14 Extremely Helpful Free Graphic Design Courses
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In our visual world, graphic design is an increasingly important skill for all kinds of creatives to have. For photographers and creatives in the fashion world, knowing the basics of Photoshop and the principles of graphic design is crucial for giving your work that professional edge. For illustrators and artists, graphic design is a fundamental part of the job—all the more reason to keep expanding your design skills and knowledge.
Improving your graphic design skill set doesn’t have to mean going back to school, though. There are lots of online graphic design courses that can help you hone your design talents, offered by universities, graphic design experts, and online course hubs like Udemy.
We’ve searched for the best free graphic design courses out there to help you budding designers and other interested creatives brush up on the foundations of typography, color, essential graphic design software, and lots more.
Alison calls itself a “new world of free certified learning.” It says its goal is to make it possible for anyone to study anything, from anywhere, at any subject level, for free. However, it is a for-profit company, so the site does offer premium subscription plans that unlock additional features.
The site is full of different types of courses that often lead to earning a test-based certificate. This can add a new qualification to your resume. Having a certificate in a subject can actually go a long way to secure a job or freelance opportunity. But while it’s free to take any of the courses on Alison, there is a charge if you want a certificate. The pricing starts at about $20 for a digital certificate and ranges up to over $100 for a framed diploma.
Alison has a large number of free graphic design courses available. That means there are options to suit designers of every skill level. For instance, there are graphic design courses that focus on defining all the basic terms and principles, such as this certificate course in Visual and Graphic Skills. There are also courses that teach you how to apply those principles by providing case studies and practice exercises, such as this one on Design Principles.
There is also a range of more specific classes to help you learn to use the tools and software needed for graphic design, such as this class on Photoshop Essential Tools.
All of the courses on Alison are basically presented in slideshows. So instead of having to scroll through a long page of information, everything is broken up into easily-digestible chunks. However, the downside is that every time you move on to a new topic in a lesson, the page reloads and you have to watch an ad for 8 seconds (unless you’re willing to pay the $9 a month for a premium plan).
While it’s not perfect, Alison does offer a great free resource for those seeking to learn graphic design.
Udemy features videos by independent teaching contractors with prices depending on the length of the video, the teacher, and the field. Essentially, Udemy is a competitive classroom marketplace. This means classes are rated, and the quality of the class is illuminated by ratings just like on Yelp. There are frequently sale specials on the site, so watch out for deals on the classes you want. Many of the courses on Udemy are free, too.
The Introduction to Graphic Design is a great place to start. This free graphic design course covers topics including the design process, basic elements, the five main principles of design, and how to see design through new eyes. It aims to teach participants what real designers do, and give them an understanding of what makes good design. The course description says that students don’t need to have any specific software or any prior knowledge of design.
And when you’re done with the introduction, there is a wide variety of other online graphic design courses available for free on Udemy. The site makes it easy to browse through them as you can set the search filter to show only free courses. Just some of the topics they cover software guides, tips for common projects, and in-depth tutorials.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers online OpenCourseWare. OpenCourseWare is the most egalitarian form of education. It exists online as a free database of courses created by professional academic teachers and course writers. Most of these graphic design classes are related to an overarching course on another topic, such as web coding. But they are still helpful and trusted resources. Also, as opposed to discussing just the theory of design, these courses tend to focus more on practical application.
For example, this graphic design class is part of a course on user interface design. It provides a few simple activities that will help you learn graphic design techniques and concepts. That includes visiting a few example websites to study how they handle graphic design and how they could improve.
Also available is a variety of other resources such as lectures on design topics. One example is this presentation on intelligent web design.
The site is well-organized so its easy to navigate and find the lessons you are looking for. In addition, since MIT’s OpenCourseWare is a not-for-profit initiative, you never have to deal with any ads or sales pitches for subscription plans.
Typography is key to the work of a graphic designer. In almost all instances of graphic design, you will see some use of type. Each font adds a different feeling and style to a design. So choosing a font can make or break your design project.
In this document, you can find a comprehensive yet simple introduction to the history and nuances of typography. It’s only about five pages long, but it has a ton of information. So while this is not a graphic design course by any stretch, it deserves a place on this list because it could be invaluable to any design student.
It includes a list of the 100 best typefaces, short descriptions and histories of the 10 most popular typefaces, a list of suggested reading, and explanations on typeface classifications and characteristics. It’s a great introduction for any aspiring graphic designer, and has enough helpful information that it could be a useful resource to revisit again and again.
