When you are first starting a brand, a venture, an entity, or even a website, you can really scramble for finding information, and even hire out consultants right away that may not be needed. In all stages of the marketing game, just finding what you need online is a tremendous help. Even though it may take lots of time, reading about others’ experiences, demographics, and past attempts at their businesses will be a massive help to you. There are many networks for entrepreneurs, financing resources, and invaluable industry reports that can help. When you really sit down and pour over a lot of this, it may make your climb to success seem more daunting, but if you persevere for long enough, you can absolutely find the data that could be most of an asset to your project. From that point on after utilizing these resources, you just have to put the pieces together and figure out what to do with your product to push it to the top and keep it competitive.
1. American Marketing Association
Chock full of great information like a resource directory, podcasts, updates on the AMA’s yearly conference, insight from gurus such as Deanie Elsner of Kraft Foods, and tons of insight on metrics are just the beginning. This resource is one true powerhouse that is the starting point for many journeys to successful branding and product launches. An endless supply of information here that is as useful as it gets in terms of practicality and functionality.
2. The National Retail Federation
One of the ultimate goals of many marketers is to have their products poised on retail shelves, so researching the viability of the options out there and trends nationwide is incredibly valuable. Articles on other genres like small business, testimonials of folks like software engineers, and other resources such as buying guides and safety issues are great features of the NRF. When you are figuring out which route to take with a product and branding, watching trends in the retail world are always going to help you. This is one large resource that will help any marketer along their path to success.
3. US Small Business Administration
A huge and very valuable resource that details loans and grants, managing a business from a government standpoint, identifying industry codes, disaster offices, healthcare and running a business, this resource definitely rocks. It has a much more official tone and candor, but can help with planning, implementation, and provides the utmost in help for getting your business launched. Official can sometimes be the way to go for information, and this is a stellar resource.
4. Inc Magazine
With current information on the human transaction, questions to ask yourself about your marketing tactics, having willpower during your task, and managing millennials, this online hub is a great place to get information regarding your future dominance and edge. With a great new feature asking if you are embracing failure too much, features asking questions such as job seekers wondering why they even went to college, and how a small town manufacturer predicts hits with Facebook, this is an epic resource for all marketers. With another current article titled “3 ways to tell if your idea is worth pursuing”, this hub is also invaluable as far as venture capitalists, other entrepreneurs, and the newly started up marketer are concerned.
5. Hubspot
With subcategories of sales, insiders, great current articles on the climate and what you are up against, Hubspot is a genius content mill started by MIT geniuses and is an advocate overall for the inbound marketing blueprint to success. Originally raising more than 100 million dollars in funding, it is a one stop and markets software as a service ingeniously. Very effectively using the mantra of “publish your way in”, and their social media scientist was even given a Guinness World Record Award for holding the largest online marketing seminar. A trusty resource that uses publishes a very useful “State of the Twittersphere” report annually, it’s not one to miss, and one to frequent for current knowledge.
6. ReadWrite
One of the best tech sites in the world, this provides how tos on cloud computing, the in’s and outs of outsourcing, and tips on Amazon. Powerful internet portals are ready for you to sell and get your product out there in a major way, and portals like ReadWrite will show you the nitty gritty in how everything links up globally in marketing, interaction with banks and software, and negotiating cloud storage. When everything in the global commerce realm is said and done, you really need a resource like ReadWrite to show you where to put your technical mojo in practice.
7. Advertising Age
The huge marketing dynamo that began in 1930, this weekly print is a pillar of the advertising community to say the least. With tons of important information about marketing, it has informative podcasts such as “Why it Matters” and delves into prime time ratings, true SEO and online marketing, and direct response. One of the true go to’s for advertising information on a periodical basis, the current issue explores the future of TV, creative campaigns, and valuable outsourcing questions to ask any marketer.