Essential Resources for B2B Marketers

There is a wealth of marketing ideas, insight and knowledge out there, and we’ve made it a priority to subscribe to these different voices.

Books, blogs, and podcasts – here is our pick of essential resources for B2B marketers of all stripes and schools. 

Books

Packed with great, actionable ideas and must-knows, each of these is a reason why any marketer should have a bookshelf.

1. The New Rules of Marketing and PR
David Meerman Scott’s modern-day business classic is now into its fourth edition (2013), and its core lesson remains just as pertinent as it was in 2008: reaching, and convincing, your buyers with the power of online communication.

 2. Inbound Marketing
Expert advice on getting found online from HubSpot co-founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. A must-read for marketers who still cling to cold calling and ‘spammy’ advertising.

3. Epic Content Marketing
Content Marketing Institute brain Joe Pulizzi’s masterful treatise on creating successful content marketing programs, and ‘winning more customers by marketing less’.

4. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content
Ann Handley convinces beyond measure why and how much writing matters, even in the age of Facebook and Twitter, in this acclaimed prescription for success in content writing.

5. Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype
Jay Baer revamps the idea of customer-centricity and gives it a new name. An indispensable read for marketers on establishing long-term trust with modern, highly informed customers.

6. Welcome to The Funnel: Proven Tactics to Turn Your Social and Content Marketing up to 11
LinkedIn’s Jason Miller lays out a ‘rock n’ roll’ flavoured roadmap for creating exceptional content that can win over the social media crowd.

7. Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing
A comprehensive guide from TopRank’s Lee Odden on using search, social, and content marketing to engage and inspire your way into the purchase journey.

8. Global Content Marketing
New and replete with case studies and personal experiences, Pam Didner’s treatise on localisation is an essential guide for content marketers looking to go global. 

Blogs

Add these to your feed readers – and you won’t miss a thing from the ever-evolving world of marketing.

9. Content Marketing Institute
Hands down, the number one go-to for content marketers. CMI’s never-ending quest to define, redefine, and refine content marketing produces a steady stream of quality discourse on topics from content strategy to execution and measurement.

10. HubSpot
Essential reading on Inbound Marketing for every marketer who wants to know how to “publish their way in” with customers.

11. Copyblogger
The kings of marketing copy also have a wonderful blog that touches on the various facets of online marketing. A classic example of ‘walking the talk’, this is where you get tips and thoughts on the subject in Copyblogger’s distinct and highly engaging voice.

12. KISSMetrics Blog
Marketers who master analytics have an edge. KISSmetrics offers tips, and how-to guides, on the best tools and methods for measuring your marketing efforts.

13. Marketo Marketing Blog
14. Eloqua’s Modern Marketing Blog
Marketo and Eloqua both focus on marketing automation, but their blogs go far beyond that. Spanning a wide range of other marketing topics including content, demand, leads, and social, these are chock full of resources to aid and inspire today’s marketers.

15. B2B Marketing Insider – by Michael Brenner
Brenner heads up strategy for a leading content marketing platform, and content marketing is the main focus of his blog. Here he talks about ideas and topics that help achieve business outcomes.

16. Marketing Interactions – by Ardath Albee
Albee shares valuable insights in B2B marketing and her conversational style makes for an easy read.

17. B2B Digital Marketing – by Eric Wittlake
Like it says on the tin, Wittlake’s blog offers commentary and how-tos on various topics in the B2B marketing space, with a focus on media-oriented marketing.

18. BBN Blog
The Business-to-Business Network connects B2B agencies worldwide. Their blog is a great source of thought leadership content from world-leading marketing authorities.

19. TopRank Online Marketing Blog
Online marketers have a lot to gain from engaging with this widely popular resource for content marketing and digital strategy insights.

20. Altimeter Group Blog
We all have to substantiate our ideas with data at some point. Few do that better than the analytical folks at Altimeter Group.

21. Convince and Convert
Jay Baer’s Convince and Convert lives up to its title of ‘digital marketing advisors’. This blog is a resource for everything to do with digital marketing, covering topics from content creation to social media marketing, SEO and analytics – all centered around conversion.

22. Ann Handley
Handley is an authority on building business relationships through storytelling. Follow her blog to see how she weaves industry and pop culture trends into great content.

23. Jon Loomer – For Advanced Facebook Marketers
If you use Facebook for marketing at all, Loomer is your man to follow. A staunch Facebook marketing advocate, he always has expert tips on the social network’s latest algorithms and policies.

24. Tom Fishburne – the Marketoonist
The name says it all: Fishburne does marketing cartoons. But his work is nothing to sniff at. Rarely will you find lessons in marketing put across with such a unique blend of insight, humor, and wit.

25. Heidi Cohen’s Actionable Marketing Guide
Cohen tackles the challenges of understanding the ever-evolving world of integrated marketing in her blog. Her posts run the gamut from content, to mobile, to social and branding – often with a how-to slant that encourages action.

26. Chief Marketing Technologist
This is where you’ll find all you need to know about how technology is powering – and changing – marketing. A great read for those of us working with marketing tools and platforms – which, these days, is just about all of us.

27. Conversation Agent
Valeria Maltoni’s widely respected blog demonstrates the experience and meticulousness of a seasoned campaigner. Look to her for keeping up with the latest on starting conversations through content.

28. Marketing Sherpa Blog
Another blog that lives up to its title – guiding the marketers of the world like the sherpas of the Himalayas. Joining this growing community will take you far.

Podcasts

Don’t have time to settle in for a long read? Or perhaps you prefer casual, human dialogue to perfectly arranged images and words?

These weekly marketing podcasts contain flashes of brilliance and insight you won’t find on a page.

29. PNR with This Old Marketing
As if the content on CMI’s blog wasn’t abundant enough, Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose keep on delivering marketing brilliance in 45-min doses. From news to industry trends to case studies, This Old Marketing has everything you want to hear about content marketing – presented with flair and expertise by two of the best.

30. Marketing over Coffee
John Wall and Christopher Penn discuss the latest in new media marketing in these 20-min sessions. Recommended for everyone, especially those with a focus on social media.

31. Social Pros Podcast
Brought to you by Jay Baer of Convince and Convert and Jeffrey Rohrs of ExactTarget. Listen to them offer advice to social media managers and host special guests from the world of social media.

32. Six Pixels of Separation
Mitch Joel of Twist Image connects with experts and newsmakers in digital marketing, and presents great conversations about each of their stories – a great listen for marketers seeking inspiration.

This isn’t all we have on our feed – but they’re resources no marketing professional should be without, and they’re wonderful to start with.

If you had to add two or three more, from the blogosphere or your bookshelf, what would they be and why?