This article outlines all the resources you need to create a self-taught graphic design course to replace a traditional education. It’s written by Sean Hodge, who’s currently the Business Editor for the Tuts+ educational network. He also has experience building a number of high traffic blogs.
The article is broken down into helpful subtopics such as design principles, history of design, and how to put together a design portfolio. Each section provides a list of helpful resources including design books, educational blogs, job boards for finding design jobs, and websites where you can promote your work.
It’s an incredibly comprehensive list of information that could be the primary basis for how you learn graphic design. At the very least, it is a helpful supplemental resource.
Veerle Pieters is a Belgium-based graphic/web designer with a website dedicated to all things graphic design. She has experience designing everything from logos, stationery, and brochures, to websites and intranet user interfaces.
Her site includes a wide selection of articles with tutorials, tips, and tricks to help you learn graphic design. She includes helpful insight on working with clients and developing a portfolio, as well as simple solutions to problems many graphic designers might face. Most importantly for the new designer, Veerle offers tutorials and tips for using design software.
This blog is delightfully well-designed, and is worth a visit if only for some inspiration.
Canva Design School offers lessons, tutorials, resources, and articles on a variety of topics that will be helpful to new graphic designers. For example, one of their graphic design courses titled “Creativity” is made up of seven lessons that cover subjects including “how to grab attention with your designs” and “how to create and maintain your own vision and style.”
Another helpful graphic design class available is called How to Build a Brand. It covers subjects including how to build a logo, choose a color palette, choose a type palette, find imagery, and create graphics that suit your brand.
Each lesson in these courses is laid out like a long-form article and they and packed with helpful information, example designs, and links to resources. Besides the online graphic design courses, there are many more articles under the site’s blog section. These articles are an ideal place to find some quick tips or inspiration for your next design project.
Envato has created a dense and helpful tutorial archive to help with almost any software and process in design. There is the whole gamut of topics, including Illustrator, Photoshop, Cinema 4D, Rhino, and many more.
In addition, there are free graphic design courses to help you with the business side of the job, such as how to make a professional invoice and how to make a professional resume.
There are over 1,000 courses and how-to tutorials in Envato’s design and illustration database. And browsing through them all is a breeze since the database lets you choose categories such as the specific software or design process. Another helpful feature is that you can filter the results by skill level.
So if you are stuck with a problem you don’t know how to solve, then try this site, you’ll probably find a solution.
Creative Pro is an online design magazine that has a great “How-To” section for helping to learn graphic design. Most of the videos and articles are for experienced designer problems. These articles focus on common challenges that designers face and they provide pro tips on how to overcome them. One example is their article on how to move vector graphics between Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop.
One issue with the site is the How-To articles aren’t organized with categories, so it’s not very convenient for browsing. But the list is searchable, so if you have a topic in mind, it’s not too hard to find what you’re looking for.
Overall, this is a great resource for anyone who’s seeking to learn graphic design for free. Beginners could pair these more specific how-to articles with some of the other resources listed here for a well rounded auto-didactic education in graphic design.
CreativeLive offers a range of online courses geared towards designers and artists. The full courses typically aren’t free. However, there is a wide range of free video lessons available that can help you learn graphic design.
For example, there are free graphic design courses on topics including Colors and Their Relationships and What Makes a Successful Book Cover.
However, only the video lessons are free. You don’t get access to course materials like readings and practice assignments unless you pay for them.
Another issue with the site is that when you’re browsing through the large database of lessons, there’s no easy way to tell which lessons are free until you click on one. But once you visit the page for a lesson, it will show you all the lessons from the same course that are free.
If you want to sign up for a full course, they typically cost around $30 to $50 each. Alternatively, you can sign up for a subscription for $25 a month that gets you access to as many courses as you want.
Despite these gripes, the sheer amount of helpful graphic design classes available on CreativeLive make it well worth a visit.
This introduction to design is offered through the California Insititute of Arts on Coursera. Coursera offers online courses from a wide range of universities and companies. The California Institute of Arts has five different free graphic design courses available on the site, under its graphic design specialization section.
The Fundamentals of Creative Design is a great starting point as it covers the basics of topics from typography and image-making, to shape, color, and composition. But all of the courses in CalArt’s graphic design specialization are worth checking out, as they delve into each of those topics in more detail.
One thing that sets these graphic design classes apart from many of the other options out there is that they are much more than just slide shows. Instead, they include a combination of video lessons, readings, and practice exercises.
