Author: Zoe Ashbridge

If you’re not sure what a blog is, you’ve definitely come across one at some point. Perhaps you’ve stumbled across a blog when you’ve searched “healthy dinner recipes.” Maybe you don’t know it, but you’re on a blog now.

I love blogging. I created my first blog in 2010 but stopped writing it just as I got my first-ever comment. Knowing what I know now, that was my biggest blogging mistake.

Now, I have my own blog — a blog about cycle touring. My blog has one goal: to help people get into cycle touring and travel the world. It’s what you’d call an affiliate blog.

I also write blogs for HubSpot, and as an SEO I work with businesses on their blog strategy to generate traffic and leads for their website.

One of my clients generates 64% of their traffic via the blog. Thanks to analytics, we also know that $30,000 to $50,000 per month is generated from people who also viewed the blog.

A blog is not just a page you stumble across, and it’s not reserved for personal anecdotes; a blog can help you develop an online presence, prove yourself an expert in an industry, and attract more quality leads to all pages of your site.

I’m not the only one to think so — 76% of B2B marketers rate blogs as an effective tool for lead generation.

Professional blogs are sometimes called “news” or “knowledge centers” or “articles.” Many of these are, at their core, blogs.

If you're contemplating creating a blog for your business or want to know what one is, keep reading.

Table of Contents

• What is a blog?
• What is a blog used for?
• How To Blog
• Blog vs. Website
• Why You Need a Blog
• How to Promote Your Blog

A brief history — in 1994, Swarthmore College student Justin Hall is credited with the creation of the first blog, Links.net. At the time, however, it wasn't considered a blog … just a personal homepage.

In 1997, Jorn Barger, blogger for Robot Wisdom, coined the term “weblog,” which was meant to describe his process for “logging the web” as he surfed the internet. The term “weblog” was shortened to “blog” in 1999 by programmer Peter Merholz.

In the early stages, a blog was a personal web log or journal in which someone could share information or their opinion on a variety of topics. The information was posted reverse chronologically, so the most recent post would appear first.

Nowadays, a blog is a regularly updated website or web page, and can either be used for personal use or to fulfill a business need.

For instance, HubSpot blogs about various topics concerning marketing, sales, and service because HubSpot sells products related to those three subjects — so, more than likely, the type of readers HubSpot’s blog attracts are going to be similar to HubSpot’s core buyer persona.

My blog, Road to Frame, is a blog that documents my 24,000-mile bike ride across the world. It’s loaded with personal stories, travel tips, guides, kit lists, reviews, hotel recommendations, and more.

My blog doesn’t serve a larger company, it’s ‘just’ my passion: a blog written for an adventurous community who want to travel by bike.

Although my blog isn’t a business blog, it is still a monetized blog that makes a passive income month after month. Through my blog, I make money on ads, affiliate links, and product recommendations.

What is a blog post?

A blog post is an individual web page on your website that dives into a particular sub-topic of your blog.

For instance, let's say you start a fashion blog on your retail website. One blog post might be titled, “The Best Fall Shoes for 2024.”

The post ties back to your overall blog topic as a whole (fashion), but it also addresses a very particular sub-topic (fall shoes).

Blog posts allow you to rank on search engines for a variety of keywords. In the above example, your blog post could enable your business to rank on Google for “fall shoes.”

When someone searches for fall shoes and comes across your blog post, they can access the rest of your company's website. They might click “Products” after they read your post and take a look at the clothing items your company sells.

A blog post links back to your overall blog site. For instance, right now, you're on blog.hubspot.com/marketing/what-is-a-blog. The “what-is-a-blog” section of the URL is tied back to /marketing/, which is the blog.

If you need help creating a blog post, you can use HubSpot’s AI Blog Writer to do so.

What are the benefits of a blog?

There are many benefits of blogging, but here are the top three reasons to have a blog, in my opinion.

Audience Engagement

Your blog is a tool that allows you to engage more with an audience. On my blog, readers can comment on blog posts. A blog is more like a two-way conversation compared to the rest of a website.

The image below is taken from the comment section of one of my blog posts. This was a proud moment for me as a blogger.

There was an engaged commentary on the blog, but what stood out to me was that other readers were helping each other in the comments. The conversation was extending to a community, not just me and one reader. I loved it.

I’ve seen comments like this on business blogs, too. For my client in the retail space, we sometimes get comments asking for elaboration on topics or related queries. The comment section inspires new blog posts and helps us understand our audience even more.

Pro tip: Make sure you reply to comments to encourage others to leave them. You can also invite people to comment within the content of the article.

Content Generation and Repurposing

Blogs are generally longer-form content. Once you’ve created a blog post, you’ve got content that can be repurposed and shared across your marketing channels, such as social media.

If you set up the right analytics, you can also share and analyze data about user interaction. For example, you can monitor how many readers share your blog posts on social, how much time people spend on a blog post, and how far a user scrolls.

All of this data can help with your business and marketing more generally. If the number of shares are high and users scroll to the bottom, then you can bet you’ve got a good blog that’s of high interest to your audience.

Pro tip: If you repurpose content onto visual platforms like Instagram or Pinterest, you’ll likely create an image, or maybe a video. If you do, embed the asset into the blog, too! Repurposing works both ways.

Traffic Generation

If you add a blog (or a news section) to your website, and start writing strategically, considering SEO, you are likely going to start ranking for a lot of keywords. Your blog will likely be home to the majority of keywords. Therefore, your blog drives traffic to your website.

It enables you to better convert that traffic into leads, it allows your business to establish authority in an industry, and it continues to help your business grow and attract new customers months and even years after publication.

Pro tip: Blogs can generate traffic long after they're written; that’s the great thing about a blog. One blog post has compounding benefits for years.

Blog vs. Website

A blog is typically a section of your business's website. HubSpot’s website is a good example of a business website that has a blog as part of it.

The screenshot below shows that the blog is a section of the website and is navigable via the main menu.

Your blog differs from your website pages.

Generally your website is quite static. You create pages with purposes (eg. homepages, service pages, product pages, about pages, contact us pages etc.).

These pages make up the website. Your services likely don’t change much and remain static until you make a (probably minor) update.

Blogs, on the other hand, are expected to be updated frequently. You might use your blog to write about industry trends, educational pieces to teach your audience something or showcase your expertise.

For businesses, I often think of the blog as a section of the website that supports the most important pages (e.g., the money-generating pages: products and services).

A blog can also be an entire website, and often, it is if the blog is for personal use alone — for instance, a travel blog or a recipe blog.

If you're starting from scratch and anxious about your first post, check out our step-by-step guide to writing a blog post.

What is the difference between a wiki and a blog?

A wiki is a collaborative space where anyone who visits the site can edit, share, or publish content — Wikipedia is one of the most popular examples of this.

On the other hand, there is typically only one person, or a team of people, with admin permissions to edit, share, or publish to a blog. Website visitors who come across the blog can potentially leave comments at the bottom of the blog post, but they cannot publish to the site or edit the posted material.

1. To help your company rank on search engines.

Typically, a business will use a blog to help the business's website rank on search engines. You can absolutely employ paid ads, to help your company homepage rank on page one of Google — but a more effective, long-term solution is blogging.

Often, blogging is synonymous with content strategy and SEO. If you want a successful blog that actually gets visitors, you need to think seriously about SEO.

Or, you need to share the content far and wide in other areas of marketing, social media and emails, for example.

To consider how your company can rank on search engines via a blog, I’ll start with an example — let’s say you work for a web design start-up with very little online presence.

You decide to spend the first year writing and posting regular blog content that strongly relates to web design. Over time, your traffic increases and other companies link to your site for information regarding web design.

When this happens, Google recognizes your company as a legitimate source for web design information. Eventually (with a lot of trial and error), your blog posts begin ranking on page one of Google for terms like “web design,” “website builder,” and “ecommerce website.”

Then, one day, you search “web design companies in X city” and find your company is now on page one. This is likely due, in large part, to your consistent blogging efforts.

Take a look at How HubSpot Uses Blogging to Rank #1 on Google to learn more about specific strategies you can implement to rank on search engines.

2. To share information about a given topic and become an expert in an industry.

In 2006, Boston-native Matt Kepnes quit his job and began traveling the world. He documented his travels in his now-infamous blog, NomadicMatt.com.

After about a year, thanks to tireless blogging efforts and SEO strategies that enabled him to rank on Google, he began pulling in $60,000. Matt also created ebooks, and used sponsorships and affiliate marketing to make money.

Additionally, he wrote a New York Times best-seller, “How to Travel the World on $50 a Day.”

Now, Matt's blog attracts 1.5 million visitors a month and grosses about $750,000 a year — and he's become a well-known expert in the travel space.

If you want to become known as an expert in a topic that interests you, from fashion to blogging to fitness, you can — and, oftentimes, it starts with a blog.

3. To attract visitors to your site and turn those visitors into leads.

There’s only so much traffic you can get from the homepage or About Us page of your company’s website. Of course, those pages are critical for leads who are already interested in your products — but they often won’t attract traffic from top-of-the-funnel. That’s where your blog comes into play.

Your blog can be a general resource to help your website visitors even before those visitors are ready to purchase from you.

For instance, let’s say you sell products for ecommerce stores. You might attract some ecommerce owners who are already searching online for your products, but in most cases, the ecommerce owner isn’t going to be ready to buy right out of the gate.

Alternatively, if you begin blogging about tips to help the retail owner who is just starting out — like “How to start a retail website,” or “Benefits of ecommerce vs. physical store” — you’ll slowly attract an audience who enjoys your content and finds it useful.

Then, when those site visitors’ ecommerce stores begin growing (thanks, in part, to your blog), they'll already know about your brand and already trust it as a helpful source. That's when they'll check out your product pages.

