Everyone knows about writer’s block. And writers get plenty of support for it. There are online writer’s workshops, content idea generators and hundreds of suggestions to get out of the rut. Writers know they aren’t alone. But what about marketers? Where’s the love when they fall victim to marketer’s block?
Yes, there’s such a thing called marketer’s block. It is very similar to writer’s block except that it relates to marketing ideas rather than content ideas. Unfortunately, marketer’s block isn’t as well recognized, so you’ll find the support and therapeutic tools to be lacking. You may even start to worry that you’re one of the only ones who suffers from it. Everyone else seems to be full of ideas. Why can’t you get even one decent one?
Luckily, we have some tools to help you out. They come researched by HubSpot and approved by SEMGeeks. These 12 places will help you find inspiration and get yourself into a groove again. There’s a reason why you entered this field, and you’re about to remind yourself of it.
1. Crayon
Crayon has an impressive 18 million webpages of beautiful web design. From homepages to blog pages to landing pages, you’ll find plenty of inspiration built into these colorful ideas. With millions of pages to search through, Crayon offers helpful search and filtering tools. Search for pages within specific industries, devices, content management systems and more.
2. Awwwards
Awwwards is another website that boasts endless examples of website design. Rather than serving up a collection of all types of designs, however, Awwwards features only those that have been nominees or winners of various awards. You can safely assume that you’re looking at some of the best in the world. You can also streamline your browsing using the search function.
3. The Best of Email
With people receiving over 100 emails a day, what can you do to set yours apart? The Best of Email will help you out! Their Inspiration Gallery has great examples of newsletters, and you can search through them based on the type of newsletter: sale, welcome, holiday, birthday, etc. They also have a daily newsletter you can subscribe to for a constant flow of ideas.
4. Little Big Details
As the name implies, Little Big Details is all about teaching marketers that the little details count. This is a great site to visit if you feel like you’ve exhausted all the obvious options for website success but still need something more. The posts are short and light, so you can pick up a lot of tips quickly. You’ll be amazed at all the details that can have a huge impact on your design.
5. HubSpot Academy
HubSpot Academy is dedicated to teaching marketers everything there is to know about digital marketing. But unlike a traditional 4-year school, HubSpot Academy is free. Filter your search based on page type and categories. Although the pages are all built using HubSpot’s software, we can assure you that you’ll find quick inspiration.
6. HubSpot Marketing Blog
Another place where you can go for marketer’s block support is the HubSpot blog. This is one of the better built blogs on the internet that goes into great detail about a variety of marketing topics from social media, to email to website design. There are a ton of resources that will help you generate fresh ideas for your marketing campaigns, and many of these resources are broken down into convenient, easy-to-read listicles.
7. Abduzeedo’s Collections
The “Collections” section of this website is a great place to browse through creative design. Many of the wallpapers, illustrations and other designs come with short snippets of text that tell you what makes the content so great. This is helpful because you may not know the purpose of some of these designs just by looking at them. Seeing different perspectives can fuel out-of-the-box ideas for your own website.
8. Dribble
Dribble has a vibrant community of designers who share screenshots of their work. It’s a fabulous place to find examples of real-time projects by designers like yourself. And because many of these designers are experimenting with savvy graphics, you’ll find an endless supply of original inspiration with logos, typography, icons, illustrations, graphics and more. Users are also able to interact with one another for moral support.
9. Pinterest
Yes, Pinterest makes our list too! It’s not just a place to search for a new slow cooker recipe or quilt idea. Pinterest has a lot of great design examples, and you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with how to navigate the site, so it won’t be foreign to you. The only hiccup is that the designs aren’t curated so you’ll have to do some searching to find the best.
10. Creative Bloq
Creative Bloq is known for their articles on graphic design, infographics, typography and more, but they also have curated example articles. If you search “examples” in the search bar, you’ll be rewarded with a lot of neat blogs that are educational and insightful. You’ll find that the design looks and feels similar to HubSpot, so if you’re a fan, you’ll feel right at home.
11. Canva’s Design School
Canva’s blog is called “Design School” and it’s stuffed with good reads on design. You may browse for content based on the various categories that are offered, or you can take part in one of their tutorials. The lightweight feel of the site and its ability to combine great content with edgy graphics is motivating.
12. Really Good Emails
It’s a good thing that Really Good Emails has some really good stuff to show off, otherwise they would have to change their name. This place is exactly as it sounds: a website chock full of good email examples. It’s easy to browse, and when you click on an example, you can view it in both mobile and desktop versions.
If you feel yourself slipping away to marketer’s block, remember that you are not alone. Get it together and head to one of these sites for the inspiration you need to keep going.