It’s Black Friday! And to honor the tradition, here’s our way of thanking you, our dear lovely readers. For what would we be without you guys? That’s why we at Mailee have put together a comprehensive list of blogs that every email marketer should be reading! So go ahead and take a look. We sincerely hope you find these helpful.
What’s more, to make it an easy read, we’ve divided into four categories – Digital marketing in general, Content, Email and Social Media Campaigns, and Testing and Conversions.
So what are you waiting for? Dig in!
Digital Marketing in General
Even if you’re not the person in-charge of number crunching or big data involved in marketing, these are skills that could come in quite handy. And there are a few blogs that’ll help you with that. Here are 7 digital marketing blogs you should be following –
Emarketer
Why read it?
If you want well-researched and insightful articles on the latest trends in digital marketing, then eMarketer is one blog you shouldn’t be missing. Want proof? Take a look at their recent articles:
Sample Articles
Brand Blogs Get Highest ROI from Weekend Posts
Cross-Platform Marketing a Must-Have in 2016
Stay tuned by following them at @eMarketer.
Inbound.org
Why read it?
Go to Inbound.Org and find great posts and advice from the inbound marketing community. Learn and grow everyday from your peers in inbound marketing, based on their experiences. What’s more, you can get your own content featured on Inbound.org and boost your brand’s visibility.
Sample Articles
17 Tips For Emailing A Cold List Without People Hating You
Be Different: Three Unique Ideas For B2B Brands Trying To Stand Out
Stay tuned by following them at @inboundorg.
Marketing Profs
Why read it?
Marketing Profs provides you with a wide-range of articles every day that touch on the various aspects of marketing. Although it is quite extensive, occasionally some of the topics are quite interesting with several useful tips. Added bonus – highly creative and impactful infographics.
Sample Articles
The Best Days and Times to Post Content [Infographic]
What to Look for When Identifying Your Best Customers
Stay tuned by following them at @MarketingProfs.
MovableInk
Why read it?
Movable Ink blog contains many useful articles on email best practices, enhancing customer experiences, in addition to great posts on the latest email news, and research. I recommend reading their blog just for the great insights they post on building better relationships between brands and their customers. Check out some of their articles below and see for yourselves.
Sample Articles
Monday Catch-up: Metrics, New Apps and Customer-centric Best Practices
Linking Marketing to Revenue to Experience
Stay tuned by following them at @movableink.
Neil Patel
Why read it?
Neil Patel seems to be the person that knows about almost everything. He was the founder of some successful companies and he has actionable advice for marketers from content marketing to growth hacking. Doesn’t matter whether you’re an email marketing noob or a seasoned professional, he has got great advice, tips, and hacks, for everybody.
Sample Articles
Click Here: 16 Hacks That’ll Get Your Call-to-Action Buttons Clicked
How to Write Email Subject Lines That Will Increase Your Open Rate By 203%
Stay tuned by following them at @neilpatel.
Smart Insights
Why read it?
Marketing theory and strategy in one place. Although most of their best content is for people that pay for their subscription, what they offer for free is great. If you want to put your brain to work to learn about marketing, start reading the Smart Insights blog.
Sample Articles
The Perfect Landing Page. Landing page examples and 12 tips
Can A New Subject Line Tool Eliminate A/B Testing?
Stay tuned by following them at @SmartInsights.
Social Triggers
Why read it?
Because when one of the smartest marketers in the world has something to say, you better pay attention. Derek Halpern’s insights on customer psychology help you discover how to be better at what you do. The icing on the cake? On signing up, you get a great free ebook teaching you how to get 5k subscribers.
Sample Articles
Why Entrepreneurs Go Broke
The Most Important Business Lesson Comes From Two Crazy Brothers Who Built A Flying Machine…
Stay tuned by following them at @socialtriggers.
Content
Content is what it all ultimately comes down to. It’s quite simple – if your content rocks, you rock, otherwise, you suck. Here are four fantastic content marketing blogs that’ll help you kiss all your content-related woes goodbye!