Here’s an example from ASOS showing how they attract leads via the blog. The screenshot below is taken from their blog “Every Shoe You’ll be Wearing This Autumn.” Within the blog they share an image, a styling tip, and, of course, a link to the product.

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4. To cultivate an online community and engage with an audience.

At the very least, you might create a blog to engage with an online community of readers with similar interests. Maybe you start a food blog and ask readers to share their own recipes with you.

Alternatively, perhaps you start a blog that focuses on DIY projects. You post the fun, DIY projects you've completed in your own home, and you ask your readers to share their own DIY tips in exchange.

Why You Need a Blog

For businesses, a blog is a valuable tool to have in your marketing strategy. It’s a great way to get the word out about your brand and build rapport with your audience and potential customers.

Use it to provide your audience with useful industry-related information, share company news, and product updates. Blog content is also easy to repurpose for email marketing needs and across social channels.

Without one, you’re missing out on opportunities to promote your brand.

Creating engaging blog content may seem like a heavy lift at first. Luckily there are free tools like HubSpot’s AI Content Writer to help you write better content faster.

1. Choose your target audience.

When you're starting your own blog, it’s important to think of your target audience. Who are you creating the blog for? And who do you want reading your blog posts? Before you can get started, you have to consider the niche you’re writing about and what topics you'll cover and why.

Brainstorming your target audience is similar to creating a buyer persona for your company. Plus, this will give you an idea on what kind of content you want to produce.

2. Brainstorm content ideas frequently based on your market segment.

Once you’ve started a blog, you’ll want to churn out high-quality, consistent content on a regular basis. This isn't always easy. Creating content is a time-consuming task. You want to ensure your content is something your readers would be interested in and hopefully can help with your SEO — more on that in a minute.

To begin brainstorming content, consider what your competitors are doing. Look for gaps in their content that you can fulfill.

Additionally, you should also do SEO research to verify that users are searching for and interested in the topic you want to write about. Tools like SEMrush, Google Keyword Planner, and Answer The Public can help.

You'll want to brainstorm content frequently so you always have ideas that you can execute. Having content ideas in the pipeline is an easy hack that removes the need to think on the fly. Using a Blog Ideas Generator will help you to fill your pipeline with content ideas that are relevant and helpful to your target audience.

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3. Research and review a content management system (CMS).

In order to create your blog, you'll most likely use a CMS. A CMS is a tool you can use to design, manage, and publish on your website. You’ve probably heard of examples like WordPress or Wix. I wrote a post on the best blogging platforms to help businesses and bloggers find the best platform for them.

If you don’t have a website yet, you’ll want to choose a CMS that has the ability to host a blog. If you already have a site, check if it has blogging options built in. If not, you may need to find a CMS that integrates with your site or choose an entirely new CMS altogether.

There are tons of options in the CMS world, including HubSpot. (You can try out our CMS here.)

HubSpot’s free blog maker provides everything you need, including free hosting and security tools. It’s easy to get started, with hundreds of free themes to choose from, and a simple visual editor.

4. Create a blog strategy and editorial calendar.

Just like creating a business, you can't create a blog without a strategy in mind. Your strategy should answer questions like:

• Who are you targeting?
• What type of content will you produce?
• When will you post?
• Where will you promote your content?

Overall, you should have a mission, vision, and goals for your blog.

Then, create an editorial calendar to keep you organized and on track. A calendar will help you track what posts are coming up, ensure writers are meeting deadlines, and assure you have enough content ideas for the foreseeable future.

5. Pay attention to article structure.

When you're writing your blog posts, it's important to consider the article structure. For instance, are you using subheads to break up the post so it's easy to digest? Are you using bullet points and images that make the post easy to scan? These are important factors that will help keep your reader on the page.

Additionally, you‘ll want to make sure that you’re using calls-to-action (CTAs), that will guide the reader on what you want them to do next. This is how you can start making money and generating leads from your blog.

6. Become an expert in marketing and promoting your blog.

Another element of blogging is marketing and promoting your blog posts. It's like the age-old adage, “When a tree falls in the woods and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Consequently, if you write a blog post but nobody reads it, will it have a positive impact on your company or brand? Probably not. That‘s why you’ll have to market your posts. You can use social media, SEO, your website, or your email newsletter to reach current and potential customers.

7. Learn about SEO.

Like I mentioned above, you want people to read your blog posts. One way to do that is to get organic traffic through SEO. If you want your blog to be successful, learn how to research keywords, how to rank in search engines, and how to build an SEO strategy.

I actually learned all about SEO through my blog. I started writing a blog, realized that I wanted people to read it, so I needed to learn SEO. I started employing SEO best practices from the few Google ranking factors that I knew at the time.

Before I knew it I had my first page one rank one for a long tail keyword and I was hooked!

My first page one blog rank is pictured below. The keyword is “cycling in Azerbaijan.” Pretty niche! Since not many people are doing it, it was, relatively speaking, easy for me to achieve.

If you’re starting in SEO, that’s what I’d recommend. Pick a long-tail, easy-to-rank-for keyword, even if it’s not ideal for business, just try and get something ranking and practice SEO.

8. Use a variety of blog post styles.

Your blog posts should be interesting to everyone who reads them, and especially for customers who read every single post.

For those that are active followers and ambassadors of your blog, you should use a variety of blog post styles so your blog doesn't get stale. Consider using how-to posts, list-based posts, or thought leadership.

9. Repurpose old content.

Producing blog content consistently can be hard. But you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you write a blog post.

You can update old blog posts to keep them accurate and comprehensive.

Additionally, you can use other content of yours, perhaps a YouTube video or a podcast, and repurpose the content into a blog post.

Get started with HubSpot's Free AI Blog Writer

To freshen up old content, you can leverage HubSpot's Free AI Blog Writer — the software can help you generate ideas and write copy.

10. Perform a competitive analysis.

To understand your audience, run a competitive analysis on your top blog competitors. This will help you identify trends, uncover gaps in the content in your industry, and give you ideas on topics and ways to promote your blog.

Running a competitive analysis will help you build and iterate on your own blog strategy.

How to Promote Your Blog

If you’ve got your SEO sorted, visitors will largely find your blog through Google, but as mentioned earlier, a blog is an excellent channel to build awareness and promote your brand.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Link from your website.

This may seem obvious, but you should make your blog easy to find on your website. Consider using an attention-grabbing CTA or making it easily accessible from a dedicated spot on your homepage.

2. Repurpose blog content.

As previously mentioned, repurposing content will save you loads of time when creating content, but it also allows you to promote your brand across multiple channels whether through video, podcasts, email, or social.

3. Utilize internal linking.

Once you’ve started generating a significant amount of posts on your blog, it can be helpful to link to other posts or related topic pages within your blog.

This is good for SEO, but it will also help your readers find pertinent information on a topic they are interested in.

4. Promote on social media.

With the help of eye catching video or images, you can also leverage your social media channels to drive traffic to your blog. Additionally, consider placing a link to your blog on all of your social accounts.

5. Consider guest blogging.

Guest posting on another industry-related blog gives your brand the opportunity to introduce itself to new customers who may not have heard of you.

It’s also a great opportunity to network with other industry professionals and provide cross-promotion opportunities.

6. Leverage influencers.

Influencer marketing is a powerful tool you can use to give your brand some social proof credibility.

Similar to guest blogging, you’ll be able to tap into that person’s audience and introduce your brand to a new audience. Be sure to work on cultivating a relationship first before reaching out for a favor.

7. Explore paid options.

If you have the budget to do so, paid content promotion is another route you can take to get eyes on your content. Running ads or a boosted post on Facebook is a good entry point to paid promotion.

If you're officially ready to get started with your own blog, take a look at our guide to creating a successful blog strategy.

Blogging is beneficial for business.

With a blog, the sky’s the limit — and so are the benefits for your business, as I’ve seen with the many blogs I have created or written for myself. When new content is published regularly, engaging, and helpful to your audience, it’s an invaluable tool to have in your marketing kit.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in February 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

As someone who has experimented with different AI marketing tools, I can confidently say that embracing AI can benefit marketing teams looking to become more efficient in reaching their goals.

While it can automate tasks, save time and costs, and boost productivity, there are some AI challenges marketers should be aware of.

Our 2024 AI Trends report found that 74% of marketers predict most people will use AI in the workplace by 2030. So, I figured I should explore the challenges marketers could face when working with AI, so they're prepared as it becomes a bigger part of their workflow.

I’ll also highlight expert insight from industry leaders so you can learn how to tackle these challenges and harness the power of AI in marketing.

• The 10 Biggest Challenges When Implementing AI
• 12 Tips for Implementing AI

The 10 Biggest Challenges When Implementing AI

Along with the benefits of using AI in marketing outlined in the image below, the challenges of implementing AI in marketing are vast.

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This includes challenges related to the AI systems, processes, team buy-in, and more. We‘re working through the most significant challenges and the data that justifies these day-to-day challenges. You’re not the only one feeling the struggle.

Here are 10 common challenges when it comes to AI in marketing.

1. Hampering Creativity

As brands like Coca-Cola and mega-celebrities like Nicki Minaj use generative AI in their marketing campaigns, many marketers worry that AI could stifle creativity.

Our marketing and AI survey found that 43% of marketers who use AI do so to create content.

With such a huge chunk of marketers using AI to create, it's understandable to have concerns that the marketing landscape could become oversaturated with AI and lose its creative spark.

However, there are several ways marketers can avoid this pitfall.

One key to overcoming the challenge is for marketers to use AI as an assistive tool that streamlines their process or gets the creative juices flowing.

2. Undermining Competency

If you‘re concerned that AI could undermine your competency as a marketer, you’re not alone.

According to our survey, 57% of marketers feel pressured to learn AI or risk becoming irrelevant. This translates to sentiments that AI could undermine a marketer's effort and competency at work.

