Category: Marketing Automation

All about Marketing Automation that you ever wanted to know

  • A better business

    An all-in-one software to create your sales channels Do you want your company to do better? Do you want a successful business with many customers and a high monthly profit? Over 10,000 entrepreneurs use this application and are satisfied. https://systeme.io/?sa=sa0036663132f8896ca49a9817eeb061f7303f4040 submitted by /u/Normal-Ad1504 [link] [comments]

  • Auto Add Members to Account Team

    Last Updated on May 21, 2022 by Rakesh Gupta Big Idea or Enduring Question: How can you automatically add specific users to the account team? Once an Account Manager creates a new account, the Manager can add a team member, or multiple team members, to an Account Team. This blog
    The post Auto Add Members to Account Team appeared first on Automation Champion.

  • Auto Add Account Team Members to Case Team

    Last Updated on May 20, 2022 by Rakesh Gupta Big Idea or Enduring Question: How can you automatically add account team members to case team?  How nice would it be if Salesforce auto added users (specified account team role) from Account Team to Case Team whenever a case gets created?
    The post Auto Add Account Team Members to Case Team appeared first on Automation Champion.

  • The Best 30-60-90 Day Plan for Your New Job [Template + Example]

    Worry often comes along with the excitement of a new job. What if you can’t adapt to new people, processes, and team-wide dynamics quickly enough to make a great impression?
    Fortunately, there’s a way to organize and prioritize your time and tasks, helping you seamlessly adapt to your new environment: The 30-60-90 day plan. Creating and following an effective plan enables you to soak in as much information as possible, master your core job responsibilities, and make a lasting impact on your new team.
    In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about building the best 30-60-90 day plan for your new job.

    Learning the nuances of your new role in less than three months won’t be easy. But crafting a strong 30-60-90 day plan is your best bet for accelerating your development and adapting to your new work environment as quickly as possible.
    There are two situations where you’d write a 30-60-90 day plan: during the final stages of an interview process and during the first week of the job itself. Here’s how each type can be executed:
    30-60-90 Day Plan for Interview
    Some hiring managers ask candidates to think about and explain their potential 30-60-90 day plan as a new hire. They want to see if they can organize their time, prioritize the tasks they’d likely take on, and strategize an approach to the job description.
    For a new hire, a well thought-out 30-60-90 day plan is a great way to help the hiring manager visualize you in the role and differentiate yourself from all other candidates.
    Of course, it can be difficult to outline your goals for yourself before you accept a new job. So, how are you supposed to know what those goals are? Start with the job description. Normally, open job listings have separate sections for a job’s responsibilities and a job’s qualifications. Work to find commonalities in these two sections, and how you might turn them into goals for yourself staggered over the course of three months.
    For example, if a job requires three years of experience in Google Analytics, and the responsibilities include tracking the company’s website performance every month, use these points to develop an action plan explaining how you’ll learn the company’s key performance metrics (first 30 days), strengthen the company’s performance in these metrics (next 30 days), and then lead the team toward a better Google Analytics strategy (last 30 days).
    30-60-90 Day Plan for New Job
    The second situation where you’d write a 30-60-90 day plan is during the first week of a new job. If you’re the hiring manager, this plan will allow you to learn how the new employee operates, address any of their concerns or preconceived notions about the role, and ultimately help them succeed.
    If you’re starting a new job, and are not asked to craft a 30-60-90 day plan during the first week of that job, it’s still a good idea to write one for yourself. A new job can feel like a completely foreign environment during the first few months, and having a plan in place can make it feel more like home.
    Even though 90 days is the standard grace period for new employees to learn the ropes, it’s also the best time to make a great first impression.
    The purpose of your plan is to help you transition into your new role, but it should also be a catalyst for your career development. Instead of just guiding you over your job’s learning curve, the goals outlined in your plan should push you to perform up to your potential and raise your bar for success at its every stage.

    Parts of a 30-60-90 Day Plan
    An effective 30-60-90 day plan consists of three larger phases — one for days 1-30, one for days 31-60, and one for days 61-90.
    Each phase has its own goal. For example, the goal in the first 30 days is to learn as much as possible about your new job. The next 30 focus on using learned skills to contribute, and the last 30 are about demonstrating skill mastery with metrics and take the lead on new challenges.
    Each phase also contains components that help define goals and describe desired outcomes. These parts include:
    Primer
    The primer is a general overview of what you hope to achieve during the current 30-day period. It’s worth sitting down with your manager to pinpoint a primer that’s in line with both your goals and desired company outcomes.
    Theme
    The theme is a quick-hitter sentence or statement that sums up your goals for the period. For example, your theme might be “find new opportunities”, “take initiative,” or “be a sponge.”
    Learning Goals
    Learning goals focus on skills you want to learn or improve to drive better outcomes at your job. For example, if you’re responsible for creating website content at your company, you might want to learn new HTML or CSS skills.
    Performance Goals
    Performance goals speak to specific metrics that demonstrate improvement. These might include making one more content post per week or reducing the number of revisions required by management.
    Initiative Goals
    Initiative goals are about thinking outside the box to discover other ways you can contribute. This might mean asking your manager about taking ownership of new website changes or upgrades with a specific deadline in mind.
    Personal Goals
    Personal goals focus on company culture — are there ways you can improve relationships with your team members or demonstrate your willingness to contribute?

