Category Archives: B2B

LinkedIn profiles are the new resumes. LinkedIn shows your skills, featured projects, recommendations, and certifications, to name a few. So, you certainly want to emphasize these skills and ensure they are recognized as your strongest assets.

LinkedIn endorsements help you do just that, alongside building credibility, authority, and trust in you as a professional. But how do you make someone endorse you? Messages like “Please endorse me” won’t do. You need something strong and irresistible — a solid foundation to base a strong pitch on.

So, I dug into the trenches to find out the best strategies you can follow to get inbound and outbound LinkedIn endorsements. I’ll cover:

• What is a LinkedIn endorsement?
• How do you add the “Skills” section to your profile?
• How to Get Endorsements on LinkedIn
• How to Endorse Someone on LinkedIn

What is a LinkedIn endorsement?

LinkedIn endorsements are a LinkedIn feature that allows your (LI) network to vouch for your “Listed skills.” They’re a public validation of your skills and are displayed on your profile.

LinkedIn endorsements cover a wide range of professional skills and expertise, including but not limited to:

• Technical skills, such as web development, machine learning, or graphic design.
• Soft skills like adaptability, critical thinking, teamwork, or leadership.
• Industry-specific skills in a particular field, like marketing, education, or healthcare.
• Tools and software proficiency in using tools like Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop, or GA4.
• Certifications that confirm you’ve achieved specific certifications or qualifications.
• Languages such as Spanish, Swahili, or Mandarin Chinese, including language proficiency.

Endorsements highlight a person’s strengths and expertise. For example, if you worked with me on a content marketing campaign and were impressed with my content creation and on-page SEO skills, you can choose to endorse me for Content writing, Journalism, etc.

This would allow my profile visitors (potential clients and companies) to gain insight into my top skills. It serves as a more compelling validation of my abilities than merely listing them on my resume or self-reporting, as these endorsements come directly from people who have first-hand experience with my work.

To access the “Skills” section on a LinkedIn profile, simply scroll down the page until you reach the section below “Experience.” If you want to see all the skills someone’s added to their profile, click on “Show all.”

Pro tip: Recruiters and hiring managers increasingly focus on skills data when hiring on LinkedIn. Endorsements add keywords to your profile and improve your chances of showing up in their search results — giving you more exposure.

💥Learn more about getting maximum exposure on LinkedIn with our LinkedIn Profile playbook.

LinkedIn Endorsement vs. Recommendation

LinkedIn endorsements go hand-in-hand with recommendations. Recommendations are written endorsements (like letters of recommendation) or testimonials from your network that provide more detailed insights into your skills and work experiences. They are more meaningful and paint a clear picture of your professional abilities and work ethic.

“Recommendations” appear directly beneath the “Skills” section on your profile.

You can give someone just an endorsement (a simple one-click action), or you can add a written recommendation along with your endorsement to provide an in-depth account of your experience with them.

How do you add the “Skills” section to your profile?

The first step in getting endorsements is to optimize your LinkedIn profile. Then, add the skills section to your profile. Here’s how:

1. Go to your profile and select “Add profile section.”

2. Click on “Add skills.”

3. Select relevant skills.

📌Important: Make sure your “Endorsements settings” are “On.” Here’s how:

1. Go to the “Skills section.”

2. Click on the three dots and select “Endorsement settings.”

3. Toggle the settings to “Yes” and click “Save.”

What skills should you add?

You must add the correct and relevant skills to your profile that showcase your expertise and bolster your completed projects. For example, if you develop email marketing campaigns, list Email marketing, Drip campaigns, Copywriting, [Industry] email marketing, and so on.

Are you a job seeker? If so, tailor your skills to match those most commonly required in the job descriptions for your ideal role. Include a mix of technical and soft skills for a well-rounded profile.

Pro tip: Avoid listing too many skills; focus on the most significant ones to avoid diluting your profile’s impact.

How to Get Endorsements on LinkedIn

Now, let’s start getting those endorsements. There are different ways you can prompt people to endorse you.

1. Ask for endorsements — privately.

Identify the people in your network that you know and who will likely endorse you. This may include colleagues, friends, clients, or supervisors you’ve collaborated with, or employers who are familiar with your skills. Don’t spam strangers.

Reach out to them via LinkedIn Direct Messages (DMs) or email. But before you do, craft a tailored pitch highlighting your shared work experience.

Customize your request by referencing the project you collaborated on with them and gently jog their memory regarding your contributions. Show that you value their opinion and clearly mention the skill or skills you’d like them to endorse. Be specific and concise in your request.

Say something like (formal):

“Hi [Name],

It’s been some time since we chatted. I enjoyed our collaboration and work together. I’d like to request your endorsement for my [specific skill] on LinkedIn. Your support would help strengthen my professional profile.

If there’s anything you’d like me to do in return, please let me know. I’m more than happy to reciprocate.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Best regards,

[Your Name]”

Or opt for a more informal version:

“Hi [Name],

It’s been a while since our last chat. How are you doing? I’m here to ask for a small favor, which is to endorse some of my skills on LinkedIn. Your support will help strengthen my professional profile.

If there’s anything you need help with, please let me know. 🙂

Thank you.”

2. Ask for endorsements — publicly.

Another approach would be to directly ask for endorsement via posting on LinkedIn.

Zineb Layachi, Founder of Raise the Runway, used this approach. She wisely selected four core skills and reached out to her network — posting a question to gauge whether they considered her “endorsable” for these key abilities. Pretty smart, Zineb.

Image Source

3. Show your skills and expertise on LinkedIn.

Get active on LinkedIn. Regularly share articles, posts, and updates related to your industry and profession to demonstrate your knowledge and competence. Keep your network engaged and aware of your skills. Recount events or projects that clearly showcase your skills and knowledge.

Comment on active conversations with the same approach. Join LinkedIn groups relevant to your field and actively contribute to discussions. Contribute to Collaborative articles and get the Top Voice badge.

Express gratitude when your input is appreciated, and subsequently, connect with those individuals through DMs or email to request an endorsement.

Pitch Example:

“Hi [Name],

Thank you for acknowledging my input on [topic]. I value your appreciation. 🙂Would you kindly endorse my [specific skill] on LI? It would mean a lot to me.

If there’s anything you’d like me to do in return, please let me know.”

4. Incentivize potential endorsers.

Identify people in your network who could benefit from your skills and offer your expertise or assistance in return for endorsements.

During my initial days on LinkedIn, a career coach noticed through my posts and comments that I could benefit from some career guidance. He generously offered me a few free sessions and explicitly mentioned that all he wanted in return was an endorsement, if I found those sessions helpful. So, I endorsed him.

It’s a neat way to score authentic endorsements while building your experience and generating leads. But before you go this way, calculate the ROI. Is the game worth the candle?

Template:

“Hi [Name],

I noticed your comment/post on [topic]. I’m a [your role], and I’d love to know more about the specific issues you’re facing and offer a bit of advice if you’re interested. 🙂

It may be easier to understand your story and context more on a 30-min call. I can listen to what you are aiming at and what challenges you have. I can pose some questions back to you that might help push your thinking along.

All I ask is your endorsement of my [skill] if you find the session helpful.

How do you feel about it?”

5. Highlight your accomplishments.

In your professional summary and headline, highlight your key accomplishments and skills to bolster your professionalism. Add sections that showcase your accomplishments — like certifications, publications, projects, and any other relevant achievements. Be specific and provide context for each accomplishment.

You can also highlight your accomplishments by posting about them.

Provide a detailed account of the efforts and experiences that led to your achievement. Invite those who commented/engaged with the post to express their appreciation by endorsing you on LinkedIn.

6. Create and share a free resource.

You may have noticed people receive more endorsements (without asking for them) when they share knowledge with others. My LinkedIn Creator friends have 99+ endorsements for skills. It’s because people appreciate it when they share actionable tips or templates for free. (Or for an endorsement 😉)

Erin Balsa, the Founder of the Haus of Bold and a Content Marketing Consultant, provides a standout free newsletter available on her profile. In this newsletter, Erin delivers practical tips related to B2B content marketing and thought leadership, drawing from her years of experience interviewing top marketers and thought leadership experts.

Balsa’s genuine commitment to educating others is what truly resonates with her readers, resulting in over 99 endorsements for content marketing alone.

7. Endorse your network to make them reciprocate.

People appreciate it when you endorse them — it encourages them to reciprocate. Endorse your connections for their listed skills to highlight their professional abilities.

Start with people you’ve worked with, like your colleagues, co-workers, or acquaintances, and move on to online buddies and your clients’ profiles. Endorse the skills you’ve seen them demonstrate.

Next, select people you met professionally at work-related events or conferences.

LinkedIn notifies you when someone endorses you, so they will see that you took an action and are likely to reciprocate.

But how do you give credit to their skills? Read on below.

How to Endorse Someone on LinkedIn

To endorse someone, simply follow these steps:

1. Go to their profile and scroll down to the “Skills” section.

Most people have more than three skills listed. In that case, click “Show all” to view all their listed skills.

2. Click the “Endorse” button next to the skill you want to endorse them for.

And that’s it. You’ve endorsed someone and most likely made them feel appreciated.

Once you endorse someone, your name and profile picture will be displayed next to the skill you’ve endorsed. They’ll also be notified via email and in the Notifications tab if they’ve opted for it. The skills with the most endorsements are prioritized and appear at the top of their “Skills” section.