Though AI is becoming increasingly ingrained in marketing, that doesn‘t mean marketers can’t remain competitive and shine in the workplace.

Marketers can overcome this challenge by learning more about AI's functionality, how different AI tools work, and finding ways AI can boost productivity or troubleshoot roadblocks.

3. Extra Time Commitments

If you want a sound output from AI, you need excellent input. That means you need to know what to ask for based on your goals.

Prompting AI for marketing is another thing to add to your swelling to-do list.

Like any new skill, prompting AI needs to be learned and practiced. The good news is that the time taken to prompt and use AI may be a case of short-term pain for long-term gain.

Based on our research, if you can prompt AI to deliver generative content that you're happy to publish, you could save as much as three hours and ten minutes when working on a single piece of marketing content from start to finish. Not bad.

In fact, our survey found that 75% of marketers use AI to reduce the time they spend on manual tasks.

4. Creating Working Processes

A contributing factor to the challenge of time constraints when implementing AI is creating processes. However, navigating the challenges of AI will be easier with a working process.

If you use AI, you want all team members to work with it similarly. An AI process is required to help eliminate bias and ensure everything is fact-checked, and it naturally provides best practice tips to use AI tools efficiently.

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5. Inaccurate Information

In our state of AI in marketing research, we found that one of the top challenges for marketers implementing AI is pushback regarding inaccurate information.

It's unsurprising, considering almost half of the marketers surveyed have received incorrect information from generative AI.

Producing inaccurate information is undoubtedly a valid concern for conscientious marketers, and it could damage brand reputation and brand/consumer relations.

6. Poor Quality Content

Similar to the challenge above, poor-quality content concerns conscientious marketers. But there's an argument that this does not need to be a challenge.

As I mentioned earlier, 43% of marketers in our survey use AI to create content.

With so many marketers leveraging AI in their creative processes, it‘s important to remember that AI isn’t always going to generate accurate results.

So, remember to fact-check AI outputs always.

7. Privacy and Data Analysis

There are broad concerns about privacy and data analysis regarding using AI.

When it comes to data analysis, marketers use AI to analyze customer data and understand user behavior. However, it has its own set of challenges. When implementing AI into your workflow or customer interactions, do the following:

• Consult with your supervisor and/or IT department before inputting sensitive data into AI.
• Be cautious of free trials, as they may retain your data after your trial is up.
• Choose trusted AI software with a proven track record of reliability and security.

8. Job Replacement

The worry about job replacement has been around for a while, and it’s understandable.

In 2017, a McKinsey report studied considerations around the workplace in 2030 and how AI might impact it.

The report estimated that “between 400 million and 800 million individuals could be displaced by automation and need to find new jobs by 2030.”

The good news is the findings are yet to come to fruition. In fact, our report finds the opposite to be true. According to our AI Trends Report, 68% of marketers surveyed say has helped grow their career.

But the fear is still there. You might find some pushback when implementing AI with your team if they’re worried about job security.

Now, the subject of job replacement and AI is much more positive. Mike Maynard, the CEO at Napier, published an article titled Will AI Lead To The End Of Marketing Jobs? in Forbes.

Maynard said, “AI will inevitably replace certain aspects of traditional marketing, but by and large, it will probably be the tedious, mundane tasks, like analytics, that most of us aren’t enthusiastic about anyway."

He explained, “The truth is that although AI can potentially automate certain tasks and improve efficiency, it is unlikely to replace marketing teams for the foreseeable future completely.”

There are reasons to believe that AI is here to solve tasks and will never replace human teams in marketing. Naturally, marketing leaders must convince teams that their jobs are safe.

9. AI Bias

AI bias is a challenge that most marketers should be aware of.

Ultimately, AI will always be biased because humans are biased. Marketing leaders need a plan to meet the challenge of teams inputting bias into a system.

Bias is a serious consideration and challenge for businesses, and its impact can be serious. DataRobot’s 2022 survey found that the impact of data bias can result in as much as 62% lost revenue.

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10. Keeping Up with New Trends and Technologies

The field of AI is constantly evolving, and it’s growing fast. Marketers can feel overwhelmed keeping up with the latest trends and technologies.

It’s hard to know what to try, prioritize, and invest your time into. This challenge is particularly overwhelming if you have business heads pushing your team for more.

12 Tips for Implementing AI

Okay, now we know what some of the biggest challenges are, let's find out how to overcome them in a way that helps you reach your marketing objectives while you reap all the AI benefits you’ve heard so much about.

Here are 12 tips to help you do just that.

1. Enforce AI policies.

Dan Robinson, Head of Marketing and e-Commerce at instantprint, recommends that businesses implement and enforce AI policies to aid smooth AI implementation.

The solutions he‘s integrated into instantprint’s AI implementations include:

“Employees must adhere to the guidelines we‘ve set out. We nurture an environment of trust but also provide our team with the rules and regulations they need to be aware of to use these tools effectively and safely. Our ‘AI Code of Conduct’ is set out by each platform we use, with do’s and don't for each tool.

“We want to make our AI policy a collaborative space. Those using AI and other models will get to know the platforms in great detail. Making policies a shared effort means that we're more likely to have rules that will work for our team, developed by our team, with the exception of legal and ethical frameworks as a standard.”

What we like: Robinson doesn‘t deny the importance of AI policies that are legal and ethical but doesn’t stop the team from adding their thoughts. With a collaborative effort to develop policies, you’re more likely to get buy-in from team members.

2. Start with low-risk AI implementations.

Rosella Dello Ioio, Head of Content at Enate, says, “Businesses should be clearly defining the data they can and can't share with public and private AI models. Consider hiring a Chief AI Officer to take the lead on security and governance within the business.

“Once the rules around these challenges have been clearly established, begin rolling out GenAI in your marketing department by identifying all the people whose job involves creating (writing, designing, and building) and let them find the best AI co-pilot for their tasks.

Creative roles such as Copywriting and Graphic Design are relatively low-risk in terms of sensitive data as opposed to a CRM Manager who wants to use GenAI to analyze customer feedback and complaints.

Test and procure low-risk tools to support these creative individuals in boosting productivity and slashing the time spent on mundane tasks while ensuring governance protocols are adhered to."

What we like: It's justified for marketers to be concerned about data and analysis by AI tools, but Dello Ioio has found a solution that allows marketing leaders to start implementing AI in a way that feels manageable and safe.

Sometimes, the first step is the most challenging, and once leaders get rolling with AI, they may be inspired to try more.

Look at HubSpot’s AI content assistant for low-risk AI experimentation. It’s free to demo, and you can write content, create emails, landing pages, and more.

3. Leverage AI alongside your existing tech stack.

Cassey Bowden, Director of Marketing at Promet Source, recommends that marketing leaders consider new AI tools with existing tech and your talented team.

She says, “When used effectively in combination with other tools and skills of our respective teams, the door is wide open for possibilities. I would encourage folks to look at AI as an assistive tool in their digital toolbox.

Those who will see the best results and realize the most benefits of AI, in my opinion, will be those who view this tech through a Venn diagram lens.

Leveraging this tech along with your existing tech stack in addition to your skilled team, where these overlap, is where we will find success."

What we like: Bowden’s tip could help marketing leaders close the gap on challenges that hamper creativity. If AI is used in addition to your skilled team, then there's everything to gain through collaboration.

Consider taking the best of AI and the best of that all-important human touch and find the areas where they can best support each other.

4. Talk to your team.

Communication is, of course, everything! When it comes to AI, marketing leaders can eliminate a lot of AI challenges with team buy-in and communication.

Jessica Packard, Content Strategy Manager at ClockShark, found that some reassurance allowed her team to see AI for what it is; a marketing tool that can aid their workflow.

Packard says, “Initially, my team of copywriters was apprehensive about how AI could potentially replace their work in the organization."

She continues, "The fear was understandable, but it was important to reassure them that the AI tools are still underdeveloped and they cannot create copy that successfully engages readers on an emotional level as humans do.

It’s also important to show them how leveraging AI can be beneficial to their work, from brainstorming content ideas to help writing creative titles and meta descriptions."

Montse Cano, International SEO & Digital Marketing Consultant at Montserrat Cano, shared similar tips for overcoming AI challenges. She follows a set of questions and uses AI in a way that helps teams.

She shares her process, “We identify what needs we have in our team that we could meet by using AI. Is it code generation, text content ideas, or images? Then, assess current resources to test and validate outputs, i.e., do we need any training, hire someone else.”

Johannes Larsson, Founder and CEO at Johannes Larsson, adds to the importance of communication with an onus on regular comms and empowerment.

Larsson says, “We regularly communicate with our team about the benefits of AI and how it can empower them rather than threaten them. We also aim to provide training and resources to help them develop new skills and expand their knowledge in areas where AI is involved.”

What we like: It might seem simple to suggest communication, but it’s easily forgotten when you’re all busy at work. Cano, Packard, and Larsson have recognized the why behind team challenges and recommended how you can solve this challenge through communication, reassurance, and future training.

5. Test AI with your team.

In line with the importance of talking to your team, Kevin Miller, co-founder and CEO of GRO, encourages marketers to improve their workflow efficiency with AI.

He started with a solid goal, improving his team’s efficiency by 400%, and worked with his team to document AI success.

Miller shares his story, “We experimented with ChatGPT earlier this year to improve writing efficiency for long- and short-form content creation.

For our clients, we want to produce the highest-quality work possible to help them grow their domain authority and online traffic, so automation was a natural strategy to pursue that goal. That being said, it's not a one-stop-shop tool."

He continues, “Aiming to improve workflow efficiency by 400% by leveraging AI tools, we asked writers to adapt their workflows and give feedback on how well ChatGPT helped improve their writing and deliverability.

Although we did not hit those marks because of many natural obstacles and limitations of the software, we increased workflow efficiency by 200% through content templates and research assistance.

