traditional serif font that has been a popular choice for resumes due to its elegant and classic look.

Georgia’s unique design features distinguishable serifs that give it a professional appearance.

What I like: The font’s design combines traditional and modern aesthetics, making it a versatile option for job seekers applying for a wide range of positions.

Advantages

• Georgia’s design is easy to read even in smaller font sizes, making it a perfect choice for resumes with limited space.
• It can be customized, which makes it an excellent option for applicants looking to add their personal touch.

Disadvantages

• The font’s traditional appearance may not be suitable for applicants targeting creative or non-traditional fields.
• It’s a serif, making it difficult to read in small sizes on a digital screen or in online applications.

Does using the best resume fonts even matter?

Most recruiters I spoke with were hesitant to offer a font. Instead, they focus on the content.

“I rarely pay too much attention to fonts,” said Heta Patel, a former HubSpot recruiter. “I’m more concerned to see a resume that’s formatted neatly – submitting a PDF is helpful with this, so your formatting doesn’t shift.”

Sales Recruiting Manager Kelsey Freedman agreed.

“Honestly, I care little about the font of a resume, as long as it’s clear and in PDF format,” Freedman said. “I typically review a resume for 20 to 30 seconds, so a traditional font is good.”

Freedman continued, “I would advise avoiding script font or bubble font, or similar fonts that are distracting.”

Ultimately, and as expected, your content still matters most. However, a clear font will help avoid any irritability you might cause a recruiter with a distracting, messy design.

“What I get most excited about is the content. Depending on the role, I look to see that candidates are sharing direct and compelling snapshots of their work,” said Ashley Hodder, a global recruiting manager at HubSpot.

“I look for indicators that show data orientation, autonomy, and thoughtfulness about business impact,” she said.

Worst Resume Fonts

While some recruiters may not have suggestions for the best fonts, many can agree on some of the worst ones.

“Anything that is cursive or too bubbly is too hard to read. For instance, I’d stay clear of Comic Sans,” says Holly Peterson, team lead for management and research recruiting HubSpot.

Another resume font type to avoid is Script.

With text-heavy documents, Scripts, and any of their derivatives make text hard to read because they look like they’re written by hand.

They’re generally used in hand lettering and calligraphy for artistic projects and shouldn’t be present anywhere near your resume.

Ideal Resume Font Size

When asked which font size is best, Fleming said 12 is ideal. Most recruiters would agree.

Your text should be large enough to read comfortably without straining but small enough that there’s space to include all key elements, such as your objective, contact information, skills, and experience.

You can use larger font sizes for headings containing your name and section titles.

If your font is extensive, you can scale to 10.5 — but never go below it.

The critical takeaway is to make your resume clear and easy to read, which means keeping the font size around 12, sticking to classic fonts with modern twists, and forsaking your favorite script font.

Resume Font Tips

1. Choose a font that’s best suited for your industry.

It’s important to keep industry nuances in mind as you’re writing. 

For example, a seasoned graphic designer wouldn’t dare use Comic Sans. And the standard font for most legal documents is Times New Roman.

This is not to say your resume font will make or break your chances of getting the job. But this small step can help demonstrate your attention to detail and your experience in the field.

Pro tip: Whenever I’m refreshing my resume, I like to browse examples in my industry for inspiration. It helps me make sure that I’m aligning the overall style with the position I’m applying for.

This is especially useful when I’ve been out of the job market for a while.

2. Keep the font consistent throughout.

Font consistency is just as important as font type and size. It can be confusing for recruiters if you’re switching back and forth between fonts.

And as I mentioned, you have about 30 seconds tops to make an impression. Make your resume scannable and easy-to-read at a glance.

Pro tip: If you’re going to mix fonts, at least make sure all text levels are the same throughout. For example, all titles and headers should be the same, and all paragraph fonts should match.

3. Be mindful of contrast and colors.

It’s fun to introduce colors into your resume — whether it’s background colors or adding some flare to your titles and headers.

But the most important part is readability. Don’t get carried away with bright or busy colors. You’ll end up taking away from the content on the page.

Pro tip: You can use a color contrast checker to make sure your resume is accessible and legible.

4. Pay attention to formatting.

Similar to font consistency, you’ll want to make sure your resume is well-formatted and organized.

Use headers to break up your sections, make sure your margins are at least half an inch on all sides, and use a font type with optimal clarity.

Recruiters get thousands of resumes per job listing. Make sure your resume catches their eye for good reason — not bad.

Pro tip: Just because your resume looks good on your computer, doesn’t mean it’ll look good on all computers. Save and send your resume as a PDF to ensure the formatting stays constant wherever it goes.

Choosing a Resume Font: FAQs

1. Should I choose a serif or sans-serif font for my resume?

This decision largely depends on the type of job you’re applying for and the contents of your resume. 

While there’s no right or wrong answer, here’s a helpful cheat sheet:

• Serif fonts are classic and professional. They work best for multi-page or light-text resumes and traditional fields (e.g., law, finance, business).
• Sans-serif fonts are modern and sleek. They work best for single-page or text-heavy resumes and creative fields (e.g., marketing, design).

2. What size should my resume font be?

Size 12 is the ideal font size for a resume.

You can go as low as 10.5 if you have a lot of information to include, and I wouldn’t recommend going larger than font size 14.

However, you can go larger than 14 for headers and section titles to help organize your sections (i.e., Education, Experience, etc.).

Happy Resume Writing

The critical takeaway is to make your resume clear and easy to read, which means keeping the font size around 12, sticking to classic fonts with modern twists, and forsaking your favorite script font.

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

Every time I work with a new brand, my first order of business is to conduct a competitive analysis. 

A competitive analysis report helps me understand the brand’s position in the market, map competitors’ strengths/weaknesses, and discover growth opportunities. 

In this article, I’ll break down the exact steps I follow to conduct competitor analysis and identify ways to one-up top brands in the market. 

We’ll cover:

• What is competitive analysis?
• What is competitive market research?
• Competitive Analysis in Marketing
• How To Conduct Competitive Analysis in 5 Steps
• How to Do a Competitive Analysis (the Extended Cut)
• Competitive Product Analysis
• Competitive Analysis Example
• Competitive Analysis Templates
• Competitive Analysis FAQs

Competitive analysis gives you a clearer picture of the market landscape to make informed decisions for your growth. 

That said, you have to remember that competitive analysis is an opportunity to learn from others. It isn’t:

• Copying successful competitors to the T.
• Trying to undercut others’ pricing.
• A one-and-done exercise.

Let’s look at how this exercise can help your business before breaking down my 5-step competitive analysis framework.

4 Reasons to Perform Competitive Analysis 

If you’re on the fence about investing time and effort in analyzing your competitors, know that it gives you a complete picture of the market and where you stand in it.

Here are four main reasons why I perform a competitive analysis exercise whenever working with a brand for the first time:

• Identify your differentiators. Think of competitor analysis as a chance to reflect on your own business and discover what sets you apart from the crowd. And if you’re only starting out, it helps you brainstorm the best opportunities to differentiate your business.
• Find competitors’ strengths. What are your competitors doing right to drive their growth? Analyzing the ins and outs of an industry leader will tell you what they did well to reach the top position in the market.
• Set benchmarks for success. A competitor analysis gives you a realistic idea of mapping your progress with success metrics. While every business has its own path to success, you can always look at a competitor’s trajectory to assess whether you’re on the right track.
• Get closer to your target audience. A good competitor analysis framework zooms in on your audience. It gives you a pulse of your customers by evaluating what they like, dislike, prefer, and complain about when reviewing competing brands.

The bottom line: Whether you’re starting a new business or revamping an existing one, a competitive analysis eliminates guesswork and gives you concrete information to build your business strategy.

What is competitive market research?

Competitive market research is a vital exercise that goes beyond merely comparing products or services. It involves an in-depth analysis of the market metrics that distinguish your offerings from those of your competitors.

A thorough market research doesn’t just highlight these differences but leverages them, laying a solid foundation for a sales and marketing strategy that truly differentiates your business in a bustling market.

In the next section, we’ll explore the nuts and bolts of conducting a detailed competitive analysis tailored to your brand.

Essential Aspects to Cover in Competitive Analysis Research 

Before we walk through our step-by-step process for conducting competitor analysis, let’s look at the main aspects to include for every competitor:

• Overview. A summary of the company — where it’s located, target market, and target audience.
• Primary offering. A breakdown of what they sell and how they compare against your brand.
• Pricing strategy. A comparison of their pricing for different products with your pricing.
• Positioning. An analysis of their core messaging to see how they position themselves.
  Customer feedback: A curation of what customers have to say about the brand.

Now, it’s time to learn how to conduct a competitive analysis with an example to contextualize each step. 

Competitive Analysis in Marketing

Every brand can benefit from regular competitor analysis. By performing a competitor analysis, you’ll be able to:

• Identify gaps in the market.
• Develop new products and services.
• Uncover market trends.
• Market and sell more effectively.

As you can see, learning any of these four components will lead your brand down the path of achievement.

Next, let’s dive into some steps you can take to conduct a comprehensive competitive analysis.

How to Conduct Competitive Analysis in 5 Quick Steps

As a content marketer, I’ve performed a competitive analysis for several brands to improve their messaging, plan their marketing strategy, and explore new channels. Here are the five steps I follow to analyze competitors.

1. Identify and categorize all competitors.

The first step is a simple yet strategic one. You have to identify all possible competitors in your industry, even the lesser-known ones. The goal here is to be aware of all the players in the market instead of arbitrarily choosing to ignore a few.

As you find more and more competitors, categorize them into these buckets:

• Direct competitors. These brands offer the same product/service as you to the same target audience. People will often compare you to these brands when making a buying decision. For example, Arcade and Storylane are direct competitors in the demo automation category.
• Indirect competitors. These businesses solve the same problem but with a different solution. They present opportunities for you to expand your offering. For example, Scribe and Whatfix solve the problem of documentation + internal training, but in different ways.
• Legacy competitors. These are established companies operating in your industry for several years. They have a solid reputation in the market and are a trusted name among customers. For example, Ahrefs is a legacy competitor in the SEO industry.
• Emerging competitors. These are new players in the market with an innovative business model and unique value propositions that pose a threat to existing brands. For example, ChatGPT came in as a disruptor in the conversational AI space and outperformed several brands. 

Here’s a competitive matrix classifying brands in the community and housing space:

Image Source

Testing It Out

To help you understand each step clearly, we’ll use the example of Trello and create a competitor analysis report using these steps.

