At a conference in June, a Facebook VP said that in five years time the platform would be “all video.” That’s a bold statement, but it’s not unbelievable if you’ve scrolled through your News Feed lately.

And one of the biggest drivers behind the growing prevalence of video is Facebook Live, which only was introduced in April of this year, but has since become a major distribution channel for both publishers and brands. Mashable has promised to stream 35 hours of live video per month, and The New York Times is streaming four live broadcasts every day, according to Advertising Age. These in-the-moment, authentic videos are capturing the attention of Facebook users, and it’s time to take advantage of the feature for your own brand. 

Going live on Facebook isn’t complicated — the platform has made it so anyone can stream with their mobile device and access to the internet. But there are a few best practices for live streaming, promoting your event, and driving engagement that will ensure your broadcast impresses your audience and drives new fans to your brand. 

Learn how to start broadcasting with our new online guide — The Guide to Facebook Live. In this guide, you’ll get:

• Tips on setting up your next live stream
• Inspiration on the types of content to broadcast
• Strategies for driving viewers to your Live event

Click here to download your copy of The Guide to Facebook Live today.

Your agency cannot survive on referrals alone.

Don’t get me wrong — referrals are great (really great), but your agency’s new business program needs to span a more diverse range of new lead sources in case your referral pipeline ever hits a dry spell.

According to The Agency Pricing & Financials Report conducted by HubSpot Research, a whopping 90% of agencies cite referrals as their top source for new leads.

Data from The Agency Pricing & Financials Report

But while it’s clear referrals represent a big portion of agency new business, it’s not necessarily a safe bet to rely on referrals as the default new business option.

Lee McKnight, vice president of sales at RSW/US, warns that referrals aren’t always as scalable, reliable, or targeted as other new lead sources, and agencies that ignore other inbound and outbound sources do so at their own peril.

“There’s a reason insurance exists,” McKnight writes in The Agency Pricing & Financials Report. “If you’re crushing it on the referral front, look at the outbound/inbound component as your insurance policy; it’s not the easiest part, but it’s absolutely necessary to your success.”

To help your agency start exploring new lead sources, we’ve examined a few underutilized new business channels and explained how agencies can better use them to their advantage. Read on to learn how your agency can start tapping these new lead sources and building up a more sustainable new business program.

6 New Lead Sources Your Agency Should Tap

1) Blogging

“Oh great — Another article with blogging as a marketing tip.”

Look, I hear you. Marketers love to talk about blogging, and it often gets thrown around as a default inbound marketing strategy. But with only 12% of agencies reporting blogging as a top lead source, it seems like agencies still aren’t fully taking advantage of this powerful channel for new business. 

The reason blogging doesn’t work is usually a bandwidth issue, not a talent gap. And we get it: You’re busy, your client work comes first, and everyone on your team is already juggling roughly 10,000 responsibilities on a daily basis.

But many agencies fail to see results from blogging simply because they don’t devote the time and patience to cultivating a meaningful blog presence. They just whip up a few generic posts every now and then, post them to social media, and then decide it isn’t worthwhile. 

If your agency wants to start seriously using blogging as a new business channel, it can’t be seen as a sometimes project. It needs to be a core part of your marketing strategy.

Even if you don’t have a dedicated new business employee, designate a member of your team to manage the blog and produce content that target’s your agency’s desired niche (click here for a free guide on creating an ideal client profile).

Blogging doesn’t have to be their core responsibility (and others can and should help out), but there needs to be someone held accountable for your blog’s performance. Otherwise, you can’t reasonably expect buy-in from the rest of your team.

2) Guest Blogging

Agencies put guest blogging at the very bottom of their priority list, with just 1% of agencies surveyed reporting the tactic as a valuable new business source. But this overlooked marketing strategy can actually be a great way to build authority, get important eyes on your content, and start generating some targeted buzz for your agency.

Start by finding industry publications and media outlets that share the kind of content your ideal prospects are interested in. You want to target the websites where your prospects are most likely to come across your content.

Next, sit down and develop a list of topics you think would bring value to your prospects. Examine the previously published content on the publications you plan to submit to, and try to locate content gaps: topics that haven’t been covered yet, or new angles on topics that you can offer a fresh perspective on.

Once you know what you want to write about, read up on how to pitch your story idea to the editors. Make sure you read up on your desired publication’s guidelines and rules. You can find HubSpot’s agency content submission guidelines here.

3) Webinars

Webinars are an opportunity to offer potential prospects a glimpse at your expertise, and help them get an idea of what you can bring to the table. Only 2% of agencies currently say that webinars serve as a valuable new lead source, but when done right, this tactic can be a powerful component of your lead generation program.

Many agencies balk at the idea of putting on a webinar at first. And while it can seem like a massive undertaking with an uncertain chance of return, hosting a webinar doesn’t have to be complicated or overly time-consuming. In fact, with the right tools, it can be an easy way to start building an online reputation and cultivating meaningful relationships in your industry.

Services like GoToWebinar and WebEx make it simple to plan, broadcast, and record webinars. And if your agency doesn’t currently have the budget for a paid service, consider recording your webinar with Google Hangouts or another free service like Join.me.

4) Paid Online Marketing

Adding a budget for paid or sponsored media to your new business development plan can give your content a much-needed boost with some targeted amplification. Most agencies ignore paid marketing altogether, with only 7% reporting it as a valuable lead generation channel.

But if your agency has gone through the time and effort to produce valuable content offers, introducing paid content can dramatically increase your impressions and ensure your content gets noticed by the right people.

Figure out where your potential clients are most likely to spot you on the web, and devote your funds to these channels. To promote your agency on social media, consider LinkedIn Sponsored Updates, Promoted Tweets on Twitter, and Facebook Ads.

5) Public Relations and Earned Media

It’s pretty simple: If you don’t pitch stories, they won’t get covered.  Only 7% of agencies report public relations as a top lead source. To make earned media part of your agency’s new business plan, you’ll need to focus on finding the right journalists to cover your story.

So how do you craft the perfect pitch? It’s all about targeting the right publications with the right stories, and differentiating yourself. Journalists see 26,000 pitches a year, so it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. But don’t fret — despite what you might think, journalists actually want to find a great story in their inbox. They don’t enjoy sifting through a mass of irrelevant pitches. 

Targeting is key. Don’t pitch anything you think is a stretch. Set up news alerts for topics in your industry and use them to find journalists who are already writing the kind of stories you want to share. If you aren’t sure how to write a stellar pitch, click here for a few free email pitch templates tailored to agencies.

