Author: Franz Malten Buemann

The days remaining in 2020 are few, and 2021 is just around the corner — things you undoubtedly know already.
But here’s something you may have forgotten about: There’s not much time left to finish up your holiday shopping. (Gasp! We know.)
Maybe you’re a marketer looking to complete your wish list. Or, maybe you’ve got a team of marketers you want to make smile.

To help you out, I’ve searched the internet far and wide (it’s kind of what I do), and found you some of this year’s best gifts for marketers.
Without further ado …
17 Last-Minute Gift Ideas for Your Favorite Marketers
1. Send a Starbucks eGift Card
Once upon a time, Starbucks offered a Tweet a Coffee program, which was retired after testing it in beta. I tried it for the first time earlier this season when Emily Maxie, B2B tech marketer at Very said something nice about our social media tool. I was really thrilled and just wanted to do something nice in return. Tweeting a coffee was an easy, hassle-free way to surprise co-marketing partners, customers, or others. Plus, it was almost instantaneous, so it was a savior for last-minute shoppers.

@emilymaxie, @meghkeaney just tweeted you a coffee! Redeem it now. https://t.co/0X3XIAVK4E — Tweetacoffee (@Tweetacoffee)
November 21, 2013

Although that program has been retired, there’s still a good alternative: Send a Starbucks eGift Card. Just add a personal message and the amount you’d like to give, enter an email address, and hit “send.”
Where to get it: Starbucks
Cost: Buyer’s choice
2. Blogging Fuel Mug
As comedic writer Dave Barry once explained, “It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.”
Not only is this mug a good way to keep your favorite marketer sufficiently caffeinated, but its message is also on point. Around here, at least, our marketers love creativity — but we also love precision. And, we love the written word. So when this mug came across our radar …

Source: Amazon
… we knew it had to make this list.
Where to get it: Amazon
Cost: $14.95 + $4.95 shipping
3. “Eat. Sleep. Blog.” T-Shirt
This is a pretty great gig we all have. Sure, there are seemingly unattainable lead goals and endless writing deadlines. But think about it for a moment: Every day, we get to get up and figure out how to capture people’s fascination. It’s an amazing job.
This shirt summarizes that sentiment nicely.

Source: Amazon
Oh, and it’s really comfortable for blogging.
Where to get it: Amazon
Cost: $17.39
4. HubSpot Fleece-Lined Winter Hat
We’re not sure how the weather looks in your neck of the woods, but around the holiday season, it starts to get cold where HubSpot is headquartered, in Boston.
It’s sweater weather. Hat weather. Fleece-lined hat weather, to be specific.
Luckily, HubSpot has a hat for that.

And while you’re at it, check out these other last-minute gifts from the HubSpot Shop:

Sprocket zippered hoodie
HubSpot camper mug
HubSpot dog collar

Where to get it: HubSpot Shop
Cost: $15
5. “But First, Coffee.” T-Shirt
It’s best to wear your priorities on your sleeve … er … torso. This cozy T-shirt puts your working style out in the open. In fact, it may double as a signal for the best way to bribe you for extra work.

Don’t work in a jeans-friendly office? Nothing a blazer and nice pants can’t fix (she writes as if she has actual fashion sense).
Where to get it: Skreened
Cost: $29.99
6. Mophie Smartphone Case
A few years ago, a group of HubSpotters got these cases while working long hours at the INBOUND. But they’re not just any cases — they’re Mophie smartphone cases.
Mophie is a smartphone cover that also doubles as extra battery life.

Source: Mophie
They’re a little clunkier than the standard phone case, but they can extend your phone’s life by 100% or more. If you know a marketer who is often working on the road.
Where to get it: Mophie
Cost: About $100, depending on variety
7. Book Cover Laptop Case
Rumor has it writer Jorge Louis Borges used to sleep surrounded by books. He’d crawl into bed with stacks of them on either side. His last scent before sleep would be that of open pages and intricately worded lines.