Copyblogger
Why read it?
Copyblogger sends useful tips and tricks on becoming a better content marketer. What I like is their no-nonsense, in-depth approach to sharing quality content and their excellent how-to articles, especially on blogging.
Sample Articles
The Single Best Way to Create Hit Content in Record Time
37 Tips for Writing Emails that Get Opened, Read, and Clicked
Stay tuned by following them at @copyblogger.
CoSchedule
Why read it?
CoSchedule articles about content marketing and blogging must be on every email marketer’s reading list. They have great, highly insightful posts on what it takes to succeed with your content. Don’t forget to check out their free headline analyzer. I, for one, test all my post titles at least 10 times using their tool.
Sample Articles
25 Growth Hacks That Will Amplify Your Content Marketing
We A/B Tested Our Email Subject Lines For Months. Here’s What We Learned.
Stay tuned by following them at @CoSchedule.
Content Marketing Institute (CMI)
Why read it?
The name says it all. CMI is the powerhouse of the content marketing industry. The icing on the cake? I’m gonna give you double-flavored icing. Joe Pulizzi, one of the greatest content marketing evangelists, founded it. Additionally, CMI hosts Content Marketing World, which is the largest content marketing event in the world.
Sample Articles
Data: The Missing Piece in Your Content Marketing Strategy
How to Develop a Buyer-Centric Content Marketing Strategy
Stay tuned by following them at @JoePulizzi.
Convince & Convert
Why read it?
Convince & Convert was named the number one content marketing blog in the world by none other than CMI! Oh, and Jay Baer is the founder. Need more reasons?
Sample Articles
Does your content marketing pass the MOM test?
The 4-Step Code of Conduct for Winning at Online Reviews
Stay tuned by following them at @convince.
Email & Social Media Campaigns
Your content rocks. Hurray! But that isn’t enough. You need foolproof strategies for your email as well as social media campaigns. These 7 blogs will help you do just that!
Buffer
Why read it?
Buffer gives you everything you need to know about social media under one roof. Their excellent tips and tricks to boost your business and reach on social media are extremely useful and quite hard to find elsewhere.
Sample Articles
15 Psychological Studies That Will Boost Your Social Media Marketing
How to Develop and Perfect Your Social Media Sharing Schedule (It Could Double Your Traffic!)
Stay tuned by following them at @buffer.
EmailMonday
Why read it?
Wanna stay updated to the latest trends in email marketing? Then Jordie van Rijn is your guy. I’ve learnt a lot from his posts on email optimization, trends, best practices, and strategy.
Sample Articles
150+ fresh A/B email split testing ideas you can use today
5 Experts Give You Their Triggered Campaign Advice
Stay tuned by following them at @jvanrijn.
Email Institute
Why read it?
Email Institute is a comprehensive library – the email marketing best practices destination – for all your marketing research. That’s because every latest headline from around the industry is a part of the ginormous Email Institute library. Email deliverability, reporting, design … you name it, they got it. Check out a few of their latest articles below.
Sample Articles
Loyalty beyond engagement
Turning data into insights: Hero or zero?
Stay tuned by following them at @email_institute.
Email Marketing Reports
Why read it?
In their own words, “Email Marketing Reports enables newcomers and professionals alike to find advice and information they can use to improve their email marketing.” Mark Brownlow has been around in the email marketing industry since 1998, so this is a guy who knows what he’s doing. Their articles helped me get started in email marketing, and I hope to pay it forward by including them in this list. 🙂
Sample Articles
8 ways to write shorter tweets and subject lines
Marketing with an e-newsletter
Email Weekly from ActionRocket
Why read it?
Email Weekly, by ActionRocket, curates the best articles related to email design and strategy and brings them to your inbox. Curation has never been easier! Added bonus – their subject lines are always clickworthy – quite creative, I must say!
