The six best marketing blogs you’ve never heard of

Nov 13 2009

The six best marketing blogs you’ve never heard of

blogging

I’m constantly looking for great new marketing ideas and I’ve found a couple of up-and-coming writers who have become some of my favorite sources. I wanted to share with you a few blogs that I’ve been reading for at least a few months, are off the beaten path, and deserve a look to see if they fit for you.

CK’s Blog – Christina Kerley is simply one of the best marketing bloggers out there and she specializes in B2B to boot. CK is a consistent source of fresh ideas and original perspectives. Her blogs are “how-to” manuals!

Digital Marketing Today — Nitin Gupta is just so freaking smart. He doesn’t blog often, but when he does, he provides thought-provoking, thorough commentary. Nitin recently converted his blog from observations on the financial services industry to digital marketing in general. Even when it was just about banking I liked it … now I love it.

Dumb Little Man — The world’s most useful blog. A team of writers contribute short, punchy articles on how to make life easier. Recent topics include “How to manage your time on social media,” “How to motivate your team” and “Six Tips to Re-Engerize in the Afternoon.” It’s not strictly about marketing, but it’s just so darn helpful.

Neicole Crepeau – Neicole is a tech-savvy writer and a great thinker. Her posts on Twitter and social media are consistently interesting and a couple of times each month she really smacks one out of the park with a post that is completely original and provocative. She is finding her blogging “voice” and is getting better and better each month.

One True Sentence — I don’t know how she does it, but Rebecca Denison puts out a summary of the best social media marketing, measurement and PR blog posts of the day … well most days at least! And she doesn’t just cover the same blogs all the time so it’s a great way to see a diverse digest of quality social media topics.

Phoenix Rising — Rebel Brown has been consulting on business transformations and start-ups in California for more than 20 years. Why wouldn’t you listen to her business advice? I like her posts because she draws on real-world experience, doesn’t pull any punches, and examines the human side of business. It’s a fun and ballsy blog.

So there are a few new idea-generators for you to consider. For good measure, of the “mainstream” blogs, here are the three I read most consistently:

Tough Sledding — Bill Sledzik teaches PR at Kent State University. His posts are like going to school. I love the way he explores current topics and inserts his own observations and experiences … just like an effective teacher. He hates to be called a marketing guy but I do it to piss him off. Bill, it’s ALL marketing.

Jeff Bullas — I don’t believe there is anybody who provides so much depth to the social media marketing conversation so consistently. I look forward to every post from Down Under. The man is very talented and insightful!

Social Media Explorer — For my money, Jason Falls is the best social media blogger in the business. He covers it all — technology, business applications, trends and opinion. He’s freaky smart, a superb writer and a fellow WVU grad. What’s not to like?

OK, I’ve shared with you … now it’s your turn. That’s how it works around here! So, what are you reading these days? How about sharing your favorite blogs with the rest of the community in the comment section!

Illustration: www.gapingvoid.com

Tags: blogging, social media

Filed in Blogging best practices, blogging | Mark

7 Comments

By Bill Sledzik, November 14, 2009 @ 9:07 am

Thanks for the shout out, Mark. It puts me in some good company — even if most of them are those “marketing” types :-)

On a serious note, though, I worry that too many of the marketers don’t really see the difference between PR and marketing. So, just to piss them off (Hey, you started it!), I offer this old post that explains my view.
http://tr.im/EWD1

Welcome back!
By Mark, November 14, 2009 @ 9:42 am

Thanks for adding this great post, Bill. Since I started in PR and was a PR major at WVU (and national PRSSA case study champion!) I have had a foot in both worlds.

You and I could have a fantastic discussion and debate about this! The key area where I disagree is your statement: “When the challenge is to sell something — a product, service or brand — PR’s gotta be on board.”

I contend, there is ALWAYS a challenge to sell something. Even supposedly altruistic endeavors like company foundations, or United Way campaigns, or settling community disputes are designed to burnish the reputation of a company (or hospital or college) with the ultimate aim of attracting more dollars (or patients or students).

The purpose of a company is to increase shareholder value and that means increasing profits. Every activity of the organization should be geared in some way to supporting that goal or it should cease.

And that’s why I say “it’s all marketing.” Whether you’re in PR or sales or HR or manufacturing, at the end of the day your activity ultimately supports one goal: selling more stuff to more people for more money. In other words, “GROW.”
By Bill Sledzik, November 14, 2009 @ 9:50 am

Indeed, we have much common ground leading toward a more integrated model, to be sure.

Now, as for the WVU thing, I’m wondering how much the Cincinnati Boosters Club paid the replay officials last night to reverse that call.

Them Mountaineers was robbed! There should be an investigation!
By Mark, November 14, 2009 @ 11:07 am

True. A crime in Cincy last night! : )
By CK, November 15, 2009 @ 7:57 pm

I’m not sure which was more of a Friday treat: being featured on your amazing blog or getting to talk with you over the phone (so we’ve done blogs, Twitter and the phone–in person must come next, deal?).

And I do want to say that I’m so glad you’ve pointed me to other blogs and good thinkers that I should be reading. It never ceases to amaze me how in the heck I ever got by before social media… but I do know that I was lacking in the amount of new ideas, viewpoints, methodologies and needed debates that could never be possible without these media (and of course these marketers). In fact, when people ask me “Can you imagine blogging the rest of your career?” I often answer “I can’t imagine I got this far without this real-time, timely and rich knowledge share.”

(Hopefully that encourages more to dive in instead of missing out).

PS: good luck on your very noteworthy and thrilling projects ;-)
By Nitin Gupta, November 23, 2009 @ 11:01 pm

Mark,

I feel honored to be in such great company: thanks for the shout out.

As you know, I have been away with the newborn and trying to keep my sanity with the 2AM diaper changes!

I will be back soon. Btw, I am betting my money on mobile as the next game changer. 2010 is when we will see a lot of innovation in the mobile channel. Thoughts?