Growing Your Marketing Knowledge

The quote, "Change is the only constant in life," can be said not just for life but for the world of digital marketing as well. It seems like I spend a decent portion of my time reading industry news, articles, and blogs just to stay ahead of the curve in order to best serve our clients as well as ourselves. This means that I've read a LOT of blogs and articles over the years, and while there are plenty of resources out there to pull from, there are a few that I religiously read on a very frequent basis. I'm sharing them with you today and encourage you to not only read them but also to subscribe to them and read them daily.

Grow - Mark Schaefer - Mark has been a "staple" in my life professionally for a very long time. Mark has an incredible way of getting to the heart of the matter no matter the topic. Topics include latest trends, content creation, best business practices, and more. He also has posts from other esteemed professionals that cover different topics, and he has one of the most active comment sections of any site I know.

Social Media Examiner - Consider SME your social media Swiss Army Knife. There is an article and resource for almost any kind of situation you may encounter. They are the first to break with the latest updates to your favorite sites, and their reports and reviews are full of useful knowledge that you can put to work immediately.

CoSchedule - CoSchedule is actually a company that provides a robust blog management system and calendar for blogging teams, but their own blog is one of the best I've ever read and is chock full of "how–tos” that you can learn from. The amount of free content and tools offered by this company is pretty impressive, and having used their software in the past, I can tell you that it's an amazing must-have for multi-author blogs.

Jeff Bullas - From email marketing to growing your audience to keeping up with Google and all their changes, Jeff and his team of writers are tireless with the content they provide readers. His site is also one of the longest running of them all, so you'll never (ever!) run out of posts to read and learn from.

Duct Tape Marketing - This site is largely devoted to small businesses and entrepreneurs—those operating with very small teams or just one person who's juggling a lot of balls. Expect to find plenty of “how-tos” articles on personal branding and how to get the most out of social sites.

Convince and Convert - Jay Baer is a powerhouse in the world of digital marketing, so it's no doubt that his blog (and podcast) would be the same. Jay and his team strip away the confusion that can sometimes surround the complex world of social and digital marketing, and that means you're left with thorough and actionable items to improve your brand and knowledge.

Business 2 Community - Less of a blog and more of a clearing house for any article you can imagine, this site isn't limited to just digital marketing but also covers SEO, company best practices, sales and marketing, and more. It's a fabulous resource that I find myself visiting every day.

Spin Sucks - You'll find that the majority of the content here focuses on PR, but in this day and time, we're all doing PR for our companies, so it's one that needs to be in your daily mix. Gini and her team (as well as guest bloggers) attack the issues currently facing PR and marketing professionals and what it means to your business model. As an added bonus, every Saturday there's a roundup of the best viral videos of the week. It's my favorite way to start my weekend!

AdAge - It's not so much of a digital marketing site as it is an advertising site, but if you want to know the latest advertising trends and the hottest ads that are coming out, this is the place to go. They have the inside knowledge on what's the next big thing in visual ads (video), so if you're interested in knowing what's coming down the pike, this is the site for you.

These are only 8 samplings of places where you can continue growing your knowledge—every day, I come across even more brilliant minds and articles. What are your favorite go-to daily reads?