To have your work marked by an instructor and to receive a certificate when you complete the course, you have to pay to enroll. Typically, to enroll in a specialization and get access to all of its related courses costs between $39-$79 per month.
However, you can get access to all of the course content for free. All you have to do is choose the “audit the course” option when you sign up (avoid the “free trial” offer as it just means you start paying after seven days).
The high quality of these courses and the ability to access all of the content for free makes them an ideal way to learn graphic design.
This online graphic design course from the University of Colorado is another one that’s offered through Coursera. That means you can get access to all the videos, readings, and exercises for free.
This course is a great choice for inexperienced graphic designers. That’s because it is part of a four-course program on effective communication. That means it is aimed at a more general audience and doesn’t require any previous knowledge of graphic design.
It offers easy-to-understand lessons that teach students some design “tricks” that will make it easier to get started on design projects with confidence. It also includes practice exercises where students are presented with example designs, and then have to use what they’ve learned to identify the designs’ strengths and weaknesses.
So while it is perfect for those who are just starting out and are unsure about how to learn graphic design, it also has no shortage of valuable information. If you take the time to go through this free graphic design course, you’ll be off to a great start!
This online graphic design course is offered by the Maryland Institute College of Art. It is available through Kadenze, which is an online learning platform that is very similar to Coursera. They have courses from universities and institutions around the world, and you can get access to all of the course content for free.
This course on graphic design history provides background knowledge that will be useful to any graphic designer. The course description says that to know where graphic design trends are going, you have to understand where they began, what shaped them, and how avant-garde artists reinvented them along the way.
The topics covered include the origins of text and graphic design, liberated styles of the late 1800s, mechanical abstractions and photomontage, practicality in typography, international styles, and more.
The course is packed full of content. It is made up of seven sessions that each involve multiple video lessons and coursework such as quizzes and practice assignments. Another cool thing about this course is that it gives you access to the class discussion forum even as a free user.
So if you are looking for a free graphic design course that you can really sink your teeth into, this is a perfect choice.
This online course was created by the Cornish College of the Arts and is offered through Kadenze. It focuses on the integration of design principles and drawing skills. It’s recommended that participants should already have some understanding of fundamental design theory before taking this course, so it is a good choice once you’ve taken some of the other courses listed here.
The course syllabus covers some topics in design theory such as the principles that make illustration effective for communication. It also covers more hands-on topics including digital tool demos to show some advanced techniques for Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.
Similar to the course listed above, each session in this course is made up of multiple video lessons. They also include assignments that will give you a chance to apply the knowledge you’ve picked up. It is a great option for designers who are looking to expand their illustration skills.
So now you know some of the options that are out there when it comes to learning graphic design for free. These online graphic design courses will let you expand your abilities and career prospects, all from the comfort of your home and working at your own pace. The wide range of classes available means you should have no problems finding something that matches your skill level and needs. So start brushing up on your graphic design skills today!
If you are looking for even more Photoshop resources, we curated a list of 61 of the best Photoshop tutorials that you should check out!
This article was updated January 5, 2020.
Ten Tips to improve your Industrial Design Portfolio
For an Industrial Designer, there are few things more significant than your portfolio. It’s the number one reason you still haven’t landed your first design job. Alternatively, it’s the main reason you got the job you are in. We all understand its importance, so here are a few pointers.By no means have I figured it all out or published a blueprint for the ultimate portfolio. However, I’ve learned a lot along the way and received some great advice from top guys at places like IDEO, Nike, Fuseproject and Google – and I feel there are some really great points to pass on. So, here are 10 thoughts to consider:
Your portfolio should not look like a catalog of the products you’ve designed. You’re not trying to sell your products, you’re trying to sell YOU. In order to do this, you need to show your thought process and how you got to the end solution. If you only show images of the final product, then that is the only thing you can be judged on. With no evidence of initial ideas and how you approached different aspects of the project, you make it impossible for a reader to assess the thinking behind your approach. If I’m reviewing your work, I may dislike a certain aspect of the final design, but might appreciate the way you got there. If you don’t show the development journey then you don’t allow for this appreciation.
In order to sell YOU, think about what capabilities you can convey. One great exercise is to note down a list of the skills you have, and make sure these skills are evidenced in your portfolio.
Rendering is only one skill. A lot of portfolios fail to show a range of skills beyond KeyShot, so think about incorporating hand sketches, Photoshop renderings, Illustrator linework, and prototypes.