    30-60-90 Day Plan for Managers [Template]
    Almost all 30-60-90 day plans consist of a learning phase, a contributing phase, and a leading phase — which we’ll go over in the example plan below. This includes plans that are designed to guide people in new management roles. What sets apart a manager’s plan from any other is their obligation to their direct reports and the decisions they’re trusted to make for the business.
    If you’re accepting (or hiring for) a new manager role, consider any of the following goals and how to roll them out at a pace that sets you up for success.
    Featured Resource: 30-60-90 Day Sales Onboarding Template

    Download the Free Onboarding Template
    Get to your know your team’s strengths and weaknesses.
    Recommended phase: First 30 days
    Everyone is learning the ropes in their first month at a company. For managers, much of that learning happens by talking to the team.
    If you’re a new manager, grab some time with your direct reports and get to know their roles. What do they like about them? What are their biggest pain points?
    Making your team happy is a hard goal to measure, but it’s an important responsibility to take on as a manager. Your first step is to figure out how you’ll manage and coach your employees through their day-to-day work.
    Improve the cost-effectiveness of your team’s budget.
    Recommended phase: Final 30 days
    Managers often have access to (and control over) the budget for their department’s investments — things like software, office supplies, and new hires. After you spend the first couple of months learning what the team spends its money on, consider using the final 30 days of your plan to make suggestions for new investments or how to reallocate money where you think it needs to be.
    Is there a tool that can automate a task that’s taking your team forever to do manually? Draft a financial strategy that includes this tool in the following quarter’s budget.
    Help a direct report acquire a new skill.
    Recommended phase: Second 30 days
    Even though you’re new to the company, you were hired for a reason: You’ve got skills. And you can bring these skills to the people you work with, particularly those people who report to you.
    After meeting with and learning about your new colleagues, you might use the second month of your on-boarding plan to find skill gaps on your team that you can help fill.
    Do you have expert-level experience with HubSpot, and your new company just started using HubSpot Marketing Hub? Teach them how to do something in the platform they didn’t know before.
    Draft a training strategy that can help guide your direct reports into new roles.
    Recommended phase: Final 30 days
    You won’t be expected to promote people in the first three months of your new job, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have learned enough about your team to decide who’s good at what and how to coach them to where they want to be.
    In the final 30 days of your 30-60-90 day plan, you might agree to a goal to develop a training strategy that outlines how to manage your direct reports, and ultimately how to guide them into new roles in the future.
    30-60-90 Day Plan for Executives
    Executives are a little different from managers in that there are higher performance expectations coming in. As an executive, you’ll need to be highly engaged with the organization from the first day and implement high-impact changes in your role as soon as you can. At the same time, context is important, and you’ll need to understand the culture, team, current operating processes, and challenges before you solve for them.
    Here are some critical steps to include in your 30-60-90 day plan in an executive role.
    Soak up as much information as possible.
    Recommended phase: First 30 days
    There’s no point in taking action without context, so start your ramp-up period by gathering information and charting the lay of the land. That means reviewing existing documentation, attending as many meetings as you can, meeting with direct reports and skip levels, and ask a lot of questions.
    Create alignment between you and the team.
    Recommended phase: First 30 days
    In the first 30 days, you’ll be meeting new people and understanding their roles in the organization. Ultimately, your job as an executive is to set the vision for the organization while removing roadblocks for your team as they strategize and execute on it.
    One of the best questions you can ask as you familiarize yourself and align with your team is, “In your opinion, what are some existing threats to our business (external or internal)?”
    This shows that you care about their opinion and trust their expertise while getting unique perspectives from multiple vantage points in the organization. Plus, if you start hearing some of the same points from multiple team members, you’ll be able to identify the biggest pains, equipping you to make the highest impact changes.
    Create goals based on what you’ve learned.
    Recommended phase: Second 30 days
    When you are interviewing or shortly after you’re hired, you’ll get a feel for the types of pains that the executive team has and the objectives in mind for bringing you on.
    Once you have more context about how the organization works, you can take this vision and translate it into concrete, measurable goals that will take your department to the next level.
    Identify the A players on the team.
    Recommended phase: First 30 days
    An A player is a member of your team that goes above and beyond what’s expected in their role. While not every employee will be an A player, you’ll want to ensure that critical roles and teams have at least one A player to lead, inspire, and strengthen camaraderie.
    From there, you can figure out the existing gaps in staffing and training, whether it’s team members who need a lot of guidance and must be coached up to performance or empty roles that need to be filled altogether.
    Diagnose process issues.
    Recommended phase: Second 30 days
    Companies of all sizes run into operational issues as they implement processes that are efficient and work at scale. Sometimes, when an executive team isn’t aligned with middle management, processes can become unwieldy.
    Learn why things are done the way they are and then figure out if there are workarounds you can implement to streamline operations. Perhaps it’s as simple as eliminating bottlenecks or adding automation to certain functions.
    Put together and implement hiring plan.
    Recommended phase: Final 30 days
    You know your A and B players, and you hopefully have a plan to retain, invest in, and mentor them. However, you’ll likely come across gaps that you need to fill and positions that need to be created to eliminate bottlenecks. From there, you’ll want to create a hiring plan to execute, both for short-term, middle-term, and long-term needs.
    Effect changes in operations.
    Recommended phase: Final 30 days
    Speaking of bottlenecks, your final 30 days of your plan should be focusing on the areas of the business that can achieve the results the fastest. Once you’ve identified these, you can focus on removing these roadblocks to start hitting goals and achieving higher performance.
    Contribute to broader company goals.
    Recommended phase: Final 30 days
    As a member of the executive team, you’ll also be looped in one high-level company initiatives, and the other executives of the company will be relying on you to contribute your deep discipline expertise and experience.
    Be ready to lean in on executive meetings and contribute to the vision and strategy of the organization as it moves forward.

    How to Write a 30-60-90 Day Plan
    No matter what the level of the job for which a company is hiring, improving an employee’s skills requires concrete performance goals, so watch out for vagueness in the objectives you set for yourself.
    “Write a better blog post,” or “get better at brainstorming” are terrific ambitions, but they don’t give you a way to measure your progress in them. Set goals that are realistic, quantifiable, and focused. You’ll know exactly how to achieve them and gauge your success.

    To write challenging yet feasible performance goals, you need to:
    Understand your team’s goals.
    Try to understand the purpose behind your team’s goals. It’ll give you more insight into why you and your team should achieve them, motivating you to work as hard as possible to meet those goals.
    Identify top priorities.
    By connecting your personal responsibilities to your team’s goals, you’ll know exactly how to align your tasks with the needs of the team, which keeps you accountable and compels you to help your team achieve their goals.
    Define specific progress measurements.
    Tracking your progress helps you gauge your performance and rate of improvement. To see how you’re doing, set up weekly meetings with your manager to ask her what she thinks of your work and track the improvement of your own performance metrics, like the growth of your blog posts’ average views or the amount of qualified leads your eBooks generate.
    Reaching your performance goals isn’t the only path toward future success in your new role, though. You also need to study the ins and outs of your team and company, take initiative, and develop relationships with coworkers — all things that a lot of new hires underestimate the importance of.
    Consider setting the following types of goals during each stage of your 30-60-90 day plan:

    Learning Goals – How will you absorb as much information as possible about your company, team, and role?
    Initiative Goals – What will you do to stand out?
    Personal Goals – How will you integrate with your company and team?

