Today is International Women's Day — a day to "celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievement of women." To honor this day, I've been reflecting on some of the most influential women in various industries who inspire me with the content they create. So today at Influence & Co., we're recognizing International Women's Day by celebrating the content marketing achievements of some of our favorite female leaders, marketers, and content creators. To celebrate in perfect Influence & Co. style, here are my suggestions for content from women you should be reading:
Beth Belle Cooper, co-founder, Hello Code
Beth has written fantastic content for startups that I admire (like Buffer), and as the co-founder of Hello Code, she works on and writes about other exciting projects like Exist and Littlelogs. I recently included Beth Belle Cooper in my latest article on MarketingProfs, and I'm including her in this article, too, because I'm a big fan of her writing.
Favorite post: "How I Cut My Writing Time From 2 Days To 4 Hours"
Our Favorite HubSpot Ladies
To help our clients and our internal team publish content online, we work pretty closely with editors at hundreds of mainstream and niche publications, and those relationships opened the door for us to get to know the fabulous women who power each of the HubSpot blogs: marketing, sales, and Agency Post. These blogs publish some of the best content in the industry, and in addition to running their respective editorial teams, each of these women are amazing writers themselves.
Favorite posts: “Quality Over Quantity: A 6-Month Analysis of the Age-Old Blogging Debate” by Ginny Soskey, section editor, HubSpot marketing blog
“6 Data-Driven Reasons Why Cold Calling Flat Out Sucks” by Emma Snider, staff writer, HubSpot sales blog
“Why Big Brands Hire Small Agencies” by Jami Oetting, section editor, Agency Post
Sumi Krishnan, founder and CEO, K4 Solutions
Sumi is one of the most passionate, talented, and powerful business leaders I've had the pleasure of getting to know, as our companies have worked together. She started her business at 19 and has grown it into a $20 million company with more than 200 employees. I love that Sumi shares advice and strategies with female business leaders about growing and scaling their businesses while leading lives they love.
Favorite post: "5 Powerful Rules for Women Entrepreneurs to Live By"
Zeynep Ilgaz, founder, president, and CEO, Confirm BioSciences
Zeynep and her husband immigrated to America with two suitcases full of clothing and hardly any money. But thanks to their mutual admiration for each other and entrepreneurship, they ended up building a successful company that's highly involved in its community and has been recognized several times for its second-to-none work environment. Zeynep was recently named the "Most Admired CEO in San Diego" by the San Diego Business Journal, and the content she writes — the kind that's inclusive and empowering — helps us understand why she deserves that title. I also got to know Zeynep because our companies have worked together.
Favorite post: "Why Companies Should Focus on Working Parents, Not Just Moms"
Ann Handley, chief content officer, MarketingProfs
Ann is one of the most influential women in the content marketing space. In addition to heading up content at one of the top publications in the marketing industry, she's also a keynote speaker; author of one of our team's favorite bestsellers, "Everybody Writes"; and co-author of another bestseller, "Content Rules."
Favorite post: "Content Marketing Grows Up: My 2016 Prediction"
Falon Fatemi, founder and CEO, Node
Falon started working at Google at age 19. Six years later, she left to build her own company, Node. Falon courageously shares the mistakes that she's made and the lessons she's learned growing her own startup with the hope that her experiences will help other entrepreneurs succeed. She's a great example of a badass woman making huge strides in the tech space, and she also happens to be one of our favorite clients.
Favorite post: “The Business of Rejection: How To Bounce Back After An Emotional Beating"
I've also had the pleasure of getting to know Kelli since our businesses have worked together. As CEO of The All Access Group, Kelli serves as a highly sought-after consultant and advisor to leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and content creators in the tech and digital music and entertainment industries. Her previous role at Apple as head of music and entertainment has given her great insight for content she's created, like how Apple can improve its watch, but my favorite content that she's created centers around her advice for working with a mentor.
Favorite post: "5 Conversation Tools For Nurturing Your Relationship With A Mentor"
Beyond celebrating these and other women leaders, marketers, and content creators at Influence & Co., we should also encourage others to consume content from women with different experiences and insights so we can all learn more and become better at what we do.
International Women's Day marks "a call to action for accelerating gender parity," and I challenge each of you to more actively seek out and consume content from women writers. What authors and content creators do you follow? I'd love to hear your recommendations in the comments!
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