ChatGPT is fantastic for content generation and assessment, but can‘t do the work alone. It is still a part of many of our writers’ workflows to use as they see fit, and I am confident that it will continue to grow in capacity and use."

What we like: Miller and his team have experimented with ChatGPT and actively found that AI can improve team efficiency. We especially like the level of involvement Miller’s team had in AI experimentation.

With his team reporting back on their AI feedback, we feel Miller was more likely to get buy-in from team members.

6. Get your processes locked down.

Adam Smith, founder of The Content Machine, has mastered AI prompts. His test website was just 30 days old and boasted over 36,000 clicks and over 1 million impressions. All of his content was created using AI.

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Smith says, "I’m using totally un-edited AI content, straight from ChatGPT. There's a big misconception that AI content is rubbish or garbage.

However you can create helpful content if you get your ChatGPT processes locked down! You aren't going to be creating high-quality content with ‘write me a 1,500 word article on x topic’ type prompts."

According to Smith, there’s more you can do to improve the quality of content, he advises you, “Add unique images, add internal links to other contextually relevant blog posts, add as much schema as possible, and embed related YouTube videos.”

What we like: With a well-thought-out prompting process, Adam Smith has proved that AI content can be helpful, and it can rank. (And it’s even better when the data backs up the claims.)

7. Find the areas where AI is most effective.

Using AI doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing scenario. You can find the opportunities or tasks that AI is most capable of solving; then you can do the rest.

Sara Cooper, Director of Web Strategy at SimPRO, found that her team found AI most beneficial at generating headlines or sections of copy.

Copper says, "One of the biggest challenges has been feeding AI the right directives to get the output we are looking for and learning to not ask for too much from AI upfront.

For example, as the team has started to leverage AI to generate more content across our website, it‘s clear that it’s most effective when supporting the personalization of headlines or sections of copy rather than generating whole landing pages from scratch."

Jessica Ruane, Senior Content Manager at Beekeeper, echoes Cooper. Ruane says, “A big challenge that surrounds AI is effectively utilizing it in Content Marketing. Companies are definitely using AI to varying degrees during the content creation process.

Some may be fully writing content with the use of AI, while others are utilizing it for research and inspiration. The best way to implement AI in content is — slowly. Focus on the ‘voice’ that you’d like to use, and experiment with rewriting phrases to get started.”

What we like: Ruane and Cooper agree that there’s a place for AI in content writing. Equally, they’re both seeing the role of AI vary based on what marketers find more useful. Consider using AI for different tasks and find what works for you and your team. AI doesn’t have to write everything.

8. Experiment carefully.

Sofia Inga Tyson, SEO Content Editor at Juro, resolves the AI challenge of quality and brand with careful experimentation and full disclosure to key stakeholders.

Tyson says, “There are certainly concerns about the use of AI in content strategies diluting the quality and overall authority of the website.

Businesses are often keen to experiment with AI to scale their content production but content writers are naturally fearful that AI-generated content at scale will have a detrimental impact on the performance of existing, expertly crafted content.

I think it’s really important to manage stakeholder expectations in this regard and ensure that these risks are disclosed to other decision-makers in the business that might be encouraging this approach for aggressive growth.

I also think it’s important to be cautious about AI-generated content because the true impact won’t be felt immediately. It could be months or even years before the content is evaluated negatively based on the quality or use of AI.

Any experiments should be just that - careful, closely monitored and kept at a scale that means it can be reversed if needed. I think this approach will bring a lot of content writers comfort as it demonstrates that you’re approaching the use of AI with caution, not carelessly jeopardizing the online presence you have already."

What we like: Tyson’s holistic approach to AI covers brand reputation, the team, and stakeholders. She considers the desire to leverage AI with the needs of the team who use it. We love the reassurance for all involved when experimentation is monitored carefully.

9. Monitor quality and accuracy.

Once you’re set up and using AI, you don’t want to neglect the all-important quality check.

Annika Haataja, Head of SEO at Seeker, says, “As you expand your use of AI, don‘t forget to monitor quality and accuracy. We all know that AI can sometimes make mistakes, which may hurt adoption if teams don’t trust the results.

Have people review a sample of AI output to catch errors, and empower them to have faith in their own expertise in the process.”

What we like: Diligence around AI output could decline as teams become comfortable with AI usage. Haataja reminds us to stay mindful of quality and accuracy as AI adoption scales, an important reminder for all of us.

10. Refine your data sources.

Simon Brisk, Director at Click Intelligence Ltd., found AI bias a challenge. Interestingly, they found better data once his team refined the data sources.

He says, “One significant challenge we‘ve faced at Click Intelligence when integrating AI is ensuring data integrity. AI models are only as good as the data they’re trained on. Inaccurate or biased data can lead to misguided marketing decisions.

“For instance, while analyzing user behavior for an e-commerce client, skewed data initially suggested a preference for a specific product line. Only after refining data sources did we realize a more holistic preference trend, thereby recalibrating our marketing strategy.”

What we like: Brisk’s experience with AI bias shows the potential impact and the solution. By recalibrating data sources, Click Intelligence could recalibrate its marketing strategy based on reliable data.

11. Stay competitive.

The world of AI is developing fast. Chris Stott, Director at Seven Marketing, recommends staying ahead of AI developments.

He says, “Staying ahead of the competition is paramount. It's essential for us to consistently deliver exceptional value. This means rigorously testing all AI software to keep us on the cutting edge and guarantee that we provide top-tier results to our clients.”

What we like: Incorporating AI into your systems can be exciting and empowering. Testing AI from a place of experimentation is a great way to explore AI capabilities with your team. You’ll soon get a feel for what supports you and what you can live without.

12. Overcome data integrity and change management.

Jessica Shee, Senior Tech Editor and Marketing Content Manager at iBoysoft, shares the importance of overcoming data integrity and change management.

She says, “Change management and data integrity are two significant obstacles to implementing AI in marketing. For accurate AI-driven insights and decision-making, it is essential to ensure high-quality, pure data.

Misaligned data can cause inaccurate forecasts and ineffective marketing campaigns. Invest in data cleansing, validation, and data integration tools to address this issue.

Change management is an additional obstacle. Integrating AI can disrupt existing workflows and require team members to acquire new skills. Transparent communication about the benefits of AI and training team members to cultivate acceptance and proficiency are necessary for a smooth implementation.

Working with AI experts, integrating teams in decision-making, and starting with trial projects can help integrate AI while resolving difficulties. A systematic strategy, continual training, and clear communication ensure a smoother transition and optimize AI marketing benefits."

What we like: Shee recognizes that you don’t have to do everything alone. You can bring in experts and start with trial projects to help support your team through AI implementation challenges.

What's stopping you from implementing AI?

There's no harm in experimenting with AI automation so long as you follow the guidelines I laid out in this post.

In the worst case, you‘ve run an experiment (and isn’t that what marketing is all about?), and in the best case, you've got the data to support the success of your AI endeavors. Getting buy-in from your team or stakeholders will be easier when they know AI drives marketing objectives.

Plus, with the top tips from marketing leaders, you’ll start with the best possible insights to make AI and marketing an absolute success.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2023 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

As the cofounder of a boutique B2B marketing agency, I’m always looking for the best AI tools for B2B marketing — partly for me and partly for my clients.

The more time I spend getting acquainted with automation and AI, the more comfortable I’ve become with the genuine benefits AI can bring to marketing and business.

In this article, I’m sharing, in no particular order, the best AI tools for marketing in 2024. I’ve included my experience with them, why they’re great, their unique features and pricing, and who I think can benefit most from the tool.

Table of Contents

• Why use AI tools for B2B marketing?
• Best AI Tools for B2B Marketing

Why use AI tools for B2B marketing?

According to HubSpot’s AI Trends for Marketers survey of 1,062 US marketing and advertising professionals, the biggest concern about adopting AI is that it will replace jobs.

Almost 50% of marketers surveyed voiced concerns about job security. This fascinates me, especially because 68% said AI has helped grow their careers.

Personally, I’ve not strongly felt this way because I believe that marketing is, and always will be, about human-to-human connection — and AI simply can’t do that.

I left the worries about using AI tools in B2B marketing behind me long ago and now embrace what AI tools offer.

That said, although I don’t share the sentiment, I do understand the concern. I would argue that AI tools can do so much of our work, but none of the real good stuff or the things we love! As marketers, we still get to add the human touch, but we can “outsource” a lot of the less desirable work to AI.

Let’s look at how we can use AI to create a more efficient workflow and free up our time to do what we do best.

• Generative AI can help us write content faster. In my opinion, there’s a time and a place for generative AI. Some content benefits massively from its input, and some content just needs entirely the human touch. I’ve used generative AI for emails, my website, paragraphs within articles, and even some articles that are almost entirely written with AI.
• AI and automation in project management tools mean that marketing projects will manage parts themselves. Recently, I’ve set up ClickUp automation, which left me mindblown and questioning why I didn’t embrace it earlier! Project management tools like Motion will organize your week based on task priorities, available time, and desired schedule.
• Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) is the type of AI you’ve likely seen in your meetings; Fireflies AI will transcribe your meetings. Loom does the same with its video transcription. The AI is leveled up when it also pulls out key points and actions, so you know exactly what you need to do after a meeting.
• Predictive analysis in CRMs looks at customers trends, helping sales and marketing to make data-driven decisions about what to do next.

I could continue, but we’ll discuss the details of AI features in B2B marketing tools in the next section.

Before we get into that, though, let me give you a top tip for using AI marketing tools: don’t try and do it all at once.

74% of marketing professionals say that AI usage increases through existing tools. This makes sense.

Start by adding layers of AI in tools your team already uses and is comfortable with. The chances are they’ll be used to the tool's interface so that they will be less intimidated.