Here’s a table of the main competitors for Trello:

able of the main competitors for Trello:

Type of competitors	Competitor names
Direct competitors	Asana, Basecamp, Monday.com, MeisterTask
Indirect competitors	Slack, Notion, Coda
Legacy competitors	Microsoft Project, Jira
Disruptor competitors	ClickUp, Airtable

2. Determine each competitor’s market position.

Once you know all your competitors, start analyzing their position in the market. This step will help you understand where you currently stand in terms of market share and customer satisfaction. It’ll also reveal the big guns in your industry — the leading competitors to prioritize in your analysis report.

Plus, visualizing the market landscape will tell you what’s missing in the current state. You can find gaps and opportunities for your brand to thrive even in a saturated market.

To map competitors’ market positions, create a graph with two factors: market presence (Y-axis) and customer satisfaction (X-axis). Then, place competitors in each of these quadrants:

• Niche. These are brands with a low market share but rank high on customer satisfaction. They’re likely targeting a specific segment of the audience and doing it well.
• Contenders. These brands rank low on customer satisfaction but have a good market presence. They might be new entrants with a strong sales and marketing strategy.
• Leaders. These brands own a big market share and have highly satisfied customers. They’re the dominant players with a solid reputation among your audience.
• High performers. These are another category of new entrants scoring high on customer satisfaction but with a low market share. They’re a good alternative for people not looking to buy from big brands.

This visualization will tell you exactly how crowded the market is. But it’ll also highlight ways to gain momentum and compete with existing brands.

Testing It Out

Here’s a market landscape grid by G2 documenting all of Trello’s competitors in the project management space. For a leading brand like Trello, the goal would be to look at top brands in two quadrants: “Leaders” and “High Performers.” 

Image Source

3. Extensively benchmark key competitors.

Step 2 will narrow down your focus from dozens of competitors to the few most important ones to target. Now, it’s time to examine each competitor thoroughly and prepare a benchmarking report.

Remember that this exercise isn’t meant to find shortcomings in every competitor. You have to objectively determine both the good and bad aspects of each brand.

Here are the core factors to consider when benchmarking competitors:

• Quality. Assess the quality of products/services for each competitor. You can compare product features to see what’s giving them an edge over you. You can also evaluate customer reviews to understand what users have to say about the quality of their offering.
• Price. Document the price points for every competitor to understand their pricing tactics. You can also interview their customers to find the value for money from users’ perspectives.
• Customer service. Check how they deliver support — through chat, phone, email, knowledge base, and more. You can also find customer ratings on different third-party platforms.
• Brand reputation. You should also compare each competitor’s reputation in the market to understand how people perceive the brand. Look out for anything critical people say about specific competitors.  
• Financial health. If possible, look for performance indicators to assess a brand’s financial progress. You can find data on metrics like revenue growth and profit margins. 

This benchmarking exercise will involve a combination of primary and secondary research. Invest enough time in this step to ensure that your competitive analysis is completely airtight.

Check out this example of a competitor benchmarking report for workforce intelligence tools:

Image Source

Testing It Out

Here’s how I benchmarked Asana based on these criteria using the information I could find:

Criteria	Asana
Quality	100+ integrations Automation rules AI features for project management Highly praised for user-friendly interface
Price	Offers a free tier and paid plans starting from $10.99/month per user. Advanced features and integrations are available at higher price points​​.
Customer Service	Live chat Phone support​​ Ticket-based support Tutorials in Asana Academy Knowledge base and community forum
Brand Reputation	Considered one of the best project management tools, with a slightly more robust feature set compared to competitors​​.

4. Deep dive into their marketing strategy.

While the first few steps will tell you what you can improve in your core product or service, you also need to find how competitors market their products.

You need to deep-dive into their marketing strategies to learn how they approach buyers. I analyze every marketing channel, then note my observations on how they speak to their audience and highlight their brand personality.

Here are a few key marketing channels to explore:

• Website. Analyze the website structure and copy to understand their positioning and brand voice.
• Email. Subscribe to emails to learn their cadence, copywriting style, content covered, and other aspects.
• Paid ads. Use tools like Ahrefs and Semrush to find if any competitor is running paid ads on search engines.
• Thought leadership. Follow a brand’s thought leadership efforts with content assets like podcasts, webinars, courses, and more.
• Digital PR. Explore whether a brand is investing in digital PR to build buzz around its business and analyze its strategy.
• Social media. See how actively brands use different social channels and what kind of content is working best for them.
• Partnerships. Analyze high-value partnerships to see if brands work closely with any companies and mutually benefit each other.

You can create a detailed document capturing every detail of a competitor’s marketing strategy. This will give you the right direction to plan your marketing efforts. 

5. Perform a SWOT analysis.

The final step in a competitive analysis exercise is creating a SWOT analysis matrix for each company. This means you‘ll take note of your competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Think of it as the final step to consolidate all your research and answer these questions:

• What is your competitor doing well?
• Where do they have an advantage over your brand?
• What is the weakest area for your competitor?
• Where does your brand have the advantage over your competitor?
• In what areas would you consider this competitor a threat?
• Are there opportunities in the market that your competitor has identified?

You can use tools like Miro to visualize this data. Once you visually present this data, you’ll get a clearer idea of where you can outgrow each competitor. 

Image Source

Testing It Out

Here’s a SWOT analysis matrix I created for Asana as a competitor of Trello:

To run a complete and effective competitive analysis, use these ten templates, which range in purpose from sales to marketing to product strategy.

Featured Resource: 10 Competitive Analysis Templates

Download Now

1. Determine who your competitors are.

First, you‘ll need to figure out who you’re competing with to compare the data accurately. What works in a business like yours may not work for your brand. Divide your “competitors” into two categories: direct and indirect.

Keep these brands on your radar since they could shift positions at any time and cross over into the direct competitor zone. Using our example, Stitch Fix could start a workout line, which would certainly change things for Fabletics.

This is also one of the reasons why you‘ll want to routinely run a competitor analysis. The market can and will shift at any time, and if you’re not constantly scoping it out, you won‘t be aware of these changes until it’s too late.

2. Determine what products your competitors offer.

You‘ll want to analyze your competitor’s complete product line and the quality of the products or services they’re offering. You should also take note of their pricing and any discounts they’re offering customers.

Some questions to consider include:

• Are they a low-cost or high-cost provider?
• Are they working mainly on volume sales or one-off purchases?
• What is their market share?
• What are the characteristics and needs of their ideal customers?
• Are they using different pricing strategies for online purchases versus brick-and-mortar?
• How does the company differentiate itself from its competitors?
• How do they distribute their products/services?

3. Research your competitors’ sales tactics and results.

Running a sales analysis of your competitors can be a bit tricky.

You’ll want to track down the answers to questions such as:

• What does the sales process look like?
• What channels are they selling through?
• Do they have multiple locations, and how does this give them an advantage?
• Are they expanding? Scaling down?
• Do they have partner reselling programs?
• What are their customers’ reasons for not buying? For ending their relationship with the company?
• What are their revenues each year? What about total sales volume?
• Do they regularly discount their products or services?
• How involved is a salesperson in the process?

These helpful pieces of information will give you an idea of how competitive the sales process is and what information you need to prepare your sales reps with to compete during the final buy stage.

For publicly held companies, you can find annual reports online, but you’ll have to do some sleuthing to find this info from privately owned businesses.

You could find some of this information by searching through your CRM and reaching out to those customers who mentioned they were considering your competitor.

Find out what made them choose your product or service over others out there.

When a competitor is identified, have your sales team dive deeper by asking why they are considering switching to your product. If you’ve already lost the deal, be sure to follow up with the prospect to determine why you lost to your competitor.

4. Take a look at your competitors’ pricing, as well as any perks they offer.

There are a few major factors that go into correctly pricing your product — and one major one is understanding how much your competitors are charging for a similar product or service.

If you feel your product offers superior features compared to those of a competitor, you might consider making your product or service more expensive than industry standards.

However, if you do that, you’ll want to ensure your sales reps are ready to explain why your product is worth the additional cost.

Alternatively, perhaps you feel there‘s a gap in your industry for affordable products. If that’s the case, you might aim to charge less than competitors and appeal to prospects who aren’t looking to break the bank for a high-quality product.

Of course, other factors go into correctly pricing a product, but it‘s critical you stay on top of industry pricing to ensure you’re pricing your product in a way that feels reasonable to prospects.

Additionally, take a look at any perks your competitors offer and how you might match those perks to compete. For instance, perhaps your competitors offer a major referral discount or a month-long free trial version.

These perks could be the reason you‘re losing customers, so if it feels reasonable for your brand, consider where you might match those perks — or provide some unique perks of your own if competitors don’t offer any.

5. Ensure you’re meeting competitive shipping costs.

Did you know expensive shipping is the number one reason for cart abandonment?

Nowadays, free shipping is a major perk that can attract consumers to choose one brand over another. If you work in an industry where shipping is a major factor — like e-commerce — you‘ll want to take a look at competitors’ shipping costs and ensure you’re meeting (if not exceeding) those prices.

If most of your competitors offer free shipping, you‘ll want to look into the option for your own company. If free shipping isn’t a practical option for your business, consider how you might differentiate in other ways — including loyalty programs, holiday discounts, or giveaways on social media.

6. Analyze how your competitors market their products.

Analyzing your competitor’s website is the fastest way to gauge their marketing efforts. This is a great way to see how accessible and engaging their assets are, and if you can, try experimenting with A/B testing your landing pages or website as well. Take note of any of the following items and copy down the specific URL for future reference:

• Do they have a blog?
• Are they creating whitepapers or e-books?
• Do they post videos or webinars?
• Do they have a podcast?
• Are they using static visual content such as infographics and cartoons?
• What about slide decks?
• Do they have a FAQs section?
• Are there featured articles?
• Do you see press releases?
• Do they have a media kit?
• What about case studies?
• Do they publish buying guides and data sheets?
• What online and offline advertising campaigns are they running?

7. Take note of your competition’s content strategy.

Then, take a look at the quantity of these items. Do they have several hundred blog posts or a small handful? Are there five white papers and just one e-book?

Next, determine the frequency of these content assets. Are they publishing something new each week or once a month? How often does a new e-book or case study come out?

Chances are, if you come across a robust archive of content, your competitor has been publishing regularly. Depending on the topics they’re discussing, this content may help you hone in on their lead-generating strategies.

From there, you should move on to evaluating the quality of their content. After all, if the quality is lacking, it won‘t matter how often they post since their target audience won’t find much value in it.

Choose a small handful of samples to review instead of tackling every single piece to make the process more manageable.

Your sampler should include content pieces covering a variety of topics, so you’ll have a fairly complete picture of what your competitor shares with their target audience.

When analyzing your competitor’s content, consider the following questions:

• How accurate is their content?
• Are spelling or grammar errors present?
• How in-depth does their content go? (Is it at the introductory level that just scratches the surface, or does it include more advanced topics with high-level ideas?)
• What tone do they use?
• Is the content structured for readability? (Are they using bullet points, bold headings, and numbered lists?)
• Is their content free and available to anyone, or do their readers need to opt in?
• Who is writing their content? (In-house team? One person? Multiple contributors?)
• Is there a visible byline or bio attached to their articles?

