Four Best Networking Tools for Inbound and Outbound Marketing: The 20% that Yields an 80% Return

Wondering what works and what doesn’t when it comes to “push” or outbound marketing or “pull” or inbound marketing? As Malcolm Gladwell mentions in his third book, Outliers an expert is someone who has had more than 10,000 hours of study in one particular area. Online marketing is my area and there really are very a smaller group with similar time put into their respective areas of expertise whom I admire, follow, implement their ideas, and, certainly, recommend.

Following is an overview of these tools:

Website Grader – Useful tool for measuring the marketing effectiveness of your
website, get a free custom report in seconds with advice for your website

MarketingProfs – A great resource for case studies, insights, and best practices from
peers and experts in marketing

HubSpot Internet Marketing Blog – Articles about business strategy and inbound Internet
marketing

Web ink now – Online thought leadership and viral marketing strategies from award-
winning author David Meerman Scott

HubSpot – Internet marketing software that helps you get found by more prospects and
generate more qualified leads and sales

CrowdSpring – A site offering custom designs that you choose from actual custom designs, not bids. The average project gets
a whooping 80 entries. They have a money-back guarantee
25 entries or a full refund, including the small fee for the services. The site boasts over 46,000 creatives.

Zmags – The next generation in online publishing. The site is great.

What do you think? What are your top ten or fewer favorites of the year?