Pro tip: Send a personalized DM when endorsing someone, explaining why you appreciate their skills, and subtly hint they reciprocate the gesture.

Now Start Counting Those Endorsements 🚀

Are your endorsements low? Don’t worry. We all start the same. Take out one day a week and start putting in the effort. Learn best practices for optimizing your LinkedIn profile and get the most out of social selling.

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

Let‘s talk AI. We’ve all dabbled in it, been awed by its potential, and maybe even been a bit overwhelmed. Our State of AI Report found that one in five business professionals use AI and/or automation in their role. In marketing, it’s even higher.

But here‘s the catch: AI isn’t just about algorithms and automation. It‘s about creating genuine, transparent connections. Just as we craft compelling stories for our brands, it’s time to understand our AI‘s narrative. If you’re nodding along, thinking, “Absolutely, but where do I start?” you’re in the right place.

Dive in as we unravel the art of AI transparency, ensuring it becomes not just a tool in our marketing box but a trustworthy ally. Let’s set the stage for a future where AI and authenticity go hand in hand. Shall we?

What is AI transparency?

AI transparency is the practice and principle of making artificial intelligence (AI) systems understandable and interpretable to humans.

Think of it as the “open book” approach to AI, where these advanced systems’ logic, functions, and decision-making processes are clear and understandable.

Now, why is this concept crucial, especially for marketers like us?

Imagine launching an AI-powered campaign. While the results are impressive, you’re left scratching your head, wondering how AI made certain decisions.

Without transparency, you‘re navigating a dense fog with no clear understanding of how AI algorithms interact with data to drive decisions. The goal? Ensuring we’re not just blindly following AI outputs but truly understanding the “why” and “how” behind them.

When we deploy an AI-powered campaign or use AI-driven insights, we’re not just crunching numbers but shaping brand narratives, consumer perceptions, and business outcomes. AI transparency ensures we make these pivotal decisions with full awareness and knowledge of how the entire system works.

But here‘s the kicker: Transparency is about more than just comprehending the tech side of things. It’s also about establishing trust, not just with us but with our audiences.

By fostering a clear understanding of AI processes, we can better align our strategies, anticipate potential pitfalls, and, most importantly, maintain ethical standards in our campaigns.

Why does AI transparency matter?

As marketers, we’re often navigating a digital landscape teeming with innovation, and AI is one of the most transformative technologies on the horizon.

But here’s a thought: How often do we pause and wonder, “How does this AI tool actually make decisions?”

This question leads us straight into the realm of AI transparency. Let’s dive into its importance.

The Increasing Role of AI in Decision-Making Processes

With AI deeply interwoven in our campaigns, shaping audience segmentations, guiding content recommendations, and forecasting consumer behaviors, its significance cannot be understated.

But as we grant AI this expansive decision-making power, there’s a pressing need to demystify its workings.

This is where the principles of explainable AI (XAI) become invaluable. Embracing XAI means we‘re not just relying on AI’s suggestions but also comprehending the rationale behind its choices.

It’s about ensuring our AI marketing strategies are powerful and principled, grounded in transparency and accountability.

Building Trust With Both Internal Stakeholders and the External Audience

It‘s clear that trust in AI isn’t just about external perception — it also resonates deeply within organizations.

A recent Deloitte study shows that employees are voicing their concerns and expecting clarity on how AI integrates with a company’s core values.

Case in point: Google‘s experience with its Pentagon contract. When over 4,000 employees, including prominent AI researchers, raised concerns over AI’s use in warfare technology, it drove the company to reassess its stance, resulting in a value statement emphasizing ethical AI usage.

The episode showcased the profound impact of internal perspectives on company decisions related to AI.

Externally, consumers are no longer passive recipients. They seek a transparent view of a brand’s AI undertakings and how they align with broader company ethics, says Tjeerd Wassenaar, Deloitte Risk Advisory partner focusing on ethics and corporate values.

The questions of “What are your core values?” and “How does your technology resonate with these values?” are paramount. Brands failing to provide clarity risk reputational damage and legal repercussions. Most critically, they stand to lose the trust and loyalty of those who matter most — their customers and their teams.

Ensuring Fairness and Eliminating Biases

Our AI models are only as good as the data they’re trained on. If there’s an inherent AI bias in this training data, the AI will inadvertently reflect it.

Championing AI transparency means we‘re vigilant, ensuring our strategies aren’t unwittingly perpetuating biases — whether they’re related to gender, race, or any other dimension.

A pivotal aspect of this transparency is assessing the outcomes for statistical consistency. Are there groups that are disproportionately represented in the results? If so, the model needs adjustments.

Consider the scenario where an AI designed to screen potential managers is trained on historical data dominated by white males.

The unintentional result? The model might be inclined to view women or people of color as less suitable for leadership roles. This glaring example showcases the repercussions of hidden biases prevalent in AI models.

One of the overarching challenges here is that many datasets in AI black boxes weren’t initially created for AI training. Often, these datasets were gathered for distinct objectives, leading to potential imbalances in AI outcomes.

Remember, despite their sophistication, AI models aren’t inherently designed to identify data biases — our human intervention, backed by a deep understanding of the data context, rectifies such disparities.

Encouraging a Culture of Accountability and Ethical Behavior Within the Organization

As marketers, we‘re not just driving sales — we’re steering the ethical direction of our brands. Embracing AI transparency isn‘t a mere nod to the latest trend — it’s a conscious choice to align with our brand’s core values.

Ensuring accountability and understanding in our AI endeavors doesn’t just resonate with our values — it becomes integral to them.

Now, it‘s essential to realize that transparency isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

Companies should calibrate the level of transparency to the audience and the situation. Not every stakeholder needs an intricate breakdown, especially if it risks compromising intellectual property.

However, an elevated degree of transparency might be crucial in high-risk AI applications.

A pivotal starting point in responsible AI initiatives is recognizing all potential stakeholders, both inside and outside the organization. This involves discerning what they need to know to effectively fulfill their roles.

For example, a bank‘s risk manager might require insights into an AI model’s thresholds, while an HR manager could benefit from understanding the weightage of input variables when AI determines candidate scores.

Understanding the ‘why’ behind each stakeholder’s informational needs can illuminate the urgency of transparency for each group.

This recognition can sometimes lead to nuanced decisions about offering or withholding certain information pieces. As these decisions grow in number, integrating them into standardized policies and procedures becomes crucial.

We can’t assume a universal language understanding among our diverse stakeholders. How we communicate AI intricacies to a chief information officer will vary drastically from a CEO to an external regulator.

That’s why it’s crucial for AI teams to collaborate closely with stakeholders, fine-tuning the communication mode and method to each group’s unique needs and proficiencies.

Whether it’s emails, meetings, or even more informal channels, the goal remains consistent: clear, tailored, and effective communication.

How to Create a Transparent AI Policy

Transparency in AI isn‘t just about technology — it’s about aligning AI goals with organizational values, ensuring stakeholder interests are met, and building a culture of openness and accountability.

Step 1: Define and align your AI goals.

First and foremost, determine your AI objectives.

Understand how these goals resonate with your brand‘s mission and values. The commitment to AI transparency should echo throughout the organization’s vision and culture.

Take the time to establish ethical standards guiding AI development, and articulate these values when communicating with your audience and partners.

Step 2: Choose the right methods for transparency.

Every AI project has its unique requirements. Depending on your system’s complexity, you might need specific tools or techniques to ensure transparency.

Whether it’s diving deep into model interpretability, offering comprehensive documentation, or providing regular feedback loops with human experts, choose tools that align with your objectives and foster understanding among your stakeholders.

Step 3: Prioritize transparency throughout the AI lifecycle.

Transparency isn‘t a final touch — it’s a foundational element. Embed transparency practices in every stage, from data collection and modeling to deployment.

Regularly monitoring the AI system, tracking changes, and providing updates are crucial. Ensure that users and stakeholders can easily access and understand the AI system.

Step 4: Continuous monitoring and adaptation.

To keep your AI technologies in check, regularly evaluate their transparency and functionality.

Collect feedback, benchmark against best practices, and always be ready to adapt and refine your approach. It’s vital to be proactive about understanding and addressing any technical or ethical issues that arise.

Step 5: Engage a spectrum of perspectives.

Invite a diverse range of voices into the conversation.

Everyone‘s perspective matters, whether it’s the data scientist crafting the model, the end-user benefiting from it, or the executive making key decisions.

This collective knowledge enriches the AI’s development and alignment with the company’s objectives.

Step 6: Foster a transparent organizational culture.

Finally, transparency should be deeply rooted in the company culture. It‘s more than just a set of protocols — it’s a mindset.

Empower your teams to champion transparency, offering them the resources and training they need. Celebrate milestones in your AI transparency journey, setting a standard for the entire industry.

AI Transparency Best Practices

Ensuring transparency isn‘t just about ethical considerations — it’s also about building a foundation of trust, responsibility, and clarity.

Here are some best practices tailored for marketers.

Make ethical data collection a priority.

Quality data is essential. But equally crucial is how that data is collected. Ethical sourcing and unbiased datasets are the cornerstones of a transparent AI system.

Make regular assessments to ensure data remains relevant, unbiased, and truly reflective of diverse perspectives.