As you continue to scan the content, pay attention to the photos and imagery your competitors are using.

Do you quickly scroll past generic stock photos, or are you impressed by custom illustrations and images? If they’re using stock photos, do they at least have overlays of text quotes or calls-to-action that are specific to their business?

If their photos are custom, are they sourced from outside graphic professionals, or do they appear to be done in-house?

When you have a solid understanding of your competitor‘s content marketing strategy, it’s time to find out if it’s truly working for them.

8. Learn what technology stack your competitors use.

Understanding what types of technology your competitors use can be critical for helping your own company reduce friction and increase momentum within your organization.

For instance, perhaps you‘ve seen positive reviews about a competitor’s customer service — as you’re conducting research, you learn the customer uses powerful customer service software you haven’t been taking advantage of.

This information should arm you with the opportunity to outperform your competitors’ processes.

To figure out which software your competitors use, type the company’s URL into Built With, an effective tool for unveiling what technology your competitors’ site runs on, along with third-party plugins ranging from analytics systems to CRMs.

Alternatively, you might consider looking at competitors’ job listings, particularly for engineer or web developer roles. The job listing will likely mention which tools a candidate needs to be familiar with — a creative way to gain intel into the technology your competitors use.

9. Analyze the level of engagement on your competitor’s content.

To gauge how engaging your competitor‘s content is to their readers, you’ll need to see how their target audience responds to what they’re posting.

Check the average number of comments, shares, and likes on your competitor’s content and find out if:

• Certain topics resonate better than others.
• The comments are negative, positive, or mixed.
• People are tweeting about specific topics more than others.
• Readers respond better to Facebook updates about certain content.
• Don’t forget to note if your competitor categorizes their content using tags and if they have social media follow and share buttons attached to each piece of content.

10. Observe how they promote their marketing content.

From engagement, you‘ll move right along to your competitor’s content promotion strategy.

• Keyword density in the copy itself
• Image ALT text tags
• Use of internal linking

The following questions can also help you prioritize and focus on what to pay attention to:

• Which keywords are your competitors focusing on that you still haven’t tapped into?
• What content of theirs is highly shared and linked to? How does your content compare?
• Which social media platforms are your target audience using?
• What other sites are linking back to your competitor’s site but not yours?
• Who else is sharing what your competitors are publishing?
• Who is referring traffic to your competitor’s site?
• For the keywords you want to focus on, what is the difficulty level? There are several free (and paid) tools that will give you a comprehensive evaluation of your competitor’s search engine optimization.

11. Look at their social media presence, strategies, and go-to platforms.

The last area you‘ll want to evaluate when it comes to marketing is your competitor’s social media presence and engagement rates.

How does your competition drive engagement with their brand through social media? Do you see social sharing buttons with each article? Does your competitor have links to their social media channels in the header, footer, or somewhere else? Are these clearly visible? Do they use calls-to-action with these buttons?

If your competitors are using a social network that you may not be on, it’s worth learning more about how that platform may be able to help your business, too.

To determine if a new social media platform is worth your time, check your competitor’s engagement rates on those sites. First, visit the following sites to see if your competition has an account on these platforms:

• Facebook.
• Twitter.
• Instagram.
• Snapchat.
• LinkedIn.
• YouTube.
• Pinterest.

Then, take note of the following quantitative items from each platform:

• Number of fans/followers.
• Posting frequency and consistency.
• Content engagement. (Are users leaving comments or sharing their posts?)
• Content virality. (How many shares, repins, and retweets do their posts get?)

With the same critical eye you used to gauge your competition’s content marketing strategy, take a fine-toothed comb to analyze their social media strategy.

What kind of content are they posting? Are they more focused on driving people to landing pages, resulting in new leads? Or are they posting visual content to promote engagement and brand awareness?

How much of this content is original? Do they share curated content from other sources? Are these sources regular contributors? What is the overall tone of the content?

How does your competition interact with its followers? How frequently do their followers interact with their content?

After you collect this data, generate an overall grade for the quality of your competitor’s content. This will help you compare the rest of your competitors using a similar grading scale.

12. Perform a SWOT Analysis to learn their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

As you evaluate each component in your competitor analysis (business, sales, and marketing), get into the habit of performing a simplified SWOT analysis at the same time.

This means you‘ll take note of your competitor’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats any time you assess an overall grade.

Some questions to get you started include:

• What is your competitor doing well? (Products, content marketing, social
• Where does your competitor have the advantage over your brand?
• What is the weakest area for your competitor?
• Where does your brand have the advantage over your competitor?
• What could they do better with?
• In what areas would you consider this competitor a threat?
• Are there opportunities in the market that your competitor has identified?

You‘ll be able to compare their weaknesses against your strengths and vice versa. By doing this, you can better position your company, and you’ll start to uncover areas for improvement within your own brand.

Competitive Product Analysis

Product analysis drills down to discover key differences and similarities in products that share the same general market.

If you have a competitor selling products in a similar market niche to your own — you want to ensure that you aren’t losing market share to the competition.

Leveraging the example above, we can drill down and discover some of the key differentiators in product offerings.

1. Assess your current product pricing.

The first step in any product analysis is to assess current pricing.

Nintendo offers three models of its Switch console: The smaller lite version is priced at $199, the standard version is $299, and the new OLED version is $349.

Sony, meanwhile, offers two versions of its PlayStation 5 console: The standard edition costs $499, and the digital version, which doesn’t include a disc drive, is $399.

2. Compare key features.

Next is a comparison of key features. In the case of our console example, this means comparing features like processing power, memory, and hard drive space.

Feature	PS5 Standard	Nintendo Switch
Hard drive space	825 GB	32 GB
RAM	16 GB	4 GB
USB ports	4 ports	1 USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0
Ethernet connection	Gigabit	None

3. Pinpoint differentiators.

With basic features compared, it’s time to dive deeper with differentiators. While a glance at the chart above seems to indicate that the PS5 is outperforming its competition, this data only tells part of the story.

Here’s why: The big selling point of the standard and OLED Switch models is that they can be played as either handheld consoles or docked with a base station connected to a TV. What’s more, this “switching” happens seamlessly, allowing players to play whenever, wherever.

The Playstation offering, meanwhile, has leaned into market-exclusive games that are only available on its system to help differentiate them from their competitors.

4. Identify market gaps.

The last step in a competitive product analysis is looking for gaps in the market that could help your company get ahead.

When it comes to the console market, one potential opportunity gaining traction is the delivery of games via cloud-based services rather than physical hardware.

Companies like Nvidia and Google have already made inroads in this space, and if they can overcome issues with bandwidth and latency, it could change the market at scale.

Competitive Analysis Example

How do you stack up against the competition? Where are you similar, and what sets you apart? This is the goal of competitive analysis.

By understanding where your brand and competitors overlap and diverge, you’re better positioned to make strategic decisions that can help grow your brand.

Of course, it’s one thing to understand the benefits of competitive analysis, and it’s another to actually carry out an analysis that yields actionable results. Don’t worry — we’ve got you covered with a quick example.

Sony vs. Nintendo: Not all fun and games.

Let’s take a look at popular gaming system companies Sony and Nintendo.

Sony’s newest offering — the Playstation 5 — recently hit the market but has been plagued by supply shortages.

Nintendo’s Switch console, meanwhile, has been around for several years but remains a consistent seller, especially among teens and children.

This scenario is familiar for many companies on both sides of the coin; some have introduced new products designed to compete with established market leaders, while others are looking to ensure that reliable sales don’t fall.

Using some of the steps listed above, here’s a quick competitive analysis example.

1. Determine who your competitors are.

In our example, it’s Sony vs Nintendo, but it’s also worth considering Microsoft’s Xbox, which occupies the same general market vertical.

This is critical for effective analysis; even if you’re focused on specific competitors and how they compare, it’s worth considering other similar market offerings.

2. Determine what products your competitors offer.

PlayStation offers two PS5 versions, digital and standard, at different price points, while Nintendo offers three versions of its console.

Both companies also sell peripherals — for example, Sony sells virtual reality (VR) add-ons, while Nintendo sells gaming peripherals such as steering wheels, tennis rackets, and differing controller configurations.

3. Research your competitors’ sales tactics and results.

When it comes to sales tactics and marketing, Sony and Nintendo have very different approaches.

In part thanks to the recent semiconductor shortage, Sony has driven up demand via scarcity — very low volumes of PS5 consoles remain available. Nintendo, meanwhile, has adopted a broader approach by targeting families as its primary customer base.

This effort is bolstered by the Switch Lite product line, which is smaller and less expensive, making it a popular choice for children.

The numbers tell the tale: Through September 2021, Nintendo sold 14.3 million consoles, while Sony sold 7.8 million.

4. Take a look at your competitors’ pricing, as well as any perks they offer.

Sony has the higher price point: Their standard PS5 sells for $499, while Nintendo’s most expensive offering comes in at $349. Both offer robust digital marketplaces and the ability to easily download new games or services.

Here, the key differentiators are flexibility and fidelity. The Switch is flexible — users can dock it with their television and play it like a standard console or pick it up and take it anywhere as a handheld gaming system.

The PS5, meanwhile, has superior graphics hardware and processing power for gamers who want the highest-fidelity experience.

5. Analyze how your competitors market their products.

If you compare the marketing efforts of Nintendo and Sony, the difference is immediately apparent: Sony’s ads feature realistic in-game footage and speak to the exclusive nature of their game titles.

The company has managed to secure deals with several high-profile game developers for exclusive access to new and existing IPs.

Nintendo, meanwhile, uses brightly lit ads showing happy families playing together or children using their smaller Switches while traveling.

6. Analyze the level of engagement on your competitor’s content.

Engagement helps drive sales and encourage repeat purchases.

While there are several ways to measure engagement, social media is one of the most straightforward: In general, more followers equates to more engagement and greater market impact.

When it comes to our example, Sony enjoys a significant lead over Nintendo: While the official Playstation Facebook page has 38 million followers, Nintendo has just 5 million.

Competitive Analysis Templates

Competitive analysis is complex, especially when you’re assessing multiple companies and products simultaneously.

To help streamline the process, we’ve created 10 free templates that make it possible to see how you stack up against the competition — and what you can do to increase market share.

Let’s break down our SWOT analysis template. Here’s what it looks like:

Download Free Templates

Strengths. Identify your strengths. These may include specific pieces of intellectual property, products that are unique to the market, or a workforce that outperforms the competition.

Weaknesses. Here, it’s worth considering potential issues around pricing, leadership, staff turnover, and new competitors in the market.