    Aiming to achieve these types of goals will help you hit the ground running in all the right areas of your job. And if you stick to your plan, you’ll notice you’ll be able to spend less time learning and more time executing.

    30-60-90 Day Plan Template

    Download Your Free Template
    HubSpot’s 30-60-90 day plan template includes space for all key elements of your plan — primers, themes, and goals — making it easy for both you and your manager to see exactly where you are in the plan, what comes next, and how things are going so far.
    While our template is a great starting point, it’s worth cross-referencing this high-level plan with a more detailed description of your goals and desired outcomes to ensure you’re aligned with company expectations.
    30-60-90 Day Plan Example
    Using our template, we’ve created a quick 30-60-90 plan example for new employees.
    30 Days
    Primer
    Many new hires are eager to impress, so they dive head-first into their work or try to make suggestions about their team’s process with limited experience in how their new team operates. But have patience.
    Understanding your company’s vision and your team’s existing strategy is crucial for producing high-quality work and actually making an impact. If you don’t know the purpose behind your role or the optimal way to perform, you’ll risk missing the mark and your early efforts won’t pay off the way you expect them to.
    It’s always better to over-prepare than under-prepare. And it’s okay to take time to learn the ropes — it pays huge dividends in the long run. In the first 30 days of your employment, your priority is to be a sponge and soak in as much information as possible. Once you do that, you can then try to improve more specific parts of your team’s work style.
    Theme: Be a Sponge
    Learning Goals

    Study my company’s mission, vision, and overarching strategy.
    Read my company’s culture code to learn more about our company culture and why we implement it.
    Read the customer persona and target audience overview to truly understand who our customers are, their pain points, and how our product and content can help them.
    Meet with my team’s director to learn about how meeting our goals will help our business grow.
    Read up on our team’s new SEO strategy, editorial process, and traffic goals.
    Learn how to use the SEO Insights Report to plan and structure blog posts.
    Review my team’s pillar-cluster model overview and understand how to match posts to clusters.
    Meet with my manager to learn more about her expectations.

    Performance Goals

    Complete new hire training and pass the test with a 90% or higher.
    Be able to write 3 blog posts per week.

    Initiative Goals

    Run the Facebook Instant Article experiment that my manager recommended me to do.

    Personal Goals

    Grab coffee with everyone on my team, so I can get to know them on a professional and personal level.

    60 Days
    Primer
    By the end of your first 60 days, you should ramp up your workload, start overachieving, and make a name for yourself on your team.
    To do this, start speaking up more at meetings. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas about improving your team’s processes. This shows you’re quickly conquering the learning curve and recognizing some flaws that your colleagues might’ve overlooked. You still have a fresh perspective on the company, so your insight is invaluable.
    Theme: Be a Contributor
    Learning Goals:

    Learn how to optimize a new post from scratch based on both the SEO Insights Report and my own competitive research.
    Read every other marketing team’s wiki page to learn about other marketing initiatives and how our entire department works together to grow our business.
    Deep dive into my company’s product roadmap and strategy to fully grasp our mission and vision.

    Performance Goals

    Be able to write 5 blog posts per week.
    Be down to one cycle of edits per post.
    Understand how to edit a guest post — clean up at least one rough draft.

    Initiative Goals

    Share content strategy idea at my team’s monthly meeting and ask if I can spearhead the project to boost blog traffic.
    Ask my manager if I can oversee Facebook messenger and Slack distribution strategy.

    Personal Goals

    Meet with my colleagues on other teams to learn about their marketing initiatives and develop relationships outside of my team.

    90 Days
    Primer
    By the end of your first three months, you should have a firm grasp of your role, feel confident about your abilities, and be on the cusp of making a breakthrough contribution to your team. Instead of reacting to problems that pop up at random, be proactive and spearhead a new initiative for your team.
    You should also be cognizant of how you can collaborate with other teams to improve your own team’s processes. By taking on some new projects outside of your main role, you’ll start turning some heads and catch the attention of the department at large.
    Theme: Be a Leader
    Learning Goals

    Do an analysis of my highest and lowest-performing blog post to date. How can I use this information to optimize new content so it performs better out of the gate?

    Performance Goals

    Be comfortable with writing five blog posts per week
    Edit one guest post per week
    Try to have 75% of my blog posts not require revisions.
    Write at least one new post that generates over 10,000 views in one month.

    Initiative Goals

    Ask SEO team if they want to partner with product marketing team to brainstorm content topics related to our product road map.
    Ask social media team if they’re willing to develop a relationship where we can share each other’s content.
    Ask sales team what our customers’ pain points are, so we can write content that our target audience craves and help them close more qualified leads.

    Personal Goals

    Join the yoga club.

    30-60-90 Day Plan Team Leader Example
    Now, let’s apply that same template to a team leader role with another 30-60-90 plan example.
    30 Days
    Primer:
    During the first 30 days, the goal of a team leader should be to cultivate connections with their team members and discover where they excel, where they struggle, and where they could use help. Creating these relationships lays the foundation for solid communication over time, in turn leading to better results.
    Theme: Cultivate Staff Connections
    Learning Goals

    Identify strengths for all team members.
    Pinpoint current challenges in accomplishing team goals.
    Encourage staff connections through honest communication.

    Performance Goals

    Reduce project completion times by 25 percent.
    Increase team member output by 5 percent.

    Initiative Goals

    Establish a mentorship connection with one staff member looking to advance in their role.

    Personal Goals

    Arrange one out-of-work activity for staff.

    60 Days
    Primer:
    For the second month, team leaders may want to focus on putting the connections they’ve made to good use and creating a mindset of success across the department. In practice, this means establishing clear goals and specific metrics and working alongside staff to deliver key outcomes.
    Theme: Create a Culture of Success
    Learning Goals

    Understand where previous team leaders have struggled.
    Identify common themes in goals not being met.
    Clearly define starting points, milestones, and end goals for projects.

