Learning is a lifelong practice. It’s something I first learned in seventh-grade science class, of all places. While we may think our education ends with a diploma or certificate, it rarely does. There are topics I never formally studied that I’m continually learning about every day to be a better marketer in my job, for instance.

The question then becomes, where do we turn to learn about changes in our industries? Where can we go to keep up on marketing trends?

For small-business owners who are their company's marketing team, it can be difficult to spend time searching for the latest marketing strategies and trends. Many of the best sites travel by word of mouth, or time spent in the industry. But how do you hear about these resources if you’re not in the industry?

Through a combination of personal experience and research, I’ve narrowed my list to eight must-visit business and marketing blogs to help you grow your marketing knowledge.

Please note these are in no particular order. No one is more important than the other. I’ve also compiled a nice range of sites on different topics. From SEO to social media, inbound to content marketing, you’ll find a resource here to fit the topic you want to research. Without further ado, let’s get started.

#1 Social Media Examiner

This website is filled to the brim with up-to-date information about all things social media. Not only does it include information about each social platform (LinkedIn, anyone?), it also revisits each platform when changes are made. Plus, the site explains in detail how you can convert on each platform, making this a valuable resource if you want to start seeing social wins for your business.

#2 MarketingProfs

MarketingProfs features a variety of informative articles written by industry leaders on all the relevant topics you want to know about: email marketing, B2C trends and social media, just to name a few. It also has fantastic resources for anyone who wants to dive deeper into any topic. This may (or may not) be my favorite site. Long before I became a Pro Member (a great decision that I made for 2016) I religiously read daily emails from MarketingProfs. Now I get the extra goodies that I adore.

#3 Content Marketing Institute

If you’re trying to up your game by writing compelling content, Content Marketing Institute will quickly become your best friend. The site caters to all aspects of inbound, specifically around content you are personally creating. All its information centers on the story you are trying to tell and making sure you’ll nail it the first time to please and delight your audience.  

#4 HubSpot Marketing Blog

This company website it spot-on, and as one of the leading inbound experts, it should be. The folks at HubSpot cover every relevant topic, including email, A/B testing, imagery, marketing strategy and more. It’s certainly worth a look if you’re researching a topic or want to know what’s going on in the industry.

#5 Moz Blog

If you want to get started with SEO but aren’t quite sure how, Moz is a great place to get started. Not only does it have relevant SEO information, but the Beginners Guide to SEO is a must-have for everyone, even if you think you know SEO. Remember, learning never stops, no matter how versed in a subject you think you are.

#6 Seth Godin

Seth Godin is an industry leader. His thought-provoking blog tackles marketing, leadership skills and important entrepreneur questions. I have my browser default to his blog, and it’s a fantastic way to get me thinking differently every morning. He is also a best-selling author, if books are your style. 

Remember how I said learning never stops? Well, while I was doing my online research I found a few additional sites worth including in this list that I either hadn’t visited before, or didn’t even know about. After exploring them more I don’t think I could ever forget about these great resources.

#7 KissMetrics Blog

KissMetrics is a self-described “blog about analytics, marketing and testing.” Given my love of analytics, I’m ashamed I haven’t heard of this before now. The main goal of this blog is to help you track, analyze, and optimize your digital marketing. After being sucked into a post about using personalization techniques to increase conversion rates among your audience, I can also say that the posts are thoughtful and well researched. Expect to get a lot out of this blog.

#8 Unbounce Blog

This site was mentioned on several lists due to the balance of information it shares. Unbounce focuses on user experience (UX) and is fantastic at it. While digging more, I got sucked into an extremely interesting (and well balanced) article comparing the websites of the two presidential candidates in terms of conversion optimization. I learned a lot, and if every post is as well written as this one, Unbounce will become a daily read for me.

BONUS:Inbound.org

This is a community where you can create a personal account, enter topics of interest, and get a peronalized dashboard of relevant topic articles from a variety of sources daily. No more need to search all the different sources for the info. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be reading all the things.

In no way is this list complete; there are even some sites I visit often that I chose to exclude here. But I do think this will give you a solid base to start with. Have you discovered any sources for marketing information you visit every day that didn’t make the list? I’d love to hear what they are! Just comment below and let’s all learn together.

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