Opportunities. This part of the SWOT analysis can focus on new market niches, evolving consumer preferences, or new technologies being developed by your company.

Threats. These might include new taxes or regulations on existing products or an increasing number of similar products in the same market space that could negatively affect your overall share.

Competitive Analysis: FAQs

What is a competitive analysis framework?

A competitive analysis framework is a structured approach used to evaluate potential competitors and understand their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

This framework serves as a guide for businesses to identify competitive advantages, understand market positioning, and inform strategic decisions.

Depending on the industry and the company’s objectives, this framework might focus on areas like product features, market share, pricing, customer feedback, and more.

How do you do a good competitive analysis?

Conducting a thorough competitive analysis involves several steps:

• Identify competitors. Start by listing key competitors in your market, both direct and indirect.
• Evaluate their products/services. Analyze what they’re selling and how it compares to your offerings.
• Analyze market position. Determine their market share, brand perception, and unique value proposition.
• Check their marketing strategies. Observe their advertising, content marketing, PR efforts, and online presence.
• Assess their financial health. If available, review financial statements, annual reports, or investor presentations.
• Gather customer feedback. Reviews, testimonials, and surveys can give insights into competitor strengths and weaknesses.
• Regularly review and update. The market evolves, and competitors change strategies, so it’s vital to keep your analysis current.

What are the 5 parts of a competitive analysis?

The five key components of a competitive analysis include:

1. Company overview. A brief snapshot of the competitor, including its history, size, and mission.
2. Product/service analysis. An examination of their key products or services and how they compare to yours.
3. Marketing strategy. Insights into their promotional tactics, target audience, and unique selling propositions.
4. Operational analysis. An understanding of their supply chain, distribution, and customer service practices.
5. Strengths and weaknesses. A clear breakdown of where the competitor excels and where they might be vulnerable.

What are the 3 C’s in a competitive analysis?

The 3 C’s refer to a strategic model that considers three main factors when understanding the broader business environment:

1. Company. Understanding your own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
2. Customers. Knowing who your target audience is, what they value, and how they behave.
3. Competitors. Analyzing direct and indirect competitors to determine market dynamics and potential threats.

Is SWOT analysis a competitive analysis?

Yes, SWOT analysis is a type of competitive analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It is a strategic planning tool used to identify and analyze these four elements of a business.

While a SWOT analysis can be focused internally on a company‘s own attributes, when used as a competitive analysis tool, it assesses a competitor’s SWOT to understand where your business has advantages or might be vulnerable.

How does your business stack up?

Before you accurately compare your competition, you need to establish a baseline. This also helps when it comes time to perform a SWOT analysis.

Take an objective look at your business, sales, and marketing reports through the same metrics you use to evaluate your competition. Record this information just like you would with a competitor and use this as your baseline to compare across the board.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published prior to July 2018 but has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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

Digital courses can be a game-changer for your bottom line, whether you’ve been in business for ten years or ten days.

But if you’re like many of the folks I work with, you might be wondering where to start when adding a digital course to your business. My name is Amy, and I coach entrepreneurs on how to use smart marketing strategies to grow their businesses. One of my specialties is creating digital courses — it’s something I’ve done (to the tune of $100 million) — and it’s something I love helping others do too.

Why add a digital course to your business?

Before we get into the how, let’s talk about the why. Digital courses offer some compelling advantages:

• Scalability: Once you’ve created your digital course, you can sell it over and over again. It’s like having a 24/7 cash machine. This passive income stream can offer financial stability and room for your business to grow.
• Reach and Impact: Digital courses break down geographical barriers, allowing you to reach a broader audience. This accessibility makes it easier for people who might not have the means to engage with you in person or through traditional services.
• Become Known as the Expert: Creating a digital course allows you to maintain control over your content and brand. It can set you up as the go-to expert in your industry. You can customize the learning experience to align with your business’s identity, ensuring that it reflects your values and meets your audience’s needs.

Creating a digital course is what skyrocketed my business to new heights, has allowed me to work from anywhere and create a business that I absolutely love, 100% on my terms. I even founded Digital Course Academy so that folks spanning industries and backgrounds can find success with online course creation too.

What types of businesses are best for digital courses?

The beauty of digital courses is that they can be seamlessly integrated into almost any business model, regardless of the industry or niche.

Your knowledge and expertise can literally be transformed into a structured learning experience that’s accessible to anyone interested in your offer.

And when it comes to the digital course topic or area of interest, I’ve seen everything under the sun, from courses on urban beekeeping to speed-reading sheet music.

So, let’s talk through four approaches to adding a digital course to your existing business, along with the three most effective types of digital courses.

4 Strategies for Adding a Digital Course to Your Business

1. Coaches and Consultants

If you’re a one-on-one coach (e.g., a health or life coach), or a consultant (e.g., a stylist or social media consultant), adding a digital course to your business is a no-brainer because you’ve probably already created a lot of your course content.

Here’s how it works:

• Take your proven roadmap or step-by-step client process and turn it into a digital course.
• Offer your course to those who might not be able to afford your one-on-one services or prefer to work through your content on their own. You could also make this a prerequisite before working with you at a premium price.

Offering a digital course with only a handful of one-on-one coaching or consulting spots also allows you to work with best-fit clients.

2. Membership Sites

If you run a membership site, adding a digital course is a great way to diversify your content and make some extra cash.

While memberships typically offer ongoing resources, courses can dive into specific topics in greater detail, offering members a more comprehensive learning experience.

Consider these two approaches:

• Front-End Membership: Offer a low-price membership experience to build trust and prime your audience first before offering your digital course as an upsell. Create a course related to the central theme of your membership, but offer a different angle, more in-depth guidance, and a supportive community.
• Back-End Membership: Offer an exclusive membership to students who have completed your digital course. The key is to keep your back-end membership about supporting people in the implementation of what they’ve already learned from you — not about continuously teaching more.

Adding a digital course to your membership business is a wonderful way to keep growing with your students. It also positions your digital course as the gateway to your other offerings.

3. Service Providers

If you’re a business owner providing a service, like graphic design or dog training, leverage your expertise with a digital course. Here’s how:

• Take your know-how and your roadmap (i.e., expertise) and turn that into a digital course.
• Continue offering your services, and provide a course as an up-leveling option.

The benefit is that, just like the coach or consultant, you’re able to expand your reach and impact.

And don’t worry, you don’t have to give up your practice as it is. If you love working with customers, keep meeting with them. There will always be people who would rather pay for the convenience of having someone else do the work.

4. Lead with Your Digital Course

If you want your digital course to be your primary revenue source, here are some important guidelines to follow:

• Consistently create content that is aligned with your digital course — even when you’re not actively launching.
• Use content to attract and nurture your Ideal Customer Avatar (ICA), keeping your course featured prominently.

Digital Course Academy is my signature course and the primary revenue generator for my business. I focus on creating valuable content and nurturing my digital course audience year-round.

What type of digital course is right for your audience?

Now that you know how to add a digital course to your business, let’s consider the type of course that suits your business best. There are three primary types of digital courses:

1. Starter Course

This is a course centered around helping your students get started in your area of expertise. It is:

• Ideal for beginners
• Just enough information to move its audience forward
• Typically priced between $100 and $200
• Great for coaching, consulting, and service-based businesses

Many digital course creators will use a starter course to prepare their students for their signature course. Starter courses are also typically a lower price point product for those who want to test the waters before jumping completely into a lengthier, more expensive program.

Starter Course Example: Louisa Deasey

One of my Digital Course Academy students, Louisa, is a memoirist who teaches others her techniques and tools for writing memoirs.

She has a Starter Course called 30-Day Journaling for Memoir Course that’s priced at $247.

She created her Starter course to help her students gain the insight and fuel they need to be published. If they’d like to do a deeper dive, they can take the next steps to work with her one-on-one.

2. Spotlight Course

This type of course takes a deeper dive into your content and focuses deeply on a specific topic. It typically:

• Provides students with in-depth knowledge
• Is priced between $200 and $500
• Works well with a membership experience

Spotlight Course Example: Claire Le Roy

Claire Le Roy is an Australian interior designer who worked directly with clients for seven years before diving into digital courses. She created her spotlight course, Sketchup for Interior Design Beginners, for designer clients who want to learn how to use a popular piece of design software called SketchUp.

This type of course works well because she saw very little online support offered for interior designers and decorators.

3. Signature Course

A signature course is the most in-depth course offering. It’s specific and detailed, and it includes the entire framework for a transformation or result. It’s usually:

• A comprehensive system for a complete transformation
• Priced higher, from $500 to thousands
• The number one revenue generator for a business

Digital Course Academy is my signature course because it offers a comprehensive program for creating, launching, and successfully selling digital courses. Even if you have no idea where to start, it offers the roadmap and resources you need to achieve your digital course goals.

Signature Course Example: Rhea Whitney

Rhea is a wedding photographer, coach, and educator who teaches rising pro-photographers how to run a profitable photography business through her signature course, From Hobbyist To Pro.

She teaches her students how to build a solid photography business with the exact roadmap she used to become a full-time photographer.

Digital Courses: The Case for Building Your Own

Adding a digital course to your business is one of the smartest moves you can make. They are flexible, scalable, and can revolutionize your revenue streams. All you need to do is decide on the approach that resonates with you and choose the course type that aligns with your business objectives.

A digital course has transformed my business and the businesses of thousands of my students. I truly believe they are the best way to start or scale your business — and I know you’ll feel the same!

Whenever I get asked ‘What makes you unique?’ or ‘What makes you stand out from other candidates?’ in an interview, I use it as the perfect opportunity to explain why I’m the best person for the role.

And I like to get specific. I’ve found that interviewers respond positively when I skip the generics and tie my answer back to what I have to offer based on my individual background.

Your answer could ultimately make or break your interview, so it’s important to really nail it. I’ll walk you through how to answer this question the right way.

Table of Contents

• Subtle Ways Interviewers Ask ‘What makes you unique?’
• Why do interviewers ask ‘What sets you apart from other candidates?’
• How to Answer “What makes you unique?”
• 7 Sample Answers to “What Makes You Unique?” and Why They Work
• Prepare Beyond ‘What Makes You Unique?’

Subtle Ways Interviewers Ask ‘What makes you unique?’

There are many ways that interviewers try to tease out what makes you a stand-out candidate.

Here are some of the common questions that are actually ‘What makes you unique?’ in disguise:

• What makes you stand out from other candidates?
• What sets you apart from other candidates?
• What can you bring to this role that’s different from other candidates?
• What makes you a valuable candidate for this role?
• Why are you the best candidate for this role?
• Why should I choose you over other candidates?

No matter how this question manifests itself during your interview, the overarching goal remains the same.

Why do interviewers ask ‘What sets you apart from other candidates?’

The interviewer is asking you this question to give you an opportunity to showcase your value.