    Performance Goals

    Ensure current project deadlines are met.
    Deliver at least one project component ahead of schedule.
    Take ownership of one complex task to continue developing team culture.

    Initiative Goals

    Based on current project goals, brainstorm two new potential projects.
    Look for ways to integrate current efforts with sales, marketing, or social media teams.

    Personal Goals

    Make time for mindfulness practice at work to help improve your focus.

    90 Days
    Primer:
    The last month of your 30-60-90 plan may focus on ensuring the framework you’ve built can be replicated on the next team project and finding new opportunities for your team members to excel.
    Theme: Identify New Opportunities
    Learning Goals

    Convene with staff to see what worked and what didn’t during the project.
    Look for outcomes that exceeded expectations and discover what sets them apart to help drive improved processes.

    Performance Goals

    Become confident in assigning staff specific tasks with minimal oversight.
    Create a regular performance review structure that focuses on helping staff achieve their best work.
    Identify areas for reasonable cost-savings that don’t disrupt current processes.

    Initiative Goals

    Look for team members with a passion for leadership and encourage their growth.
    Transition into a more hands-off leadership style that demonstrates trust in employee autonomy.

    Personal Goals

    Take up a new hobby to avoid getting burned out at work.

    Making the Most of Your First Months
    The first few months at a new job are critical in answering key questions: Is the company a good fit? Can you meet (and exceed) expectations? What does your long-term career plan look like?
    Building a robust 30-60-90 day plan can take some of the pressure off by providing a framework for success that combines big ideas with specific goals to help drive success.
    Editor’s note: This post was originally published in April 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

  • 7 Email Cadence Best Practices for Better Email Marketing Campaigns

    There’s much more to email campaigns than drafting up some copy and hitting send.
    One of the most crucial components is email cadence: the pulse, pace, and playbook of a successful email campaign. In other words, if you can get the right emails to the right customers at the right time, you can get a lot of mileage out of your email marketing efforts.

    Let’s take a deeper dive into what an email cadence is and establish the fundamental principles of structuring a successful one.
    The success of an email campaign can hinge upon the effectiveness of its cadence.
    If your cadence is too intrusive, obnoxious, or directionless, you can lose out on opportunities to guide leads through their buyers’ journeys. If potential customers feel pestered or confused by constant, irrelevant newsletters and promotions, they probably won’t stick around to hear what you have to say.
    Email Marketing Frequency
    In a recent HubSpot Blogs survey of 300 marketers, a whopping 95% reported their email marketing strategy was effective in 2021. Let’s take a look at where (and when) they’re finding success.

    When it comes to frequency, here are a few stats to know:

    Emails sent on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday get the most engagement.
    Marketing emails sent from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Tuesday garner the most engagement, followed by Monday and Wednesday at the same time.
    The weekend is a dead zone for engagement — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday have the lowest open and click-through rates.

    Another study by Databox found that 33% of marketers send weekly emails, while 26% send emails “multiple times per month.” In addition, 63% said they adjust their send frequency for less engaged subscribers.
    Of course, some marketers send emails more than once a week, while others send less. As you’ll see later, the “right” email frequency is not an exact formula. Instead, it depends on your business and audience.
    Here are some best practices to employ to ensure your next campaign’s email cadence is the best it can be.
    1. Understand your goals.
    What do you want out of your email cadence? You need to understand where you’re trying to lead your prospects and customers. Are you looking to improve traffic to your blog? Drive e-commerce sales? Schedule meetings? Close deals?
    An email cadence guides buyers from point A to point B. You can’t do that if you have no idea what “point B” is. Your ultimate goal will dictate the strategy behind your cadence. If you’re trying to do something like increase traffic to your blog, you can stand to lose more subscribers than you would if you were trying to court a group of sales leads into scheduling demos.
    If you’re sending emails purely for the sake of sending emails, your cadence will be aimless and haphazard. Plus, you’ll waste a lot of time and resources on email campaigns that go nowhere.
    2. Try to understand each customer’s mindset.
    The whole point of having an email cadence is to hone in on messaging that will resonate most with a specific customer at a given point in time. That means one-size-fits-all, “throw everything at everyone,” impersonal emails won’t cut it. You need to send your recipients something relevant to who they are as a customer. That often means understanding where they are in their buyer’s journey.
    The buyer’s journey is the process buyers go through to become aware of, evaluate, and ultimately decide to purchase a new product or service. It’s divided into three stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision.
    You can’t expect to target buyers in all three stages with the same message and have it immediately register with them across the board. Different stages — and engagement levels within those stages — warrant different messages.
    Additionally, through the wonders of automation, coordinating this kind of strategy is possible. Several kinds of email and marketing automation software allow you to set up the proper infrastructure to tailor email content and timing to suit different leads’ behavior and interests.
    3. Personalize when you can.
    Think back on all the targeted emails companies have sent you over the years. How inclined have you been to click through ones addressed to “valued customer,” or “to whom it may concern?” I don’t think it’s outrageous to assume the answer is “not often.”
    Why would your customers be any different? A successful cadence relies on your leads clicking through your emails and progressing through their buyer’s journey. If you’re sending impersonal mass-email blasts, crossing your fingers, and hoping for the best, your prospects may wind up suspended in buyer’s limbo.
    Fortunately, there’s a variety of email software that allows you to personalize your subject lines and email content to cater to specific leads.
    4. Don’t be too shy.
    When planning an email cadence, you shouldn’t err too much on the side of “I don’t want to bother you.” It’s easy to get anxiety about losing leads by coming off as obnoxious or intrusive, but you have to understand there’s a difference between being pushy and professionally persistent.
    You’re missing out on sales opportunities if you’re not consistently sending out emails. A big part of email marketing is keeping your prospects and customers engaged. You might become an afterthought if a lead only gets an email from you once every two months.
    Email cadences are a matter of strategically striking while the iron’s hot. You can’t do that if you’re too reluctant to strike at all.
    5. Don’t be too aggressive.
    Even though you shouldn’t be too passive, you don’t want to be overly aggressive. There’s a movie from the 80’s called Say Anything. It has an iconic scene where the main character stands outside his love interest’s window and serenades her by blaring a song called “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel from a boombox he’s holding over his head. She swoons over it, and they ride off into the sunset together on a lawnmower ( … for some reason).
    It’s romantic and compelling. But, if he did that twice a day, every day — playing similar, anthemic 80’s rock songs on her front lawn — she’d be over it pretty quickly. He’d have to take his lawnmower and Peter Gabriel cassettes somewhere else.
    That’s essentially what sending emails too frequently in your cadence is like. If your leads receive obtrusive, daily reminders and promotions from you, they’ll unsubscribe from your mailing list.
    6. Hone in on the right frequency for your business.
    There’s no magic figure when it comes to email frequency. It’s going to vary from business to business. It may take some time to get the right feel for how often you should be sending your emails.
    Studying your industry averages for email frequency can provide a solid place to start. A prominent fashion brand routinely sending out new promotions and coupons probably isn’t going to have the same email frequency as a midsize B2B SaaS company looking to set meetings with decision-makers.
    Email frequency isn’t an exact science. It’s probably going to take some trial-and-error before you find one that best fits both your business and customers’ interests.
    7. Give your subscribers autonomy.
    Always give your subscribers the option to control their own email frequency. Giving them this kind of autonomy can keep them from unsubscribing from your mailing list outright if your email frequency seems like a bit too much for them. Include a link to allow them to update their email preferences as they see fit at the end of your emails.
    Customers don’t always approach email frequencies in absolutes. Even if they’re overwhelmed by how many emails you’re sending them, they still might want to keep hearing from you. Give them the freedom to pump the brakes. If they don’t have the flexibility to do that, they’ll probably just cut you off.
    You should always be putting the customer first. Their personal interests take precedence over what you might believe to be your preferred email cadence.
    Back to You
    Finding your ideal email cadence might not happen with your first series of automated emails. Still, there are certain actions you can take to take to put yourself in the best position to find the one that works best for your business.
    Your main priority should always be your prospects and customers’ interests. Try to understand where they’re coming from, where they stand in terms of buying your product or service, and what they might want out of you and your business, and cater your email cadence around that.