Offer clear documentation.

Every decision, every update, every change in your AI system must be well-documented.

Think of it as a detailed record that chronicles your AI’s evolution over time. This documentation ensures that everyone remains informed and aligned, from strategy architects to sales representatives.

Involve diverse voices.

An inclusive approach ensures AI systems are comprehensive and well-rounded.

You enhance the system’s universality and effectiveness by incorporating insights from diverse backgrounds and disciplines.

Clearly define AI objectives and limitations.

Just as a marketing plan has clear objectives and KPIs, so should your AI strategy. Establish its goals, but also define what it won’t do. Regularly revisit these objectives to ensure your AI aligns with your broader organizational mission.

Implement continuous feedback mechanisms.

AI systems require continuous refinement.

Establish open channels for feedback from all users, internal or external. This iterative feedback process ensures that your AI remains effective, relevant, and responsive to real-world challenges.

Remember, true transparency is achieved by listening and acting on the feedback received.

Follow established standards and guidelines.

Navigating the AI landscape also means keeping up with regulatory requirements.

Align your AI practices with industry-specific standards and guidelines.

Familiarize yourself with recognized best practices and remain compliant.

Following set guidelines, such as those provided by institutions like the European Commission, ensures that your AI systems are transparent, trustworthy, and ethically sound.

The Path to AI Transparency

Transparency in AI isn‘t a milestone — it’s an ongoing process. Our State or AI survey found that 64% of marketers believe AI and automation will significantly impact how they do their jobs, making AI transparency more important.

Marketers need to adopt a human-centered design approach to truly integrate transparency into our AI systems, understand our datasets’ limitations, and consistently test our models.

Once deployed, constant monitoring and timely updates are essential to ensure the AI remains aligned with our objectives.

In a tech-driven world, putting humans and transparency at the forefront of our AI strategies will set us apart in a tech-driven world. Let‘s commit to building AI that’s both effective and understandable.

Remember when being a “creator” was a laughable teen pastime?

Now, consumers are largely trusting influencers over brands, creators are taking over brand marketing teams, and the industry is only growing bigger.

In 2023, we’ve seen the so-called Creator Economy grow to 50 million creators globally, with a market size of $250 billion. By 2027, this number is expected to reach $480 billion.

Perhaps most telling, there are now kids’ summer camps dedicated to content creation.

But with great opportunity also comes drawbacks: The market is saturated, and AI makes it easier than ever for anyone to become a creator — which means it truly takes a special case to be sustainable and profitable.

“Successful creators will be those who generate unique insight, can talk about unique experiences, and are able to truly build trust,” says Jay Clouse, founder of Creator Science.

We got the insider scoop from Jay and several other successful creators, and narrowed their advice down to seven key tips. Read on to make 2024 the year you make it big.

Creators’ Tips for Surviving the Creator Economy in 2024 

1. Know your way around platforms.

Jay Clouse says that the best content strategy leverages both discovery and relationship platforms. Here’s a breakdown of what he means:

• Discovery platform: Generally refers to social media, but also includes search-based platforms like Google and YouTube. These platforms have a built-in mechanism for connecting new viewers with your content.

• Relationship platform: Focuses on distribution that YOU own and control. If someone opts into hearing from you on a relationship platform (i.e. a newsletter), you receive direct contact information for them, and your messages are reliably delivered there – there’s no algorithm deciding whether they see your content or not.

It’s generally a good idea to focus on a few discovery platforms, and one or two relationship platforms, rather than trying to conquer them all. For a long-term strategy, Clouse recommends putting more focus on relationship platforms once you’ve gotten the ball rolling.

2. Niche down and be yourself.

Content creation is like any other art form: It might feel like a constant battle against what you want to create, and what you think your audience (or algorithm) might like. Creators reassured me that however tempting it might be to try to be the next MrBeast, it’s better to stay true to yourself.

Jensen Tung, a YouTuber best known for his honest AI entrepreneurship and crazy fitness challenges, maintains that it’s great to use others as your inspiration. But you should always “put your own twist and spin to it.”

Finding your niche won’t happen in a day, so experimenting is encouraged. Be patient and stay in tune with yourself. Here are some questions to help you begin discovering your niche:

• What are your strengths (personality traits, background, skillset)?
• What is a subject you can discuss endlessly, with a unique perspective that only you possess?
• What kind of content brings you joy to create?
• What content creation format feels most comfortable for you (video, blog, newsletter)?
• Which content is resonating well with audiences? Keep track of comments and feedback.

Once you’ve found your niche, Tung also has some tips for approaching your content.

“Don’t be afraid to be real and candid, and talk about difficult or un-pretty topics. Vulnerability often does the opposite effect of pushing people away — it brings audiences closer to you,” he told me.

3. Optimize for binge-able content.

Once you’ve found your niche, aim to become part of your audience’s regular routine. “I now see audience feedback using the word ‘binge’ as the ultimate signal of progress,” says Clouse in a LinkedIn post.

Natasha Pierre, host of the Shine Online Podcast, likes to create a video series, which is a collection of three or more pieces of video content that all have a common theme.

This helps you not only keep users coming back for more, but also makes creating content easier — you have a reliable content structure, and posts that can remain evergreen long after they’re posted.

4. Interaction drives audience growth, and vice versa.

In a conversation on the My First Million podcast, Samir Chaudry (of the Colin and Samir YouTube Channel) explains how media content has become more participatory in nature.

Before, we had the TV Guide Channel that told us what to watch, then we had on-demand, and now, we have Twitch streams where audiences can interact with the creator and even influence the content.

So how do you build an audience who wants to interact with you?

Essentially, you’ll need to show that you’re a real-life person. Find out which platforms your target audience inhabits. Discord? Twitter/X? Twitch? Use your analytics tools to find out their media habits and which topics entice them most.

It also helps to think about what space you want to occupy in your audience’s lives. Do you want to be their comfort creator, or trusted daily news source on their morning train ride?

Then, just show up. Engage in those comment section debates (tastefully), utilize the Community tab on YouTube, and go live on Twitch or TikTok. Comment on other folks’ content that you admire, or even a random dog meme account. It’ll put you on consumers’ minds, even outside your niche, and give you traction by association.

5. Consistency is king.

This is the number one tip shared by John Lee Dumas, host of Entrepreneurs on Fire. With over 4,000 episodes out and counting, he has truly mastered the art of consistency.

But it’s easier said than done. One of the biggest pain points is ideation — it’s easy to burn out when your output is so high.

“When you know exactly what the ideal consumer of your content is struggling with, you’ll never run out of valuable topic ideas to share with them,” Dumas shared.

“And the more value you can provide, the more likely they are to come back for more content.”

Creator Natasha Pierre recommends productivity hacks to help you stay on track.

“Time block your calendar, add themed days like a day dedicated to admin or creating, and take regular breaks for movement. This has helped me prevent burnout even during the busiest seasons,” she told me.

Additional tips for productivity include AI and automation tools — some examples include Descript, Adobe’s Text-Based Editing, HubSpot’s AI Content Assistant, and Canva’s Magic Design Tool.

6. Join a network.

Networks can be great for many reasons: steady income, more reach, and a trusted corporate partner to fill up some ad inventory. But arguably most beneficial is the community.

Good content can’t be produced in isolation, and there’s no better place to connect with others than a dedicated space for creators. Within HubSpot’s Creator Network for podcasters and YouTubers, creators constantly guest on each other’s shows, do ad swaps, and bounce ideas off of each other.

As an added bonus, they get access to exclusive workshops, blog features (like this one), and networking events like INBOUND.

7. Be willing to put in the work.

In a conversation between John Lee Dumas and Jay Clouse at INBOUND, Dumas mentions the phrase: “The higher the barrier, the lower the competition.”

While building his podcast, Entrepreneurs on Fire, he realized that there were many folks interviewing entrepreneurs once or twice a week. So to create a higher barrier and lessen the competition, he decided to interview entrepreneurs every single day of the week. He maintains that this is a crucial factor to the success of his podcast (He has 155 million total listens and counting).

For both Jay Clouse and John Lee Dumas, it took them years of trial and error to finally break through.

Both of their journeys serve as reminders that success often requires perseverance and continuous improvement. But it also shows that with the right tools, mindset, and community, it is possible.

Like many others, I get dozens of emails a day. 

If the subject line’s irrelevant to my interests, I’m scrolling by and ignoring it. Or, worse, I might click on an email and hit the unsubscribe button after deciding it wasn’t worth my time.

If you’re a marketer, you want to avoid scrolling and unsubscribes at all costs. If your email goes unopened because your messaging missed your target, was the content you created within it even worth it?

To effectively engage and convert potential customers, you need to leverage behavioral targeting tools that enable you to deliver personalized and relevant messaging to your unique audience segments. 

Fortunately, there’s a wide range of tools available that can help you meet your audiences where they are. Below, we’ll explore some of the top behavioral targeting tools that can level up your marketing strategy.

Top Behavioral Targeting Tools

HubSpot Behavioral Targeting

Get started with HubSpot Behavioral Targeting

With HubSpot Behavioral Targeting, you’ll be able to meet prospects where they are by learning about how they engage with your website and content. 

As a content marketer, my team and I use it to create segmented lists based on persona and level of engagement with our brand or site. These lists often help us determine how to personalize site content, tailor our marketing emails, and run automated campaigns.