Also, the AI features of the tools you’re already using should complement existing workflows.

Okay, let’s get into it. Here’s my round-up of the 11 best AI tools for B2B marketing.

1. HubSpot

HubSpot is genuinely fantastic. I know, I would say that — but the thing is, it’s not just me. Crazy Egg and Zapier voted HubSpot the best free CRM.

HubSpot does a lot out of the box for new users, and when you get into the paid features, you’ll be unstoppable.

The free version makes it a great place to start for new users and young businesses, and you can guarantee that HubSpot has what it takes to grow with your business.

HubSpot Features

Marketers love HubSpot’s many features, including the popular live chat, AI content writer, and website builder.

One great feature of HubSpot is the many integrations. You can connect various apps and streamline your workflows. In a test, I added my Google Contacts to the CRM, which were easily synced and ready for marketing.

HubSpot AI Features

HubSpot's AI features are vast, and it is truly putting AI to the test and adding unbeatable functionality. I won’t get through them all in this article, but here are some favorites for B2B marketers.

When you create website pages or landing pages, you can build your site from scratch or generate them using AI.

The same goes for creating content. HubSpot has an excellent copywriting AI; you can generate an entire article or email using AI.

When it comes to AI content, I tend to use it as a starting point and then edit it after. 86% of marketers agree this is what works.

I tested the generative AI and found it very easy. You enter the topic that you want to write about. Next, the AI tool will let you choose a title from five generated options, and voila! You will have your blog post outline.

Still unsure? Well, 85% of marketers and sales pros agree that AI is a very effective tool for content creation and quality.

HubSpot Limitations

While HubSpot does a lot for free, you must upgrade your account if you want the best from the system. You pay for additional users, but Marketing Hub Professional includes three seats.

Pricing

The Marketing Hub Professional unlocks a lot of functionality and AI for B2B marketers. Prices start from $15 a month per seat to $800 a month for larger businesses needing more functionality.

See the full pricing breakdown.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

Hubspot’s Sales and Marketing Hub is rated 4.4/5, with over 11,000 reviews. The CMS Hub is rated 4.5/5 points, with over 1,500+ reviews.

Best For

Hubspot is an excellent and comprehensive tool for businesses of all sizes. It offers so much for free that it’s perfect for small businesses as it is and is enhanced by the small business AI. HubSpot is undoubtedly comprehensive enough for the largest of businesses.

2. WriterZen

WriterZen is a firm favorite of mine. I’ve used it for years. If you’re doing a lot of content marketing, SEO, and blog writing, you must consider WriterZen because the functionality and price of this tool make it very affordable.

The team is fantastic. They’re a passionate bunch and committed to creating the best content tool. I met them all a couple of years ago when I visited their offices, and we chatted about AI, content, and SEO.

The tool is mainly for content writing. I love creating briefs with it, but you can also write articles with the generative AI and manage your entire content production within the tool.

There’s a brilliant keyword clustering tool that works by analyzing ranking pages, also ideation tools, plagiarism checkers, and so much more.

WriterZen Features

I’ll run through a few features, then focus on my favorite and most used part of WriterZen, the Content Creator feature.

WriterZen’s Topic Discovery feature is a great starting point if you need help discovering topics. You start with a head topic, such as “marketing solutions.” Then, the tool does the hard work for you, delivering content topics.

Keyword Explorer and Keyword Planner features assist the planning phase of content production. WriterZen will find keywords for you.

Now, onto Content Creator, my favorite feature. This feature helps you write competitive content. You can do everything from keyword research to SERP analysis to writing, all within the same workflow and window.

This feature offers generative AI for title tags, meta descriptions, full article outlines, and the article itself.

I have a full video showing how I use this part of WriterZen, including the AI features.

WriterZen AI Features

As shown in the video above, the AI features within WriterZen can help you:

• Generate a competitive SEO-driven brief based on what’s already ranking. I recommend expanding this to include your direct experience. It's not enough to do what everyone else is doing and expect to rank.
• Write title tags, meta descriptions, and even the entire article with AI if you want. I have started many articles this way, then edited them until satisfied.

WriterZen Limitations

You can't access the best tools using the free version. Although it is amazing for briefing and writing, keyword research isn’t as good as a tool like Semrush or Ahrefs as they will have large databases.

Pricing

The best part of WriterZen’s pricing is that you pay for it once and get lifetime access. There’s also a free trial and a money-back guarantee.

You can access everything for $405 and never pay another penny. WriterZen boldly compares themselves to other tools.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

WriterZen has 201 reviews in G2 and has a rating of 4.7/5.

Best For

This tool is great for content marketing teams who need support with the SEO layer of content strategy.

3. ChatGPT

I think everyone has at least tried ChatGPT at this point.

Love it or loathe it, you simply can’t argue that ChatGPT is a great tool that can greatly enhance B2B marketing. If you’re still unconvinced, I’ll share some of its features and ways I’ve used it.

ChatGPT Features

Most people probably turn to ChatGPT for its generative AI and writing blog content, but it can do so much more than that.

Since that is a well-known use for the tool, I’ll focus on other features such as image generation, data analysis, and coding.

ChatGPT AI Features

DALL-E allows you to turn your imagination into images. Simply prompt the generative AI with your desired image, and DALL-E will return something you can use on your website or other digital channels.

The images are good, but you need to check them carefully. I’ve seen generative AI images on websites, and if you know what to look for (the fingers), you can spot a generative AI image quite easily.

I encourage people to use their own images, but generative AI images serve a purpose. I follow the rule that generative AI is fine if an image is just there for decoration.

I’ve relied on ChatGPT a lot when I’m generating code. I use it a lot for schema.

It’s not always perfect, but if I want to add code to a site I’m working on, ChatGPT will get me to my desired outcome or close enough that a developer is making tweaks rather than doing the whole task.

Similarly, you can code tools and calculators that can act as great lead magnets on your site.

As a content marketer and SEO, I often deal with large datasets, like keywords. You can upload files to ChatGPT, and it will return tidy data. Using ChatGPT in this way saves me hours.

ChatGPT Limitations

ChatGPT is pretty unlimited once you start paying for it. Iterating images is poor. It tends not to understand a request to tweak something on an already generated image.

Pricing

The free version gives you access to GPT-4o mini. However, if you want to use all the ChatGPT features, the upgrade will cost you $20 per month. I’ve used both the free and paid version. Start with free and see how you go.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

ChatGPT is rated 4.7/5 with over 580 reviews.

Best For

This is an excellent AI tool for any B2B marketer. I struggle to think of anyone who wouldn’t benefit from ChatGPT.

4. Loom

I love Loom. It’s an excellent recording tool overall. It’s not perfect, and I’ll discuss that in the limitations section below. That said, I pay for Loom Business, and the extra to use the AI features is well worth the $5.

Loom Features

Loom is a video recording software. I use it to communicate with clients, demonstrate tools, send proposals, and create onboarding and training documents.

You can share your video by just generating a shareable link. Loom tracks video views, comments, and more.

There’s a desktop app, a browser version, and a Chrome extension. I highly recommend the app, which, in my experience, has the fewest problems and is least likely to glitch.

Loom AI Features

Loom uses quite a bit of AI.

You can generate video transcripts with automatic speech recognition (ASR), which is helpful. I’d go as far as to say that Loom’s ASR is one of the best I’ve used. I never edit it because it's good enough for what I need it for.

You can also edit your video using the trim and stitch editor. Compared to apps like TikTok or CapCut, the editing feature is not the best on Loom, but it is good enough.

It’s enhanced with the Loom AI package, which you do have to pay for, but the AI will cut any pauses and filler words.

Plus, the AI will generate a video summary and chapters. I often edit the chapters but barely touch the summary; it’s good enough.

Loom Limitations

There are a few limitations with Loom. The free package limits you to 25 videos and five five-minute duration. To be fair, I do think that’s generous enough, though I was on the free version for ages.

As mentioned, the video editor could be better.

Loom is not really a video generator in the sense that you are creating creative videos; it’s really for recording processes and your screen. However, there are AI video generators and other tools to help with that.

My biggest gripe with the software is that it does seem to glitch; videos don’t always save. When I load the app, it minimizes my browser the first time I use it, but it is fine the second time.

These little bugs irritate me, but not enough, as I still use it.

To Loom’s credit, whenever I’ve had problems, customer support has responded quickly and resolved many of my issues.

Pricing

Loom costs $12.50 a month if paid annually. You can optionally add Loom AI for $5 per user. The extra $5 is worth it for me, but I probably use Loom at least every other day.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

Loom is rated 4.7/5 with over 2000 reviews.

Best For

Loom is great for day-to-day marketing teams looking to showcase demos, record training, and create onboarding videos. If you need to do a lot of editing, you can still use Loom, but you might want to download the video and edit it elsewhere.

5. Fireflies AI

Gone are the days when a VA or junior team member was brought to take meeting minutes. In 2024, this is handled entirely by AI, and when Fireflies is as good as it is, why wouldn’t you?

For the most part, I find Fireflies to be pretty accurate, and I appreciate action points being delivered directly to me. It prevents people from being distracted while taking notes, so everyone can engage fully in the meeting.

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Fireflies AI Features

Fireflies integrates with many apps, such as Asana, Airtable, ClickUp, Google Meet, Google Docs, HubSpot, Monday.com, Notion, Zoom, Skype, Trello, Slack, and many more.

Once you integrate an app (e.g., Zoom), this tool will join the meeting and email you a transcription at the end.

Usefully, there’s a topic tracker where you can create topics that help you search and highlight relevant parts of meetings quickly. This feature is only available for the premium plan.

You can upload an audio or video file to generate a transcript. Depending on your file size, it will be processed in 10-15 minutes. This supports formats like MP3, MP4, WAV, and M4A.