Source: Twelve South
This isn’t quite as poetic, but it’s close.
This laptop cover would be a good fit for the bookworm on your team.
Where to get it: TwelveSouth
Cost: About $80
8. Subscription to a Streaming Music Service
Okay, so music may not make you smarter, but it does make you happier. And isn’t delight what we’re really after here?
Many marketers already listen to streaming music while they work, but without a subscription, that streaming music is typically limited or interrupted by commercials.
Buying your marketing friend a subscription to a streaming music can get rid of all the commercial interruptions and just leave them with good working music. We’re inbound marketers — thus, we hate commercial interruptions.
Here are a few options:

Pandora: $54.89

Spotify: $9.99/month for Premium

Apple Music: Plans start at $4.99/month

Google Play Music: Plans start at $9.99/month

9. @TwitterName Necklace
It might be a bit excessive, but it’s also kind of awesome. Here’s a gift for the social media strategist who has single-handedly grown your company’s Twitter following from 15 to 500 and beyond.

Source: Etsy
If jewelry isn’t the right gift, there are also a range of social media coasters.
Where to get it: Etsy
Cost: $43.99
10. 1Password
Welcome to secure accounts on the internet. Your password must be 15 characters long with at least two capital letters, three symbols, two numbers, and at least one variation of the Jabberwocky poem.
Nope, that won’t work. And it can’t be the same as any password you’ve used since junior high school.
If you could spare the marketer in your life this frustration, wouldn’t it be a happier new year? Take a look at the 1Password app. It will create and store all of your passwords securely and enable you to log into your accounts with one click.

Where to get it: 1Password
Cost: Plans start at $2.99/month
11. 99U Essays: Manage Your Day-to-Day
One of my favorite books, this collection of essays from 99U, focuses on how to develop a habit of creativity in your work and personal life. It gives you tips on how to put your creative work first and fend off a stream of endless emails, texts, and other interruptions.

Source: 99U
With an average 4.4-star rating on Amazon, this book offers concrete ideas for getting more out of your daily routine and finding the right moments for creative, complex work.
Where to get it: Amazon
Cost: $10.99
12. Freelancer Tools From WriterAccess or Zerys
While they don’t do gift cards, you could help a freelancer’s life easier with tools from WriterAccess of Zerys. Create a gift certificate yourself and wrap it up in a bow: Good for one day of reprieve from creating content.
Where to get it: Zerys or Writer Access
Cost: Varies
13. Premium Versions of Productivity Apps
Marketers use all sorts of freemium tools to organize their time and plan campaigns. Find out what online apps your marketer uses to make his or her day-to-day easier with access to all the bells and whistles for a year.
Here’s a breakdown of some popular ones:

Evernote: Evernote is a repository for just about anything: ideas, articles, documents, photos, marketing examples. You can use the tool on your phone, desktop, and tablet, so it goes where you go. The big benefit of Evernote is how searchable it is. You can search documents or even the words in a picture to quickly retrieve your content again. The premium version gets you more storage, better search, and an interesting presentation mode. Cost: $69.99/year

Dropbox or Box: We all could use a little space. Help your marketer out by upgrading their Dropbox or Box accounts to a pro version. Cost: Varies

Feedly Pro: When Google Reader closed its doors, Feedly was widely adopted as the replacement RSS reader. Feedly Pro is a more powerful version of Feedly with one-click integrations, custom sharing URLs, and full support. Cost: Plans start at $5.41/month

14. Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Can you really put a price on peace and quiet? Turns out, Bose can: At a minimum, it’s about $180. Yikes.
But if you can get over the price, this is an amazing gift for anyone who needs to focus throughout the day. Noise-cancelling headphones put your marketers in their own cozy and uninterrupted lead-generating world.
Whether they listen to Mozart or Modest Mouse, these headphones give marketers a chance to block out everything but the work ahead of them.
Where to get them: Bose
Cost: Models start at $179.95
15. Class Reimbursement
For intellectually curious marketers, think about giving them the combo-gift of classes plus the time to learn a new skill.
There are a number of low-cost and free online classes and tutorials out there for people looking to code (Codecademy), design (Skillshare), or acquire other relevant skills. The trouble is finding the time.
If you really want to thrill a marketer on your team this season, give them the classes plus an approved block of time each week to dedicate to the lessons. Wrap it up in one package.
Where to get it: Check out Code Academy and Skillshare, plus your local continuing ed classes. Then, help your favorite marketer figure out how to make the class time possible.
Cost: Varies
16. INBOUND Ticket
Surprise! It’s not too early to buy tickets for INBOUND 2021.
INBOUND is an industry event like no other. Of course, I would say that, because as a HubSpotter, it is the center of my life in August and September. But as it turns out, others think so, too.
Darby Tinch of Mohawk Home said, “This was by far the best conference I’ve attended in a very long time. Not only was it the recharge I needed professionally but also on a personal level. It has been a long time since I’ve been this excited about my career. I cannot wait until [the next] INBOUND!”
Where to get it: INBOUND
Cost: Digital pass on sale right now for $49 (typically $149)
17. Donation in the Marketer’s Name or Honor
If none of the above seems like a fit, consider a donation in your marketer’s name or honor. Donations are a personal thing, so be sure you have a sense of the issues your marketer cares about. But once you do, a gift in his or her honor can be really meaningful.
Where to get it: Because the donation should reflect the gift recipient and there are so many nonprofits we care about here at HubSpot, I’m going to leave the door open here and not make any specific suggestions. Talk to the gift recipient and see what they care most about.
Cost: Whatever amount you see fit.
There’s your starter list. There are dozens more ideas out there: subscriptions to magazines or journals, lunch from a local restaurant, or a plethora of other gift certificates anyone would love.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in December 2017 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

There are many ways to reach online consumers. But in terms of return on investment, there’s one that’s hard to beat. Know what it is? Yep, it’s still the good ol’ email marketing. I’d like to show you why using email marketing is a must, especially if you’re running an ecommerce business.

This year, brands are increasingly bringing shopping experiences online.
But, as businesses develop online strategies, they might find that launching a fully-fledged ecommerce website is easier said than done. While many tools make this process easier than it was in past decades, launching a successful online store still requires time, money, a web strategy, and a handful of other resources that smaller businesses might not have.
Luckily, tech giants like Facebook are actively launching tools that aim to help smaller brands convert social media followers into customers.
One of the Facebook corporation’s newest ecommerce tools is called Facebook Shops. According to Facebook, Shops enables businesses to easily create a “mobile shopping experience for their audiences.” But, what exactly does this experience look like?
In this post, I’ll walk you through what Facebook Shops is and how marketers can leverage it to boost social media-driven sales in 2020 and beyond.

According to Facebook, setting up a Shop is simple and can be done on a desktop. Once a Shop is created, Facebook or Instagram Business Page followers on desktop or mobile platforms can visit the same universal store and make purchases from the app’s they’re on.
On top of linking to business pages on Instagram and Facebook, Shops can also be integrated into a Facebook Business account’s Messenger or a WhatsApp Business account so audiences on all major Facebook platforms can make purchases.
Below is a short demo video that highlights what a Facebook Shop looks like to customers on a Facebook-owned platform and how they can use it to make purchases.
Why Facebook Launched Shops
Before 2020, brands were already looking for ways to scalably make sales online. But, the need for digital transformation grew even stronger during the COVID-19 pandemic when many brick-and-mortar stores were forced to close or move their offerings online.
According to a Facebook announcement, the 2020 landscape was a motivating factor in the launch of Shops.
“Right now many small businesses are struggling, and with stores closing, more are looking to bring their business online. Our goal is to make shopping seamless and empower anyone from a small business owner to a global brand to use our apps to connect with customers,” Facebook noted in an announcement. “That’s why we’re launching Facebook Shops and investing in features across our apps that inspire people to shop and make buying and selling online easier.”
Now that you know what Facebook Shops is and why Facebook launched the tool, you might be interested in using it for your own business.
If so, below is a quick step-by-step guide for setting up your first Facebook Shop.
How to Use Facebook Shops
1. Make sure you’ve fulfilled all the Facebook Shops requirements.
Although creating a Facebook Shop is free for all businesses, Facebook Shops still has a few requirements. To set up a Facebook Shop for your brand, you must:

Have a Facebook Business Page and/or an Instagram Business account that you have Business Manager admin privileges for.
Have manager privileges for your brand’s Facebook catalog.