6) Networking Events and Conferences

Old school face-to-face networking isn’t dead yet. In fact, 37% of agencies reported that networking at events and conferences brings in new leads. But that means the majority of agencies still aren’t fully taking advantage of networking and the new business potential it can bring in.

I’ll be the first to tell you that networking in person can be hard, and it doesn’t always come naturally to everyone. But that doesn’t mean your agency can afford to shy away from the conference and event scene altogether.

You shouldn’t feel foolish if you need to brush up on some networking skills and ice breakers. With INBOUND 2016 right around the corner, you can bet that all of us here at HubSpot have been practicing our small talk skills. Unsure where to begin? Try browsing this list of 100 conversation starters for virtually any situation.

What under-utilized lead sources is your agency planning on trying out?

According to a recent U.K. survey, bloggers have ranked as the third most trustworthy source of information, following only friends and family. That’s right — bloggers are trusted more than celebrities, journalists, brands, and politicians.

But how do you get people to fall in love with your blog in the first place? (Aside from remarkable content, of course.)

Well, just as your website homepage is like the front door to your business, your blog’s design — much like a welcome mat — is the front door to your business blog.

If you’re not attracting people visually, how will you get them to take the next steps to actually read (and, hopefully, subscribe to) your content? Once you’re done creating the quality content, you still have the challenge of presenting it that clearly dictates what your blog is about. Images, text, and links need to be shown off just right — otherwise, readers might abandon your content, if it’s not aesthetically showcased in a way that’s both appealing and easy to follow.

That’s why we’ve compiled some examples of blog homepages to get you on the right track to designing the perfect blog for your readers. Check ’em out.

16 Inspiring Examples of Beautiful Blog Homepage Design

1) Help Scout

Sometimes, the best blog designs are also the simplest. Help Scout, makers of customer service software, uses a unique but minimalist design on its blog that we love — it limits the use of copy and visuals and embraces negative space.

What we particularly like about this blog is its use of featured images for all posts, including a banner one at the top that highlights a recent or particularly popular entry. These icons are set in front of bright, block colors that catch the readers’ eye and signal what the post is about. And it works — everything about this blog’s design says “clean” and “readable.”

2) Microsoft Stories

Full disclosure: We’ve totally gushed over Microsoft’s “Stories” microsite before. We can’t help it — what better way to revitalize an old-school brand than with a blog that boasts beautiful, interactive, and inspiring branded content? Plus, the square layout of these stories is reminiscent of the Microsoft logo, which achieves a valuable brand consistency.

Microsoft Stories is also a prime example of how a business blog can be a major asset for an overall rebrand. In recent years, Microsoft has worked to humanize its brand, largely in response to a rivalry with Apple. The “Stories” microsite has a simple tagline — “Get an inside look at the people, places and ideas that move us.” It’s the softer side of Microsoft, so to speak. 

When you’re trying to convey a certain brand message, your blog can be used to communicate it — both aesthetically, and content-wise.

3) Pando

An important aspect of a well-designed blog is a consistent color scheme and style — after all, 80% of consumers say that color boosts their recognition of a brand.

It’s interesting to see how color consistency can unify the more diversified elements of design. Pando, a blog that explores the startup cycle, incorporates blue tones in several sections of its site — the background, highlight bars, and certain areas of text. But it also uses several different fonts — all of which manage to look seamless together, when tied together by a cohesive color scheme.

4) Design Milk

Design Milk, an online contemporary design outlet, uses a very simple layout to highlight its posts. The sidebar to the right — which remains visible when a blog post is opened to read — is perfect for showcasing thumbnail images for new articles. That’s an internal link strategy, which helps to encourage readers to remain on the site longer.

The social icons at the top are a pleasant addition to the overall look and feel of the site — they’re easy to spot, and make it easy to share Design Milk’s content. (And to learn more about adding social buttons to your blog, check out this post.)

5) Fubiz

Fubiz, an art and design blog, is an example of a really sleek design that also includes some cool personalization.

Near the top of the blog’s homepage, readers can side-scroll through “highlighted” posts. Below that is the Creativity Finder, where visitors can select their chosen personas — from “Art Lover” to “Freelance” — location, and the type of content they’re looking for. From there, readers can browse content specifically catered to them. 

We can’t help but love the header image, too. It uses something called “blue mind” psychology, which has found that the sight of open water can naturally draw us in. By using it in a design scheme, Fubiz is able to visually attract visitors to its content.

6) Webdesigner Depot

With a name like “Webdesigner Depot,” it’s no wonder that this design news site is visually appealing.

One thing that we particularly like is the way Webdesigner Depot has incorporated social sharing icons on each individual post. While we of course suggest actually reading each piece, having those links readily available helps visitors immediately share a headline they find interesting. And check out those navigation arrows on the right — never before has it been so easy to scroll to the top or bottom of a page.

What’s more, the color scheme, background, and fonts are all consistent — which keeps this blog looking professional, but still distinct from the basic blog templates we might be used to seeing.

7) Mashable

I mean, just look at that header image. The bold colors, the wiring overlay, the gripping pupil and the contrasting text. It absolutely catches the reader’s eye — no pun intended.

Mashable breaks its content into three noticeable sections on the homepage: New posts are listed on the left in the smallest sized thumbnails. “What’s Rising” posts are displayed in the center column as large thumbnails, and the “What’s Hot” posts are shown to the right, also as large thumbnails. This three-pronged approach to displaying content can help readers decide which kind of news matters to them the most — the attention-grabbing top story, or other posts that are currently trending.

Plus, we like that the number of shares is displayed in each post preview — that’s a great form of social proof.

8) Brit + Co

Everything about the Brit + Co homepage says “clean,” “warm,” and “welcoming.” It’s free of clutter, making the content more digestible, and the layout is extremely organized.

We dig the seasonality of the site, too. I mean, avocado jack-o’-lanterns on the dawn of October? Adorable, and replete with a colorful, fun photo to illustrate the story’s content.

The subtle “trending” header also serves as a nice way to promote popular content, without being too in-you-face about it. Plus, with such great visuals, we took note of the nod to Pinterest — that icon is important to include when your blog incorporates attractive imagery.

9) Tesco Living

We love the colorful, consistent design of Tesco Living, the blog site of British grocery chain Tesco. 

Remember how we keep harping away at brand consistency? Check out the rhombus-like designs in the top banner — that reflects the same ones that appear in Tesco’s logo.