They want to see that you’ve done thorough research about the company and the position. And they want you to connect your skills and experience back to the role you’re interviewing for.

For example, let’s say I’m trying to land a social media role, and I notice that the company could be doing a better job on TikTok.

I can use this as an opportunity to:

• Show that I’ve done my homework — I’m already familiar with the company’s social media presence and the platforms where they’re currently active (i.e., TikTok).
• Highlight relevant skills — I have several years of experience managing and growing TikTok accounts, so I’ll be sure to mention that.
• Provide a light recommendation — I’ll share how my skills and experience allows me to identify and implement that recommendation.

Think about it like this: If you can show the interviewer that you can help the company meet their goals (and that you know what their goals are in the first place), that’s one great way to set yourself apart from the rest.

Plus, it becomes clear to the interviewer that you’ve taken the time to prepare if you can provide specific examples related to the role.

These are all reasons why this is such a popular interview question — so come ready, and don’t be afraid to humble brag about yourself a little.

1. Mention skills listed in the job description.

This is one of the best ways to show the interviewer that you’ve done your research. Also, the job description is basically like your cheat sheet. Use it as a guide so you know exactly which skills to highlight throughout the interview.

My recommendation: Refer back to the job description but don’t recite it word for word. Use it in context to explain how your skillset aligns with the expectations for the role.

2. Provide specific examples from your background.

This is another smart way you can use the job description to your advantage. Reference prior accomplishments or results from past roles that relate to the position you’re interviewing for.

My recommendation: Focus on examples that tie back to the skills required for the position, and always quantify success where possible.

Using our social media example, saying ‘I ran a social media campaign which resulted in a 120% increase in traffic to our website’ is a lot more impactful than ‘I have experience running social media campaigns.’

3. Avoid generic phrases like “I’m a hard worker.”

Remember, this is a very standard interview question, so that means every candidate is likely being asked this question.

Make your answer compelling. Instead of saying you’re a ‘hard worker,’ give specific examples about the hard work you’ve accomplished related to the role.

My recommendation: Try to avoid the common buzzwords and instead replace those with real descriptions of your past work.

For example, you and every other candidate for a social media position probably consider yourselves to be “social media savvy.” 

Instead, make the case to prove that you are actually savvier than the competition based on your unique background.

4. Include key personality traits that will allow you to deliver results.

Someone else might have similar skills as you, but your personality is one of a kind. 

Being ‘social media savvy’ is one thing. But if you’re social media savvy and a tenacious person who is able to think quickly on your feet, that’s an asset.

Highlight the traits that have proven value in helping you grow as a professional.

My recommendation: You want to know one of my favorite ways to convince interviewers that I can deliver the results they’re looking for? Tell them how I’ve found similar success in the past and how my individuality supported that.

5. Tell the interviewer how your unique skills will help the company succeed.

This closely relates back to Tip #3. 

Don’t just talk about generic skills that most candidates have — always tie your skills back to specific projects you’ve worked on.

Your background is what makes you unique. There’s no one person that has the exact experience, skills, and traits that you do. Use that to your advantage.

My recommendation: You may not know the company’s internal goals, but you should always try to connect your skills back to their mission and values when possible.

7 Sample Answers to “What Makes You Unique?” and Why They Work

1. “I am a very good communicator and find it’s easy for me to relate to other people.”

Consider mentioning a personality trait you feel would be a good fit for the business. After reading the job description, make a list of attributes that could make you an exceptional candidate.

Additionally, including a personality trait in your answer allows you to display how you’re a good fit for a role in which you have little prior experience.

For instance, if you’re applying for a position as a team leader, it’s critical that you demonstrate strong communication skills and an ability to connect with a diverse group of people. 

If you tell the interviewer, “I am a very good communicator and find it’s easy for me to relate to other people”, you’re able to match your personality to components of a successful leader.

Why this works: Effective communication is a critical trait to emphasize in interviews. If you consider how 86% of employees cite lack of collaboration  as a main component of workplace failures, you can begin to appreciate why.

2. “I really enjoy learning new things and am constantly seeking out new learning opportunities.”

By mentioning your passion for learning new things, you’re demonstrating you’re growth-focused and unafraid of challenges.

Additionally, answering the question in this way allows you to remind the interviewer why you’re uniquely qualified for the role. 

Why this works: While other candidates might have more prior experience in the industry, you’re proving your desire to exceed expectations of the job quickly.

3. “My prior experience in customer service has provided me with unique technical skills that I can apply to this role.”

If you have prior experience in a role vastly different from the one for which you’re applying, you might use this as an opportunity to explain how your background uniquely qualifies you. 

It’s critical, however, that you provide specific examples of how your prior experience has provided you with certain transferable skills.

For instance, you might say the following:

“My prior experience in customer service provided me with an extensive knowledge base for how our product works. As a marketer, I will be able to use this knowledge to ensure we’re meeting our customers’ needs.”

It’s also important to highlight: Previous job experience has declined in importance when it comes to recruiters evaluating candidates. In fact, over the last few years, that number has dropped from 92% to 62%. 

So it’s okay if you feel your prior work experience doesn’t perfectly align with the role for which you’re applying — as long as you can explain how your skills will help you succeed. 

Why this works: With an answer like this one, you’re able to alleviate concerns the interviewer might have with your lack of experience in the field.

4. “Working at a startup gave me an opportunity to understand the ins-and-outs of the industry, and to take on tasks I might not have at a larger company. I think this experience gives me a slight edge over other applicants.”

Similar to the answer above, this answer is a good one if you’re attempting to switch industries. 

Consider how your background has allowed you to gain unique skills that others, who followed a more linear career trajectory, might not have. 

For instance, if you previously worked at a small startup and now you want to transfer to a large corporation, it’s important you mention how those skills will make you successful in this new role.

Why this works: If you think your prior experience could deter interviewers from seeing you as exceptionally qualified, this is an optimal chance to prove them wrong.

5. “I’m not afraid of failure. In fact, I think it is an essential part of the experimental process that gets you to success. For example … “

This answer shows your interviewer that you’re not afraid to take risks.

Of course, you’ll only want to say this if you have a positive example to reinforce the importance of failure in the workplace.

You don’t want to sound like you make mistakes all the time, but you’ll stand out if you mention how you turned a failure into a success.

For instance, you might say, “I’m not afraid of failure. In my last role, we tried to streamline our SEO process and, along the way, found we’d accidentally decreased traffic to our site. 

However, this initial failure allowed me to see the errors in our previous procedure. My team and I came up with a more successful strategy to avoid these mistakes in the future, and ended up increasing traffic by 20%.”

Why this works: With this answer, you’re showing you’re capable of remaining flexible and open-minded when something doesn’t work right away, and you know how to take failures and use them as learning opportunities.

6. “When solving problems, I apply both logic and emotional aspects in equal proportion. For instance, I’m trained in SEO and understand how to use analytics to ensure a marketing campaign is successful, but I also majored in design and know how to apply creativity to a project as well.”

If you’re stuck on deciding how to demonstrate your unique qualifications, start by thinking about how other people approach problems at your company, and how you differ.

For instance, most people are either logical and use analytics to solve problems, or emotional and use creativity. It’s rare to find someone who is both. 

Why this works: Most people focus on highlighting one skill per question in an interview. If you’re able to demonstrate that you’re comfortable combining two unique skills, it’s an impressive ability you should highlight.

7. “I’m exceptionally organized, and at my last company, I was able to apply this skill to improve our process and increase ROI by 33%.”

Remember, when your interviewer asks “what makes you unique”, they’re really wondering “how will you help our company?” 

At the end of the day, it’s critical you tie your answer back to how you will solve problems for the company. 

48% of recruiters say improving quality of hire is a top priority — so you’ll want to ensure your answer highlights how you will excel in the role for the long haul.

Consider a personality trait or skill set that helped your last company achieve results. If the results are quantitative, make sure you have the specific numbers to support your claim.

However, it’s also appropriate to share qualitative results, such as, “my organizational skills led my manager to trusting me with a major project within the first two months in my role.”

Why this works: Ultimately, providing examples shows the interviewer you’re results-driven, and aren’t just saying generic phrases to answer their question.

For even more inspiration on how to answer this question effectively, check out the video below.

Prepare Beyond ‘What Makes You Unique?’

The age-old “What makes you stand out from other candidates” question is one of many common questions that interviewers love, so it’s important to prep accordingly.

HubSpot’s comprehensive interview guide to help you tackle over 50 different interview questions like a pro, including questions related to:

• Who you are and what skills you bring to the role
• How you respond to challenges and conflict
• How you’ll fit into or add to the company culture
• Your professional goals and desired career trajectory

Download it for free here.

Stand Out in the Crowd

Essentially, ‘What makes you unique’ really means, ‘What makes you an exceptionally good fit for this role?’ Come prepared, get specific, and use examples to prove that you’re the best option in the candidate pool.

An about me website is your chance to showcase your personality and credentials in an engaging format. But without strong personal website examples to guide you, you may not know how to get started or what will work best for your personal branding.

In this post, we’ll cover the best examples of personal websites we’ve seen from marketers, creators, and other business professionals. 

Why create a personal website?

Here’s the thing about resumes and cover letters: No matter how unique you try to make your own, for the most part, they tend to read dry. And there’s a good reason for it: It’s supposed to be a single, no-frills page that documents your work experience.

While being concise is good, there’s very little opportunity to convey your uniqueness or for your personality to shine through at all.

While a resume is a sole, largely unchanging document, a personal website can be customized and updated according to what you’re working on or what you want to emphasize. It’s both fluid and current.

In addition, 80% of businesses say a personal website is important when evaluating job candidates. Recruiters are looking you up online, and a personal website that tells the story you want to tell can make all the difference between you and a competing candidate.

For creators, you may question the need for a personal website when you already have an active social presence. A large social media presence is great, but, as we’ll dig into more below, an about me website can open you up to more opportunities for exposure, partnerships, and more.

If you’re thinking about creating a personal website of your very own, check out the examples below that hit the nail on the head. Inspired by a particular type of website?

Click one of the following links to jump to that section of this article:

• Personal Websites From Marketers
• Personal Websites From Creators or Influencers
• Personal Websites From Other Business Professionals

Personal Websites From Marketers

1. José Rocha

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José Rocha is a designer who uses delightful parallax effects on his site to engage viewers and visitors. He introduces himself as a creative designer, marketing director, and consultant, covers his key strength areas, and then invites readers to scroll through his experience in a concise, interactive section.

The continuous scrolling effect guides visitors through José’s story and experience, which is a great way to communicate the most important things you want people to know.  

2. Caroline Forsey

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Caroline Forsey, principal marketing manager of HubSpot’s Content Growth Team, offers a good example of how to put together an about me website. 

