Yesterday I wrote an article on how one can become a Digital Marketer in 180 days the right way. One of the crucial things for newbies and experienced marketers alike is following the right marketing experts and learning from them. I am a big proponent of following the RIGHT marketing geniuses and learning from their journey. This process can help you accelerate your journey as a marketer and elevate yourself as a thought leader yourself.
Why Did I Stress On The Word RIGHT?
Marketing is a field that is inundated with all kinds of pseudo-experts and growth hackers that will sell you courses and memberships worth nothing. That's why you must ensure that you choose your experts wisely and follow their work. Or else, the so-called experts might preach the wrong message, and you might imbibe the same, leading to repercussions.
When I started my journey from an offline marketer (running events and buying ads in magazines) to an online marketer, I chose my experts carefully. These are some of the most amazing people I revere and learn from almost every day. I can confess that whatever I know about digital marketing, these experts have had a role to play in my learning. I have followed their blog, bought their books, attended their events, and even had live sessions with some of these amazing individuals.
Here are my ten marketing geniuses to whom I am indebted for all the learnings and their role in my career:
I can write a book on this genius. I consider him my mentor in many ways, and he is my role model both in my professional and personal life. He is a marketing genius for me because his insights on Marketing are always thought-provoking. His blog is one of the top blogs for marketers. He is one of my favorite authors on Marketing and has written nine bestsellers, including recently published Cumulative Advantage.
He interacts with his blog readers regularly and is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers on Marketing across the globe.
Why Follow Mark Schaefer? Because he is genuinely amazing, and his out-of-the-box ideas will help you grow as a marketer.
Ok, fan-boy moment!!! Gary Vee (as he is called around the world) is my source of inspiration for my work. I have followed Gary for a long time, and he has pulled me out of several creative ruts in the past. I am a huge fan of both his marketing and motivational content. He is one of the leading marketing influencers in the world at the moment.
One of my favorite books on Marketing is Gary's Jab Jab Jab Right Hook, and I refer to the same regularly. He has five bestsellers to his name, and his podcast and #AskGaryVee show is a must-watch for everyone.
Why Follow Gary Vaynerchuk? Well, if you do not follow Gary Vee, honestly it is your loss. He is a rockstar ( well, at least for me).
If Simplicity had another name, that would be Guy Kawasaki. He is one of the simplest and most genuine people in the marketing and entrepreneurship world. He is probably the individual who gave the world the term "evangelist". He was an evangelist for Apple, and now he is an evangelist for Canva. His Remarkable People podcast features the most amazing individuals across the globe. He has published fifteen bestsellers, including the must-read The Art of the Start 2.0.
Why Follow Guy Kawasaki? Guy is a pure inspiration and believes in communicating clearly. If you follow him, you may get inspired to make your communication simple and thought-provoking.
Rand Fishkin
Full Disclosure - I learned SEO from Rand Fishkin. His days at Moz and his content were my sources of learning when I was taking my baby steps in the digital world. His Whiteboard Fridays were my go-to classes for learning everything about Search Engine Optimization. I had the privilege of letting him know this when he came as a guest on my show last year.
Rand is one of the most humble geniuses whom you will ever meet. He is approachable, and his communication will blow your mind. He is currently building SparkToro, one of the coolest tools for audience research for marketers and agencies.
Why Follow Rand? If you are a fan of entrepreneurship, communication, marketing, or even pasta, you must follow him. His social feed is full of insights and amazing cooking experiments.
I am a firm believer in human relationships in Marketing, and I am part of the H2H community run by Bryan Kramer. Bryan aka Mr. BK is the father of the H2H (Human to Human) Marketing concept in which human relationships take precedence over everything. If you are a marketer, I highly recommend joining the H2H community on Facebook.
Bryan is one of the most amazing individuals you will ever come across. He is the author of 2 bestsellers, and his book Shareology is a perfect read if you want to understand why people share content online. His podcast, Humanly Possible, brings on amazing guests who share their inspiring journeys and lessons.
Why Follow Bryan? If you want to learn how to make human relationships your strength, he is the person who can teach you that. Relationships are crucial for building a successful life and career today.
Oh boy, I do not have the right words to explain Ann Handley. She is the most colorful and vibrant individual and marketer you will ever meet. Her energy is so infectious that you will become her fan instantly. Ann is my teacher in content marketing. Her insights on understanding the audience and preparing content for them have helped me immensely. Her bestseller "Everybody Writes" is always available on my workstation and is my manual.
Ann is a WSJ bestselling author and one of the leading content marketing experts. She runs MarketingProfs, and if you are a marketer exploring content marketing, I highly recommend becoming part of their community.
Why Follow Ann? Because she is simply amazing, both with her thought leadership content and pure awesomeness.
Along with Ann, Joe is my guide for Content Marketing. His podcast, books, and blog have been my reference guides when I was learning the tricks of the trade. Joe has written six bestseller books, and my favorite is Content Inc., which introduces one to building content businesses.
Joe built Content Marketing Institute and introduced Content Marketing to the world in 2001. He has a foundation called The Orange Effect that works with children who need speech therapy.
Why follow Joe? Joe is one of those humble geniuses who can teach you a lot regarding content marketing and entrepreneurship.
Do you read blogs written by other people regularly? Do you look forward to receiving emails with their latest blog content? We all do for very few content creators, right? One writer whose articles I look forward to is Henneke. I love her because her writing and drawings touch my heart. Whenever I read her articles filled with actionable insights, I feel so happy and inspired.
If you are a marketer exploring content writing, you must follow Henneke's work. Her blog is one of the best in the niche of content marketing.
Why follow Henneke? Beautiful writing, practical insights, and beautiful sketches. And she responds to her blog readers consistently. Such an amazing individual she is.
Musa Tariq
Musa is my man crush. I adore and respect him for his humility and his vast marketing experience. Having worked with brands like Ford and Airbnb, he now heads Marketing at GoFundMe. He is a minefield of marketing wisdom and is by far the most approachable marketing brain out there. You just have to watch his AdWeek Q&A session on finding your north star to fall in love with his genius.
He is a people person who runs book clubs and other online meetups for marketers. I highly recommend you check them out to listen to amazing insights.
Why follow Musa? You can learn one important lesson from Musa - how to be humble despite being super successful.
The last marketing genius I rigorously follow and learn from is none other than Pat Flynn. After losing his job, Pat started blogging on building passive income streams and started the Smart Passive Income podcast. Both of these have grown into the most followed content sources for enthusiasts. I love him for his dedication and focus on helping individuals build online businesses.
Why follow Pat? Smart Passive Income blog and podcast will blow your socks off if you are serious about building passive income streams for yourself. Go check them out here.
Conclusion
In this world where marketing experts are mushrooming every day, it is better to identify the right experts to learn from. These individuals have touched my life positively and influenced my career the right way. I hope they do their magic for you too.
Stay Safe; Stay Healthy.