Sample Articles
4 tools to help you collaborate on email marketing campaigns
Things I’ve Learned About Sending Email, For Web Designers And Developers
Stay tuned by following them at @ActionRocket.
Return Path
Why read it?
Have you ever checked the sources of all the statistics that email marketing blogs quote? Then chances are you’ve crossed paths with Return Path. Return Path answers commonly asked questions about email marketing. Their USP are their articles on email data and optimization.
Sample Articles
Metrics Mayhem: Why Your Emails Aren’t Producing Conversions
The Importance of Reputation Scoring for Deliverability
Stay tuned by following them at @returnpath.
Word to the Wise
Why read it?
Word to the Wise offers invaluable advice on email delivery. Everything you need to know about email deliverability, sender score, ESPs … you’ll find it all with expert advice right here. Don’t believe me? Check out some of their latest articles.
Sample Articles
Dealing with blocklists, deliverability and abuse people
Thoughts on SenderScore
Stay tuned by following them at @wise_laura.
Testing & Conversions
The last, but also the most important category, is testing and conversions. One of my favorite quotes is –
You need to keep learning in order to continue growing. If you stop learning, you stop growing.
Testing and their corresponding results help you figure out ways to improve your performance and fuel your growth. Follow the tips and advice of these 6 blogs and keep going from strength to strength.
Beautiful Email Newsletters
Why read it?
In addition to bringing the best of email design from around the world, Beautiful Email Newsletters also has a few nuggets of wisdom to share regarding email conversions. Oh, did I mention you also get to download the first two chapters of the bestselling ebook “30 Days to Sell” for free?
Sample Articles
How we increased our activation rate from 2% to 30% in 10 steps
On-boarding emails – great examples
Stay tuned by following them at @ben_approves.
ConversionXL
Why read it?
Peep Laja is probably one of the best professionals to get knowledge from when the subject is conversion. If you’re someone looking for ways to optimize your conversions, then ConversionXL is something you need to visit frequently.
Sample Articles
How To Use On-Site Surveys to Increase Conversions
Conversion Optimization Guide
Stay tuned by following them at @peeplaja.
EDM Designer
Why read it?
Don’t you wish there was a website that told you how to avoid the SPAM folder, how to optimize emails for higher conversions, what are the global email marketing practices? EDM Designer does exactly that – it provides advice on how to optimize emails and make them more effective.
Sample Articles
Basic Rules to Avoid the SPAM Folder
Beware: Email Open Rates Can Be Misleading!
Stay tuned by following them at @EDMdesigner.
Email on Acid
Why read it?
Email on Acid has a very pragmatic, no-nonsense blog that explores and tackles any issue related to email ROI. Their articles are particularly focused on techniques for optimizing emails for different delivery clients and mobile apps.
Sample Articles
7 Holiday Email Campaigns that Give Back
The Most Effective Ways to Test Your Email Campaigns
Stay tuned by following them at @EmailonAcid.
Kissmetrics
Why read it?
Marketers today need to understand user data through analytics. That’s where Kissmetrics comes into the picture. Their content has served as my anchor in the vast sea of data about conversions, performance metrics, optimization, etc.
Sample Articles
Creating an Effective Marketing Email (Infographic)
5 Must-Know Google Analytics Strategies To Measure SEO Success
Stay tuned by following them at @Kissmetrics.
Litmus
Why read it?
Litmus is the authority on email marketing. They provide insights on what works and what doesn’t in email marketing, how can you enhance your email marketing campaigns, as well as thought-provoking facts & statistics on elements of an email such as design, content, performance metrics, subject line etc. Plus, their newsletters look great!
Sample Articles
How to Recover from Email Marketing Mistakes
The Top 67 Email Marketing Design Thought Leaders on Twitter
Stay tuned by following them at @litmusapp.
So there you go. 24 blogs to transform you into a marketing guru. Happy reading! 🙂
Am I missing something? Is there a blog you think is fantastic and should be on this list? Let me know in the comments.