What Tesco Living has achieved is a great balance of simplicity and boldness. The layout is extremely minimal, but it isn’t dull. Warm and welcoming shades underscore each content category, and the photos add dashes of colors throughout the site. It’s a great example of how the right imagery can achieve an appealing “less-is-more” appearance, especially if that fits in with your overall brand concept.

10) Crew

Crew Backstage, the blog of the Crew platform for designers and developers, has a fabulously minimalist blog design, but quiet a unique one.

Notice that, above the fold, it features one blog post with a large title, subtitle, and call-to-action to read more.

To the left, there’s an equally minimalist call-to-action that makes it easy for readers to connect with Crew, or learn more. Plus, there’s that consistency again — everything above the fold is the same shade of blue, which has been shown to invoke brand trust.

11) Innocent Drinks

Not only are the folks at Innocent Drinks great copywriters, but the design of its blog is also a great reminder that blog designs don’t have to get super fancy.

Notice how the logo — displayed in the upper left — is simple, cartoonish, and almost delightfully child-like. It works for Innocent Drinks (hint: childhood innocence), and that brand presence is maintained throughout the company’s blog.

The colorful fonts, for example, match the logo and stay in line with the brand’s casual, playful voice. We also like the easily-navigable archive links on the left, which are complemented by the geometric social sharing buttons on the right.

12) 500px

Much like Crew, the photography blog, 500px, leads with one featured article and a big, bold, high-definition photo to draw the reader in. That makes is pretty clear what the blog is about — it boasts valuable content on photography with gripping photography.

Plus, how cool is it that the social links are right there, obviously displayed above the fold? They keep readers engaged with the content, and make it easy to share the photography — and, content with images is up to three times as likely to be shared on social media.

13) BarkPost

It’s no secret that we kind of like dogs here at HubSpot. So when a blog dedicated to life as a dog owner came across our radar, it got our attention.

BarkPost, the blog of canine subscription box company BarkBox, is a great example of design for a number of reasons. First, look how easy it is to subscribe — the call to action is right there, above the featured content. The social share icons are easily noticeable, too — and, of course, all in the brand-matching, trustworthy blue.

We also like that BarkPost draws attention to its sister companies, all of which are owned under the Bark & Co portfolio of brands. But at the same time, the blog doesn’t hock its own products — rather, it serves as an informational resource to dog parents and lovers alike.

14) Goodwill Industries International

Who says nonprofit organizations can’t blog? Nay, they should — and Goodwill’s clean, colorful navigation (again — the trustworthy blue) draw the reader to the important elements of this blog.

The posts are also neatly positioned and easily accessible to readers. And, visitors can pick the type of information that matters to them the most by choosing a topic from the drop-down menu on the top right.

Finally, we love that there’s a collaborative call to action in the introductory text that invites readers to contribute content to the Goodwill blog. After all, the organizations services have reached 37 million people — here’s a way for them to share their stories, or invite donors to write about why they chose to support Goodwill.

15) charity: water

Keeping the nonprofit blogging train going is charity: water, which makes excellent use of high-quality photography.

Recently, the organization redesigned its blog with a lengthy post dedicated to its 10-year anniversary. Using that opportunity to share its impact over the past decade, chartiy: water maintained a simplistic design with concise text and bright images from the anniversary event.

Plus, there’s a clear CTA to donate at the top of the page. Placing that above a story about charity: water’s impact is a double-edged sword, by both inspiring people to contribute to the cause while making it easy to do so.

16) Johnny Cupcakes

To clear up any confusion, Johnny Cupcakes doesn’t actually make cupcakes. It makes clothing. But the company has done a great job of playing up its brand’s association with baked goods — its blog uses the subdomain “kitchen.”

Plus, the folks at Johnny Cupcakes know a thing or two about brand consistency across channels. Its blog’s simple color scheme and matching fonts help to create a unified user experience from the shop to general content, all the while throwing in bold, colorful images to catch readers’ attention.

Also, visit the website and have a scroll — we think it’s pretty cool how the background images vary, but stay positionally static for each entry.

Which other blogs have excellent homepage designs? Share more inspiration with us in the comments.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in February 2013 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

The last constructive criticism I received was from my cat. After presenting her with the organic, gluten-free food that I’d spent arguably too much money on, she refused to eat it. 

Can you believe that? Does she even care that I consulted blogs and veterinarians about the best diet to put her on? Unfortunately, we’re not great at communicating feedback to each other because we’re of different species.

Luckily, that’s not the case when giving feedback in the workplace. It’s easy to communicate criticism, but it’s not always easy to do it effectively. This can especially be the case when providing peer feedback, which is a trend that’s growing in different workplaces.

Part of assembling a great team means providing helpful feedback so they can grow, and peer-to-peer discussions of strengths and weaknesses is a way to round out the top-down feedback employees receive from their supervisors and glean a fuller picture of how they can improve. In this post, we’ll discuss why peer feedback matters and how to deliver it effectively.

Why Feedback Is Important

Feedback is an important and necessary part of anyone’s career path, whether you’re in your first job out of college or have been a CEO for many years. Feedback from managers, peers, and reports is critical to identifying performance strengths and weaknesses. It provides employees opportunities for growth and education in their roles. What’s more, it often results in improved communication and better understanding of expectations between employees.

You might think that employees dread giving or receiving feedback, especially if it’s negative, but that’s actually not the case. There are some surprising statistics about the importance of feedback to employees who receive it, especially if it’s negative:

Zenger/Folkman surveyed nearly 1,000 employees, and 72% thought their performance would improve with the help of feedback. Additionally, 57% preferred corrective feedback over praise, and 92% of those surveyed agreed with the statement that negative feedback, when delivered correctly, is an effective way to improve performance.

It’s clear that negative feedback is not only desired by employees, but it’s beneficial. So, now the question is how to deliver constructive feedback correctly so employees aren’t demotivated and discouraged by it. One answer to this question is the peer review, or the 360 review.

Peer reviews are designed to provide a broader picture of employees and how they work with others, not just their supervisors. They’re not intended to replace or contribute to regular performance reviews or salary negotiations.

Instead, they’re designed to help employees set goals related to interpersonal and professional skills in the workplace based on feedback managers and peers provide. The goal of peer review is to provide a clear picture of a team’s performance from the inside, out, and to create a team culture and spirit of positive reinforcement as well as constructive feedback from those who know the employee best.

To shed some light on ways to give feedback to your peers that’s helpful, actionable, and not uncomfortable, I’ve rounded up suggestions from my own peers and trusted leadership sources to get you started.