In recent years, I’ve seen graduates compile a page of random drawings and group them on a page titled ‘Sketching’. This presentation style of miscellaneous snippets is NOT the way to go. The work should not be grouped by skill. There’s no story in that. More importantly, there’s no storytelling ABILITY being conveyed.
Instead, your portfolio should be presented through projects, and the skills are entwined within those projects. Not every project needs to communicate EVERY skill. One project might focus more on a mechanical challenge and another may focus on form, but the skills are integrated into projects – not isolated in a separate section.
When you build your level of design experience, you have more projects in your locker than you need for an application. So, you base your decision of which projects to include based on which are the most relevant to that specific business.
When you are just graduating, you can still adopt the same mindset even though you have a limited number of projects. The way you can do this is by shifting the focus of the project. You are in control of your portfolio and have the ability to draw attention to whatever you like. For a large, complex project you will not go through every aspect of the design in an application portfolio. So, if you know that the particular role you are applying for requires more of an understanding of mechanics, then draw more attention to that aspect of the project. Tailor your portfolio for each application.
I often get asked by ID students if they should include graphic design work within their portfolio. The answer is always no. The reason is because your portfolio itself should be a shining example of your sensitivity to graphic design, layout, and proportion. The question normally comes from those who enjoy developing brand identities on the side or have a graphics freelance gig designing menus for local restaurants. There is a tendency to include things just because you CAN do them. Just because you can, it doesn’t make them any more relevant.
Photography skills are important as a designer, but not as important as being a great designer. That is what must come first and foremost. Make sure that you don’t infringe on your ability to present yourself as a great designer by clouding the portfolio with a lot of ‘side skills’. I’ve seen 22-pagedesign portfolios where the last 8 slides were personal photography. This is detrimental. Instead, plant a seed in your résumé by mentioning other skills and present more detail in the interview (if you land it). First and foremost, focus on communicating the fact you can design great products.
The purpose of the initial application portfolio is not to land the job. It’s to land the interview. When you adopt this mindset, your application portfolio will improve. It only needs to create enough intrigue for the Design Manager or Senior Designer to say “Ok, let’s bring her in for an interview”. The speed at which the reader will flick through your work is rapid. Barely enough time to read sub-headings, let alone a huge paragraph. Engineering roles are different, but for Industrial Design positions, I skim it incredibly fast and stop when something jumps out and makes a visual impact. Only then will I read a few of the details. There are two main levels being assessed. One is the quality of the visual communication. The second is the quality of the actual ideas and concepts. (Behind a great idea drawn badly, is still an individual with great ideas). Both are being judged.
However, the point to take away here is that it MUST be visually impactful in order to catch attention in the first place and draw the reader in. You don’t need to describe every task and every detail in long paragraphs. You can tell the full story in the interview. Telling the story through text is too easy. It’s lazy. A key differentiator is in being able to capture the important aspects of a story in a visual and creative way. So, reduce your word count and make a visual impact.
One thing that contributes to a poor experience from the reader’s perspective is when you are 4 pages into a project and have seen various sketches, images and renderings, yet you STILL don’t fully understand what the project is about. You’re still asking yourself what the whole point is and what problem is being addressed.
This happens when you don’t clarify the premise at the beginning and make it completely understandable. By not filling this gap in the reader’s understanding, you skip on before they are on the same wavelength. It’s what Chip & Dan Heath refer to in their book Made To Stick as ‘The Curse Of Knowledge’. As in, because you know the subject area so well and are very close to it, you struggle to break it down effectively for someone seeing it for the first time. Taking a step back and being able to do this is a very important skill for any designer.
You must take the reader on a journey where they understand each step. When you do this well, and clarify the problem, it means the reader fully understands what needs to be addressed, and can therefore have a heightened appreciation for the actual ideas within the ideation pages. They get a greater sense of what you are trying to achieve and start connecting with your work on a level deeper than just seeing nice visuals. Allowing for this deeper connection through more effective storytelling is the difference between a good portfolio and a great portfolio.
I often come across individuals who are trying to land their first job in a design team, presenting themselves as ‘JHS Designs’. It’s not appropriate. You are John Smith, trying to land a job, so put your name on the cover and not some corporate nonsense. The other thing I see is initials turned into a logo that’s barely readable, and garish borders on every page. Stick with your full name in a simple typeface and get rid of the border. Do away with the clutter, go full width and let the work speak for itself. Keep it simple (stupid).
What I mean by ‘commoditised’ work is the type of content that doesn’t really show how good you are as a designer. I’m talking about the types of pages that anyone could put together, that don’t show the skills that help separate applicants.