Beyond this, the tool helps our broader team identify, learn from, and respond to high-intent behaviors like web visits, email interactions, and form submissions.

You can also leverage contact details from your CRM, personalizing messages using contacts’ name, company, and role. Lastly, you can set up custom triggers, like automatically send a follow-up email after a visitor fills out a form. 

Pricing: Part of Marketing Hub, which offers A free version, Starter at $45/month, Professional at $800/month, and Enterprise at $3,600/month. 

Omnisend

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With Omnisend, you can organize your users into groups based on their engagement, interests, and activities. Once you’ve done so, you can monitor how users interact with your promotional campaigns by tracking if they performed actions like clicks or likes. You can also keep tabs on who opens your emails and messages, and implement web tracking on your website.

Omnisend also allows you to segment your contacts based on their shopping behavior. For example, I could use the tool to find out what products they’re buying  from me, or if they’ve bought specific items, types, or quantities of products. Like other tools on this list, you can also segment customers  based on their web activity to understand how they navigate your website – or whether they just viewed or fully-explored its pages or product listings.

Like HubSpot, Omnisend also lets you segment contacts based on custom events that you create or upload. These events can be tailored to your specific needs, covering anything from shoe size to car model, and more.

Pricing: Free version, Standard at $16/month, and Pro at $59/month.

Klaviyo

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Klaviyo allows you to automate and set triggers for personalized messages, including emails, SMS, and social media, based on customer behavior. 

Whether it’s welcome messages, abandoned cart reminders, or cross-sell campaigns, you can customize your messaging based on specific conditions like order history, channel preference, or cart value.

By leveraging customer data such as location proximity and average order value, you can also create segmented experiences that can be used in various marketing initiatives, including flows, campaigns, paid ads, and sign-up forms. 

Additionally, Klaviyo lets you create one-time sends for special events like holidays, product launches, or sales.

Pricing: Free version available. Email starting at $45/month and Email and SMS starting at $60/month.

Segment

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With Segment, a customer data platform, you can deliver personalized messages based on audience, time, channel, and behavior; view real-time customer profiles; and optimize your offers based on how likely someone is to convert.

Pricing: Free version available. Team at $120/month and custom pricing for Business.

Get Started With Behavioral Targeting

As consumers and technology become increasingly sophisticated, we expect personalized experiences. Leveraging behavioral targeting tools is no longer an option but a necessity – especially if you want to catch my eye during an endless email inbox scroll. 

The ability to precisely segment your audience based on their behaviors and interests allows you to deliver targeted messaging that resonates with, engages, and – ultimately – converts individuals.

Get started with Hubspot Behavioral Targeting.

Facebook is home to nearly 2 billion monthly active users, so it’s safe to say that having a compelling Facebook Business Page is essential for any company looking to bolster its online presence. It should be easy enough, right? Just slap together a photo and a couple of posts and expect the leads and customers to roll in, right?

Not quite.

If you’re not creating a Facebook Page with a comprehensive strategy to get noticed, Liked, and engaged, the chances of generating leads and customers from it are slim.

To help you out, we created a helpful guide for creating your Facebook Business Page, and we compiled the tips below to ensure your page takes full advantage of everything Facebook marketing offers.

Listen to an audio summary of this post:

How to Design a Facebook Business Page

1. Create your page.

A Facebook Business Page isn’t a user account like your personal page. It’s an asset you manage from a personal Facebook user account as a Page Administrator.

To create a Facebook Business Page, you need to:

• Choose a personal Facebook account from which you’ll create your Facebook Business Page. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to create one.
  • You may want to create a new Facebook account with your work email address to keep things separate, but this isn’t required.
• Click the See all button on the left sidebar menu and then select Page from the Create menu that appears on the right.

2. Plug in your details.

On the next page, enter some basic information about your business.

• Page name: The name of your business.
• Category: The category that best describes your business. Facebook has hundreds of options, so start typing, and it will auto-populate with your business type/industry.
• Bio: Keep it short and sweet. Enter a sentence or two about who you are, what you do, and what you stand for.

Now, it’s time to make it official. Click Create Page. Congrats! You are the proud owner of a Facebook Business Page.

Next, you’ll need to enter some additional information about your business, such as:

• Website
• Phone Number
• Email Address
• Hours
• Location

Pro tip: Check out your page’s mobile view to ensure everything looks correct when accessing your page via phone.

As of 2023, 98.5% of Facebook users access the site via mobile, and 81.8% exclusively use their phones to browse the social media site. So, it’s safe to say that a mobile-conscious approach is warranted.

3. Add your profile pic and cover photo.

Now’s the time to add some style to your page with high-resolution photos that represent your brand.

• Your profile picture should include some iteration of your logo.
• Your cover photo can be more stylized, but consider using a colorful background that is consistent with your brand style guide.

We recommend using the PNG format for profile pictures and cover photos that include text/logos.

Recommended image sizes:

• Profile picture: At least 170px x 170px
• Cover photo: 851px x 315px

4. Add an action button.

An action button is a custom call-to-action (CTA) that appears below your cover photo. You can set it to direct visitors to a landing page, book an appointment, or contact you directly (and more).

A thoughtfully selected action button can help drive conversion from your Facebook Business Page. Check out the video above or the steps below to learn how to add one:

• From your Page, click the button with a dash, then click Add Page Button.
• Select a button from the list of options, then click Next.
• Follow the instructions on the screen and click Save.

5. Put on the finishing touches.

At this point, you’re almost done creating your business page and ready to start churning out engaging posts. However, there are a few final touches we recommend taking advantage of.

Customize your tabs

• To manage tabs, navigate to your page management dashboard and select More > Manage Sections.
• Choose the most relevant tabs to display on your Facebook page, depending on your industry.
• For example, you can choose to hide or show reviews or hide tabs such as “Music,” “Sports,” and “Check-ins,” which may not be necessary for a business page.

Create a custom URL

• A custom URL will make your Facebook page appear much more legitimate. Your customers would rather see facebook.com/yourbusiness than facebook.com/page18376657 when they visit your page.
• Set your custom URL by navigating to General Page Settings and clicking Edit next to Username.

Pin a Post

• Choose a post you want to remain at the top of your page and pin it. It can be an exclusive offer, a new product announcement, or a welcome message to new visitors.
• Pin a post by clicking the pin icon on the post you want to pin.

If you’ve followed the above steps, you’re ready to hit the ground running and cultivate an engaging Facebook Business Page that resonates with your audience and drives sales.

However, the work doesn’t stop there. You need to keep the ball rolling by posting regularly. If you’re unsure where to start, check out our 41 Facebook Post Ideas for Businesses guide.

15 Tips for an Engaging Facebook Business Page

So you’ve got your Facebook Business Page up and running, but what now? We have some tips to help you get the most out of your page. Check out 15 tips for an engaging Facebook Business Page below.

1. Create engaging graphics.

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Your business page should be clean, stylish, and consistent with your brand style guide. However, that doesn’t mean you need a full-time designer to churn out those assets.

Use tools like Canva to easily create custom graphics for your posts, cover photos, and profile pics using Canva’s templates and free design assets. Canva features templates for every type of social media post you can imagine, so you never have to worry about choosing the correct dimensions.

2. Assign page roles.

It takes a village to manage a Facebook Business Page. That’s what they say, right?

If you work with a team, take advantage of page roles to assign users different access levels to your page so your team can help out without stepping on one another’s toes.

As the page creator, you’ll be the admin, meaning you have full access to everything about your page. As the admin, you can create new admins and users with other access levels. Page roles include:

Admin	Facebook access with full control
Editor	Facebook access with partial control
Moderator	Access to Message Replies, Community Activity, Ads, Insights
Advertiser	Access to Ads and Insights
Analyst	Access to Insights
Community Manager	Access to moderate live chats

3. Integrate your YouTube channel.

People love watching videos on social media, and that includes your customers. If you have a YouTube channel (which we recommend) you can integrate it directly into your Facebook page by following the steps in the video above.

Linking your YouTube to your Facebook page allows you to easily share your YouTube video content with your followers on Facebook for maximal engagement.

4. Post consistently.

Consistency is key when it comes to posting on Facebook (and social media in general). Make the most of your Facebook page by adhering to a consistent posting schedule.

For B2B brands, we recommend 4-6 times a week, while every day is optimal for B2C brands. Consistently posting will improve your standing in the eyes of Facebook’s algorithm, getting your posts in front of more customers for increased engagement.

5. Promote your page.

For a few dollars, you can use Facebook’s advertising tools to run ads on the platform promoting your page and get it in front of new eyeballs.

Click the Promote button on your page, and Facebook will guide you in creating an ad that matches your goals.

Choose your goal, plug in your assets, and you’re off to the races!

6. Go Live.

You can use Facebook Live to engage with your audience in real time by broadcasting live video directly from your Facebook Business Page. When going live from your page, prioritize building an authentic connection with your audience and bolstering your brand story.

You can run a Q&A session, introduce team members, tour your facilities, or run a live giveaway contest. The sky’s the limit! Get creative and go live with a specific goal to enhance your customer engagement.

7. Experiment with different post formats.

Facebook offers a plethora of post formats beyond just photos and videos. You can share polls, stories, live videos, events, links, and questions.