AI Features Within Fireflies AI

One great feature is the magic soundbites. You can use the power of AI to create new media from your video or audio. For example, the Magic Soundbites app will automatically generate a highlight reel for your meetings.

Although not strictly marketing, it all plays a role: you can generate a scorecard to rate the performance of sales reps.

Fireflies Limitations

The free version only includes 800 minutes of video storage. That is, however, pretty reasonable.

Pricing

The free plan is very reasonable as a starting point. If you want access to more features, you can start at $18/month, rising to $29.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

Fireflies.ai has 4.8/ 5 out and 448 reviews.

Best For

This is best for individuals and businesses, particularly those in and out of meetings regularly and want to save time.

6. Microsoft Clarity

Any good B2B marketer should pay attention to how their website functions for the user. Microsoft Clarity shows how visitors interact with your site.

The setup is very straightforward. You simply add code to your website. For a savvy website administrator, you won’t even need a developer.

Microsoft Clarity Features

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Clarity is free to use. It has analysis and reporting features, and you can get quite granular. Under recordings, you’ll see your website visitors’ activity, User ID, location, and browser and device details — MacOS, IOS, PC, etc.

Heatmaps, as pictured, show where users click or scroll. This is the data that B2B marketers need to create the best possible pages for conversion.

Once you know where and what your users click, you can develop a page that helps funnel traffic to conversion.

Microsoft Clarity AI Features

Copilot is Microsoft Clarity’s AI partner. It’s free, and you can use natural language to help you understand your website’s performance.

Microsoft Clarity Limitations

I’m struggling to find limitations. It’s completely free and does what you want it to. It’s supposed to be better than alternatives as it’s not too “heavy” on the site and, therefore, doesn’t slow it down as much.

Pricing

Clarity is free to use forever.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

With 36 total reviews, Clarity is rated 4.5/5.

Best For

Microsoft Clarity is great for anyone with a website. For B2B marketers, you can make data-driven decisions. Even if you’re not ready for this yet, I’d recommend getting Clarity on the site so you start gathering the data.

7. ClickUp

It took me a while to warm up to ClickUp, an AI project management tool, but the more I use it, the more I love it.

Project management tools are a must for me.

As a consultant, I see way too many marketing teams hoping actions get done after meetings or working in Google Sheets. A good project management tool with great AI features greatly benefits work efficiency.

ClickUp is free to start with and does much more out of the box than its competitors.

ClickUp Features

You can import tasks from previous tools, including Monday, Asana, Trello, and Notion, or an Excel and CSV file if you already use another project management tool.

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One of the better features of ClickUp is that automations are available on the free version.

Within my own ClickUp board, I use automation for new tasks, which are automatically assigned to me and populated with descriptions and priorities.

One of my favorite features is the form view. As pictured below, the form allows you to ask for specific details from anyone, even those not using your ClickUp setup. Information provided on the form can populate your next ClickUp task. This feature has considerably sped up workflows and increased accuracy for me.

ClickUp AI Features

Like most good project management tools in 2024, ClickUp has a generative AI feature. You can use this to write job descriptions and tasks, summarize notes, and more.

You can ask the AI questions like what tasks you have, what’s next to do, and more. It can be faster than navigating to your tasks/boards, especially if you’ve got a lot going on within the software.

With ClickUp Brain, you can quickly create drafts of your project plans and subtasks from your task details or even get real-time project updates without opening the task.

For marketers, you can integrate with docs outside of ClickUp. For example, you can easily add Google Docs as a view. I use this feature for content briefings.

ClickUp Limitations

The free version only has 100 MB of free storage, and guests must be granted full access (no permissions). It only has five spaces, and the free version only allows 100 uses when using custom fields.

Although limited, this is reasonable for the free version. Solo entrepreneurs and small businesses might find this very workable for them.

Pricing

The Business Plan costs $12 per member/month, and the Business Plus is $19 per member/month.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

ClickUp’s G2 rating is 4.7/5, with over 9,700 reviews.

Best For

I would go as far as to say that anyone could benefit from ClickUp, but it’s certainly ideal for teams looking to work more efficiently.

8. LinkedIn

At this point, everyone knows about LinkedIn, but not everyone uses this professional social media platform to its fullest extent.

LinkedIn is responsible for the vast majority of my B2B leads. I just love it.

LinkedIn Features

We all know LinkedIn as the social media platform, so I’m not going to talk too much about that, though there are AI features there for comments and generative AI to write in mail and messages.

The main features for B2B marketers are advertising solutions, a sales navigator, and recruitment tools.

LinkedIn AI Features

For marketers posting on LinkedIn (which you absolutely should be), generative AI can help you write a perfect post.

Like many tools, it’s easy to use within the interface. I would criticize the AI on LinkedIn; I don’t love it, but I’m all about being authentic and enjoying the writing.

Sales Navigator is an excellent (but paid) feature that will help you connect with precisely the right people.

This feature allows you to identify your target audience based on several filters, including company, seniority, and more. Instead of wading through profiles, you can now use Account IQ, which will summarize everything you need to know.

LinkedIn Limitations

LinkedIn is free to use for posting, viewing profiles, making connections, etc.; for many, these limitations won’t be an issue.

However, the free version will limit marketers looking to get really smart with their outreach to using LinkedIn Sales Navigator, which is paid.

Pricing

A premium subscription starts at $39.99 per month.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

LinkedIn has several features, and the reviews for each differ.

Sales Navigator has a rating of 4.3/5 and over 1,900 reviews.

The Job Search feature has 4.5/5 (over 1000 reviews), and Recruitment Marketing has 4.2/5 (over 800 reviews).

Best For

I’m a big LinkedIn fan and genuinely think that every B2B marketer should at least consider it for their individual profiles and company pages.

I recommend using individual profiles alongside company pages because, as cliche as it sounds, people do business with people.

9. Slack

In 2024, everyone is using or has used Slack. We’re all familiar with it as software for communication. Slack does have some AI features that you might not be aware of. I’ll get into this below.

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Slack Features

There are a couple of features that I like about Slack.

Firstly, you can group conversations into channels. For my B2B marketing business, we have one channel per client. Plus, there are some internal channels. Others might use it for different departments or marketing channels.

Secondly, Slack is very easy to use when you have access to multiple accounts. Over time, you might be invited into multiple Slack channels from clients or suppliers. You can manage all of this very easily within the same interface.

Finally, the huddle feature is handy. Sometimes, you just need to talk, Huddle allows for quick and impromptu meetings.

Slack AI Features

Slackbot is a helper and messenger. This feature reminds you of things you haven’t done yet to keep the workflow moving.

You can search for snippets of conversation within Slack to find lost messages. The AI element means you can search in natural language, asking questions like " What’s the Q1 sales strategy?”

The features for navigating Slack are pretty good. You can swipe through conversations to quickly review missed messages, and with AI, you can also summarize conversations.

Slack Limitations

When you use the free version, integration with other tools is limited to 10 tools only. The messaging feature’s 90-day history is also limited to the #general channel, and channel posting permission is limited to the #general channel only.

Pricing

The Pro version costs $7.25 per person/month, billed yearly. The Business+ Plan is $12.50 per person/month.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

Slack has an impressive 32k reviews in G2 and rates 4.5/5.

Best For

Slack is best for businesses with teams from various locations, but I’ve found it really helpful even when working within a physical office.

10. Motion

I think Motion is great! I've used it for about a year. It’s perfect for managing solo entrepreneurs and maybe smaller teams.

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Motion Features

This app will help you with project and task management. Its calendar feature allows you to automatically plan your day based on tasks and priorities.

Motion also serves as a master calendar, a feature that I found incredibly helpful as I work with multiple calendars. I sync my calendar from Google and Outlook, and I expect you could sync Apple Calendar, too.

Motion AI Features

The primary AI feature within Motion is its scheduling AI. You give Motion a list of tasks you complete and when they need to be completed.

You can set recurring tasks, so once you set it up, it manages itself each month. The initial setup can be time-consuming, especially as you input a time estimate for each task.

Once that’s done, though, Motion will manage your entire work day, considering task duration, available time, and task priority. It takes the mental load out of what to do next and ensures you don’t have pockets of wasted time.

Motion Limitations

This tool is limited to project management and task organization. While the AI side of it is excellent for organization, it’s not the most multi-use tool.

The calendar view irritates me, too. You can view your calendar by day or week, never month, which feels standard. I did put in a ticket and requested a monthly view.

Pricing

For one user, Motion is $19 per month, but there is a cost per user saving if you have a larger team, you’ll pay $12 per person.

G2 Reviews & Ratings

Motion has a rating of 4.1/5 and only 90 total reviews.

Best For

This is best for individuals who would benefit from AI taking the mental load on what to do next.

Don’t Sleep on AI Tools for B2B Marketing

I know how it is. AI hasn’t always had the best reputation among marketers (remember, almost 50% think it’ll replace them). However, when used well, AI is here to help marketing teams do more, sell more, and connect with their audience.

This is the guide for you if you’re creating a request for a proposal (RFP) for the first time or if you want to improve your RFP process.

In this article, I’m diving into the specifics of what an RFP is, why you might need one, when to issue an RFP, and how to create your very first RFP today.

I’ve reached out to senior sales professionals, marketing leaders, and CEOs who are already using the RFP process. Want to learn from the best? Take note of their top tips for getting the most out of RFPs.

What exactly is an RFP?

Keep in mind that an RFP shouldn’t be confused with an RFQ. The RFP may also be used differently depending on the department.

Let’s first dig into the definition of an RFP.

When your company has a new (often large) project or one that’s more complex and requires a bit of outsourcing, an RFP can help you get the job done right the first time.

The RFP doc allows you to quickly uncover potential vendors' strengths and weaknesses in relation to your project without having to spend too much time hunting for them yourself.