For example, statistics from market research sat next to generic images you found online, followed by a page of existing competitor products and their features, followed by a page explaining target users. Although these are things that may be carried out during the project, they are the types of things that should be done as concisely as possible (if at all) in an application portfolio. It comes back to the point about not needing to tell the ENTIRE story in the initial application because you can go into the detail in the interview. Graduates show too much of this sort of work.
Naturally, we are drawn to pages that are rich in ‘hard skills’. Sketches, ideation pages, visuals of refined concepts and exploded view renderings. These types of things are more individual and help give a better steer as to whether you would bring them in for an interview because they are ‘easier’ to separate if they’ve been done poorly or to a high standard.
Although research stats and personas help with the understanding of the details of the project, they have less influence on the decision to bring in for an interview. Therefore, your portfolio wants to have a high concentration of ‘skill-rich’ pages. People often don’t do this because they lack confidence, so put in the hours and make those pages great. There’s no other way around it.
Although your portfolio should not look like a catalogue of renders and photographs of the final product, your presentation of the final product is still a VERY important element. The advice I’ve received time and again from some big-hitters in the industry is that less is without doubt more.
Many portfolios show multiple photographs of the final product on one page in a grid layout. This is the fastest way to lose all visual impact. Less on the page is the way forward. It requires a lot more skill to select ONE image. The right image. The one that simultaneously shows the product in context, communicates its purpose and is visually striking. A picture paints a thousand words, but only if it’s a great picture.
When thinking about your hero shot, don’t look at what other students are doing. If you are designing a wireless speaker for the home, go and see how Bang & Olufsen are presenting their latest product in GQ magazine. Look at the billboard campaigns for the latest Tom Ford sunglasses or social media ads for the latest Dyson fan. Look to the best in the world for inspiration, not the best in your class. You will instantly up your game.
Also, creating an image of the product being used in context usually requires more skill to make it look great, compared to rendering out of context against a white background. Sometimes these clean renders in white space are appropriate, but if you know the ideal image is to show the product underwater on someone’s wrist, then push yourself to visualize this. You’ll develop this ability faster and contribute to your own growth, instead of building a moat around your skill set.
So, that concludes ten things to consider when putting your portfolio together. We wish you the best of luck in crafting the best version you can, and moving closer to the job you want most. Go ahead and bookmark this page for future use, or share it with a friend who’s gearing up for that job interview!
Nick Chubb is a Senior Industrial Designer at IDC in London, designing consumer products and medical devices for some of the world’s leading brands. He has a 1st Class Masters Degree in Product Design and assesses hundreds of design portfolios each year. He acts as lead portfolio advisor at Arts Thread, and is often invited to give talks at leading Universities on the subject of design. Learn more at nickchubbdesign.com
If you wish to take your design portfolio to the next level and land more interviews at the companies you love most, check out Nick’s One-to-One Portfolio Improvement Program. Learn more at nickchubbdesign.com/portfolio-improvement-program
Top 20 Marketing Influencers of 2019
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / December 31, 2019 / The future of digital marketing is as bright as ever. From crafty content creators and technologists to self-made entrepreneurs and leaders, people and businesses all over the world follow well-known digital marketing gurus to learn about the latest marketing trends.
As 2019 comes to an end, we would like to highlight some of the top marketing influencers in the world who have made a huge impact on the industry. These digital marketing experts have influenced thousands of people, and have inspired the world with their ground-breaking achievements enabling digital transformation at every stage. Not only have they invited more opportunities for businesses but they have also provided hope to millions of small start-ups to execute their businesses effectively.
These marketers are the go-to experts that businesses should follow if they want to take their marketing game to the next level. Here are the top 20 marketing influencers of 2019:
1. Neil Patel
Neil Patel is the co-founder of Neil Patel Digital and Kissmetrics. He is an entrepreneur, a blogger, and a digital marketing expert. He started his career at the age of 16 when he launched his first website. Later, he realized the importance of digital marketing and started helping out small scale start-ups.
Currently, he is helping businesses generate maximum sales and traffic through his recent venture called NP Digital. In 2017, he was featured as one of the leading digital marketers on Forbes. Today, his work and contributions have been acknowledged by well-recognized brands and professionals.
He has received over 14 million views on Youtube. He is a New York Times best-selling author and was recognized among the top entrepreneurs under 35 by the United Nations. One of his recent work is called ‘Hustle', an inspiring book about following dreams and chasing opportunities.