8 Tips for Giving Great Peer Feedback

1) Assume good intent.

This is good advice for anyone on the receiving end of constructive feedback, but it goes for those giving peer feedback as well. As uncomfortable as you might feel providing feedback to your peers, they want to hear from you: 76% of employees surveyed were motivated by positive feedback from their peers.

I asked my colleague, HubSpot Marketing Director Rebecca Corliss, what advice she gives for providing great peer feedback.

“For those who feel uncomfortable giving feedback, I hear you. Especially if you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings, it can be really difficult.” Corliss suggests that peer reviewers and feedback recipients view the comments as a gift. “If your feedback is shared constructively and with genuine care for the other person, you’re doing it right.”

HubSpot Sales Blog Editor Leslie Ye echoed this sentiment. “Your peers are there to help you improve, not cut you down or make you feel bad,” Ye says. “Their feedback isn’t a reflection on your worth as a person. Remind yourself of this to make feedback feel less personal.”   

2) Review regularly.

If peer reviews are incorporated regularly over the course of a working relationship, they won’t be viewed as a sporadic and dreaded event only followed by an employee’s mistake. Instead, peer reviews will be part of an ongoing two-way discussion that allows for honest and open communication and faster problem-solving.

I have a weekly check-in where I receive feedback from my manager, and I receive peer feedback each time I submit a blog post to HubSpot Marketing Blog Editor Carly Stec for her review. Communicating regularly about my progress and growth makes it feel less like a review that I dread and more like an ongoing conversation that I look forward to as a way to improve my work.

Stec suggests, “make giving and receiving peer feedback a consistent habit, and it’ll start to feel less intimidating.”

3) Come prepared.

Fractl surveyed 1,100 employees about how they felt about difficult conversations in the workplace, and they found that respondents were more likely to be somewhat or completely satisfied by feedback conversations with a direct report than with a superior. The promising result? Nearly 50% of respondents were somewhat or completely satisfied with difficult discussions with peers.

How do you ensure that feedback conversations between peers are productive and leave all parties satisfied? Come to feedback meetings prepared. A whopping 85% of the survey respondents said they prepared for difficult conversations in advance, and that’s smart advice for any feedback meeting, no matter how casual.

When preparing for a feedback meeting with a peer, have the following questions in mind to ensure that the time is well-spent:

1. What are your goals? What are you both seeking to get out of this meeting?
2. How can you both work together to achieve them? How can you help your peer grow and improve?

4) Learn the other person’s style.

As you may already know from previous career experience, feedback can sometimes rub you the wrong way. It might be the content of the feedback, or you might be taking criticism personally, but it could also be because you and your colleague delivering feedback have different communication styles.

Stec suggests that peer reviewers “take time to learn how the person you’re working with prefers to receive feedback — and package your notes accordingly.”

Ye encourages expectation-setting prior to giving feedback so colleagues know what to expect from you early on. “I’m a very direct person and my feedback is the same way. I know that my feedback can come off as blunt or abrupt, so I set the expectation early on that that’s my style, so people receiving feedback aren’t taken aback.”

The easiest way to learn your colleague’s style is to ask: Do they prefer in-person discussions, or emails? Do they want big-picture feedback, or do they want to dive into making changes? Consider asking colleagues about personality assessments, such as the DiSC test, that might provide you with greater insight into how you colleagues communicate and work best.

5) Get to the point.

We’ve written before about the importance of not giving feedback in the form of a “sandwich,” wherein constructive feedback is preceded and followed by positive feedback to lessen the sting of criticism. It can often make your peers feel patronized and condescended to, so skip the sandwich.

Instead, try a feedback flatbread (bear with me here, I’m hungry). Instead of prefacing constructive criticism with praise, dive into the feedback head-on, and follow it up with discussing how their strengths can be used to solve the problem.

In another study, Zenger/Folkman surveyed nearly 4,000 employees who’d received negative feedback asking them if they were surprised by the criticism they’d received, and 74% had already known and weren’t surprised by the feedback. So when you’re preparing to meet with a peer about ways they can improve their work, it’s safe to assume they know themselves fairly well. Address areas of growth and ways they can use their strengths to improve, rather than following a compliment-critique-compliment sandwich recipe.

Ye notes that the compliment sandwich can “obscure the true feedback and often lead to more rounds of back-and-forth,” but she echoes the need to interweave positive comments into peer feedback discussions. “It’s discouraging to not receive any positive feedback, and it’s a missed opportunity to call out and reinforce good habits.”

6) Encourage a growth mindset.

Are you familiar with the fixed mindset and how it compares to the growth mindset? For a quick overview, these concepts were coined by psychologist Carol Dweck in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success:

In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail—or if you’re not the best—it’s all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome. They’re tackling problems, charting new courses, working on important issues.”

When providing peer feedback, phrase your comments and challenge your colleague to think in terms of a growth mindset. Instead of focusing on individual tasks your coworker didn’t accomplish, give them feedback about how the skills they’re learning to tackle contribute to the bigger picture of their professional success.

Praising or criticizing peers by telling them what they are — right or wrong, good or bad — can inspire a fear of failure and making mistakes that stagnates learning. Corliss says it best: “Most folks see feedback as a time to sit down and tell people what they’re doing wrong or what they need to do better. While that can be true, I think there’s a better way to view feedback: offering people a reflection of themselves that they may not be able to see.”

Producing successful work is important, but as a peer, it’s important for you to provide feedback that gives your colleagues a fuller picture of their progress and growth that empowers them to experiment and learn new ways to define “successful.”

7) Use the passive voice.

I know, you probably read the title of this section and wondered, “wait, doesn’t this advice go against a cardinal rule of writing?” Before you write me off, hear me out: The passive voice is integral to giving productive peer feedback that’s helpful without being personal. It allows your feedback to focus on the problem, not the individual who you’re critiquing.

Compare these two styles of feedback on the same hypothetical article:

1. “You didn’t support the claims you made in the article.”
2. “This article would be stronger with most research to back its claims.”

See the difference? While the two critiques are communicating the same thing —  the article needs more support for its claims — the second is a more productive way to provide feedback to a peer. Focusing feedback around the subject instead of the individual makes it less likely that your peer will become defensive of themselves and will lead to an altogether more productive conversation.

Remember, 57% of Zenger/Folkman’s respondents said they preferred corrective feedback. Your peers and colleagues want to know how to improve, and if it’s your job to help them in that process, you owe it to yourself and your coworkers to have the most productive conversation possible.

8) Embrace technology.

