Goal Setting For 2019

Plenty of people make personal resolutions this time of year, from cutting out sugar, to doing more yoga, or having less screen time at home. But what about your business resolutions, and, more specifically, for those in the marketing world, what are your goals? I’m sure you’ve spent a lot of time on building your 2019 marketing strategy and know all about setting SMART goals so we don’t need to talk about that. I’m more interested today in your professional goals!

Things to learn

Do you miss going to lectures? Taking notes? Maybe even taking tests? Digital marketing courses are a great way to boost your marketing skills and luckily there are a lot of well-done online courses. (The marketing course landscape is actually quite bloated so there are some crappy courses out there but I would never send you to those!) Added bonus, these ones are free

1. HubSpot Academy’s Inbound Certification: You’ll learn the basics of content creation, social media promotions, lead nurturing, and more. By staying up-to-date on the latest inbound marketing techniques and research you are investing in your career. Plus you get a nifty certificate badge at the end. HubSpot Academy also has SEO and Social Media courses and an advanced email marketing course too!
2. Constant Contact’s Social Media Quickstarter: You might not be brand new to social media but maybe you are! Or maybe you know someone who could use this. For some social media 101, head to constantcontact.com
3. WordStream’s PPC University: Everyone should learn search marketing, right? This free educational resource from WordStream covers the basics as well as more advanced topics.
4. Moz’s SEO Training Course: Moz Founder Rand Fishkin teaches this free course on Udemy. I really enjoy their Whiteboard Friday videos and this is basically a compilation of those. It’s 3.5 hours and offers a certificate once you complete it.

And if self-paced online learning isn’t your jam, why not check out your local community college or university and see what night classes are offered that might further develop your marketing career skills!

Conferences to attend

If you’re looking to be immersed in your industry, learn a lot, and network with fellow marketers a conference might just be what you need.

Lucky for you there are a lot of good ones around the world. Here’s a little information on a few that look awesome, including deadlines for early bird pricing!

• SMX West https://marketinglandevents.com/smx/west/ January 30-31, 2019, San Jose, CA. Early bird rates ended December 22 unfortunately but if you’re looking to start 2019 off by indulging your obsession with search marketing, Search Marketing Expo might be perfect for you!
• Social Media Marketing World: March 20-22, San Diego, CA. Three days surrounded by the world’s top social marketers and influencers! All access passes run $1597 but there are cheaper ticket options as well.
• MarTech West: April 3-5 in San Jose, CA (for all you East Coasters, there’s a MarTech on September 16-18 in Boston)

  The MarTech manifesto states, “marketing technology management is the fabric of the future.” This conference aims to bring together tech-savvy marketers and provide chances to learn from and connect with each other.

• MozCon: July 15-17, 2019, Seattle, WA. Super early bird pricing for Moz subscribers is $799.

  From their website: “Exceptional speakers. Actionable tactics. Fist bumps for all.” Who could resist that? MozCon is a three-day conference with sessions in SEO, mobile, analytics, content marketing, and more.

• INBOUND, hosted by HubSpot: September 3-6, Boston, MA. An all access pass is $799, expiring January 15

  Passionate about inbound marketing? Head to Boston in the fall. Four days of talks and inspirational keynotes (past speakers include Michelle Obama, Deepak Chopra, Alex Rodriguez, and Shonda Rhimes) and educational breakout sessions on marketing, sales, and customer success. Plus networking, parties, entertainment, and Instagrammable moments.

• Content Marketing World: September 3-6, 2019 Cleveland, Ohio CMWorld 2019 has over 120 sessions and workshops, covering topics like ROI, storytelling, AI, and strategy. For the best rates, register before January: https://www.contentmarketingworld.com/

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If you hadn’t already, I hope this blog helps spark a little inspiration for when you’re setting career development goals. No matter what level you are on the marketing totem pole, it’s always a good idea to stay up-to-date on current industry trends and make time to network with other marketers.

Let me know in the comments below what things you’re looking forward to pursuing in 2019!