Video is still the dominant post format, but experiment with all post types and see what resonates most with your audience. Facebook will reward you for thoroughly using all its tools by serving your posts to more people.

8. Collaborate with influencers.

Influencer marketing is an essential part of today’s social media landscape.

Of Gen Z and Millennials, 72% follow influencers on social media, so collaborating with word-of-mouth mavens is a safe bet for driving traffic to your Facebook page by introducing your company to a new audience.

When working with influencers, the key is to create relatable content and integrate branding subtly in order to foster an authentic connection with people interacting with your brand.

9. Post when your customers are online.

We know that posting consistently is important, but the time of day you post is also essential. On average, the best times to post on Facebook across industries are in the evening and mid-to-late afternoon, specifically between 6-9 p.m. and 12-3 p.m.

You want to avoid times when customers are less likely to be online, such as early morning and late night hours.

That being said, you should view your Facebook Page Insights to learn valuable information about how people engage with your page.

Using this data, you can make informed decisions on when to post based on when your customers are typically online and engaged with your page.

10. Optimize your videos to play without sound.

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When was the last time you were browsing Facebook and clicked on a video to expand it and hear the audio? Probably not recently, and definitely not when you’re in a public space like the train or waiting in line for lunch.

86% of Facebook videos are viewed without sound, so when creating video content for your page, optimize it for silent playback by using text, subtitles, and strong, descriptive visuals that get the point of your content across without relying on audio.

Check out our guide on optimizing silent videos on Facebook.

11. Incorporate user-generated content.

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When someone tags your page or product in a post, you can send them a request to feature their content on your page. This is referred to as User-Generated Content (UGC).

UGC helps foster a sense of authenticity and social proof. Showing customers that other people are enjoying your business makes them want to enjoy it too.

You don’t just have to sit around and wait for people to post about your product, though. Try incentivizing your customers to generate UGC by offering discounts or running a giveaway, for example.

12. Engage with your audience.

If you want your customers to engage with your Facebook page, encourage them to do so by engaging with them right back. When your customers leave comments on your posts, be sure to reply from your business account and be as friendly and helpful as possible.

Maybe you show gratitude and thank customers for enjoying your product or offer technical support from the comments. In any case, engaging with your customers is key is fostering a sense of loyalty and community on your Facebook Business Page.

13. Analyze Page Insights.

Facebook Insights is an analytics dashboard where you can track user behavior and post performance on your Facebook Business Page.

Take advantage of this dashboard to measure your success and determine areas of your page that need some TLC. If you consistently leverage the data in Page Insights, you can create better content and generate more revenue for your brand.

14. Connect your Instagram.

Only 0.1% of Instagram users are unique to the platform, meaning most Instagram users are on Facebook as well.

If you have an Instagram for your business, we recommend connecting it to your Facebook Business Page so you can crosspost your pics and stories from IG directly to Facebook. Doing so ensures consistent content across your platforms and gives your audience more opportunities to connect with you.

15. Share content related to your industry.

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Your Facebook Business Page isn’t just a place to talk about how amazing your product or service is. Give customers a reason to consistently check on your page by sharing relevant articles, amplifying content from other brands, and starting discussions on events related to your industry.

Make sure the content you share comes from a trusted source, and encourage engagement by asking your customers what they think.

Kickoff Your Facebook Business Page Today

With these steps and tips in hand, you’re well on your way to creating a successful, engaging Facebook Business Page for your brand.

Once you have the foundation laid, don’t forget to keep up with consistent posts and respond to follower comments. Increase your customer engagement today with a compelling presence on Facebook.

I’ve abandoned numerous websites that were crammed with excessive text and bulky images due to their challenging navigation and overly bookish appearance.

Being both a marketer and a customer in one, I naturally lean towards using icons. They are visually appealing, convey information and intent instantly, and make clicking effortless.

But not all businesses use icons to their full potential. So, I scrutinized dozens of websites and apps and talked to industry experts who’ve witnessed the “iconicness” of icons to gather their insights.

Explore how to use marketing and sales icons in the best ways possible. We’ll cover:

• Why use icons in marketing and sales materials?
• 5 Examples of Marketing and Sales Icons
• 7 Best Practices for Using Marketing and Sales Icons
• When Not to Use Icons
• Free Marketing Icons
• Free Sales Icons

Why use icons in marketing and sales materials?

Photography and typography are limited in business communication, and generic stock photos rarely align with the accompanying text. Icons, in turn, make your messaging unique, appealing, and memorable. They facilitate the understanding of ideas and concepts.

Let’s explore icons’ use cases in marketing and sales materials.

1. Icons make stuff easy to understand.

The brain processes graphic symbols much faster than actual words by giving them meaning and turning them into words. When we see an icon, it helps us understand the intended meaning faster — making complex concepts and terms easy to digest.

For instance, a checklist or a chart icon in sales presentations helps visually represent goals achieved and company growth.

Get these icons for free.

2. Icons boost engagement.

Icons encourage and improve engagement. Adding clickable icons on social media, websites, or apps significantly increases users’ interaction with them. Similarly, when you add them to product guides, promotional videos, or sales playbooks, they bring in more responses and encourage readers to interact.

Some icons to use for engagement can be for simply displaying contacts, details, and info icons.

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3. Icons help cut down on text.

Icons save space where text is excessively wordy. For example, if you’re listing the nutritional components of a product on a product guide, using icons for stating categories like 🍗 for protein, 🍞 for carbs, and 🍬 for sugar saves space and gets the point across creatively.

4. Icons support the text.

Icons provide additional context quickly and make the message more engaging and interactive. The “envelope” icon, along with the message “Contact us,” adds an inviting touch to an email or a web page.

Likewise, the “checkmark” icon grabs the target audience’s attention when used in pop-ups — see Semrush’s example.

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5. Icons break up the text.

Nothing makes a sales or marketing report as boring as long, continuous pages of text. Breaking it up with icons adds a visual appeal and conveys your message better than generic stock photos. They’re also easier on the eyes, which makes them an excellent replacement for heavy images.

Learn how to make sales performance reports in Excel interesting with this video.

6. Icons set your brand apart.

Using branded icons across different platforms and streamlining them with your marketing and sales materials helps you differentiate your brand from competitors and makes your material stand out.

Lavender.ai, an AI-powered tool for enhancing your sales emails, chose the “wizard” icon to be recognizable and memorable. Visit Lavender’s website, and the next time you think of an AI writing assistant, Lavender will pop up in your head. It happened to me at the time Lavender was just taking off.

7. Icons are universally understood.

You don’t need to translate an icon into a bunch of languages. They have a universal appeal and are instantly recognizable. Everyone knows a “bulb” icon means a “good idea.” A “star” icon shows certifications, and the ol’ right arrow button prompts you to keep going.

Get 30 customizable image icons for free.

Why are icons important in branding?

Icons become a part of your brand’s identity, set you apart, and facilitate brand recall. They also provide a consistent visual element across different platforms, reinforcing your brand identity and creating a uniform look and feel.

This also works for personal branding or employee advocacy when used on a large scale.

Roman Pikalenko’s LinkedIn page makes for a great example. He uses the flamingo icon in his marketing materials, name, sales deck, posts, and even on his shirt. If you’ve stumbled upon Roman’s page, chances are high you started associating 🦩with him.

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When used on apps and websites, they improve user experience by making navigation and understanding of features and services more intuitive — making your brand user-friendly.

💡Pro Tip: Take the time to design well-structured and high-quality icons. I often associate a company that uses low-quality or poorly designed icons with a lack of authenticity and dedication to quality.

Learn how to design icons for your brand with this video:

5 Examples of Marketing and Sales Icons

Icons are used on websites and apps in a multitude of ways for countless reasons. Explore the prominent five.

1. HubSpot Icons

HubSpot offers a range of free icons for you to use as you please. Use them on websites, apps, and marketing and sales materials for the range of benefits they offer.

The clock icon, for instance, can be used to show time sensitivity on a sale, for scheduling meetings and appointments, for different time zones, or even as a loading icon. The “chat typing” icon is widely used on websites and apps for chat options, comments, feedback, sharing, notifications, and, of course, text messages.

Get these icons for free.

2. Sharing Icons

Be it on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest, I find “sharing” icons incredibly convenient. They allow me to effortlessly share enjoyable content (like this post, wink wink 😉).

Add “sharing” icons to your website to allow users to distribute content across their own social networks. Plus, you get valuable data on popular content and platforms where the content is being shared. Use these insights to refine your content strategy.

3. Engagement Icons

These icons are commonly used for signing up, feedback, following, bookmarking, and downloading. They encourage website visitors to express approval, sign up, or ask questions.

For instance, Cognism uses the envelope icon to prompt the newsletter sign-ups.

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4. Under Construction Icons

I particularly appreciate it when companies go the extra mile to include an icon when a page or website is under construction. Instead of feeling disappointed, I look forward to when the page goes up again.

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5. Storytelling

You can tell a story, or you can show it. Many companies now use icons to show processes and their brand story using icons. It sets you apart and looks appealing. But the best part is that icon usage makes your brand more likable and memorable.

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7 Best Practices for Using Marketing and Sales Icons

Regarding branding, communication, navigation, and relatability, icons are used for almost any project from logo designs to CTAs to infographics.

Connor Gillivan, Growth expert and CEO of Trio SEO says, “These seemingly small graphics are communication powerhouses, capable of transcending language barriers and instantly conveying messages in an aesthetically pleasing manner.”

