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.

Property management companies are tasked with marketing to multiple distinct audiences simultaneously. While prospective tenants need nurture campaigns showcasing available units, property owners expect market insights and portfolio performance updates — all requiring different messaging, timing, and tone. Email marketing tools for property management solve this multi-audience marketing challenge through advanced segmentation and automation that keep communications organized and effective. But how do you know which tool is the best for your unique business?

As an ecommerce business, you’re managing a catalog of products with constantly changing inventory, coordinating time-sensitive seasonal campaigns around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and competing for attention in crowded inboxes teeming with promotional emails. How do you win back shoppers who add items but never complete their purchase?

If you run or market a consulting firm, you already know email isn’t just a channel — it’s your relationship lifeline.

You might know him as the author of YA bestsellers like The Fault in Our Stars, but John Green's most recent book is a nonfiction defense of its own title: In Everything is Tuberculosis, he argues that tuberculosis has shaped everything around us.

Email marketing for restaurants can be challenging with all its unique responsibilities.

Email marketing for accounting firms comes with unique challenges. You're dealing with strict compliance requirements, seasonal workload swings during tax season, complex financial information that needs to be communicated clearly, and client relationships that can span decades.

Real estate professionals face unique challenges when it comes to staying top-of-mind with clients, nurturing leads through long sales cycles, and managing relationships with both buyers and sellers simultaneously.

The HVAC industry often means juggling emergency calls, seasonal demand spikes, and fierce local competition. When your schedule‘s packed during summer heatwaves and winter chills but crickets in spring, staying top-of-mind with customers is critical. That’s where email marketing for HVAC companies delivers.

Law firms face unique marketing challenges in 2025. Lawyers balance strict ethical guidelines with the need to maintain client relationships, generate referrals, and attract new business in an increasingly competitive market. Email marketing delivers an average return of $36 for every $1 spent, making it one of the most cost-effective channels for legal professionals.

Buyer personas are a foundational component of many brands’ marketing strategy. Personas often serve as a blueprint that guides marketing campaigns, customer journeys, and even product development.