Let me tell you the most challenging part of my job. Often, I will delete TikTok and Instagram from my phone because I can't help but waste time endlessly scrolling through these apps, watching dozens of short-form videos in one sitting.

Advertising is an ever-changing beast — with those on ad and marketing teams working hard to stay ahead of trends.

Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.

My first marketing job was as a contract writer for an agency on the opposite side of the world. This also happened to be my first “real” job and, consequently, my first experience of remote work.

Google Ads is the world’s largest PPC advertising platform. If used effectively, you can generate significant profit for companies. But wrapping your head around it can be hard.

Remember the story about Plato’s cave? Here’s a refresher. One group of people lives in a cave only sees shadows; the philosopher who escapes can see things for what they are.

When you create an email using a drag-and-drop or module-based tool, you’re actually generating an HTML email.

Keyword research has remained a constant in a rapidly changing search landscape. If you’re an inbound marketer looking to optimize your website, understanding how to do keyword research is a must.

You know the expression, “What you see is what you get”? Well, an email preview makes sure that’s the case when it comes to sending email marketing campaigns.

In my agency days, I once woke up at 5:00 am to meet a TV host at my client’s donut shop for a behind-the-scenes first look at their pumpkin-spiced lattes and donuts. (In Indiana, we love our donuts.)
The TV coverage was great, but you know what made an even bigger impact? The Instagram stories the media personality shared.

Writing a cover letter can be daunting.

Marketers, can we be honest with each other for a second? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you really understand the world of paid advertising? Are you confident you can launch and maintain a successful PPC strategy?

When there’s a significant shift in the business landscape or an important win, it’s important to spread the word. A memo is the best way to get the job done. Unlike an email, your memo will go out to your entire department or everyone at the company. No pressure. (Well, maybe some pressure…)

A great story or post benefits from great images — like charts, infographics, custom art, and more. I’ve had to look for designers and photographers to work for to add those elements to my writing. A great portfolio is essential to help me make the right choices of who to work with. 
Whether you're a UX designer, freelance writer, or photographer, an impressive online portfolio is critical for impressing potential clients and landing future jobs.  Once you’ve created your digital portfolio, you’ll need somewhere to host or showcase it — that’s where a portfolio website comes in.

Have you ever set up a form on your site, only to lose track of the information? Creating an HTML email form is an effective way to resolve this issue.

Developing a consistent brand starts with creating a brand style guide. These branding rule books help graphic designers, marketers, web developers, community managers, and even product packaging departments all stay on the same page, and present a unified vision of the brand to the public.

A while ago (as in 13 years ago) we created the first Website Grader. The goal was simple: help anyone with a website evaluate its effectiveness at attracting an audience of interested and relevant buyers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sent businesses scrambling to pause plans, edit emails, and cancel campaigns. And while everybody seems to know what not to publish these days, many marketers are asking: what should we put out into a world in the throes of a crisis?

Content creation isn't always as simple as we'd like it to be. It'd be great if marketers could just snap their fingers to launch a successful email campaign, YouTube series, or blog.

When I moved to Chicago two years ago, I knew very little about the city and my new neighborhood. As I got comfortable and established myself as a new Wrigleyville resident, I made a very important friend in Google.

Just like every building needs a foundation, every business needs brand architecture. It's the structure that allows you to organize your offerings, develop a brand identity, and gain brand equity.

This summer -- as countries reopened -- people who'd been stuck inside were finally breathing a cautious sigh of relief. At the same time, some company leaders were doing the opposite.

Running a website requires input and strategy from your whole business team (developers/engineers, marketers/UX, sales, etc.). Using Content Management Software (or CMS) helps you deliver a great product to your customers while granting easy code access for your developers/engineers.

At HubSpot, customer experience comes first. Always.

A conference website is a powerful way to generate buzz about your event, answer commonly asked questions, and boost ticket sales and attendance.

Search engine optimization (SEO) may seem like a straightforward concept.

What comes to mind when you think of SEO?

What will your marketing team look like six months from now? Or a year from now? How many people will you add? What new tools, systems, and data will you need?
There are a lot of potential questions you can ask about the future of your business, but there is one certainty: you'll deal with more data, more people, more processes, and more complex problems as you grow.

Content managers build a company’s content strategy, create targeted and relevant content, and distribute marketing communications to audiences online. They are organized, well-versed in fostering a brand voice, and often know their way around a blog post.

Creating social media strategies can be overwhelming, especially when you're just launching your brand or just building your online presence for the first time. So many channels, features, tools, and products available – but so little time to fit them all into your marketing strategy.

I’ve worked in the B2B SaaS affiliate marketing space for 1.5 years and here’s my take on it: Affiliate marketing is not for the weak.

The promise of inbound marketing is a lure that attracts businesses of all kinds, but many don’t understand the effort it takes to be successful.
After a few blog posts, many people flame out and grumble, “We tried content marketing, but it didn’t work for us.” As a content marketer, I see the same content marketing mistakes made across all platforms and industries. After reading, you’ll start noticing these mistakes, too.

I've never been more nervous about writing a job application email than when applying for my first marketing internship. I felt like everyone could tell I had no experience and was utterly desperate for that to change.