Gillivan notes icons resonate with visual appeal and direct comprehension, making them integral for platforms where brevity and impact are essential.

So, we know icons bring lots of value to your brand, but how do marketing and sales gurus get the best out of them?

Read these tips to find out.

1. Accentuate your services.

Use icons to creatively showcase your services without appearing pushy or overly assertive.

“We utilized marketing icons on our website’s landing page to highlight our core services: AI-Powered Search Marketing, AI-Powered Content Marketing, and AI-Powered CRO. Each icon was designed to resonate with the service it represented,” says Sergey Solonenko, founder and CMO of Algocentric Digital Consultancy.

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The use of icons is also a great solution for apps where space is limited. Uber relies on icons to succinctly convey information about its services and features with minimal text on their app. These icons cover a wide range of services while maintaining a simplistic and elegant look.

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2. Highlight features on ecommerce websites and apps.

Use icons on your ecommerce website and app to make the shopping experience quick and enjoyable. They provide customers with a one-click solution for giving a rating, viewing their cart, or deciding on a payment method.

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eBay uses icons to make their customer shopping experience easy. Customers can add a product to their wishlist or see the available payment options without going anywhere else. 

3. Highlight information and services in emails.

Stuffing your emails with text is the fastest way to ensure unsubscriptions. Use icons for supporting links where you don’t want to use excessive text or in your email signature.

But make sure you add icons the right way. Adeline Knight, SEO Content Manager at Icons8, suggests using a special size.

“Maintain the right size. In email marketing, having undersized icons might lead customers to overlook key offers or information,” Knight says. “For better engagement, use distinct sizes like a 48x48px shopping cart icon. If resizing is essential, always scale in multiples, such as from 24x24px to 48x48px, to ensure visual quality.”

Look at this welcome email from Slack. It seamlessly incorporates these strategies to guide the reader without text.

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4. Simplify your infographics.

Infographics can be hard on the eyes and confusing when stuffed with text and heavy images. Substitute icons for words or legends when labeling chart columns or bars, as well as for numbers and bullet points.

See the example by Insider Intelligence; they’ve managed to get that balance.

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5. Simplify complex concepts.

Icons help you support complex ideas or concepts by linking the outcome (an icon) with supportive text. For example, Fingerprint for Success visualizes their business solutions to facilitate the understanding of each.

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6. Show your commitment to a cause.

Small details account for big impacts. Show your commitment to social causes with relevant icons. Organic skin care cosmetics manufacturer Meow Meow Tweet astonishes with the creative use of icons to highlight their core values.

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7. Provide structure.

Icons give your information a clear hierarchy, save screen space compared to text labels, and make for a responsive design.

Species in Pieces, an educational website dedicated to endangered species, creatively employs icons to inspire exploration and engagement with vital information. Icons make them look sophisticated and minimalistic.

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“Prioritize alignment. Aligning icons evenly and spacing them consistently aids in creating a clean, organized layout that’s visually pleasing, making information more accessible and digestible for customers,” adds Adeline.

When Not to Use Icons

Icons have many benefits, yet there are instances where the use of icons may not be the best option.

• Using icons without clear text labels may hinder accessibility for blind individuals who rely on screen readers.
• In formal documents (like legal contracts or academic research papers), using icons may appear unprofessional or out of place.
• In technical or scientific diagrams (where precision and clarity are a must), use technical symbols (not icons) to avoid confusion.
• Research the cultural context when targeting a diverse audience. Icons that are innocuous in one culture might carry different meanings or connotations in another.
• Icons might come across as insensitive or trivializing when dealing with serious, sensitive, or emotionally charged subjects.

Free Marketing Icons

Designing the perfect marketing and sales icons takes a lot of time and resources; explore free marketing icons from these awesome companies.

Use free marketing icons for websites, social media, email marketing, print materials, apps, presentations, advertising, infographics, product packaging, and marketing collaterals.

1. Icons8
2. Flaticon
3. Smashing Magazine
4. Iconfinder
5. Freepik
6. Iconmonstr
7. Behance
8. Font Awesome
9. Icon Archive
10. Captain Icon
11. Icon Scout
12. Dry Icons

Free Sales Icons

Use free sales icons for presentations, reports, emails, CRM systems, training materials, pitches, invoices and payments, promotions, and sales collaterals.

1. IconArchive
2. Flaticons
3. Noun Project
4. Font Awesome
5. Icons8
6. Iconfinder
7. Icon Packs
8. Pngtree
9. UXwing
10. Icon Archive
11. Icons-Icons
12. Very Icon

Icons Enhance Branding Efforts

Blow away your customers by placing marketing and sales icons strategically and using them to enhance visual appeal, streamline information, and add value to your brand.

Provide a kick-ass user experience and boost engagement with high-quality, creative, and smartly placed icons.

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

Intent data is an essential part of sales enablement.

Naturally, marketing has a key role to play, too.

But with the volume of content online continuing to increase, how exactly should B2B marketers highlight the right content for sales teams to use at the right time?

5 Steps B2B Marketers Should Take to Sync Up with the Buying Cycle

In this post, we’ll look at the steps B2B marketers should take to align their sales content and assets with buyer activities and where they are in the buying cycle.

Identify the key themes and information needs of in-market buyers at each sales stage 

A good place to start is by pinpointing the key themes and information in-market buyers need at each stage of their journey by analyzing intent data to uncover common trends, pain points, and interests.

This data can come from your own first-party data in your CRM. It can also be acquired through tools such as Intentive or Audience Explorer that show you what buyers are looking for when researching online. 

After that, make sure you ask your sales team. They can tell you, first-hand, what questions buyers are asking and what concerns they are experiencing at each stage of the journey.

They can also supply any first-party interaction data that may be captured—from notes or emails in CRM, live chat records, or sales intelligence tools (e.g., Gong.io) that analyze interactions with buyers.

To better understand buyer needs, marketers can also look at other sources on current needs and challenges of your target market, such as insights from industry trend reports and analyst firms. You can gain insight by examining your competitors’ content as well.

From there, you’ll want to map all of these out on a buyer journey map to identify key decision-making moments and the types of information your buyers are looking for. If necessary, it may be helpful to break these down further by key vertical, segment, or buyer role.

Categorize your existing content in line with these themes and needs

Next, it’s time to take a look at your existing content to tag and categorize it based on the identified themes and buyer needs you mapped out earlier. While this process can be done manually, it certainly doesn’t have to be.

There are digital asset and content management tools on the market that can help.

Audit your existing content library against buyer-intent themes and needs to identify gaps. Having those key themes and information needs already mapped out by buyer stage comes in handy. It allows you to quickly identify where you lack content that your buyers need.

A content matrix can help visualize your content strategy. By creating one, you can map content to specific opportunity sales stages, intent themes, and needs.

Create and curate content to fill in the gaps

Now that the gaps in your content have been identified, you’ll need to fill those gaps by either creating content or curating it. 

When creating new content, it makes sense to be efficient and start filling in the gaps that will deliver the greatest value first. To find out what is likely to be the most important content, take advantage of your engagement data, and don’t be afraid of going back to your sales team and getting their thoughts. 

Creating new content can be time-consuming and use up marketing resources that could be better used elsewhere. So, consider curating some of the content you need to fill the gaps. 

Some ideas and sources include:

• Industry publications and B2B media sites: Follow reputable industry magazines, newspapers, and websites. They’re excellent sources of news, trends, and insights that you can share with your audience. Most will also offer sponsored content options too that can help close any gaps.
• Educational institutions: Look for research papers, case studies, and articles from universities or research institutions. These sources often provide in-depth, cutting-edge information that can elevate your content.
• Trade associations and organizations: Keep an eye on content from trade associations and industry organizations. They often publish valuable resources, including reports, whitepapers, and newsletters—especially in areas such as regulatory change and compliance.
• Market research and analyst firms: Share findings and analysis from market research firms like Gartner, Forrester, and IDC. 

  Their reports and insights can help your audience make informed decisions and stay ahead of the curve. Like B2B media firms, they also offer commercial options such as licensing agreements (such as the Forrester Wave or Gartner Magic Quadrant reports) or undertake research studies.

• Award-winning brands and their practices: Curate content from recognized award winners in your industry and showcase any best practices they demonstrate. This adds credibility to your brand and ensures you’re sharing top-notch content. 
• Influencers and thought leaders: Follow industry influencers and thought leaders on social media and subscribe to their blogs. Share their content, opinions, and insights to engage your audience and spark conversations. 

  For a fee, many will also speak at your events or collaborate with your brand, providing it doesn’t affect either any existing relationships or any editorial position they may have.

• Videos and webinars: Share informative and engaging videos or webinars from industry experts. These visual formats can help explain complex concepts and provide a more interactive learning experience. 
• Podcasts: Curate episodes from popular industry podcasts that discuss relevant topics or interview thought leaders. Podcasts offer a convenient way for your audience to consume content while multitasking. 
• eBooks and whitepapers: Share in-depth resources like eBooks and whitepapers that dive deep into specific topics. This long-form content (much of which can be found on TradePub) can help your audience better understand complex concepts and industry trends.
• Infographics and visual content: Visual content can be a powerful way to convey complex information quickly. Share infographics, charts, or data visualizations that provide valuable insights in an easily digestible format.
• Tools and templates: Curate useful tools, templates, or checklists that help your audience simplify their work processes or solve specific problems.
• Industry events and conferences: Share key takeaways, presentations, or panel discussions from industry events and conferences. This keeps your audience in the loop and provides them with valuable insights from experts.