2. Gary Vaynerchuk
Belarusian American entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk graduated from college in 1998. He joined his family's wine business at the age of 14 and expanded the business from $3 to $60 million a year.
Gary decided to leave his family business in 2011. With the help of his brother, he established his own digital media agency and named it VaynerMedia. The agency offers strategic marketing and social media services to businesses and Fortune 500 companies which includes Mondelez and PepsiCo.
Listed as one of the best A-List agencies by AdAge, the agency managed to earn a revenue of $100 million in 2016 successfully. With Gary's consistent marketing efforts, VaynerMedia has collaborated with digital filmmakers and platforms like Vimeo to connect with brands. Today, Gary is considered one of the world's leading digital and social media experts.
3. Nabeel Ahmad
The youngest person on this list, Nabeel Ahmad is a 22-year-old serial entrepreneur, investor, TEDx speaker and well-known marketing strategist. He has founded 5 companies, and has helped many businesses get to the next level by using effective marketing and PR strategies.
Nabeel has been recognised as "one of the top marketing experts in the world" by International Business Times. Earlier this year, Entrepreneur magazine named him as one of the top 15 inspiring entrepreneurs to watch in 2020, alongside industry leaders like Gary Vaynerchuk and Grant Cardone.
He is the founder of Vertabyte, a digital media agency that works with some of the biggest companies in the world. Apart from that, Nabeel Ahmad is the founder of Mogul Press, a PR firm that specializes in personal branding and media placements.
Nabeel's expertise on marketing related topics is often sought by some of the world's biggest and most renowned media outlets. He is a frequent contributor on Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, Business2Community, Business.com, and more than 30 other major publications.
4. Rand Fishkin
After dropping out of the University of Washington, Rand Fishkin joined his mother's small business to work and support his family. He co-founded an SEO software company called MOZ which he left in 2014. Now, he operates his own company with the name of Sparktoro which offers software and data insights to people.
He is a well-recognized face in the search engine optimization industry and a digital marketing guru. He loves to help people become better at marketing and learn more about fundamental marketing and technology. He promotes marketing through his Whiteboard Friday video series, blogs, and books.
Awarded as the best-selling author of Lost and Founder, he continues to educate people on marketing. In 2009, Business week featured his name among the 30 best young tech entrepreneurs under 30.
5. Timothy Ferriss
As an angel investor and advisor, Tim Ferriss has advised several startups such as Shopify, Evernote, Trippy, and more. After graduating in 2000, he founded BodyQuicken in 2001 which used to provide online nutritional supplements. Later, he sold his venture to a private-equity firm in 2010.
Tim is a leading author and podcaster. His podcasts cover topics like character development, meditation habits, and morning routines. As an expert advisor and marketer, he has helped many startups raise millions of dollars.
His notable contributions include The 4-Hour Workweek and The 4-Hour Body. He was also listed as one of the notable angel investors by The New York Times while CNN declared him as one of the best angel investors in technology.
6. Grant Cardone
At the age of 61, Grant Cardone is the CEO of Cardone Capital and a well-renowned sales trainer. He is also the owner of seven privately held companies and one of the top social media influencers in the world as listed by Forbes in 2017.
His primary venture, Cardone Training Technologies offers a dynamic sales training platform to currently Fortune 500 companies and small- or large-scale businesses. Recently, he invited more than 50 entrepreneurs and more than 34,000 professionals from all over the world to join his 10X Growth Conference in Miami, Florida. Grant's vision is to strategize sales operations for businesses and improve their revenues.
He has worked with well-established companies like Google, Toyota, Ford, Sprint, and more. He is a New York Times best-selling author and speaker. His book "The 10X Rule" was among the top-selling books in 2017. He owns a youtube channel, with more than 1.27 million subscribers, where he speaks about topics such as entrepreneurship, leadership, and social media.
7. Ann Handley
Ann Handley is a digital marketing wizard who inspires thousands of marketers to achieve real-time results. She is a world-wide keynote speaker and co-founder of ClickZ which offers digital marketing solutions to businesses. She is also the Head of Content at MarketingProfs.
A Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Ann continues to educate millions of people through her videos and books. She is helping people escape conventional marketing methods and also improve their content writing skills through her blogs.
Ann has made several noteworthy contributions. She's been listed as one of the people shaping modern marketing by IBM. Her best works include Everybody Writes and Content Rules which has inspired several content marketers and social media experts.