It’s 2016, and it’s time for peer feedback to get with the program. As we mentioned earlier, it’s courteous to learn how your peers like to receive feedback to tailor an approach that works for their learning style, and that can include technology.

Experiment with different ways to deliver constructive criticism electronically, such as via email, Google Drive comments, Slack, or Evernote. One benefit to communicating peer feedback electronically is that it can be documented and saved for future reference.

On the other side of the coin, there are many ways to electronically harness positive peer feedback as well. Here on the HubSpot Marketing team, we use TinyPulse to gauge employee engagement and happiness, but also to give “cheers” to our peers for great work that their supervisors might not have noticed. YouEarnedIt lets employees provide similar real-time praise.

Your peers want to succeed in their roles, and feedback from managers and peers is integral to making that happen. The next time you sit down for a feedback conversation with a peer, ask yourself if you’re doing the best you can to make your criticism fair, actionable, and empowering.

What’s your favorite way to receive feedback from a peer? What’s your advice for giving constructive criticism to your coworkers? Share with us in the comments below.

You’ve done it. You provided valuable content to your readers and they’ve converted into leads. Now, it’s time to nurture these leads into opportunities for your sales team.

Trouble is, cutting through the inbox clutter isn’t an easy feat. And many of these folks just aren’t ready to buy yet.

That’s where lead nurturing comes in: It’s a way to stay connected to the leads you collect that aren’t ready to buy from you yet, and build up trust until they are ready.

If you want to learn more about lead nurturing in general, you can check out this guide. But for the sake of this post, we’re going to dive deep into one of the best channels for carrying out your lead nurturing efforts: email.

To help you better understand how to pair the two concepts, check out the lead nurturing email examples below. From ecommerce to product marketing, there’s something for everyone — no matter what industry you operate in. (And If you haven’t already, check out Leadin: A free tool by HubSpot that helps you generate more leads and learn more about them.)

Check out these industries:

Ecommerce | B2B | Retail | Travel | Food & Beverage | Services | Product Marketing

19 Lead Nurturing Email Examples to Inspire Your Strategy

Ecommerce

1) Framebridge

Not all lead nurturing emails need to be strictly promotional. Engagement will lead to sales, so it’s important to send recipients something they’ll want to open and read. Framebridge does something in their nurturing emails that works like a charm: education. By teaching the reader a helpful skill, they are providing value in exchange for an ask from their recipient (reading the guide).

It’s also worth mentioning that they only use one clear call-to-action — “Educate Me.” According to WordStream, simply using one call-to-action (CTA) in an email increases clicks by 371% and sales by 1617%.

2) Casper

Your product is only as good as its reviews: eConsultancy reports that 61% of customers will read a review or testimonial online before purchasing. In this traditional abandoned cart email, Casper adds a bit of social proof with a fun customer testimonial.

Casper’s abandoned cart email is clever and to-the-point. It asks the reader if they’d like to revisit a cart they have added to, shows what they were shopping for, and includes two simple CTAs.

3) Sephora

For visual products, video is a great method of communicating or explaining. A study by Tubular Insights reports that 96% of B2B organizations use video in some capacity in their marketing campaigns, of which 73% report positive results to their ROI.

Sephora includes a fun video from an employee with educational content as well as product offerings. They do have a lot of calls-to-action, however, the main focus is to watch the tutorial which is helpful to the reader. A visual email for a visual brand, it grabs your attention and shows off the products in a unique and interesting way.

B2B

4) Litmus

Triggered email messages yield 67.9% higher open rate and 241.3% higher click rates than standard email messages, according to Epsilon. In other words, when you use a person’s behavior — let’s say that downloaded content about email workflows — to trigger a relevant email based on that action, it will perform well.

Here’s a great example from Litmus that demonstrates how to use clever, clear copy to provide recipients with a relevant email that adds provides even more value.

Retail

5) Uncommon Goods

Uncommon Goods shows their products in context and creates a Pinterest-inspired section for each different aesthetic. Each collection has a featured CTA and the email feels more like a curated pinboard than a sales email.

Not to mention, this email is also very mobile-friendly, which can play a big part in the success of an ecommerce lead nurturing email: 56% of email is opened on mobile devices, according to Litmus.

6) Chubbies

Chubbies is well known for their cheeky marketing and their emails do not disappoint. With 1.4 million Facebook Likes, they put the social, fun aspect of content first. Their email newsletter serves as a hub for user-generated content, promotions, and all-around humor.

Part information, part fun, this email encourages its reader to enjoy reading it even if they aren’t planning to buy anything in that moment. The copy relates to its audience, the visuals are on-brand, and they offer multiple CTAs (purchase clothing & follow on Snapchat).

Travel

7) JetBlue

JetBlue has some of the best email copy around. Not only is this email funny, helpful, and full of great puns, but it also reflects JetBlue’s commitment to engaging and retaining customers through email.

Aware that the funnel isn’t always visitor > lead > customer, one of JetBlue’s email objectives is to convert current or past customers into TrueBlue members, as demonstrated below.

(Want to learn how long your emails should be? Check out this helpful blog post that takes audience and message into consideration.)

8) Airbnb

Airbnb’s emails have one goal in mind: give their readers wanderlust.

This email has a clear CTA, highlights beautiful travel destinations, and doesn’t ask too much of the recipient. Not to mention, the one year anniversary is also a good opportunity to reach out to their subscribers without seeming pushy. It feels personal and curated. (Take me to Paris, please!)

Services

9) Handy

The combination of clear buttons, information about the service, and a nice photo make this email from Handy feel uncluttered and effective. More specifically, the photo of smiling customers is a smart move for two reasons:

1. It helps to draw attention to the effect their product has on those who buy it: happiness.
2. Human photos saw 95% higher conversion than object photos, according to VWO.

10) Freelancer

I’m a sucker for a good illustration and Freelancer’s caught my attention immediately. They prove the value of the service through a drawing, then provide a clear ask in the CTA: “Get Started Today.”

Eye-tracking studies have shown that readers spend more time looking through images than reading text when they are relevant to the copy. So if you can align images in your email while educating your readers, the message will stick with them for longer and have a higher impact.

11) Skillshare

At the top of this email, Skillshare includes a nice reminder to its recipients that their trial is about to expire — a smart move that’ll hopefully result in a renewal or purchase.

The reminder is accompanied by some unobtrusive, helpful CTAs for various educational classes. Notice how the simple, stylish boxes stand out as an alternative to a traditional button.