In fact, curating content for use and sharing by your sales team can be a particularly powerful tool in the context of social selling, which can help sales reps engage with potential customers and showcase their expertise. 

Offer a variety of formats and provide the ability for sales to personalize and distribute this content

It’s important not to limit your content to one or two formats. Buyers seeking to learn more about a solution have varying preferences on the kind of content they want to consume. Some might want to watch a short, succinct video, while others are happy to consume a detailed whitepaper.

Preferences change over time. For instance, findings from NetLine’s 2023 Content Consumption Demand Report show that in 2021, eBook registrations accounted for a little more than two-fifths (43%) of all content consumption, but in 2022, that share dropped to about one-third (33.6%).

There are tools and platforms available that enable sales teams to easily personalize content for their prospects. Starting at the most basic level, these can include email templates stored in a shared folder or documents with stats and insights to quote in conversations.

PowerPoint decks can also be useful, as they can be customized as needed, with a salesperson picking and choosing which slides to share. At an advanced level, sales enablement software, some of which your team might already be using, can help to personalize content as needed.

No matter what content you are using, make sure that there are easy ways through which they can share it on different channels.

Make it available through email, on social, or even on dynamic web pages specific to a buyer and/or the account. After all, just as content format preferences vary, so do the channels where buyers do their research.

Get this content into your sales team’s workflow

Having content that addresses buyers’ needs at every level of their journey is only worthwhile if your sales team takes full advantage of it. There are several ways to get the content into your sales team workflow; here are a few to consider:

• Take a simple approach and tell them where the content is: Circulate and communicate where the content is and how sales can use it. This could be as simple as having folders by theme on SharePoint/Dropbox/Google Drive, or a spreadsheet with hyperlinks to relevant content.
• Inject content recommendations into the sales tech stack: Use data relating to buyer interests and opportunity stage to dynamically recommend content within your CRM or the tool most frequently used by sales (e.g., Drift, Outreach). This is a key reason why categorizing content (as discussed earlier) can be so powerful.
• Offer training and host meetings: Offer training sessions to your sales teams or hold special meetings such as “Lunch and Learn” sessions to bring them up to speed. During these sessions, you can supply resources directly to your sales teams, show how they can use and personalize them, and answer any questions they might have.
• Increase usage by asking for suggestions: Proactively seek feedback from sales reps to hear their recommendations, discover any issues, and make any content as effective for them as possible.
• Track usage: If and where possible, track content usage and performance metrics to continuously refine the content you share with sales. In fact, this functionality may even be present within the tools that your company already has.

Got content but need to distribute it? Look no further!

If you need to quickly connect in-market buyers to your sales team, NetLine can help. Personalize content and confidently connect with in-market buyers.

Discover how we have helped clients across industries to drive pipeline success and make their sales teams smile!

If you had to guess, how many email newsletters do you think you’re subscribed to? Ten? Twenty? Fifty?

To be honest, I’ve lost count — and I know I’m not alone. Email marketers have a lot to compete within their subscribers’ inboxes. That’s why a solid newsletter template is crucial to designing an email that people are encouraged to click through.

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? We’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.

1. HubSpot

Price: Free & 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.

2. Announcement by Litmus

Price: Free

Litmus offers a free email template collection — from newsletter templates to account management templates. This marketing-specific theme — simply referred to as “Announcement” — is modern and sleek, while still being kind of fun. All of the templates have been tested with Litmus.

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

3. ConvertKit

Price: Free

ConvertKit is a creative email template platform that’s a great option for bloggers, course creators, and more. ConvertKit comes with email automation tools, signup 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, their vast array of templates and tool integrations will help businesses in any industry upgrade their email newsletter.

4. ZURB Ink

Price: Free

ZURB Studios has five 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 inline 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.

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, Trial and Paid

Postcards provide 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 quickly 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.

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. 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.

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.

8. Moosend

Price: Free for 30 days

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 interest and behavior. If you’re interested in landing pages and subscription templates, it includes those as well.

Moosend analyzes your subscriber base to help with the success of your business. Just like Flodesk, Moosend 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.

9. Bee Pro

Price: Free & paid options available

BEE Pro is the ultimate solution for creating captivating emails without any coding skills. With its extensive library of over 1500 responsive templates, you’ll have a wide range of options to bring your email designs to life.

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 Pro’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.

10. Campaign Monitor

Price: Free

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. Campaign Monitor is only free for 30 days, but plans start as low as $9/month.

11. MailerLite

Price: Free

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 drag-and-drop editor, and connect your MailerLite account to your website. MailerLite also has features where you can grow your audience with landing pages, subscription forms, and pop-ups.

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

12. Sender

Price: Free & paid options available

Sender is an all-in-one email & 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 requirement. In addition, all templates have responsiveness baked-in to 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 popups 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.

13. Constant Contact

Price: $9.99 a 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 at the basic subscription ($9.99/month) or upgrade to a pro account ($45/month) to unlock all the features.

14. Themezy

Price: Free

Download sixteen 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.

Plus, they’re designed to be responsive across devices to ensure that your subscribers can read your newsletter.

15. Drip

Price: Free

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 so thorough 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 analytical tools it offers. From email marketing to SMS marketing campaigns, Drip lets you effectively engage your customers.

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.)

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.

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 email service providers (ESPs). However, some older versions of Outlook may not render all Google fonts. Also, the Android Gmail app is not fully supported.

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.

1. Feshto by Liramail

Price: $29-25/template

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 the 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. Bee

Price: Free – $15

Bee is an HTML template tool with thousands of free templates for any professional to use. With a variety of categories, Bee gives you a template for everything, but it also has tools that allow you to build your own email newsletters. The drag-and-drop feature allows you to pick and choose the elements that best suit your personal needs. The versatility also allows you to customize every email you send, then download it as an HTML so you can send your emails to anyone from anywhere. Another great advantage of Bee is that it allows you to save various content from different emails that can then be used in other templates. No need to start from scratch.

With Bee, you do have a 14-day free trial and plenty of free templates to use if you do not want to sign up for an account. If you would like an account, Bee offers different versions of their Pro account depending on the field you are in. For instance, they have Pro Freelancers, Pro Team, Pro Agency, Pro Enterprise, and Pro Nonprofit; Pro Freelancer starts at $15 a month.

3. ThemeForest

Price: $6-23/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 ($19)

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.

4. HubSpot Email Copy Templates

Price: Free

If you’re looking for written templates you can input 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.

5. Mailchimp

Price: Free – $200 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 their 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.

6. ActiveCampaign

Price: Free – $258 a month

ActiveCampaign is a full-service email provider that offers email marketing automation and CRM tools. Its library of newsletter templates allow 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.

7. Canva

Price: Free – 20.00 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.

8. Adobe Express

Price: Single Application: $33.99 a month | Full Bundle: $79.99 a 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.

9. CakeMail

Price: Free – $200.00 per month

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.

10. 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.

11. TemplateMonster

Price: Varies

TemplateMonster offers a variety of email newsletter templates, such as the Useful Notifications newsletter template pictured below, 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, like the ones on the mobile phone pictured below, and PSD sources for a litany of customization options.

12. Microsoft Office Templates

Price: Free & 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 use of the paid templates, you will have to download Microsoft 365 to use them.

How to Customize Email Newsletter Templates to Increase Engagement

1. Choose headings wisely.

To help with the overall flow and understanding of your email, it’s imperative to make good use of headings and subheadings. Not only do they draw attention to the most important parts of your newsletter, 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 good 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 in line with your brand’s messaging and high quality.

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. 

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, grab your free guide below for creating 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.

 

A car fire ignited a viral marketing moment for the Stanley brand.

On November 15, TikTok user @danimarielettering posted a video showing the aftermath of her car catching on fire. Though the car was totaled, her Stanley Quencher tumbler was intact and still had ice in it.

The video quickly went viral and has gone on to rack up more than 84 million views.

Two days later, Stanley President Terence Reilly stitched Danielle’s original video offering to send her some new tumblers and to replace her car on behalf of the brand. This response has earned over 32 million views, quickly becoming the feel-good story of the season.

The comments to Reilly’s response are filled with praise for the brand, with TikTok users saying:

“This is awesome, definitely buying a Stanley now!”

“They responded, that’s freaking awesome. I’m gonna have to buy a Stanley now.”

“Do I need a Stanley, no. Am I going to buy one on principle now, yes.”

While the circumstances of this marketing moment are unusual, the Stanley brand is no stranger to TikTok virality.

Becoming a viral water bottle brand

Over the years there have been various trendy water bottle brands including S’well, Hydroflask, Yeti, and now Stanley.

The Stanley brand has been around for over 100 years and was best known for goods that could stand up to outdoor activities. However, the brand’s target demographic began to shift after the introduction of the Quencher tumbler in 2017.

That same year, bloggers behind The Buy Guide began sharing links to the Quencher introducing the cups to a new audience that wasn’t familiar with Stanley’s outdoorsy roots. However, in 2019 Stanley stopped listing Quenchers on its website to prioritize other products.

