AI workflow automation tools connect apps, data, and departments to execute tasks automatically — reducing manual work and improving efficiency across organizations. Unlike traditional rule-based automation, these tools use artificial intelligence to predict next steps, learn from outcomes, and continuously optimize processes.

When I joined HubSpot, I stepped into a rare position. I had already spent years as a customer, learning how to build systems creatively with the tools I had access to. Then, I joined the company with the responsibility of modernizing a long-standing customer reference system that had served many teams well but was now struggling to meet new expectations, complexity, and scale.

One of the most satisfying things you can achieve as a business or personality is instant brand recognition.

I asked six HubSpot colleagues who are experts in their respective arena what their hopes and dreams are for 2026. From “just make AI and spreadsheets work” to tracking emotional momentum, here‘s what we’re looking forward to next year.

AI has drastically changed the marketing industry. From remapping the buyer's journey to changing the way we analyze data, to reshaping how we connect with consumers, almost everything is different from just a couple of years ago.

I spent the last week asking HubSpot marketers to get really honest about what actually worked for them in 2025 — and what they let go of.

Over the last five years, the business world has undergone a more dramatic transformation than it did in the entire decade before.
Just as companies were adapting to permanent shifts in workplace dynamics, consumer behavior, and global economics — all sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic — generative AI emerged. This delivered a shock to business comparable to the internet revolution of the 1990s.

Lingering Questions is one of my favorite parts of the Masters in Marketing newsletter, because it’s an opportunity for marketers to talk directly to one another.

Lights dim. Sounds hush. The aerialist spins into the air. Sequins sparkle in the warm light of a followspot, and my weird little brain wonders: “What does marketing look like for a travelling circus where every other week brings a totally new market?”

“I think we're moving into a space where most beauty companies are tech companies,” says Maya Smith.

In business, to waste time is to waste money so you need a strategy that is efficient and the best use of your resources.

The future of newsletters is bright, but it’s a far cry from its snail mail origins.

When I saw a LinkedIn post from today’s master declaring, “Marketing’s job is not to drive revenue,” I did a little shimmy and thought, “She gets it!”

Our expert this week has a few hot takes. 

This pains me greatly to say, but: That typo in your last campaign may have made your audience more engaged.

Loop marketing represents a fundamental shift from traditional linear funnels to a continuous growth engine, where every customer interaction creates expansion opportunities. Companies practicing loop marketing — whether through growth marketing strategies, behavioral marketing triggers, or integrated offline marketing touchpoints — transform one-time buyers into active participants who fuel sustainable business growth.

In today’s fast-moving go-to-market environment, workflow automation is about removing friction, reducing human error, and scaling personalized customer journeys across your revenue functions, from marketing and sales to service and operations.

Perhaps you’ve heard that Taylor Swift recently released a new album, The Life of a Showgirl.

At 29, I wasn’t just finalizing a divorce. I was entering a new era of contractual self-protection. That meant completely rewiring how I think about partnership, boundaries, and my own value.

“It's not enough to be a hospitality business anymore,” small-business owner Shelley Pippin says. “You need to be an event business.”

Building a B2B Loop Marketing strategy represents more than adopting new tactics — it’s about architecting a self-reinforcing system that transforms every customer interaction into compound growth, from initial B2B lead generation through long-term customer expansion.

Healthcare businesses vary in scope, from wellness centers to doctors' offices to hospitals. But they share one important need: They all must safeguard any protected health information (PHI) they possess, especially when doing email marketing.

Sam Meller is the Head of Social for The Hustle, but we briefly got to borrow her for Masters in Marketing, because she makes everything she touches better.

There has never been a bigger moment in history when brand differentiation was more important. The channels we relied on for growth are saturated and increasingly less effective. And with AI changing how people search and make buying decisions, the race to stand out has never been more brutal.

The inbox is having her moment again. Newsletters have made a full-blown comeback, and the rules of play have gotten a little more … complicated.

Running a financial-services business is about far more than moving money in and out of accounts — it’s about managing client trust, regulatory complexity, personalized advice, ongoing service relationships, and layered compliance. The challenge? CRM needs in the financial services industry are uniquely demanding. Firms must track high-value clients, nurture relationships over long horizons, monitor referrals and regulatory touches, segment based on asset classes or risk profiles, deliver timely compliance-safe email communication, and do all of this while maintaining a polished, secure, and scalable marketing system.

Planning events is about more than venue bookings and catering — it’s about orchestrating countless moving pieces, building relationships, delivering memorable experiences, and sustaining them over time. The challenge? CRM needs in the event-planning industry are uniquely demanding. Event-planning businesses must juggle multiple stakeholders (clients, vendors, attendees, and sponsors), shifting timelines, varied event formats (virtual, hybrid, and live), and the need to both scale and personalize communications — all at once.

Running a cleaning company is about more than mops and elbow grease — it’s about managing relationships, schedules, recurring contracts, field teams, and customer retention. The challenge? CRM needs in the cleaning industry are uniquely demanding. Cleaning businesses juggle high-volume recurring work, on-the-move teams, location-based services, spot‐jobs, and varying customer preferences, all while trying to deliver consistent quality and timely communication.

TL;DR: Loop marketing enhances inbound marketing for the AI era by adding four continuous stages (Express, Tailor, Amplify, Evolve) that use AI and unified data to personalize, distribute, and optimize content, without replacing inbound's customer-first foundation.
Layer loop onto your existing inbound assets with AI-powered personalization, multi-channel distribution, and real-time testing, starting with whichever stage addresses your biggest bottleneck.

If you've heard about loop marketing and wondered whether it replaces the inbound methodology you‘ve spent years mastering, I have good news: it doesn’t. Loop marketing builds on inbound‘s foundation, bringing it into the AI era with personalization, multi-channel amplification, and real-time optimization that simply wasn’t possible before.

If you think balancing your content calendar and your Monday meetings is too much, imagine if you also had to factor in superstition, literal witch trials, and being a magical mecca for millions.

Nonprofit organizations face limited staff and budgets, but they still need to personalize donor communications at scale, segment audiences based on giving behavior, maintain engagement between campaigns, and track the full donor journey from first contact to recurring supporter. Email marketing software addresses these challenges by automating donor segmentation, personalizing communications without manual effort, tracking engagement across the donor lifecycle, and centralizing donor data in one platform.