Food & Beverage

12) Thrive

When a person hears something, they’ll remember 10% of that content three days later. However, when it’s paired with a relevant image, they will remember 65% of the information three days later. This concept is referred to as the picture superiority effect.

Thrive takes advantage of this theory through their use of product images. They highlight their products in an attractive way, include a good amount of content, and encourage the reader to start shopping.

13) Dunkin Donuts

Dunkin Donuts used an announcement for a new item as a way to reach out to its audience. This simple email asks its readers to find the location nearest them, showcases the new drink, and has a secondary CTA to add them on Snapchat. (Speaking of which, check out this guide to Snapchat for business.)

Product Marketing

14) InVision App

Newsjacking is defined by HubSpot as “the practice of capitalizing on the popularity of a news story to amplify your sales and marketing success.” By mentioning a current, trending topic into your marketing, you can bring in a new audience and engage with your current users. (You can learn how to incorporate newsjacking into your marketing strategy here.)

InVision monopolized on the “Stranger Things” trend by highlighting its typography in this email and relating it back to the design industry. They also used it as an excuse to teach their newsletter recipients through workshops and trainings.

15) Zapier

According to DemandGen, leads that are nurtured with personalized content convert into sales at 20% higher than those who aren’t.

This email is from the CEO of Zapier asking how he can help them get setup proves that they’ve got a handle on the whole personalization thing. This user is being targeted with a name personalization token as well as a trigger indicating that they are yet to setup the product.

For technical products, friendly, helpful emails based on activity can perform extremely well. Notice how they even include a link to their help documentation for added value and clarity.

16) Sprout Social

Sprout Social uses a new feature as a reason to reach out to leads. They teach the audience about this new feature, let them know that their trial is expiring, and provide helpful feature descriptions to inform their decision.

The Kapost blog tells us that 60% of people are motivated to learn more about a product after reading about it. By giving your readers a taste of your new products and services, they will be inspired to learn more, so be sure to also include relevant links and information for them to continue their research.

17) Typeform

Writing email copy is difficult. It’s important to be friendly, helpful, and straightforward.

That’s why Typeform really hit the nail on the head with this email. In the example below, you’ll see that they’re not only being relatable and honest, but they are also strategically taking advantage of their user’s inactive status to position the outreach. And the challenge to look at their leaderboard is a nice secondary CTA that doesn’t ask too much.

18) Square

Holiday marketing is a common type of lead nurturing. Both B2B and B2C companies take full advantages of running holiday-themed campaigns throughout the year.

Square leverages the Valentine’s Day holiday to encourage its recipients to take action with their own customers. They provide a helpful and powerful statistic to prove value, and keep it short and sweet.

19) Duolingo

Duolingo taps into their users’ affinity for learning by asking them to nominate a favorite teacher for a contest. This is a great way of engaging with your audience while providing a helpful and fun reason to click.

They also make use of two different types of testimonials. They tell the reader to join “350,000 teachers” as well as including two quotes from teachers using the product. What a great use of social proof.

Now that you’ve been inspired by these great brands and products, learn how to write email copy like a pro and create compelling images.

Have any favorite lead nurturing images? Mention them in the comments below.

No matter what industry you work in, the world of marketing has gotten faster, sleeker, and all-around more efficient. Schools in particular are moving away from slow, traditional marketing tactics, and toward nimble, online strategies. So how do you get started?

Our newest ebook, Building an Efficient Education Marketing Machine covers what schools need to know about increasing ROI in the digital age. Take a look at the intro below, and feel free to snag your own copy for free to read it in full! 

“As marketing gets more digital, it’s getting more efficient. Businesses now expect

to quantify their marketing ROI. Education marketing shouldn’t be any different.

The explosion of digital

marketing
brings unlimited channels and methods to

reach your ideal students, and unlimited data points for you to analyze. That

means more opportunity to spend money that may or may not provide a return.

Understanding where and how your marketing efforts provide valuable return to

your institution is the golden goose of digital marketing. Those who best keep

up with its methods to better understand their markets will achieve the highest

ROI. In this book, we’ll take you though some of the most cost-effective (as well

as some of the least) digital marketing strategies for student acquisition.

Inbound marketing is an opportunity for schools to have true ownership of their marketing efforts by becoming their own publisher. No more having to rely entirely on gaining access to someone else’s audience. With inbound, you build your own audience who meets you in your own space. It’s the difference between owning and renting, between an ongoing investment in an appreciating asset or ongoing cost for a temporary result.”

Want to read-on? Download the full ebook for free here >> Building an Efficient Education Marketing Machine!

What do Anna Kendrick, Serena Williams, and Dharmesh Shah all have in common?

Aside from the fact that you can hear from all three at INBOUND 2016, each of these people has a verified account on Twitter. You know, the little blue checkmark? That blue “verified” badge indicates to Twitter users that the individual or organization is authentic and that their content is of wide public interest.

Up until recently, Twitter handed out verified checkmarks to the accounts of prominent athletes, actors, businesspeople, musicians, politicians, authors, journalists, and academics. However, as of July, Twitter has opened up an application process so anyone on Twitter can apply to become verified.

What’s in it for you? Well, verifying your Twitter account could result in greater success on the platform, as it offers users more insight into their analytics and provides more options for engaging with followers. To learn more about the application process, check out the infographic below from the folks at SurePayroll.

 

What core qualities most accurately indicate you’ll be a successful leader?

They aren’t necessarily what you’d expect.

When you consider iconic leaders like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, you probably think of charisma, unwavering confidence, and an insatiable desire to bring about transformative change.

But it turns out these oft-cited qualities are more exceptions than rules when it comes to defining great leaders. The best leaders actually possess a unique set of qualities that may seem counterintuitive at first.

We’ve compiled a list of five unexpected character traits and behaviors associated with successful leaders. Check them out below to see if you’re on track to become an effective leader.

5 Surprising Qualities of Successful Leaders

1) The best leaders doubt themselves.

Although it might seem counterintuitive, embracing self-doubt and learning to accept your insecurities can have a profoundly positive effect on your ability to lead. Self-doubt prevents us from taking too many big risks, helps us examine our own actions more critically, and enables us to make more realistic decisions.

But welcoming self-doubt into your life doesn’t mean letting your inner critic tear you down at every turn. Tara Mohr, the author of Playing Big, says the key to using self-doubt to your advantage is learning to separate your negative inner critic from the voice of realistic thinking that keeps you grounded and pushes for self-improvement.