Caroline’s website is clean and straightforward, which I appreciate. In addition to listing her career highlights in her bio, Caroline also includes a page for her resume. This is a nice touch if she were to begin a job search and wanted to give recruiters a chance to learn about her background quicker.

3. Brent Stirling

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Brent Stirling is a growth marketing consultant who’s spent over a decade honing his marketing skills for both B2B and DTC companies. What I like most about Brent’s website is that his voice comes through in every element, even when highlighting his career experience, as shown in the screenshot above. 

4. Jason Faber

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Another one of my favorite personal websites from a marketer is Jason Faber’s, a freelancing friend of mine. Jason is a growth marketing and SEO consultant with an extensive background in scaling startups, small businesses, and tech companies. I personally love how he’s tied everything together with an accent color and design element that underlines key phrases. 

5. Kaitlin Milliken

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Kaitlin Milliken, a senior program manager for HubSpot’s Freelance Network, has created a great about me website for fellow marketers to take note of. In addition to the cohesive branding throughout the website, I personally like Kaitlin’s About page best. In just a few paragraphs, she sums up her current role, career highlights, and personal interests to give visitors a sense of who she is and what experience she has. 

6. Katya Varbanova

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Katya is a branding, marketing, and AI expert and the founder of Viral Marketing Stars. One scroll through her about me website, and it’s immediately evident that she’s a branding expert. Every element on her website is cohesive with her brand, and the media logos of places she’s been featured showcase her credibility and expertise. 

What I like most about Katya’s website is the compelling call-to-action (CTA) button that encourages visitors to reach out to her for speaking gigs. She could potentially switch this CTA out to promote different goals as they change, which makes this a smart element on her marketing website. 

Best Practices for Personal Websites for Marketers

Demonstrate your skills, experience, and credibility.

As a marketing writer, I firmly believe how you communicate your experience on your about me website is as important as how it looks. Whether you use your website as a portfolio of your proudest projects, an online resume that outlines your career achievements, or a lead generation tool, it’s key to demonstrate your marketing skills and credibility.

Share your successes and achievements.

If you want your website to stand out, mention industry awards you’ve won, add logos of the companies you’ve worked with, and ensure your messaging is on brand. I also find that the best personal websites from marketers reflect the person’s chosen industry or the one they aspire to work in.

Personal Websites From Creators or Influencers 

7. Jane Claire Hervey

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Getting media attention is a big deal for a creator or influencer. So, it only makes sense to highlight those press mentions on a press page on your personal website. When it comes to creative examples of this, I like how Jane Claire Hervey curates the press mentions on her website.

Jane is a creative director, artist, and founder of the Austin-based nonprofit Future Front. On her press page, she doesn’t just post links to articles she’s been featured in. Instead, she includes a snippet of the article along with an image, which I find more engaging. 

8. Leah Bury

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Leah Bury is another Austin-based creative whose website I personally love. It not only showcases her creativity and style, but it also does a great job of communicating all of the different creative projects she’s worked on. 

9. The Everywhereist

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The Everywhereist is a blog run by author and travel writer Geraldine DeRuiter. What I like about this website is that it exudes personality. Whether you’re on the blog feed or the About page, you’ll see sidebars with fun facts or a snippet of her latest book.

The blog also features a “Best Of” page that highlights some of her top posts so visitors can get acclimated to the site and her writing style. Plus, when it comes to design, the color scheme is warm, neutral, and free of excess clutter that could distract from the content.

10. Side Hustle Nation

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Side Hustle Nation is the business blog of Nick Loper, an advisor whose website offers tons of valuable financial advice for individual business owners.

His homepage, shown above, sets a lighthearted yet passionate tone for his readers. It suggests you’ll get friendly content committed to a single goal: financial freedom. The green CTA button, “Start Here,” helps first-time visitors know exactly how to navigate his website.

11. Salt in Our Hair

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Salt in Our Hair is a travel blog with exceptional user design. The bloggers behind the website, Nick and Hannah, warm up to visitors by introducing themselves on the welcome screen and highlighting recent travel posts. 

My favorite part of this website is the dropdown button that allows you to choose a destination that you’re interested in. There’s also a user-friendly search bar at the top of the page that helps you navigate different topics on their blog.

Best Practices for Personal Websites for Creators or Influencers

Boldly show yourself and your brand.

As a creator or influencer, your website is a direct reflection of your personal brand and style. Don’t be afraid to show off your creativity, express your voice, and let visitors know exactly what kind of opportunities you’re looking for.

Include a press page.

It’s also a good idea to have a press page and/or media kit on your personal website. When I’m looking for a creator to feature or interview for an article I’m writing, I personally only reach out to those who have a website or, at the very least, a media kit. The reason is I need to get a sense of who they are, if they’ve been featured in other publications, and how credible they are before I work with them. 

Personal Websites From Other Business Professionals 

12. Rubens Cantuni

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Rubens Cantuni’s personal website hits all the right notes. First, it showcases what he does with a playful GIF showing the word “CIAO” getting edited point-by-point, just as it would in a design tool.

Second, it summarizes Cantuni’s key strengths in a personable summary. Third, it lists his experience in a user-friendly collapsible format, so if you want to read more, you can click on each individual role. There are also sections dedicated to the book he wrote, his awards, and his portfolio.

At every step, you get to appreciate Cantuni’s strong sense of design, user-first thinking, and sharp business acumen. The designer ends with a CTA for visitors to reach out to him.

He also prompts recruiters to inquire about his work by mentioning that he can only share certain pieces of his work privately. On your own site, you can leverage projects with non-disclosure agreements as “gated content.”

13. Martine Myrup

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Martine Myrup is an artist who uses her website to showcase her style and perspective. The first thing that caught my eye was the bold font and the stunning visuals that popped up as I scrolled. 

The other standout element on Myrup’s website is her CV page, which highlights her degrees, exhibitions, awards, and publications. The CV is formatted in a way that is clear and easy to scan, with bold headings separating each section and dates on the left-hand side.

While artists’ CVs are formatted differently than professional CVs, Myrup’s formatting would work in virtually any field with some adjustments.

14. Johannes Schüchner

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Johannes Schüchner’s personal website is an example of how to showcase your creativity and personality while still highlighting your most important professional achievements. While the copy is in German, you can still understand the actor’s key strengths.

At the bottom, casting directors have an option to download a PDF version of Schüchner’s film credits and theater work. This website shows that you can tastefully break the rules on your own site so long as you remain mindful of your target audience.

15. Hugo Bazin

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Hugo Bazin is a product designer whose resume website combines friendliness with engaging user design. On the top left-hand corner, he includes a sticky button to download his resume in PDF format, but if you’re interested in getting an overview, you can scroll down to the “Experience” section, where you can see his current and previous employers and work achievements.

I like that throughout the copy, Bazin uses emojis to showcase his personality, but he’s selective. He keeps emojis out of the “Experience” section of the web page, where it’s essential to maintain a serious, professional tone.

16. Christian Kaisermann

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Christian Kaisermann’s about me website employs a unique theme to keep viewers on the page and showcase his strong coding skills.

On the upper right-hand side, you have the option to switch from channel to channel, like you would on an old TV, and it changes what plays in the background. He also only includes two paragraphs of copy on the homepage, proving that being brief is key if you want visitors to focus on your website’s design.

In the bottom left-hand corner, users can access Kaisermann’s crawlable HTML resume, email, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can also activate “Space Mode,” which brings up a remote control to change the channels — very cool!

17. Seán Halpin

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What I love about Halpin’s about me website is that it’s short, sweet, and to the point, which is authentic to his voice and personal branding outlined on the site. Instead of a lot of copy, Halpin presents large thumbnail cards so that his projects speak for themselves and allow the user to delve deeper if one catches their eye.

18. Tony D’Orio

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If you’re a creator like a photographer, it’s important to keep the design of your visual portfolio simple. That’s why I love how photographer Tony D’Orio lets images capture visitors’ attention by featuring bold photographs front and center on his website.

His logo and navigation menu are clear and don’t distract from his work. And, he makes it easy for potential customers to download his work free of charge. Want to give it a try? Click on the hamburger menu in the top left corner, then select + Create a PDF to select as many images as you’d like to download.

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Once you open the PDF, you’ll notice that it comes fully equipped with D’Orio’s business card as the cover… just in case you need it.

19. Verena Michelitsch

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When you’re a designer, not one pixel on your personal website should go unused. Verena Michelitsch’s portfolio, shown above, is covered end to end in artwork.

From her extensive library of work, she chose to exhibit multiple colors, styles, and dimensions so visitors can see just how much range she has as a designer. It’s a perfect example of the classic adage, “show, don’t tell.”

20. Gari Cruze

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Cruze is a copywriter. But by turning his website into a portfolio featuring images from different campaigns he’s worked on, he makes visitors want to keep clicking to learn more about him. Also, there’s a great CTA at the top of the page that leads visitors to his latest blog post.

I’m also a fan of his site’s humorous copy — specifically in the “17 Random Things” and “Oh Yes, They’re Talking” sections — which showcases his skills while making him more memorable. These pages also include his contact information on the right-hand side, making it easy to reach out and connect at any point.

21. The Beast Is Back

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Christopher Lee’s portfolio is busy and colorful in a way that works. When I learned about Lee on his easily navigable site, I realized that such a fun and vibrant homepage is perfect for an illustrator and toy designer.

Known by his brand name, “The Beast Is Back,” Lee’s web portfolio highlights eye-catching designs with recognizable brands, such as Target and Mario, along with links to purchase his work. This is another gallery-style portfolio with pops of color that make it fun and give it personality, thus making it more memorable.

22. Daniel Grindrod

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This freelance videographer is another example of a simple but sleek personal website, allowing his potential clients to browse deeper into his “Work” and “Stills” sections. The opening video on the homepage — as shown in the still image above — also gives his site visitors an immediate preview of his work and style.

23. Byron McNally

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In his portfolio, Byron McNally doesn’t immediately include his work but rather a photo of himself, which helps foster a connection between him and website visitors. This minimal website design also invites users to continue engaging with the website’s content and see some of his recent film, commercial, and music productions.

A still image doesn’t do this creative personal website justice — take it from me. You have to scroll through it yourself to get the full impact of Byron’s work experience, projects, and creativity. 

24. Enric Moreu

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Enric Moreu showcases his 3D design skills by creating an interactive, gamified personal website. As users scroll, the page smoothly takes them through Moreu’s spoken languages, coding languages, skills, and work experiences. It’s engaging, light on text, and visually striking.

I like that his website embodies the medium and skills he claims to be an expert at.

25. Mariah Weathersby

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Speaking of gamified, I had a lot of fun clicking around — or rather, playing with — Mariah Weathersby’s personal website.