  • Auto Remove a Record From Chatter Groups

    Last Updated on May 19, 2022 by Rakesh GuptaBig Idea or Enduring Question: How do you automatically remove a record from the Chatter Groups? Salesforce allows you to add a record to Chatter Groups, which means you can now collaborate and discuss the records as a team in the group. You
    The post Auto Remove a Record From Chatter Groups appeared first on Automation Champion.

  • Avoiding Burnout as a Social Media Manager (With Advice From Our Very Own Social Media Manager)

    Social media has seen rapid growth in the past decade and along with it has grown the role of the Social Media Manager. Even though it seems glamorous from the outside, the job can be exhausting. Social media managers are often alone in their role depending on the company and are expected to wear many hats. Along with the pressures, it’s just not healthy to be constantly plugged in the way social media managers often are.Burnout is a growing phenomenon among social media managers, with people in the role pointing out the platforms they manage as major contributors. If you are or want to become a social media manager, it’s important to understand how to manage your relationship with your job and the platforms you work with to avoid burnout. And better than just telling you myself, we included advice from our very own social media manager, Mitra Mehvar on what she does to avoid burnout.What causes burnout in social media managers?Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged and repeated stress. People experience burnout in their regular day jobs all the time. In fact, burnout rates are at an all-time high. And regular work-related burnout is only compounded when met with the exhaustion that could stem from anyone spending too much time on social media.The frequent changes to platforms can be difficult to keep up with and can contribute to burnout as well. We asked Mitra if any specific platforms make the stress worse and she said, “Instagram is one platform at the moment that is CONSTANTLY changing. The second you feel like you’ve got the hang of things, they change things on you.”In 2022 alone, Instagram has made at least four major updates – and all of them change how users experience the platform. Mitra adds that “You feel like you put so much time and effort into your posts and then you find out that all that work you did isn’t what the platform is focusing on anymore. It can be a lot to keep up with.”A study by Harvard University, suggests that as long as people are mindful users of social media, strong social networks are associated with positive mental health and well-being. However, disconnecting and mindfulness are extra difficult to do when it’s your job.So, how can you identify if you or a colleague are starting to feel burned out? In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared that burnout is an occupational phenomenon “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”. Burnout was characterised by the WHO in three dimensions including:Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustionIncreased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s jobReduced professional efficacyEssentially, if you don’t feel like you can log off at the end of the day or on weekends, or you’re hesitant to take time off or leave your phone for fear of missing important moments you might be burned out or at risk of burning out.4 ways to avoid burnoutJust as social media managers can take personal steps to avoid burnout, companies also have a responsibility to their employees to mitigate the effects on their employees. Here are some tips for avoiding burnout for social media managers (and their organizations).Mitra recommends allowing yourself to set boundaries and disconnect fully. She says “There’s always something happening on social media so it can feel like you need to be “on” all the time, so I try to remind myself that it’s ok to take a step back and if I miss out on a trend, it’s ok!” She also takes the time to remind herself that it’s just social media. Nothing horrible will happen if you miss posting for one day.It’s just social media2.   As the account grows, companies should hire different people for different roles or outsource certain responsibilities. Some things that can be outsourced include strategy, copywriting, graphic design, and community management. On this note, Mitra recommended understanding that “being a social media manager is not just doing posts – we do so much more: graphic design, video editing, copywriting, customer service, and strategy just to name a few. It’s a lot!”3.   Once your company can afford to, you can also consider hiring more social media managers and rotating them like you would a customer service team. If your team can’t afford to hire someone to handle each aspect of social media management, then focus on creating a support system for the existing social media manager. Can another employee take over replying to comments for a few hours each week? Are custom images necessary for every single post? Working with4.   Companies should also create safe spaces and psychological safety for employees to air their stressors and grievances. Social media managers shouldn’t feel bad that they can’t keep up with creating perfect posts and a rigorous posting schedule – and that’s okay. Create a culture where it is okay if you miss posting on #TacoTuesday.Mitra also underpins the responsibility of companies in mitigating burnout saying, “Let your social media managers fully disconnect. There’s always something happening on social media so it can be easy to feel like you need to always check things to make sure you don’t miss out. It’s ok to step away for a bit. Let your social media managers have a real break from their job – keeping up with everything on social can be exhausting.”Incorporate time off from social media into your work routineWhere regular social media users may take time off from their accounts every other year, social media managers need to consider doing this more often. Manage your relationship with different platforms by detoxing once in a while, as well as stepping away from the accounts you’re in charge of more frequently.A final word from Mitra: “Social media is such a big space that it is incredibly easy to burn out when it’s your job. It’s important to set clear boundaries with your clients [or company] from the beginning so you can make sure to take time away and recharge.”📌It’s easier to disconnect when you have posts queued up to publish, so take advantage of Buffer’s scheduling capabilities to help manage your social media. Get started here.