RFPs can also give you a sneak peek into different strategies you may not have considered since each vendor will include their own unique action plan along with their bid.

And you’ll have this information before you ever have to commit to the vendor.

RFP vs. RFQ

An RFQ is a Request for Quotation, which differs slightly from an RFP.

The RFQ is just the quote. Companies solicit multiple price quotes from various vendors to compare services based on price alone. An RFQ does not detail anything other than price.

RFP includes a price quote along with several other specifics. While you’re still receiving a quote in an RFP, you’re also getting information on the timeline of completion, deliverable schedule, and the list of services provided as well.

You can go straight to the RFP phase if you want to, but some companies will submit the RFQ and then the RFP.

Maurice Harary is CEO and co-founder of The Bid Lab, a company that responds to RFP and grant responses for businesses and non-profit organizations. Harary recommends that companies are better off sending an RFQ before the RFP.

Harary says, “Never skip out on issuing an RFQ before you issue an RFP. Learn what makes a vendor qualified for the job before you issue that industry cattle call.”

Once you've issued, reviewed, and assessed responses from an RFQ, Harary says that teams should have a realistic idea of the requirements necessary to implement the desired solution. You can then tweak your RFP according to industry feedback before you post the official version of your request.

“When you do finally publish your RFP, you will have learned exactly which elements of the solution you need to stress to potential respondents up front —and, conversely, you‘ll know to be clear about what won’t work for your organization,” Harary notes.

From there, the resulting responses will be more relevant and tailored according to the guidelines you established in the RFP and RFQ. And, Harary says, “Since you issued that RFQ, you'll probably also have a better rate of responses to boot.”

What is an RFP in marketing?

In Marketing, an RFP is often used to outsource marketing activities.

If you work at a small startup, you might create an RFP to find a full-service communications and marketing firm to create an integrated marketing plan for your business. A successful marketing RFP would outline that you're looking for a firm to help you “increase SEO presence” or “attract social media followers,” etc.

What is an RFP in sales?

In sales, an RFP is often created when a business is looking to purchase a product or service to suit its needs. For instance, if an enterprise company is looking for new CRM software, the business might release an RFP that outlines what it's looking for and what it hopes to achieve with the new CRM software.

RFPs can play a critical role in the enterprise sales cycle. Enterprise companies that issue RFPs often look for businesses that can provide them with IT support, security, onboarding and training, and other services.

Why issue a request for proposal?

Let’s briefly compare these two scenarios:

• Option #1: Spend time finding the perfect vendor on your own.
• Option #2: Use an RFP to get potential vendors to come to you.

If you choose the first route, you’ll probably use your coworkers, friends, and networking groups to solicit possible job referrals.

Or, you might search Google to check out the top vendors in your area.

After you review the website of a possible candidate for the job, you’ll craft the perfect message to reach out and learn if they can even help.

Then, you’ll have to explain the specifics of your project, and you may or may not ask them to submit a proposal before choosing them for your project.

It’s not a complicated process, but you’d have to repeat it for every promising referral or vendor you come across.

Imagine how long that’s going to take!

Now, what if these potential contractors already knew your project details and they came back with their best plan of action and a formal bid for you to review?

Instead of having to explain your needs each time, you would simply outline it once and send it out to the masses.

And to save you even more time, it would be up to potential contractors — not you — to reach out.

RFP Benefits

While creating an RFP will require time up front, it’s certainly worth doing the legwork. Benefits of creating an RFP include:

• Saving you time. As explained in the scenarios above, an RFP saves you tons of time when doing vendor outreach. Instead, you can create one RFP document, publish it, and have the vendors come to you.
• Expanding your network. When doing the outreach yourself, you’re most likely to stay within your own network, relying on referrals. While referrals are great, publishing an RFP online allows you to reach a much larger swath of vendors.
• Offering vetted solutions. The RFP route also gives you a sneak peek into each vendor’s real plan of action, not the one they talk you into over the phone or in person. Since potential candidates have to submit a formal bid, they’ll need to spend time outlining the solution and really working through the problem at hand.

With RFPs you have an easy way to weed out vendors and cut through the stack of options fairly quickly.

But, to get to this point, you have to avoid one major pitfall: timing.

When to Issue an RFP

You will issue an RFP when your company needs a product or service from an external vendor.

It’s ideal for you to issue the RFP in good time before you’re desperate to complete the work. While the RFP process is simple, you must take your time in the early phases (research and scope) to get the best out of it — more on this in the section below.

Outside of your research, account for respondent time and onboarding your new service provider or product.

For respondent time, according to Loopio, the majority of respondents will reply within ten days, but 29% of respondents will take eleven days or more. If you want to catch the majority of respondents, you might want to wait for two weeks before making your shortlist.

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RFP Use Cases

If you’re still unsure if the RFP process is right for you, let’s look at some use cases of when you might submit an RFP.

Technology Procurement

You might be ready to expand your tech stack; perhaps you want one piece of technology to solve multiple problems.

However, researching the technology available is going to be incredibly time-consuming, and you might be left unsure about whether or not the tech you’re researching does what you want it to.

An RFP will bring technology providers to you, and they’ll respond only when their tech can help you.

Marketing and Advertising Services

Marketing and advertising services are often sourced through the RFP process. There are endless agencies that can support you. The RFP gathers information that allows you to compare them against a range of suppliers quickly and easily.

You can request proposals for a range of services, including but not limited to branding, advertising campaigns, social media strategy, or web design services.

Event Management

If you’re hosting a large conference, trade shows, or corporate events, you might prefer to outsource the management to a vendor. It’s not uncommon for companies to issue RFPs to event management firms or venues.

Truly, you can use the RFP process for anything! Now, I’ll explain how the process works.

The RFP Process Explained

Before potential bidders can submit their proposals, the company must draft an RFP requesting the work. The RFP gives potential contractors everything your company is looking for so they can respond.

Once your RFP is sent out, contractors or vendors will find it. Vendors interested in pitching for work via RFPs are always on the lookout for the right opportunities.

The process is generally quite competitive, and companies wishing to close larger accounts via RFP must have a team prepared for the response process. It’s a sophisticated process that requires efficiency.

In your RFP, you can ask for anything you like, but generally, you’d at least ask for

• An action plan to solve your issue
• A timeline of what you can expect
• Any necessary background information
• How much entire project will cost

Next, I’ll break down the process of creating the perfect RFP.

5 RFP Stages to Get the Best Bids

1. Assess what you need.

Before you draft an RFP, you’ll need to do a bit of preparation to figure out what you need and what you’d like to accomplish. You will likely need to speak with your internal team about expectations.

You may also want to conduct competitor and industry research to evaluate your position. This research may help you see things differently and expand on your RFP requirements.

Ultimately, you want to treat the RFP as the most comprehensive brief. Any upfront research will help you.

This process will help you define your goals and project scope. You may also discover potential roadblocks you can resolve before your new service provider is onboarded.

Top tip: Be very detailed about what you want. Remember the differences between the RFQ and RFP. The RFP is more thorough and asks a lot from vendors. According to Loopio, it takes the majority of respondents 30 hours to complete an RFP. Let this give you a gauge of how much you can ask for.

2. List any technical specifications.

Including technical specifications up front in your RFP allows vendors to determine whether or not they can provide what you need.

This also protects your business because if a vendor agrees that they can meet your specifications initially but fails to deliver once they’ve taken on the project, you can hold them accountable to the specifications listed in the RFP.

3. Distribute the RFP.

Once the RFP is written, it’s time to send it out. There are many ways to distribute an RFP.

You can:

• Publish it on your website and create a specific landing page.
• Leverage any industry-related professional groups you’re a member of and advertise it there.
• Utilize your local chamber of commerce, which is also an excellent place to advertise your RFP if you’d prefer to work with a local vendor.
• Use online RFP portals.

Early in the RFP process, bidders may request adjustments based on their industry experience. At this point, you can either review their feedback and create a new RFP to accommodate the changes, or you can leave the original as is and consider it while considering the other submitted bids.

It’s worth noting that aforementioned expert Maurice Harary warns, “If you‘re receiving a deluge of questions from vendors, or you’re seeing huge differences in cost estimates from vendor to vendor, then your RFP wasn't well-understood.”

4. Evaluate your offers.

Once you receive all the proposals, it will be almost effortless to compare each and determine which vendor best fits your company.

Out of the stack of bidders, you’ll want to narrow this down to a handful of your top three, five, or 10 favorites to consider, depending on how many you receive or are interested in. From here, you’ll want to spend time vetting potential vendors further to determine who’s really the ideal fit for the job.

Top Tip: Don’t rush to choose a vendor. Respondents will reply in their own time, with some taking more time than others. Though the early respondents may not be the best, it’s fair to say an early reply may be an indicator of efficiency, which might be important to you.

5. Select the best vendor for the job.

Some companies may request one more best and final offer from their top vendors after they’ve started this negotiation process to ensure they’re getting the right person or company for the job and at the right price.

While this may sound like an extra step, it could save you money, time, and headaches down the road.

But this also leads us to a big question: Is all of this really necessary?

How to Write an RFP

Here’s the basic structure of an RFP and what to include in yours:

1. Project Overview

Before you go into the company specifics, you should give a brief introduction to the project itself so vendors know right away if it’s something worth bidding on.

Don’t get too carried away in the overview. There are dedicated places for elaboration, such as the ‘goals’ or ‘project scope’ section. For now, your overview should be concise.

Max DesMarais, Director of Strategy at Vital Design, receives dozens of RFPs each month. He recommends "an overview section with bulleted or key-listed information about timelines, budgets, response format, and scope.”

2. Company Background

This shouldn’t be a long history of your company. Rather, it should give contractors context.

You want to focus on the most relevant details. For example, the sector your company operates in, the company's core values, the types of clients or customers you serve.