8. Joe Pulizzi
The leader of the Content Marketing World, Joe Pulizzi has formed multiple startups including Content Marketing Institute. He is a well-renowned speaker, digital pioneer, and an award-winning author. Joe Pulizzi has raised millions through his Orange Effect Foundation which offers speech therapy to children in 25 states.
In 2016, Joe sold his CMI startup to a million-dollar company, UBM. He has delivered speeches to several well-established companies like Nestle, Oracle, Dell, and more while speaking at 400 different locations.
In 2014, he received the John Caldwell Lifetime Achievement Award from the Content Council. His top-selling books include Epic Content Marketing and Content Inc. His book Epic Content Marketing was featured as one of 'Five Must Read Business Books of the Year' by Forbes Magazine. His recent work includes Killing Marketing which was published in 2017.
9. Larry Kim
Founder of the world's best Facebook messenger platform, Larry Kim is the CEO of MobileMonkey Inc. and also the founder of WordStream which provides advanced digital marketing tools.
Considered as one of the most influential experts, Larry offers effective marketing tools to novice and expert marketers so they can become better at paid search. Today, he assists thousands of customers through his multi-million-dollar company.
Larry is recognized as one of the most influential experts and has earned multiple awards. He has been voted as the best PPC expert in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017. He is a featured speaker in multiple events and an active blogger. He has also won the title of ‘Search Marketer of the Year' by PPC Hero in 2015.
10. Brian Dean
Brian Dean, also recognized as an 'SEO genius' is the owner of the award-winning blog called Backlinko. Currently, he is one of the world's most-sought SEO experts with an annual reach of more than 2.5 million people.
Initially, Brian started his blog in 2013 and struggled until Backlinko was born. In 2017, Forbes listed his blog among the ‘top blogs to follow'. Previously, he has also offered consultancy services to businesses as a freelancer.
Backlinko enjoys a good reputation in the marketing world. Forbes and The Huffington Post have been following the blog and recommending its resources to people. It has created a positive impact on the lives of several digital marketers.
11. Oli Gardner
Oli Gardner is leading one of the top landing page platforms called Unbounce. The platform requires zero coding skills. He's also recognized as one of the world's top digital marketing speakers. The world admires him for his energy, valuable talks, and unique content.
Oli is an expert in analyzing bad marketing practices. In his 20 year career, he has mastered the techniques of market optimization, information architecture, graphic design, and usability. A globally-recognized leader, Oli loves to share his experiences with the world.
Recently, he developed a theory and coined the term 'Conversion-Centered Design' which explains its 7 principles. Further, he has introduced the Data-Driven Design concept which is an optimization framework that unlocks the true potential of marketing teams by giving them access to significant data including developments of machine learning.
12. Seth Godin
Seth Godin leaves a massive digital marketing legacy behind. He is a well-known author and entrepreneur. Seth founded two companies, Yoyodyne and Squidoo. He sold Yoyodyne to Yahoo and became its Vice President of direct marketing while Squidoo was sold to Hubpages.
He is a New York Times bestselling author and a proud author of 18 books. Seth introduced the concept of permission marketing to the world. In 2018, Godin was appointed into the American Marketing Association's Marketing Hall of Fame. He is also the host of popular Akimbo podcast.
Seth's blog was listed among the 25 best blogs of 2009 by Time. His book 'The Dip' was featured as Business Week and New York Times bestseller. In 2015, his book 'Linchpin' made it to the list of Business Week's '20 best books by the most influential thinkers in business.'
13. Luca Tagliaferro
The Guru of SEMRush, Luca Tagliaferro is famous for guest blogging. He is also leading the top Future Fit Training company as the senior digital marketing specialist which offers personal training courses in the UK.
Luca has worked with renowned marketers and experts around the world. His exceptional research in ROI-based guest blogging for marketing publications has been discussed by famous digital marketing experts like Rand Fishkin.
He has contributed as a guest blogger to Search Engine Land, Crazy Egg, Smart Insights, SEMRush, and more. He has also worked for several small e-commerce companies and large websites. He runs his own blog and writes about Analytics, SEO, and content.
14. Brian Solis
Brian Solis is an award-winning author, keynote speaker, and a leading anthropologist. He has been named as ‘one of the greatest digital analysts of our time'. For an expansive 30 years, Solis has studied the influence of emerging technology on business and society.
His worldwide famous books provide in-depth research for executives and people enabling them to understand the relationship between technology and its impact on people. Solis's book about 'Lifescaling' sparks creativity and allows people to break away from any diversions faced in the digital world.