“The inner critic will tend to be very repetitive and like a broken record, saying the same thing over again,” Mohr said to Harvard Business Review. “It might be: There’s no way this is going to work. There’s no way this is going to work.“

In contrast, the voice of realistic thinking forces us to productively examine tough questions and get real with ourselves. “The voice of realistic thinking will not be repetitive,” Mohr said. “It’s forward moving. So it might sound like: I’m getting some clues that I am really not managing this team that well.“

Self-doubt keeps our egos in check and prevents us from getting too comfortable in positions of power. Leaders who are open to tough questions about their own abilities are more deft at adapting to change and constantly improving themselves.

2) The best leaders don’t try to be completely independent.

The conventional portrait of a leader would have you believe they’re an entirely self-sufficient, aggressively independent breed — fearless pioneers with the answers to questions you haven’t even asked yet.

In reality, great leaders know they can’t do everything on their own, and they don’t try to. They forge meaningful connections with their team, seek conflicting opinions, and cultivate an environment conducive to everyone’s success — not just their own.

A collaborative — rather than independent — model of leadership isn’t just good for your team’s morale, it’s good for business. Check out this infographic from The Collaborative Lead Training Co. below to see how a collaborative leadership style stacks up against a traditional, independent model:

3) The best leaders know when to let go (and how to do it).

Leadership is too often thought of in terms of power and control, when in practice, great leaders know when to step back and let go of power and control. Managing employees means offering direction, guidance, and support — not touting authority and supervising every detail.

Mark Boncheck, the CEO of Shift Thinking, thinks leaders can learn a lot about letting go from traditional military strategy. “Over centuries, the military has developed an approach to managing ‘the fog of war,'” Boncheck wrote in Harvard Business Review. “Generals need to ensure alignment to the strategy, while soldiers need autonomy to respond to changing conditions.”

To manage this tension between control and autonomy, Boncheck devised a two-part system intended to keep everyone on the same page without compromising their ability to respond to change.

The first part is commander’s intent, which is the core purpose and goal of an operation. In business, the commander’s intent often takes the form of a mission statement or high-level  organizational goals.

The second part is the doctrine, which Boncheck says many leaders fail to account for. The doctrine is made up of the “principles [that] guide actions in support of objectives.” In a business sense, the doctrine empowers employees to make independent decisions by telling them how to approach the company’s goals, i.e., what behaviors are appropriate in pursuit of a goal.

When leaders communicate a doctrine to their employees, they don’t have to constantly oversee employee activity. They can step back confidently knowing that their employees are well-equipped to handle any given situation with a guiding set of principles.  

4) The best leaders are predictable.

Leaders are expected to be transformative, innovative geniuses who are constantly breaking new ground … right? Wrong. A study from Google found that the opposite might be true.

When Google’s human resources team dug into what qualities made leaders successful at their company, they found something surprising: The quality that best indicated whether or not a leader would be successful wasn’t their extroversion, their propensity to stir up change, or even their IQ — it was their predictability.

“If your manager is all over the place, you’re never going to know what you can do, and you’re going to experience it as very restrictive,” Laszlo Bock, senior vice president of people operations at Google, said to Inc. “[I]f a leader is consistent, people on their teams experience tremendous freedom.”

When leaders are predictable, the people they manage have the room to progress independently and make autonomous decisions without having to worry about feedback from left field. Employees who operate beneath predictable leaders don’t have to brace themselves for abrupt changes or pivots in expectations. Instead, they are given “the mental space to do great work,” as Bock put it.

5) The best leaders are open to outside influence.

We often judge leaders by how solid they stand by their opinions and principles, and how unmoving they remain in the face of challenges that threaten these beliefs. But the best leaders understand that being influenced by outside forces isn’t a weakness, it’s a key strength.

Organizational psychologist Roger Schwarz found the most effective leaders were those who were genuinely open to being influenced, and were transparent about how exactly they could be influenced.

“[W]e get much better results if we hear from and are influenced by those who are in different positions and have different perspectives, rather than relying only on the thoughts of those in power,” Schwarz wrote in a recent Harvard Business Review article.

Schwarz explains that the most highly-developed leaders are fully transparent about what kind of information or arguments influence them. “At this level, you are a full partner in helping others influence you,” Shwarz wrote. “You tell others what kinds of information will lead you to change your mind.”

In this mindset, the best leaders approach challenges to their opinions and beliefs from the position of facilitator, rather than opponent. They help others understand why exactly they disagree, and how their opinion can be changed.

What unexpected qualities do you think great leaders possess? Tell us in the comments.

To all the conference-goers out there, we’d like to pose a question. What’s your mission?

With so many benefits of attending and goals to focus on during a conference, choosing just one can be a tall order. And with INBOUND 2016 around the corner, you might be asking yourself: Should you network, and make connections with smart people? Or should you stick to learning, and diligently take notes during the breakout sessions?

Whatever it is that you’re hoping to accomplish, we’ve carved out personas for the 15 types of conference-goers you’re most likely to meet or embody. We’ve all met at least one, and understanding them can help you figure out your goals for attending.

So which type of conference attendee are you? Check out the list below to find out.

15 Types of People You’ll Find at a Conference

1) The Networker

Source: Giphy

Mission:  Meet smart people.

The networker aims to meet and make lasting connections with other industry professionals. Chances are, they have a lot of connections on social media and have connected to attendees through the conference hashtag ahead of time.

The networker is likely to be found chatting up multiple groups of people during happy hour, handing out business cards or making real-time LinkedIn connections. But if this conference-goer sounds like you, just make sure you’re up-to-date on your networking game — common mistakes are easier to make than you might think.

2) The Sponge

Source: Giphy

Mission: Learn everything possible.

The sponge attends conferences to soak up every ounce of knowledge that he or she can. You’ll probably see this person juggling a laptop, smartphone, and notebook, all while diligently taking notes — or live-tweeting — from each.

But for the sponge, the struggle is real — how can you possibly decide which sessions to attend? I mean, they’re all just so great.

3) The Innovator

Mission: Be inspired.

We all know the type. They watch TED Talks on a daily basis. Their favorite book, collectively, is Water Isaacson’s Steve Jobs. And  they — or you, for those of us who can relate  — fall into the “innovator” category.

Innovators attend conferences in hopes of striking a creativity streak. Entrepreneurs, thinkers, and problem solvers would fall under this bucket — people who seek inspiration for their next brilliant idea or invention.

4) The Collector

Mission: Accumulate a stockpile of free swag. 

Also known as the “Trick-or-Treater,” this person hops from sponsor exhibit to sponsor exhibit collecting unnecessary amounts of free swag. I mean, sometimes all you really need in life is a free koozie. Oh, and a sticker. And a pen. And one of those squishy stress ball things.