3. Project Goals

Ideally, you will be able to clearly identify what you want to accomplish with this project and what a successful project looks like for you.

This information will help vendors understand your needs exactly and help them determine if they’re a good fit to work with you. Clearly identifying your needs will also help vendors with costs.

Sometimes, those writing the RFP don’t know the solution in its entirety. Perhaps it’s a technical solution. You should exhaust your company's internal knowledge first; speak to your peers and see what you can pull together.

In circumstances where there are gaps, Alex Wilson, marketing director at pixelframe Design, has a great tip.

“If you don't know the specific solution required, describe the problem that needs solving,” Wilson says.

According to Wilson, a frequent challenge in responding to RFPs is having to determine what the client really needs versus what they're asking for.

“If you skip the research phase of crafting your RFP, you may be asking for services that don‘t properly solve your issue, and if you haven’t properly outlined the problem, the agency won't be able to help guide you,” says Wilson.

This is excellent advice from Wilson because it allows you to be descriptive of what you want without the need to lay it out exactly.

4. Project Scope

The details of the project are essential in an RFP. Spend time detailing your project scope so there are no surprises later on. Remember, you’re looking to provide an RFP that will take ten hours to complete. It needs to be detailed.

The project scope wants to be as detailed as it needs to be but concise.

Dan Christensen, owner, CEO, and founder at DJC Law, has some great advice when it comes to streamlining the RFP process without sacrificing detail.

He says, “Be as clear and detailed as possible in the requirements while also keeping it focused. Outline exactly what you need, why you need it, and the criteria that will be used to evaluate responses.”

According to Christensen, RFPs are often vague, leaving respondents to make assumptions and requiring lengthy and unfocused responses.

“A tightly defined and well-structured RFP allows respondents to provide the right information efficiently. I recommend dividing requirements into must-haves versus nice-to-haves, being very specific on timelines, deliverables, performance metrics, and providing respondents with any templates or formats you want responses in,” Christensen says.

5. Target Deliverable Schedule

Even if your deadlines aren’t super tight, you should still have a target deliverable schedule in mind. This needs to be included in your RFP so potential vendors can properly gauge if they have the resources and bandwidth to complete the job on time.

When you set your deliverable schedule, you must consider the RFP process.

Jakub Kozlowski, Sales Manager at People for Pools, says, “Establishing a clear timeline, allowing for questions and clarifications, and providing structured evaluation criteria can streamline the process and ensure a more efficient review of the proposals.”

I like how Kozlowski has specified “allowing for questions and clarifications.” In my experience, there is always a problem to solve, and Kozlowski reminds us to consider the things that we might not expect or account for.

6. Possible Roadblocks

Don’t hide your existing or potential issues under the proverbial rug if you want them to disappear.

A successful RFP is explicitly clear about any technical issues or possible roadblocks, such as: Are you dealing with custom coding or an outdated platform? Does your team have limited resources?

By explaining this upfront, potential vendors will know exactly what they’re getting into.

You’ll also naturally weed out contractors who can’t handle the task due to those constraints.

But you’ll also connect with companies that know how to work around these common issues with skill and finesse.

Remember, it’s far better to find this out now than after you’ve accepted the bid and started work.

7. Budget Constraints

It’s important to be upfront with your budget. This looks better for potential vendors because they know they’re not wasting time responding.

Alex Wilson of pixelframe Design warns that not including a budget could result in your RFP being skipped altogether. Wilson says, “Include a budget. A range is fine, but not including a price at all makes your RFP much more likely to be skipped.”

It’s not just about setting the budget but being upfront with the scope in the steps above so the respondents can see what’s involved and how to price. A thorough RFP will help with budgeting and prevent surprises later.

Reyansh Mestry, Head of Marketing at TopSource Worldwide, says, “By prioritizing deliverables and outcomes in our project proposals, we've ensured that vendors concentrate on what really matters — achieving our desired results. This focus has helped us avoid unnecessary complexity and kept the project aligned with our strategic goals.

Vendors who understand the importance of outcomes are more likely to propose solutions that are tailored to our specific needs, leading to greater efficiency and effectiveness in project execution. The clarity provided by this approach has also reduced misunderstandings and scope creep, allowing us to stay within budget and timeline constraints.”

The more information upfront, the more likely your vendor can provide you with a price that a) meets your budget and b) meets the price with the full scope.

8. What You’re Looking For in Potential Vendors

Another way to reduce or eliminate surprises is to explain exactly what you’re looking for in potential contractors.

All you have to do is outline what matters most to your project (i.e., time, solution, budget, etc.) and show how you’ll evaluate their proposals.

Brett Ungashick, CEO and CHRO of OutSail, has some advice on crafting your questions to vendors in a way that allows them space to demonstrate their USPs.

Ungashick uses RFP for software selection as an example. He says, “We avoid generic feature-based queries because most platforms have similar capabilities, which can result in nearly identical responses.”

“Instead, we ask about areas where there can be meaningful variation, such as cost structures, service models, innovation cycles, and product architecture. This approach not only streamlines the evaluation process by cutting down on redundant information but also draws out richer, more revealing responses that showcase each vendor's unique strengths and approaches.”

Sample Responses to RFPs

If you‘ve issued an RFP and are collecting responses, you might be wondering what you should look for in effective RFP responses. Here, let’s look at a few examples of impressive RFP sample responses.

Example One: General RFP Response for Web Design Services

Dear [author of RFP]:

Regarding your request for proposal (RFP), [our company] is thrilled about the opportunity to provide you web design services. Having worked with [brief list of past clients], we believe a partnership with [company you're writing to] would have a tremendous impact on your customer satisfaction and bottom line.

As one of [client‘s industry] leading providers of [client’s main service], you know just how critical this time of year can be for your customers. On average, the cost to deliver is $[xxxx.xx], and [client name] is committed to “[client's mission statement].”

As these challenges become more common, it is increasingly important to provide customers with a powerful, SEO-optimized website to attract new leads. With this in mind, [our company] intends to help [client's name]:

• Create a sleek, impressive website that is clean, user-friendly and mobile responsive to work on all devices, so web viewers have a strong first impression of your brand regardless of the device they use to find you.

• Help you strengthen brand identity through a new logo and a new, cohesive color palette.

• Ensure each of your web pages are SEO-optimized to rank quickly, which will attract new customers to your website and demonstrate your leadership in the industry.

As stated in the executive summary, [our company] intends to help [client‘s name] [brief allusion to client benefits outlined in executive summary]. To do this, our team has outlined a proposed set of deliverables, an order of operations, division of labor, and expected dates of completion to ensure the partnership between [your company] and [client’s name] is successful.

[Your company] can‘t wait to work with you to help [client’s name] in addressing [client's challenges described in Executive Summary]. To recap, please see below a brief overview of the services included in this partnership.

This sample response clearly and succinctly explains how the vendor‘s service will solve the buyer’s critical pain points when it comes to creating a strong website.

By outlining the key benefits, you‘re showing the client how you’ll put them first and focus on their needs to get the job done.

Free and Editable RFP Template

Download a free, editable RFP template.

To use this template, simply download it here or fill out the form below.

You can remove sections or pieces of information that don’t pertain to your project and add whatever else you need for your RFPs.

You can also use this tried-and-tested proposal formula to ensure your RFP is professional and polished, too.

Proposal Software Tools to Help You Manage RFPs

For those responding to RFPs, there are amazing tools that help you manage and create professional-looking proposals in less time.

Below are five tools to improve your RFP response.

1. Responsive

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Responsive solves the problem of responding to RFPs, from project management to collaboration to integrating with other software.

Their solution includes reporting dashboards, auto-response features, and automated generation of proactive proposals from within your CRM.

Responsive also includes an intelligent answer library that turns previous RFP responses into on-demand intelligence that empowers revenue teams with enterprise content at their fingertips wherever they work.

And what's better? Responsive has an integration with HubSpot that will automatically sync your RFP with your portal, making it easy to share information with your team.

2. PandaDoc

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To create customized RFPs with your own branding, consider using the proposal software PandaDoc.

Here, you can set up your first RFP within minutes and even collaborate with team members using real-time updates in the document itself.

3. Nusii

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Similar to other proposal software on the market, Nusii uses a drag-and-drop editor that makes building RFPs a breeze — especially for beginners.

Thanks to its clean, modern, simple design, it’s also really easy to figure out.

One of Nusii's most helpful features is its ability to rework existing RFPs, which can save you time. You can copy the content from an RFP you like and edit the information to fit your new request.

4. Loopio

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How do you plan on organizing all the responses to your RFPs?

One standout feature withLoopiois its RFP response library, which gives you instant access to all your answers from previous RFPs. This saves you the hassle of digging around to find what you need in a crowded inbox.

Their magic feature will even help you auto-populate a response if it appears similar to one you've already done.

Plus, you can manage your entire RFP process — including sending automated responses — and collaborate with your team all in one place with their intuitive dashboard.

And if proposal tools are out of the budget right now, or if you’d like to try your hand at creating your own first, use one of these templates as a starting point.

5. Proposify

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Proposify makes creating proposals effortless. You can create proposal templates to reuse content and pages for future proposals; a great feature for pages and content that won’t change is your company overview, for example.

Proposify will alert you when your proposal has been viewed and allow recipients to sign digitally. It also offers analytics so you can see which pages are viewed and for how long. This data can be used to optimize your proposal template for maximum engagement.

Create an RFP With Ease

Now that you have a better idea of what an RFP is and how to create your first one, you’re ready to get started.

I recommend first sitting down with your team to narrow down your project’s specifics, goals, and scope of work. Then, determine when the project needs to be completed and your budget before moving on to the drafting phase.

With this intel, you’ll be ready to plug everything into our template.

Follow these steps, and you’ll have an RFP template you can quickly update. Your next project will be a success that much faster.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August, 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.