  • The Ultimate Guide to On-Page SEO in 2022

    On-page SEO has the power to bring countless new visitors — and customers — right to your website.

    Additionally, on-page SEO is also completely up to you: You get to establish what the topic and/or goal of each page will be. You get to decide on the target audience for that page. And you get to choose the target keywords and phrases you want to focus on.

    This can be intimidating and empowering at the same time. If you’re unsure how to get started, we’ve built this on-page SEO checklist to help guide you.
    Jump To:
    What is On-Page SEO?

    Why On-Page SEO is Important

    On-Page SEO Elements

    On-Page SEO Checklist

    Google’s algorithm ranks your website on three main factors: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO:

    We’ll cover on-page SEO elements below.
    Off-page SEO refers to social sharing, external linking, and more.
    Technical SEO refers to all the SEO elements not included in on-page and off-page practices, such as structured data, site speed, and mobile readiness — the more technical parts of SEO.

    Note: This SEO “trilogy” isn’t always divided into three clean sections; some of these SEO elements will overlap. You’ll see how and why throughout this piece.

    Why is on-page SEO important?
    On-page SEO is important because it tells Google all about your website and how you provide value to visitors and customers. It helps your site be optimized for both human eyes and search engine bots.
    Merely creating and publishing your website isn’t enough — you must optimize it for Google and other search engines in order to rank and attract new traffic.
    On-page SEO is called “on-page” because the tweaks and changes you make to optimize your website can be seen by visitors on your page (whereas off-page and technical SEO elements aren’t always visible).
    Every part of on-page SEO is completely up to you; that’s why it’s critical that you do it correctly. Now, let’s discuss the elements of on-page SEO.

    All on-page SEO elements fall into three main categories:

    Content elements
    HTML elements
    Site architecture elements

    You’ll see these elements divided into sections below.

    Content Elements
    Content elements refer to the elements within your site copy and content. In this section, we’ll focus mostly on crafting high-quality page content that benefits your visitors and tells Google that your website provides value.
    1. High-Quality Page Content
    Page content is the heart of on-page SEO. It tells both search engines and readers what your website and business are all about.
    The first step to creating high-quality content is choosing relevant keywords and topics. Conduct keyword research by searching Google for terms and seeing what surfaces for competitors and other websites. You can also use tools like Ahrefs, AnswerthePublic, and UberSuggest.

    Also, read our Beginner’s Guide on How to Do Keyword Research for SEO.
    Next, consider how your page content falls into the buyer’s journey and visitors’ search intent. These will impact how you will use your keywords and what types of content you will create:

    Stage in the Buyer’s Journey
    Suggested Content/Website Pages

    Awareness
    Blog posts, videoshomepage

    Consideration
    Buyer’s guides, case studiesabout page

    Decision
    Product demos, comparison toolsproduct or pricing pages, contact page

    Now, it’s time to write your page content or clean it up if you’re currently auditing your on-page SEO.
    Here are a few best practices for writing high-quality page content (we’ll touch on some of these in more detail below, in our Checklist):

    Incorporate short and long-tail keywords naturally.
    Add engaging and relevant visual content.
    Write for your specific buyer persona(s).
    Actively solve your audience’s problem.
    Develop content people will share and want to link to.
    Optimize for conversions with CTAs to offers and product pages.

    Page content is your opportunity to communicate value to Google and your site visitors; it’s the heart of the on-page SEO process. All other on-page SEO elements stem from high-quality page content, so invest ample resources to develop and optimize it.

    HTML Elements
    HTML elements refer to the elements in your source code.
    Note: To see the source code for any page in your browser, click View > Developer > View Source in the top menu.
    2. Page Titles
    Your website page titles (also known as title tags) are one of the most important SEO elements.

    Titles tell both visitors and search engines what they can find on the corresponding pages.
    To ensure your site pages rank for the proper intent, be sure to include the focus keyword for each page in the title. Incorporate your keyword as naturally as possible.
    Here are some best practices for when developing a page title:

    Keep it under 60 characters (per Google’s update) to ensure that your titles display correctly. Although Google doesn’t have an exact character limit, its display titles max out at 600 pixels. Keeping your titles at 60 characters or less ensures the title won’t be cut off in search results.
    Don’t stuff the title with keywords. Not only does keyword-stuffing present a spammy and tacky reading experience, but modern search engines are smarter than ever — they’ve been designed to specifically monitor for (and penalize!) content that’s unnaturally stuffed with keywords.
    Make it relevant to the page.
    Don’t use all caps.
    Include your brand in the title, i.e. “The Ultimate Guide to On-Page SEO in 2022 — HubSpot Blog”.

    Check out our free data-driven guide to writing effective page titles.
    3. Headers
    Headers, also known as body tags, refer to the HTML element <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, and so on.

    These tags help organize your content for readers and help search engines distinguish what part of your content is most important and relevant, depending on search intent. Incorporate important keywords in your
    headers, but choose different ones than what’s in your page title. Put your most important keywords in your <h1> and <h2> headers.

    4. Meta Descriptions
    Meta descriptions are the short page descriptions that appear under the title in search results. Although it’s not an official ranking factor for search engines, it can influence whether or not your page is clicked on — therefore, it’s just as important when doing on-page SEO.