Sure, this person might’ve come to a conference to learn and bring back information to their team, but they‘re definitely not going to skimp on the free stuff while they have a chance. You’ll likely see this attendee arrive with a half-full carry on suitcase … and then leave with an over-stuffed mess that won’t fit into the airline’s luggage sizer.

5) The Superfan

Mission:  Meet the keynote speakers.

The superfan is also super active when it comes to conference-related social media activity. This person never forgets to include the speaker’s Twitter handle in hopes that he or she will retweet or reply — for example, tweeting with event’s hashtag that they’re “so excited to meet @speaker.” Not that we’ve ever done that, or anything. 

And if there’s a chance to meet the speaker at the conference — like a book signing, for example — the superfan is first in line with every piece of memorabilia he or she can find. Again … not that we’ve ever done that …

(Superfan PSA: This year’s INBOUND lineup includes Anna Kendrick, Serena Williams, Alec Baldwin, Michael Strahan, and more — in other words, you can register here.)

6) The Escape Artist

Mission:  Get of work. 

The Escape Artist is really looking for a Get Out of Work Free card without using any vacation time. Sure, they might learn a thing or two and meet a few interesting people, but playing hooky is their main mission. You’ll probably find The Escape Artist popping into a few talks, jotting down a few notes, and then leaving early to enjoy the sunshine or slipping away to their hotel room to take a nap.

Pro Tip: If you relate to this mission, remember that you can get a break from your day-to-day job while still bringing back a ton of value for your team. If you need ideas for how to get the most out of your conference experience, take a look at this blog post.

7) The Job Seeker

Mission: Get a job.

Job seekers tend to have a few different goals when attending a conference, depending on which stage of the job hunt they find themselves. When a job seeker is in the awareness stage, for example, he or she might attend an event to listen and learn about the various companies, opportunities, and people they’d like to work with.

But if this person is beyond that stage, he or she may have already made connections with people ahead of time via LinkedIn or Twitter. In that case, the job seeker is likely looking for opportunities to give these folks an elevator pitch in person, along with a resume or portfolio. And believe it or not, there are non-intrusive ways to start that conversation — check out some ideas here.  

(Are you on the hunt for a new job? Download these handy resume templates.)

8) The Deal-Maker

Mission: Establish a business partnership.

It’s easy to mistake a deal-maker for a networker. They’re similar, in that the latter attends a conference with the goal of creating business partnerships. But that could be for a number of opportunities, like co-marketing or co-branding, sponsorships, speaking opportunities — it’s a long list. (Download our free co-marketing guide for helpful tips.) In fact, this person might want to take a tip from the networker’s book — make lasting relationships first, then do business after the conference.

9) The Blogger

Mission: Produce high quality content.

The blogger attends a conference specifically on behalf of, well, a blog, or to obtain fodder for some other form of content. He or she is likely found listening to keynotes and breakout sessions, while writing down an outline or quotes on a laptop. (Holler.)

If you do meet a blogger at a conference, stay on your toes — he or she might be wearing a wire. Just kidding. But, they might try to write down some quotes from your conversation (with your permission, of course).

10) The Teacher

Mission: Relay knowledge to teammates.

Okay, so maybe we don’t mean “teacher” in the conventional sense. Rather, this person is the one you send to the conference to return with the best takeaways.

Like the sponge, the teacher takes excellent notes, and then relays them back to the team. If you have a company wiki, he or she will likely create a page on there with the lessons and best practices from the conference, or even give a presentation upon return.

11) The Frugal Tourist 

Mission: Vacation for free.

One of the great benefits of attending a conference is that your company will usually pay for your flights and hotel room. The Frugal Tourist understands this strategy all too well and will optimize her trip to include a bit of sightseeing while she’s there.

A word to the wise: This probably shouldn’t be your sole mission for attending a conference, but hey if you can tack on a vacation to the end of a super productive week … go for it! We’re all about that work hard, play hard lifestyle. Just make sure you use good judgment and bring back a ton of value for your team before you start beach hopping on the company’s dime.

12) The Thought Leader

Mission: Stay successful.

Thought leaders, though not synonymous with them, are often also the conference speakers. They’re experts on a given topic, and that’s why they’re at the event: To talk to a crowd about it.

They’ve probably written books and countless blog articles on the same topic, and have high numbers of followers on social media. And if it seems like they’re buzzed, don’t get the wrong impression — public speaking can cause a rush of adrenaline, so they’re likely just riding that momentum.

13) The Spy

Mission: Gather competitive intelligence.

There are people who attend events like conferences to evaluate a competitive landscape. They come equipped with important questions, such as:

• What does the competition’s presence look like at this conference?
• What are they doing right?
• What are they doing wrong? 
• Where is there unexpected competition?

Then, this information is compiled, analyzed, and turned into a plan of action. Attending a conference as a spy is actually a popular sales enablement tactic — it can provide your team with sound bites that might help them later close more deals.

14) The Salesperson

Mission:  Make a sale.

And speaking of sales enablement, there are many people who attend conferences with a singular goal: Sell their products or services.

Similar to the deal-maker, this person is there to, well, close deals. But there’s a difference — salespeople are usually only interested in selling their company’s core products and services, and not in things like building strategic partnerships. This interaction could happen during the conference, or sometime after it ends, when a prospect has had time to consider a deal.

15) The Partier

Mission: Have fun.

We conclude with the inevitable conference partier — the person who takes advantage of every social aspect, entertainment portion, and free drink available.

We all have a little bit of a partier in us — many of us find that it helps us to break the ice during otherwise awkward or uncomfortable silences. But let’s lead with some of the more constructive missions on this list — it’ll make your conference experience both fun and productive.

Whatever your conference-going persona, we can’t wait to meet you. Be sure to grab your tickets for INBOUND 2016, and say hi to us there.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in August 2014 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

How the heck can you use an image for search optimization?

It might be simpler than you think. You see, there’s something about the way an infographic conveys content — from its customization to its digestible format — that both grabs and holds people’s attention, and makes them highly sharable. But how does it work? And how can you use infographics for your own SEO strategy?

As it turns out, the good folks over at SerpLogic know a thing or two about both search optimization and infographics. They’ve hunted down the things that make these informative images so valuable for SEO, and created a six-step approach to creating the infographics that are most likely to show success in this area.

So, want to reach more viewers? Paint them a picture — and check out the infographic below to learn how to make it optimally educational.