3 great learning resources for anyone starting out in Marketing

I have been working in marketing roles over the last 7 years, and have learned a lot along the way. For anyone who is interested in a career in marketing, or has just started, here are three great resources, to help you along the way.

Resource 1: Books

This might seem like an obvious one, but you would be surprised how many marketers I have come across, who have read little to nothing around marketing, of those people I was the same at the beginning of my own career.

There are a huge number of successful people in our field, and it’s almost disrespectful to let their knowledge and learnings go to waste.

There are a huge number of marketing books out there, but I wanted to recommend a few to get you started, and ones worth adding to your Goodreads backlog!

• This is Marketing by Seth Godin

• The Art of War by Sun Tzu

• The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier

• The Art and Business of Online Writing by Nicolas Cole

• The Dip by Seth Godin

• Crushing It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

• Digital Marketing by Dave Chaffey (this is more of a textbook, but worth picking up)

• Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin

• Marketing Rebellion by Mark Schaefer

• Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy (more advertising focused, and in some cases can be expensive, but worth reading, especially if you start out in a marketing role and want to shift to a more advertising based career)

Resource 2: Courses

In any career or as a matter of fact, with anything in life, it is always key to keep learning. This is so important in the world of marketing, in a career where everything is always evolving.

Online and more traditional courses are a fantastic way to stay up to date with trends, learn the basics and keep learning throughout your career.

Sadly not all courses are worth your time, I did want to share a few that I have found helpful over the last few years.

• The Chartered Institute of Marketing. Last year I went through their level 6 digital marketing diploma, and it was brilliant, which focused on a range of different areas in marketing. They also offer shorter courses, which can be done online or in person. I will be honest their courses are expensive, so if your company can not support you with this it may be looking into a few free options first.

• Google Marketing Courses. Google’s Digital Garage offers a range of online marketing courses, and what is even better is, they are free and you can complete them at your own pace. I would recommend starting with the fundamentals of digital marketing.

• LinkedIn Courses. There is also a range of helpful courses provided from the LinkedIn Learning platform, although not free, you can take advantage of a free one-month trial of their premium service and get stuck into some great courses.

• HubSpot’s Academy Courses. Another great free option for anyone starting out, with their digital marketing course being a great place to start. Much like with Google’s courses, you can do everything online and at your own pace.

Resource 3: Blogs and online articles

Although courses are a fantastic way to learn, they take time to complete, most ranging from a handful of hours to in some cases days, weeks, or even a full year.

With blog posts and other online articles, you can get condensed information, in what can usually be read in a few minutes. There are plenty of great blogs and online content out there for anyone looking to gain more knowledge about marketing.

I wanted to share a few, that I have enjoyed and learned from, which I hope can be a good starting point.

• Seth Godin’s Blog. I know his name has cropped up a lot within this post, but for a very good reason. My recommendation is to sign up to Seth’s Blogs, they are short and compact, and a couple of times a week, even to this day I end up learning something new. My only regret is not finding it sooner.

• Medium. Medium has a great range of marketing advice and learnings shared by those who have been working in the field. Learning from others is also necessary for helping you grow. As a quick starting point, I would recommend checking out the Better Marketing Publication, which shares fantastic marketing articles and advice.

• Think with Google. This was introduced to me by a colleague, and was I grateful. They share insights and articles, that I would recommend every marketer reads.

Learn and grow

I hope you find all if not a handful of these resources useful, and for anyone starting out in your marketing career, good luck and enjoy, it is a fast-paced and exciting profession to get into.

If you have any questions or just fancy a chat, feel free to reach out to me.