    Meta descriptions can also be copied over to social media when your content is shared (by using structured markup, which we talk about below), so it can encourage click-throughs from there, too.
    Here’s what makes for a good meta description:

    Keep it under 160 characters, although Google has been known to allow longer meta descriptions. (Note
    Include your entire keyword or keyword phrase.

    Use a complete, compelling sentence (or two).
    Avoid alphanumeric characters like —, &, or +.

    5. Image Alt-text
    Image alt-text is like SEO for your images. It tells Google and other search engines what your images are about … which is important because Google now delivers almost as many image-based results as they do text-based results.
    That means consumers may be discovering your site through your images. In order for them to do this, though, you have to add alt-text to your images.
    Here’s what to keep in mind when adding image alt-text:

    Make it descriptive and specific.
    Make it contextually relevant to the broader page content.
    Keep it shorter than 125 characters.
    Use keywords sparingly, and don’t keyword stuff.

    6. Structured Markup
    Structured markup, or structured data, is the process of “marking up” your website source code to make it easier for Google to find and understand different elements of your content.
    Structured markup is the key behind those featured snippets, knowledge panels, and other content features you see when you search for something on Google. It’s also how your specific page information shows up so neatly when someone shares your content on social media.
    Note: Structured data is considered technical SEO, but I’m including it here because optimizing it creates a better on-page experience for visitors.

    Site Architecture Elements
    Site architecture elements refer to the elements that make up your website and site pages. How you structure your website can help Google and other search engines easily crawl the pages and page content.
    7. Page URLs
    Your page URLs should be simple to digest for both readers and search engines. They are also important when keeping your site hierarchy consistent as you create subpages, blog posts, and other types of internal pages.

    For example, in the above URL, “blog” is the sub-domain, “hubspot.com” is the domain, “sales” is the directory for the HubSpot Sales Blog, and “startups” indicates the specific path to that blog post.
    Here are a few tips on how to write SEO-friendly URLs:

    Remove the extra, unnecessary words.
    Use only one or two keywords.
    Use HTTPS if possible, as Google now uses that as a positive ranking factor.

    8. Internal Linking
    Internal linking is the process of hyperlinking to other helpful pages on your website. (See how the words “internal linking” are linked to another HubSpot blog post in the sentence above? That’s an example.)
    Internal linking is important for on-page SEO because internal links send readers to other pages on your website, keeping them around longer and thus telling Google your site is valuable and helpful.
    Also, the longer visitors are on your website, the more time Google has to crawl and index your site pages. This ultimately helps Google absorb more information about your website and potentially rank it higher on the search engine results pages.
    Download our free guide to Internal Linking for SEO.
    9. Mobile Responsiveness
    Google started favoring sites that are optimized for faster mobile speeds — even for desktop searches.
    Mobile responsiveness matters.
    It’s critical to choose a website hosting service, site design and theme, and content layout that’s readable and navigable on mobile devices. If you’re not sure about your own site’s mobile readiness, use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.

    10. Site Speed
    Whether viewed on a mobile device or desktop, your site must be able to load quickly. When it comes to on-page SEO, page speed counts big-time.
    Google cares about user experience first and foremost. If your site loads slowly or haphazardly, it’s likely your visitors aren’t going to stick around — and Google knows that. Moreover, site speed can impact conversions and ROI.
    Check your website’s speed anytime using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. If your website is movin’ slow, check out 5 Easy Ways to Help Reduce Your Website’s Page Loading Speed.
    Note: Mobile responsiveness and site speed are considered technical SEO, but I’m including them here because optimizing them creates a better on-page experience for visitors.

    Now that you understand the different on-page SEO elements, let’s talk through the steps of auditing and improving your on-page SEO.

    If you’ve been in search of a solution for organizing and tracking the various on-page SEO elements, you’re in luck. The HubSpot marketing team released an updated version of our On-Page SEO Template, an Excel document that allows you to coordinate pages and keywords — and track changes — all in one place.
    Download Now: On-Page SEO Template

    In this section, we’ll be using this template as a guide as we walk you through a checklist for your on-page SEO management, step by step. Download the template now and follow along.
    Note: The fictional website “http://www.quantify.ly” will be used as an example throughout this post. It’s simply meant to help you imagine how your own website will fit into the template.

    1. Crawl your website.
    Get an overview of all of your website pages that search engines have indexed. For HubSpot customers, our Page Performance tool (under Reports) will allow you to do this. If you’re not using HubSpot, you can try using a free tool like Xenu’s link crawler.
    After crawling your site and exporting the results into an Excel (or .csv) file, there will be three key columns of data that you should focus on:

    The web address (a.k.a. URL)
    The page title
    The page meta description

    Copy and paste these three columns into your template.
    The URL should be pasted into column B, the page title into column C, and the description into column E.

    2. Conduct an SEO audit and define your site architecture.
    Now that you have a basic index of your site in the template, you’ll want to organize and prioritize your web pages. Start by defining where within your site architecture your existing pages currently sit.
    Do this in column A. Note whether a page is your homepage (ideally you’ll only have one of those), a page in your primary (or secondary) navigation menu, an internal page, and so on.

    3. Update URLs, page titles, and meta descriptions.
    Review your current URLs, page titles, and meta descriptions to see if they need updating.
    (This is the beauty of using a template to organize your SEO: You get a broad overview of the type of content you have on your website.)

    Notice how column D and column F automatically calculate the length of each element. The recommended length for page titles is anything under 60 characters. (And, actually, a quick and easy optimization project is to update all page titles that are longer than 60 characters.)
    The recommended length for page meta descriptions is 155-160 characters. This is the perfect length to ensure none of the description is cut off by the ellipses. Make sure you’re not too repetitive with keywords in this space. Writing a good meta description isn’t tough, but it deserves just as much consideration as the page content itself.
    (Note: For some sites, you may also have to update the URLs, but that’s not always the case and thus was not included as part of this optimization template.)
    4. Make sure your keyword is in your URL.
    As we mentioned above, add your keyword to your URL. For example, imagine you own a hot yoga studio called ADYoga. You have a web page that includes videos of your classes. The keyword for this page is “hot yoga online classes” — so, you’d want to include that keyword in your URL. The URL for this web page may look like this: www.ADyoga.com/hot-yoga-online-classes.
    5. Include your keyword throughout your web page.
    In addition to your URL, you’ll want to add your keyword throughout your web page(s). This includes your title and headers. Sprinkle your keyword throughout your content as well where it fits naturally.
    6. Track keywords and topics for each page.
    Think of your target keyword as the designated topic for a particular page. If you’re using the HubSpot template, In column O, define just one topic per page.