The Buy Guide founders felt there was a greater opportunity to market the tumblers to women, and worked with Stanley on a wholesale arrangement to begin selling the cups on their own site.

According to The New York Times, they quickly sold out of their initial run of 5,000 tumblers in 2019. The success of this initial run led the Stanley brand to reintroduce the Quenchers on the brand’s official site in 2020, offering more colors and an intentional influencer marketing strategy to attract more female customers.

These tactics worked. By 2022 Stanley tumblers continued to gain momentum on social media as the viral item to have and frequently sold out. Last year, sales for Stanley tumblers increased by 275%.

What began as an unfortunate accident, resulted in well over 100 million impressions and positive PR for the already social-savvy brand.

Looking to grow your company’s reach? Education marketing is the answer. Here, you can grow demand for your product, services, or institutions as more people choose online education. The data speaks loudly: The global e-learning industry is set to reach $457.8 billion by 2026.

How do you develop your first education marketing campaign? How much money and time do you need to invest? What is the whole range of benefits?

In this guide, you’ll learn the fundamentals of education marketing. Understand the steps of building an education marketing strategy, as well as get actionable tips.

Table of Contents

• What is education marketing?
• Why education marketing is important?
• Building an Education Marketing Strategy
• 4 Tips for Education Marketing

What is education marketing?

Education marketing is the practice of promoting educational institutions, programs, products, or services to prospective students (aka clients), thus increasing student enrollment.

Let’s dive into an example. A nearby community college is seeking to increase the number of students enrolling in its vocational training courses, with a specific focus on healthcare programs. To achieve this, they create target ads, social media posts, and testimonials from past students who got rewarding careers.

Additionally, they host webinars and virtual open days to engage with prospective students and answer their questions by highlighting the high demand for healthcare professionals.

Note: Education marketing is often confused with education-based marketing. The latter is a specific marketing strategy used to educate potential customers on a particular topic by creating demand rather than directly pushing toward a sale.

Why Education Marketing Is Important

The online and offline education sectors are highly competitive. Here is why education marketing matters to stand out in today’s saturated market.

It boosts brand recognition.

Successful marketing campaigns lead to a strong and recognizable brand identity for educational institutions. They also have strong associations with specific qualities, values, and attributes.

An example may be a heartwarming welcome video, like one from Stanford.

It helps reach a broader audience.

Education marketing helps such institutions reach a broader and more diverse audience, including international students, non-traditional learners, and remote learners.

For example, non-traditional learners often require information about how the institution’s programs can fit into their busy lives and career aspirations. Effective marketing helps convey this information and demonstrates that the institution understands and supports its educational journey.

Invite world-known speakers to prompt students to enroll in the institutions. Here is the motivational speech from Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios.

Back in 2005, at Stanford University‘s 114th Commencement, he delivered a speech urging graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks.

It allows educators to learn about the needs of their students.

Education marketing is not only about students, their families, or institutions themselves. There are also other stakeholders, such as educators.

Katie Stoddard, a former educator turned education marketer, sees marketing as a key piece of the education ecosystem.

“In a world where decisions on instructional materials and professional learning largely happen due to past relationships, marketing is a way for educators to learn about other solutions and tools that meet the needs of their learners,” Stoddard says.

Stoddard is the founder and managing director at Ed2Market. She notes that marketing allows small companies to compete with the legacy providers in the space.

“And most importantly, it’s the start of the cycle that gets the absolute best products and services into classrooms across the globe,” she says.

It helps student families get involved.

Education marketing should cover any possible information that the students and families might need, showing them what their options are, what they can expect, and why they should pursue education at a given academic institution.

Students and their families can easily access information by reading testimonials, watching videos, or taking virtual tours. This is true at all levels of education — from elementary schools to universities to online academies.

According to the RNL’s latest report, parents preferred to get important information via email. The same report suggests that parents are open to getting emails from different universities if they contain the following information:

• Cost (tuition, accommodation, etc).
• Academics (programs, subject area info).
• Admissions requirements, deadlines, and timeline.

Building an Education Marketing Strategy

Here are six fundamental steps to build an effective education marketing strategy.

For each step, we’ve sourced real examples of campaigns.

1. Understand your target audience.

First, define your audience. In this case, decide who is receiving your educational offer. By this, we don’t simply mean prospective students.

Think about their families, too. Parents or relatives most often have the final say in their educational choices.

Have a clear understanding of the goals and expectations of both parties and make sure your educational offering is a great fit for them.

Pro tip: Conduct surveys and anonymous reviews to collect feedback on your target audience. What do they value, what factors impact their decision-making, and what expectations do they have from institutions?

Knowing the answers will help you find common ground to offer courses and programs that meet their needs.

2. Articulate your unique selling points.

Define what sets your educational institution or program apart.

Highlight your strengths, such as academic excellence, unique programs, experienced faculty, or special facilities. Recognize the qualifications and expertise of your faculty members.

For example, mention any faculty members or notable alumni who have received awards, grants, or recognition. If you possess modern facilities, laboratories, or other resources that provide exceptional learning opportunities, feature them prominently.

In the example below, Oregon State University uses pieces of concrete information to get visitors’ attention. The copy focuses on science and research.

The statistics further reinforce a positive impression.

Image Source

3. Choose social media channels to connect with the audience.

Social media channels are extremely popular among millennials and Generation Z, the members of your target audience.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and LinkedIn are the most used social networks, each with its specific characteristics.

From the beginning, stick to 2-3 social media platforms where your audience spends most of their time. Make sure to keep consistency across all your social media channels.

Central Michigan University posted an emotional video on TikTok showing the graduation ceremony where the brother of one of the graduates surprisingly came to congratulate her sister.

The video generated more than 5.5 million views despite having just 14,000 followers.

Image Source

4. Roll out an email marketing campaign.

Education-related emails have an open rate of 35.42%, indicating that old-fashioned email marketing is still effective in education.

Create a monthly or quarterly newsletter communicating your institution’s most important activities. Each email should have a clear and compelling call to action (CTA), such as “Enroll Now,” “Learn More,” or “Register Today.”

Image Source

Use email automation tools to send targeted emails based on recipient actions, such as welcome sequences, nurturing campaigns, and event reminders.

Send follow-up emails, provide how-tos, tips, and tricks to engage with candidates, and nurture them through the enrollment or conversion process.

Pro tip: Use HubSpot’s FREE email tracking tool to get notifications as soon as someone opens your emails and keep an eye on their interactions.

Try our email software today.

5. Invest in digital advertisement.

Digital advertising will help you reach not only local but also international students who are interested in studying abroad or taking online courses.

Digital advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, Bing Ads, and social media ads, offer precise targeting options.

Set up advertising campaigns based on geographical, demographical, or interest-based targeting. Experiment with various ad formats, such as search, display ads, video, or social media ads.

In the image below, there are several search ad examples. All include the degree program as the title, as well as relevant CTAs prompting you to explore more.

6. Track the metrics and optimize.

Track the metrics to calculate the ROI of your marketing efforts. Understand what‘s working and what’s not so you can optimize your resources and use them wisely.

Depending on your objectives, the list of relevant metrics and KPIs may vary.

Tips for Education Marketing

How to succeed in education marketing? Here are a couple of actionable tips to implement in your education marketing campaigns.

1. Focus on informational content.

The key to educational marketing is to provide value at every stage. Identify the pain points and needs of your target audience throughout their user journey and create informational content around them.

The latest education marketing trends indicate that the most popular types of content include:

• Long-form articles.
• Case studies.
• Newsletters.
• Testimonials.
• Press releases.
• Checklists.
• Ebooks.
• Videos.
• Webinars.
• Podcasts.

Want an example?

At HubSpot, we built a comprehensive academy that provides teachers and university instructors with the opportunity to access inbound education marketing resources and sales training materials, such as guides, templates, ebooks, and webinars.

As members of the academy, educators can use HubSpot’s software for free and become part of a community.

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2. Use subject spotlights to let students try before they apply.

How do you make sure that prospective students have a good perception of their desired program? Subject Spotlights is the answer.

Created by Springpod, it provides an interactive, cinematic course taster experience, which enables institutions to attract, engage, and inform prospective students about their course offerings.

Using this tactic, you also spot courses with low interest to promote them more.

3. Leverage student reviews.

Actively solicit reviews from current and former students, parents, and alumni. Address both positive and negative reviews and identify areas for improvement.

Create engaging video testimonials featuring students, alumni, and faculty members sharing their experiences and success stories. Incorporate them into your marketing materials, such as brochures, website content, and social media posts.

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4. Grab students’ attention with events.

Host days where prospective students can explore your campus, interact with faculty and current students, and get a feel for the educational environment.

You can also create a community with past students and organize events such as yearly reunions. Invite renowned guest speakers, industry leaders, or alumni to share their experiences and insights with students.

Get creative and host career fairs to introduce students to potential employers, internships, and job opportunities. This is especially beneficial for higher education institutions.

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Here is a podcast from Education Marketer: Learn how to use events to grab students’ attention in detail.

Leverage Education Marketing to Maximize Your Institution’s Potential

Education marketing plays a pivotal role in the success and growth of educational institutions across all levels, from schools and colleges to universities and online academies.

To overcome shifts in student expectations, combine different education marketing strategies, gain insights, and optimize your campaigns accordingly.