One thing to keep in mind is that while you do need to admin either an Instagram or Facebook Business Page, you can have one or the other and still create a Facebook Shop. This means that you don’t necessarily need a Facebook Business account to take advantage of this tool.
2. Go to Facebook Commerce Manager to access Facebook Shops
To start setting up your Facebook Shop, go to Facebook Commerce Manager and click the large “Get Started” CTA at the top of the page. From there, you’ll be given a few settings-related questions, such as, “Choose how you want customers to make purchases.”

 
 
At this point in the process, you can link an ecommerce website or API you’ve already set up and direct customers there to purchase your items or have them make buy items directly through Facebook, Instagram, or direct messages.
3. Add business information.
In this step of Shop creation, Facebook will ask you a few questions about your business, such as what category it belongs in, its location, and your preferred contact information. During this step, you’ll also be able to include an overall business description.
4. Add your products and shipping information.
As you continue to follow the simple prompts given by Facebook Shops, you’ll be asked to add products either one by one via a simple product listing form or in bulk with a spreadsheet list upload:

 
Image Source
After you add products, you’ll be able to add or update product descriptions, images, or other important information. You can also enter shipping information as well.
While Facebook Shops will prompt you to add products before launching your store, you can still add, remove, or edit product listings later on.
5. Add banking and tax information.
If you don’t have an ecommerce store and want to do all of your sales through Facebook or Instagram, you’ll be prompted to give information about the bank account where your purchase revenue will go.
You’ll also have to give your company’s tax information and agree to Facebook Shops policies before setting up your shop.
6. Customize your Shop.
Once all of the logistical information is filled in, you can take the fun and creative step of designing your mobile store. Facebook Shops allows you to make basic tweaks to the layout and style of your Shop. As you make edits, such as adjusting text styles or button colors, you’ll see them on a mobile preview screen to the right.
Here’s a look at the Shops customization page. As you can see, it’s simple and easy to understand, even for marketers with less design experience.

 
Image Source
7. Edit products or group them into “Collections.”
Made a mistake with one of your product descriptions or need to add a new product shot? Facebook Shops allows you to edit or remove product listings, even after your mini-store is launched.
Additionally, If you have products that were launched together or with a similar theme, such as a summer line of clothing, you can group products as “Collections” on Facebook Shops. To add a “Collection,” simply click “Layout” on the Shops customization page, then click “Add Collection” under the Featured Collections sidebar.
Once you create a Collection, you can add products to it from its Collection page or by editing the product’s listing.
8. Launch and promote your Shop.
When you feel like your Shop is ready for business, publish it. When you do so, be sure to share about it on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms to ensure you gain initial visitors.
What Brands Should Keep in Mind With Facebook Shops
Facebook Shops might be a great option for brands that want to dabble in ecommerce for the first time or expand their strategy to major social networks.
In fact, in the case study video below, a small printing brand called Ink Meets Paper shares how Shops helped them expand their ecommerce strategy while getting sales from Instagram and Facebook followers, with a small amount of effort required.

While Facebook Shops and other ecommerce platforms might be beneficial to your brand and revenue, there are still a few things you’ll want to keep in mind before launching any online store or service:

Promote the shopping experience: If audiences don’t know about your products or your brand, they might not find your Facebook Shop or ecommerce platform. That’s why it’s important to promote your Shop, product deals, and brand as you would with any other online store.

Prepare for high demand: If you have a great listing of products, people might rush to buy them. But, if your team can’t respond quickly enough to customer demand, delayed orders or other snags could cause shoppers to avoid your Facebook Shop in the future. Prepare to respond to good purchasing outcomes and high demand, as well as poor outcomes.

Brand consistency is still important: Although Facebook Shops exists on a social media platform, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stay on-brand. If your Facebook Shop’s style, images, and layout look unprofessional or inconsistent with your website or Facebook Business page, people might distrust it or be less willing to give your Shop their payment information.

If you’re building or revamping your overall ecommerce strategy, bookmark this ultimate guide to ecommerce. If you’re interested in learning more about how brands are pivoting to ecommerce in 2020, check out this piece.