Mariah Weathersby has coded a striking “playable” resume that pays homage to old-school games and showcases her strong design skills. If you love experiencing nostalgia, this creative personal website will reel you in. If you only want the resume, you can download a PDF version — a win-win.

26. Isaac Fayemi

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Isaac Fayemi’s personal website is subtle and striking at the same time. Rather than loading the page with excessive graphics, he has created a 3D version of his head that follows your cursor as you move around. You have two options: To find out more about him or check out more of his work. This personal website is a stellar example of how to keep it simple while still delighting the senses.

Best Practices for Personal Business Professional Websites

Use your website design to share about yourself.

Whatever your profession is, your website should reflect that. For example, if you’re a graphic designer, show off your skills in a way that reflects your design style and expertise. 

Create an orderly UX.

Organization is also key. If your portfolio is full of photos, logos, and other images, make sure it’s easy for visitors to navigate to where they can contact you.

Develop your brand identity.

It’s also a good idea to brand yourself. Choose a logo or icon to make your information easily identifiable. This is especially helpful if you’re interviewing for jobs and want to stand out among the other applicants.

Make your site personal and fun.

Which leads me to my next point: Don’t be afraid to have fun. Your personal website is your personal space and should showcase parts of your personality, style, and sense of humor. 

What to Include on Your Personal Website

Based on my personal experience creating my own website, along with writing about website design for several years, I know a thing or two about what should be included on a personal website.

However, I won’t rely on my knowledge alone. To get even more insights, I talked to one of the marketers whose website I featured earlier, Katya Varbanova.

Here are the elements you must include on your personal website.

Cohesive Branding

An underrated part of having a website is a strong visual brand. Your brand is the only thing that sets you apart on the internet, so it only makes sense to invest in a brand identity that is unique and personal.

“Do not cheap out on design,” says Varbanova. “Hire a good designer and a good brand strategist to build with.”

Press Page  

Varbanova recommends that if the goal of your personal website is to showcase your expertise and generate press or speaking opportunities, you should include a media bio, media features, and a brief description of some of your products and services.

“When the media is looking for experts, they usually look at your website before determining if you’re the right expert for them,” she says. “This is how I’ve secured features in big media like Telegraph, Forbes, Business Insider, and more.”

All of these things can be added to a separate page, either a “press” page, or “speaking” page, or even an “experience” page. You can think of this page as a media kit. Think about the things a media outlet or brand partner would want to know before interviewing you or collaborating with you.

Don’t forget to add your backstory to help people get the full picture of your journey. It’s also a good idea to outline a list of topics you can speak about, whether for a podcast interview or a speaking opportunity.

Clear Messaging and Strong CTAs

The best personal websites I’ve seen have strong messaging and CTAs to match. Whether they’re a marketer, creator, or other business professional, they make it easy to understand who they are, what they’re an expert in, and what type of opportunities they’re looking for.

When it comes to CTA buttons, the best websites go beyond a simple “contact me” message. 

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For example, Varbanova’s homepage includes a CTA button that says, “Hire Katya to Speak.” This is a direct action that someone would be encouraged to take when visiting her website. Plus, she has plenty of logos and press mentions on her site to back up her credibility and expertise. 

Personal Website vs. Social Media Page or LinkedIn

Let’s settle the age-old debate: Do you really need a website?

Depending on what your role is and what types of opportunities you’re looking for, you may be able to get away with not having an about me website. For instance, if you’re only looking for full-time opportunities and work in an industry that doesn’t lend itself to portfolio-type projects, then being active on LinkedIn is probably enough.

However, if you work in a creative field, are building a business, or are an influencer, then you’ll want to create a personal website.

“Having a strong social media presence is great, but it doesn’t replace having a website,” says Varbanova. “If your goal is to build your personal brand, you need to have a website that’s Google-friendly.”

Varbanova adds that building trust is one of the biggest benefits of having a website. “People trust people who have websites,” she says. “It really acts as a business card and introduces people to your work.”

Developing a Personal Website

Regardless of the type of personal website you’re building, there’s plenty of inspiration above on how to convey personality while connecting with your audience. Keeping the above tips in mind, remember to design for your audience’s experience, and most importantly, have fun.

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

Technology and data—specifically buyer-level intent data —take a lot of the guesswork out of sales prospecting, making it more precise. 

Still, there are plenty of questions surrounding intent data.

How can intent data help sales teams identify high-potential prospects more effectively?

While there may be plenty of questions, only one is asked more often than others: How can our Sales team use it effectively?

Here’s how it is done: 

1. Identify actively researching prospects: When prospects are actively researching a product or service, they leave a trail of digital footprints.
   
   Buyer-intent data captures these footprints (signals) and provides insight into the research buyers are doing and what their interests are. It tells you what buyers have been searching for, where they are searching, and why.
   
   Oh, and most importantly, it tells you who is searching. These signals can help later on when your sales team approaches a potential buyer. It also indicates when a prospect is in the mindset to buy.
2. Segment prospects based on their level of intent: Not all prospects have the same likelihood of converting into customers.Buyer-level intent data can be used to segment prospects into different categories, those who are probably just browsing and prospects showing strong signals of intent to buy — those who have done a lot of research and have spent a lot of time on your site and elsewhere exploring your product.This sort of segementation enables you to prioritize outreach to high-intent prospects, saving time and effort.
3. Identify potential influencers within the buying committee: It’s important to identify the individuals who have purchase influence within the buyer committee.
   
   This way, Sales can approach those key individuals who are making the decisions and tailor their messaging and outreach for each decision-maker based on their position and the channels they show a preference in using. 

What are the best practices for using intent data in sales prospecting efforts?

Now that you have a few simple steps to help your sales team effectively identify high-potential prospects, it’s a good time to take a look at some of the best practices to keep in mind when you are using intent data for sales prospecting. 

The good news? You don’t have to start from scratch. 

Integrating the process

Instead, if you want to get the most out of intent data, it should be seamlessly integrated into your existing sales prospecting processes. You aren’t reinventing the wheel when you add intent data into the mix, you’re just improving what is already there. 

As an example, combining CRM data with intent data gives you a 360-degree perspective. Now, armed with vital information and context about the prospect, any cold calls are far less cold. 

• You know who they are
• Where they’ve been searching 
• And what problems they are trying to solve.

Now, when that call is made, sales can tailor their messaging around this information. 

Gauging interest

Alongside integrating intent data into your existing sales processes, it’s essential to define clear parameters to gauge a prospect’s level of intent. 

Criteria like content engagement, webinar registrations, and search queries can be vital indicators of a prospect’s position in the buyer journey. 

With a well-defined framework, sales reps can focus their efforts on high-priority leads, increasing the efficiency of the overall prospecting process. 

Timeliness

Intent data has a shelf-life. 

The data that was pertinent six months ago, is likely to be far less on point today. Outdated data can lead to misguided efforts and wasted time and resources chasing a prospect that may have already solved their problems and are no longer in market. 

Or maybe that decision-maker who was showing interest four months ago has since moved on to another company. Either way, pursuing a prospect on old data often equals a whole lot of frustration with little reward.

The best way to ensure that the intent data you are using is accurate and up-to-date is to use an intent data provider that makes this a priority. 

How can intent data be used to create more targeted and relevant sales outreach?

Per a survey from Forrester and Adobe, the majority of B2B buyers have an expectation of personalization throughout their journey. 

This is especially true towards the later stages of that journey, with two-thirds saying they expect fully personalized or mostly personalized content when buying a service or product. 

Fortunately, not only does intent data aid sales prospecting by helping to identify those high-potential prospects we talked about earlier, but it also arms sales with the information they need to tailor personalized outreach. 

Because sales have that vital information about where the prospect is looking and what they are researching, sales can design outreach that focuses on that buyer’s specific needs, making communication more impactful, which leads to more meaningful engagement. 

The insights gained from intent data should be used to tailor the messaging and content of the sales outreach. Whether it’s the value proposition, product features, or case studies, every aspect of the sales message should resonate with the prospect’s unique needs and interests.

Timing plays a critical role in creating more targeted and relevant outreach as well. Hitting that sweet spot between approaching a prospect too early and too late can be tricky business. 

However, intent data can help determine the optimal time to contact a prospect, ensuring that your sales team is reaching out when the prospect when the iron is hot and is most respective.

Bonus: How to Use Tailored Messaging Strategies

To address the challenge of creating personalized messages that speak directly to the prospect’s needs, organizations can:

• Implement Regular Training and Workshops: These sessions should educate sales teams on how to use intent data to understand buyer personas and craft messages that align with the prospect’s current stage and needs.
• Develop Content Libraries: Create resources including email templates and call scripts that are aligned with different stages of the buyer’s journey and tailored to specific buyer personas.
• Utilize AI and Automation Tools: Leverage advanced tools to automate parts of the messaging process, ensuring consistency and personalization at scale.

How can intent data be used to improve the sales prospecting process overall?

When used correctly, buyer-level intent data obtained from a reliable source can bring transformative improvements to your sales prospecting process. It can work to align sales and marketing teams, identify gaps in your sales funnel and help to optimize sales efforts. Let’s look at these individually. 

Aligning sales and marketing teams

We’ve covered the importance of aligning sales and marketing teams several times.

Collaboration and alignment between these two teams are vital to the success of any campaign. And, for many, intent data is the key to bringing about this alignment. 

Research from Ascend2 found that aligning sales and marketing was one of the primary goals of using intent data for 45% of B2B and B2C marketing professionals surveyed. 

This alignment is possible when marketing and sales operate in unison and create a shared understanding of what signals they need to look for in intent data so that they attract, nurture. and approach the right prospects at the right time in their buyer’s journey. 

Identifying Gaps in the Sales Funnel

Intent data can uncover areas in your sales funnel where prospects are falling out. By identifying the gaps and understanding where prospects drop out or lose interest you can implement strategies to plug them. 

Plugging the gaps may involve looking at the content you have available at that stage. Maybe it doesn’t answer the questions prospects have at that stage. Or perhaps it’s the wrong type of content altogether.

Either way, knowing where the gaps are enables you to make targeted adjustments to keep prospects engaged when they are faltering, improving overall pipeline health.

Continuously Measuring and Optimizing

Sales prospecting is far from a set-and-forget endeavor, Just like other sales and marketing processes, your sales prospecting needs to be constantly evaluated to gauge the effectiveness of your strategies.

Intent data should be used during the evaluation process as it can provide invaluable metrics to assess the efficacy of your outreach and help you refine and optimize your sales processes and strategies over time. 

Unleashing The Power of Precision Prospecting

Buyer-level intent data provides invaluable insights for sales teams aiming to enhance their prospecting efforts. Intent data can significantly improve sales by identifying high-potential prospects, enabling targeted outreach, and facilitating continuous optimization.

Take the leap into the future of sales prospecting. Reap the rewards of precision, effectiveness, and efficiency with intent data.