Currently, he helps brands, startups, and celebrities adopt new strategies and transform digitally. He has helped over 1,000 startups around the world and is also the host of a popular online video series called 'Revolution'.
15. Mark Kaigwa
Kenya-based Mark Kaigwa is the founder of Nendo which is a strategy and storytelling consultancy. He is a world-renowned speaker, digital marketing expert, author, and entrepreneur.
Mark believes in creating better data-driven experiences in digital Africa. He is serving small and large businesses by offering digital growth services to them. He is also working as a Partner and Digital Strategist for AfricanDigitalArt.
For the past 6 years, he has published two of the most influential blogs. During his time in Sub Saharan Africa, he directed films and created an award-winning video game. He has also earned the title of Forbes 30 under 30 best young entrepreneurs in Africa in 2013. He has spoken in more than 20 countries around the world and was an ambassador of the Sandbox Network in Africa which is the best global network of innovators under 30 years of age.
16. Dan Knowlton
Dan Knowlton is a renowned keynote speaker. He has also worked for Social Media Examiner and Content Marketing Institute. He is currently running Knowlton, a digital marketing agency that includes clients such as Boston Consulting Group, Nestle, FIFA, and Eurotunnel.
Dan worked as a marketing specialist in his father's company. In 2015, he decided to launch his own digital marketing firm. In 2016, Dan was named the #12 most influential digital marketer on twitter by Onalytica.
In 2016, Knowlton won the title of Social Media business of the year at the KITA awards.
17. Bryan Eisenberg
Optimization Expert and New York Times best-selling author, Bryan Eisenberg is a keynote speaker and a co-founder of BuyerLegends. He is also the co-founder of the Web Analytics Association.
Bryan and his brother have helped several companies enhance sales by over a billion dollars. They have trained several organizations including Google and NBC Universal. Bryan is also serving as a member of the advisory board for multiple capital-backed ventures like Sightly, Runa, Usertesting.com, and more.
This award-winning blogger has been recognized as one of the top 10 User Experience Gurus. He has been featured on CNN, Advertising Age, Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur, Chicago Business Tribune, and more as an expert in internet marketing and landing page optimization.
18. Jay Baer
Jay Baer is the CEO of Convince & Convert and is a New York Times best-selling author. He plays a significant role as a digital marketer and CX expert for more than hundreds of digital community professionals.
Jay has helped several brands to enhance their digital marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, and word of mouth marketing through his consulting business. Furthermore, his Convince & Convert Media resource hub includes award-winning blogs and podcasts, weekly emails, videos, and webinar series.
Regarded as one of the world's most inspirational marketing and customer service speakers, he also travels to different countries for presentations and professional speaking. Jay has published 6 best-selling books and is the founder of 5 multi-million dollar companies.
19. Barry Schwartz
Specialist in search engine marketing, Barry Schwartz is an editor of Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Land. He is also the CEO of RustyBrick Inc, which helps businesses in managing their sales.
Schwartz is an expert in web marketing and online technology. He has worked over 15 years in driving out valuable search engine strategies for businesses and inspiring them through his blogs. He is currently playing an advisory role for Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
In 2019, he received an award for Outstanding Community Services from Search Engine Land while he was awarded 'US Search Personality of the Year" in 2018. Barry is featured in a variety of publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Forbes, and more. He has also been interviewed in shows like CBS Sunday Morning and NBC Nightly News. Recently, he has appeared in TWiT net shows like Google and Tech news.
20. Ryan Deiss
Introducing the latest frameworks in the digital marketing world, Ryan Deiss is not someone to miss. He is the CEO of DigitalMarketer and Founder of RivalBrands. Also, he is one of the most dynamic speakers in the U.S.
Ryan's entrepreneurial journey began in college when he launched his first website. By the time he graduated, his online hobby had already grown into a real business. He is also the Managing Partner of NativeCommerce.com which owns multiple e-commerce groups. He is the creator of ‘Customer Value Optimization' methodology' and an advocator of digital selling marketing strategies.
Having more than 15,000 community members, his company DigitalMarketer is leading the industry by providing digital marketing certifications and training. He is also the founder of the largest digital marketing conversion conference in North America called Traffic and Conversion Summit. He is also a sought-after speaker and has shared the stage with famous personalities like Gary Vaynerchuk, William Shatner, Dave Ramsey, and more. Currently, he is planning to expand the size of 10 thousand businesses by 2020.
Media Contact:
Brandon Careybrandoncarey35@gmail.com
SOURCE: Hybrid Media Group
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