Welcome to HubSpot Perspectives, a series where HubSpotters weigh in on the latest business and marketing trends.

“The biggest red flag on LinkedIn is the ‘open to work’ symbol.” This hot take is brought to you by former Google recruiter Nolan Church.

And the dialogue continues. As I browse through my LinkedIn feed, there are still ongoing conversations about the #OpenToWork profile photo frame.

Should you use it? Does it work? Is there even a small chance it may make you look desperate or unoriginal as a job seeker?

Featured Voices:

• Katelynne Bazile, Global Team Lead, Emerging Talent Programming & Operations at HubSpot
• Ramona Sukhraj, Principal Marketing Writer at HubSpot

Yes, #OpenToWork has potential.

But it’s not the only strategy job seekers should be using to land a new role.

“In my experience, it seems like the #OpenToWork frame is similar to wearing a t-shirt that says ”Open to Work” — it’ll only get seen if you make yourself seen,” says Ramona Sukhraj, Principal Marketing Writer at HubSpot.

Sukhraj was recently in the job market herself.

“It‘s a visual aid that makes it clear you’re open to employment conversations on the platform, but if you don‘t post, engage, or make yourself visible to the right groups, the effort is mostly in vain. So if you’re going to add it, be prepared to be active.”

In other words, it’s not enough to add the photo frame, sit back, and wait for the job offers to roll in.

The Recruiter Perspective

Katelynne Bazile, Global Team Lead, Emerging Talent Programming & Operations at HubSpot, shared the same sentiment as Sukhraj when I asked about the effectiveness of LinkedIn photo frames.

“While the #OpenToWork and #Hiring photo frames initially served a useful purpose by helping individuals easily identify those seeking or offering job opportunities, the current job market’s volatility and high number of individuals using these frames have diminished their effectiveness,” says Bazile.

“As the frames have become more prevalent due to increased layoffs, they may no longer have the impact they once did when first launched.”

And she makes a good point about layoffs. So far in 2024, over 74,000 employees have been laid off, including nearly 300 tech companies.

Unpacking the Hot Takes

Regardless, Bazile said she wouldn’t categorize the #OpenToWork photo frame as “a signal of desperation or harmful to job-seeking candidates.”

Though she does suggest that there are better ways to make yourself stand out.

“Personally, I have found more impact in actively engaging on LinkedIn, interacting with content from key figures and utilizing the platform’s tools to connect with relevant job opportunities,” says Bazile.

“It’s important to adapt and refine our strategies as the platform evolves. While I wouldn’t discourage the use of photo frames, I recommend incorporating additional approaches to effectively reach your target audience.”

Let’s face it — there are approximately 40 million people searching for jobs on LinkedIn every week. In today’s job market, it’s important to build your network, start conversations, and create a plan to make yourself stand out.

The Bright Side

Sukhraj did have some good news to share on the photo-frame front.

“I will say, when I initially posted a feed update when adding the [#OpenToWork] frame, I received messages from several recruiters within seconds,” says Ramona.

“This makes me believe some folks are tracking the hashtag or perhaps even particular job titles.”

And this makes sense — data shows that 77% of employers are still using LinkedIn to source candidates.

But I’d say the biggest takeaway here is that LinkedIn photo frames are still just one small part of a larger strategy.

The Bottom Line

To answer the overarching question posed in this article, I’d say yes — LinkedIn photo frames can actually be helpful. But they’re not made to stand on their own, and you’ll still need to do the heavy lifting to land your next gig.

Want to hear our thoughts about a specific topic? Drop your idea in this form, and we may just feature it in an upcoming post.

These days, it feels like everyone is on social media. But make no mistake, not everyone is on every channel.

As marketers, it’s important to know your audience’s favorite social channels. For instance, if you’re selling retirement homes, it’s safe to forgo Snapchat, where only 3.7% of users are over 50.

HubSpot surveyed over 1,400 marketers around the world find out which social media channels are gaining steam — and which are falling behind. Read on to discover which platforms are most popular with marketers and consumers in 2024.

Social Media Channels Gaining Steam in 2023

Instagram

According to SimilarWeb, the Instagram app has over 1.64 billion users, making it one of the most popular apps today.

And Instagram is expected to see more growth, and our survey results show that it’s tied for first place for the highest potential growth in 2024 and 52% plan to increase their investment in the platform. 24% of social media marketers also plan to invest the most in Instagram over any other platform.

Marketers’ affinity for Instagram makes sense, considering marketers in our survey said the app yields the highest engagement and the third-highest ROI of all social media platforms.

Another reason for Instagram’s popularity among marketers is that the platform is leading the charge in leveraging the social selling trend. Instagram has the most developed in-app selling tools of any platform. Our survey shows that, in 2024, 84% of marketers believe consumers will buy products via social media apps more than from a brand’s website.

Marketers aren’t the only ones using the platform.

Although Gen Z visits TikTok the most, they rank Instagram among their favorite social media apps — as do Millennials.

Instagram is also holding steady with older audiences. In the last few months, 47% of Gen X-ers have visited Instagram, followed by nearly a quarter of Baby Boomers. However, if you’re targeting these audiences specifically, Facebook or YouTube could be a better option.

On the marketing side, more than half of video marketers rank Instagram as the best platform for ROI, engagement, and lead generation. If you’re looking to dive more into video marketing, Instagram is an attractive option.

Facebook

Facebook is also tied with Instagram for platforms expected to see the most growth in 2024. According to our survey, 21% of social media marketers plan to invest more in Facebook than any other platform, and 53% plan to increase their investment, which is an almost 24% change from just 2023.

Furthermore, 40% of social media marketers plan to use Facebook for the first time in 2024.

Facebook currently attracts 3 billion monthly users, more than any of its competitors. A high concentration of its audience belongs to Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers.

In the last three months, 81% of Gen X-ers and 70% of Boomers have visited Facebook. On top of that, Gen X and Baby Boomers rank Facebook as their favorite social media app and most visited app. If your target audience is made up of either of those generations, Facebook is your best bet for social media marketing campaigns that reach them.

Now to the next-youngest generation — do millennials use Facebook? Yes. While it’s not their most visited app, it is their favorite app.

That being said, engagement drops significantly for Gen Z audiences. Just 53% have visited Facebook in the past three months, and just 13% say it’s their favorite platform.

TikTok

TikTok is known as the platform for Gen Z — and the data confirms it. In fact, in the U.S. alone, more than half of Gen Z consumers are on TikTok. Plus, Gen Z-ers say TikTok is their favorite platform, pulling ahead of YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

It doesn’t stop there: TikTok is also picking up steam with other demographics. 30% of TikTok users in 2024 are between 35 and 54 years old, a 7% increase from last year. Usage amongst Baby Boomers is still low, with 16% visiting the app in the last three months, but that said, their usage is steadily increasing, with a 60% change in usage since just last year (10% to 16%).

While only 34% of social media marketers use the platform, those using TikTok are strengthening their investment in 2024 – more than marketers on any other platform. In fact, 60% of them will increase their investment in marketing on TikTok in 2024, and another 34% will keep investing the same amount.

It’s also worth mentioning that TikTok has the highest engagement rate out of any other social platform, averaging 55.8 minutes per day per session. In short, TikTok’s snackable content is addictive for a variety of age groups.

YouTube

YouTube has a user base of 2.4 billion+ people and receives over 34 billion monthly visits, according to data we pulled from SimilarWeb.

YouTube is popular with Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X audiences in similar measures. In the last three months, 68% of Millennials have visited YouTube, followed by 69% of Gen Z, and 65% of Gen X. For Baby Boomers, YouTube is their second favorite social media app, just behind Facebook.

YouTube was also a top favorite amongst video marketers, and more than a quarter of video marketers planned to invest in YouTube than any other platform, according to HubSpot’s Video Marketing Report. In addition, marketers said YouTube offered the highest ROI in 2023.

Social Media Channels Losing Steam in 2023

Tumblr

After numerous acquisitions and near-revivals, Tumblr has yet to recreate its early- to mid-2000s popularity. According to our report, Tumblr is most popular with Millennials, but only 13% have visited the platform in the past three months.

Surprisingly, Gen Z has visited Tumblr at nearly the same rate (10%). In fact, a report by Quartz found that 61% of new Tumblr users in 2022 were under the age of 24. This begs an important question: is another revival around the corner?

While it’s still too early to call, I recommend focusing on platforms that pull stronger numbers for the audience you want to target and remaining experimental with those that don’t.

Twitch

Although Twitch is top dog in the live-streaming space, all major streaming platforms — including Twitch, Facebook Gaming, and YouTube Live — have seen a drop in total hours watched in the past few years. For example, Facebook Gaming alone saw a -59% YoY change in hours watched.

Image Source

23% of Millennials, followed by only 12% of Gen Z, and 9% of Gen X have visited Twitch in the past three months.

When is the best time to post on social media?

While social media platforms will continue to fall in and out of favor with consumers and marketers, one thing remains constant — timing is everything. No matter which platform you choose to invest in, it’s critical to know the best time to post to boost your brand’s visibility.

To stay on top of a posting schedule, social media marketers told us that they use a social media schedule or calendar when they post content (72%). Tools like HubSpot’s Social Media Management Software can effectively help you craft and execute the right social media scheduling strategy; however, knowing when to post will help you boost engagement.

For example, social media marketers working in Eastern Standard Time reported 6-9 p.m. as the best time to post.

On the other hand, marketers in Pacific Standard Time said 3-6 p.m. yielded the best results.

However, the most important advice I can give on the best time to post is that it depends on your audience and when they’re the most active on social media. For example, if your audience is the most online after work hours, you’re posting for no one if you share most of your content in the early morning.

• Facebook: 12-3 p.m., 6-9 p.m., and 9am-12 p.m.
• YouTube: 6-9 p.m., 12-3 p.m., and 3-6 pm.
• X (formerly Twitter): 12-3 p.m., 6-9 p.m., and 3-6 p.m.
• Instagram: 12-3 p.m., 6-9 p.m., and 3-6 p.m.
• LinkedIn: 3-6 p.m., 9 am-12 p.m., and 12-3 p.m.
• TikTok: 6-9 p.m., 3-6 p.m., and 12-3 p.m.

Additionally, marketers say Saturday and Friday (respectively) are the best days to post across social media platforms.

Back to You

One question remains: what channels are best for your social media marketing? Should you stick to mature platforms, like Facebook and YouTube, or test the waters with new platforms, like TikTok?

Ultimately, your decision should hinge on one crucial factor: your target audience. Putting your audience at the center of your social media strategy means prioritizing the platforms that will reach them most effectively.

And remember, social media marketing is all about experimenting. There’s no need to commit to one platform for the rest of time — in fact, it may be useful to run side experiments on different platforms to see what results you get.