    By doing this, you’ll be able to go more in-depth and provide more detailed information about that topic. This also means that you are only optimizing for one keyword per page, meaning you have a greater chance to rank for that keyword.
    There are, of course, a few exceptions to this rule. Your homepage is a classic example. The goal of your homepage is to explain what your entire website is about, and thus you’ll need a few keywords to do that. Another exception is overview pages like services and product pages, which outline what all of your products and services may be.
    7. Don’t keyword stuff.
    We just covered many examples in which keywords are both helpful and necessary for SEO purposes. However, one mistake many first-timers make when improving their on-page SEO is “keyword stuff”.
    Keyword stuffing can be detrimental to your website and web page’s SEO and it can feel spammy to readers/ visitors.
    8. Establish value propositions for each page.
    A very important next step, which is often overlooked, is establishing a value proposition for each page of your website. Each page should have a goal aside from just ranking for a particular term.
    If you’re using the template, you’ll do this in column G.

    9. Define your target audience.
    Define your target audience — do you have a single buyer persona or multiple personas? Keep this persona in mind as you optimize your site’s pages. (Remember, you are optimizing for humans, too — not just search engine robots.)
    In column H of our template, you’ll have the opportunity to define your page’s target audience.

    10. Plan new page titles.
    Now that you’ve documented your existing page titles and have established value propositions and target audiences for each of your pages, write new page titles (if necessary) to reflect your findings.
    You can do this in column K of the template — and double-check each title length in column L.

    People usually follow the formula of “Keyword Phrase | Context.” The goal of the page title is to lay out the purpose of the page without being redundant. You should also keep the additional recommendations we made above related to titles.
    11. Add new meta descriptions.
    As we covered above, meta descriptions should be a short, declarative sentence that incorporates the same keyword as your page’s title.
    It should not reflect the content verbatim as it appears on the page. Get as close as you can to the 150-character limit to maximize space and tell visitors as much as possible about your page.
    If you need to create new meta descriptions, do so in column M of the template.

    12. Review and edit page content as needed.
    Good copy needs to be thorough, clear, and provide solutions … so, be compelling! Write for your target audience and about how you can help them. Compelling content is also error-free, so double-check your spelling and grammar.
    Aim to have at least 500 words per page, and format content to make it easier to read and digest with the use of headers and subheaders.
    Columns P through R can be used to keep track of changes that you’ve made to your content or to note where changes need to be implemented.

    13. Incorporate visual content.
    Content can be more than just text, so consider what kind of visual content you can incorporate into each page (if it adds value and serves a purpose, of course). Columns S and T allow you to note which visual elements need to be added. When adding an image to a page, be sure to include a descriptive file name and image alt-text.

    14. Optimize your visual content.
    We talked earlier about image alt text. You’ll want to optimize your visual content this way — and be sure to include your keyword in your image alt text. It’ll help with the page’s SEO as well as offer the potential to rank in image search (e.g. on a search engine image results page or image carousel).
    15. Add internal links.
    As mentioned earlier, incorporating links throughout your pages is a must, but it’s often something that’s easily overlooked.
    Make sure that your anchor text includes more than just your keywords. The goal isn’t to stuff in as many keywords as possible, but to make it easy for people to navigate your site.
    Use columns U through W to plan for these elements if you don’t already have them, or to document how you’ll improve them.

    16. Include external links.
    It may seem counterintuitive to include external links throughout your page considering we just covered multiple reasons why internal linking is so important for on-page SEO. However, external links are also important.
    By externally linking, to credible and trustworthy sites, Google will know your page is also credible and trustworthy. Not only does Google want to know your site is well-referenced, but your visitors do, too.
    17. Optimize for conversions.
    If you’re also not optimizing your site to increase the number of leads, subscribers, and/or customers you’re attracting … you’re doing it wrong.
    Remember that each page of your website presents a conversion opportunity. That means every page of your website should include at least one call-to-action (CTA), though many pages may have multiple CTAs.
    Columns X through AF allow you to plan for conversions.
    Be sure that your site has a mix of CTAs for different stages of the flywheel.
    (Note: The On-Page SEO Template refers to the stages of the buying funnel — top of the funnel, middle of the funnel, and bottom of the funnel. If you are a HubSpot customer, you can even use Smart Content to display these specific CTAs only to people in a specific part of the funnel.)
    Also, as you add, edit, or update CTAs, be sure to note conversion rate changes in columns Z, AC, and AF.

    Put Your On-Page SEO to Work
    Once you finalize your SEO plans, implement these changes on your website or pass them along to someone to implement for you. This will take time to complete, so aim to work on 5 to 10 pages per week.
    Remember: SEO is not a one-and-done deal. It’s something you should continually improve upon. You should treat this On-Page SEO Template as a living, breathing document that will help guide your SEO strategy for months (or years) to come.
    Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in October 2012 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

  • How to Give Your Two Weeks’ Notice [+ 3 Examples]

    Giving your two weeks notice is never easy, particularly if you have a good relationship with your boss and colleagues, or you feel they’ve invested time and energy into your professional development.
    If you’re wondering how to give two weeks notice without hurting your relationship with your employer, you’re in luck. There are particular actions you can take to ensure you leave a good final impression with your current employer.

    Leaving your current company respectfully and thoughtfully can ensure better long-term connections and references — and, even if you’re switching industries, you never know who could help you down the road. Plus, it’s the courteous thing to do.
    Here, we’ll explore the best way to give your two weeks’ notice to maintain a positive relationship with your old employer, while ensuring a seamless transition into your next role.
    What is a two weeks notice?
    A two weeks notice is when you let your current employer know that you will be resigning from the company in two weeks. It’s a standard method of resignation that can help you leave the company on good terms.
    It’s important to remember, however, that if your employment contract or union agreement clearly states how much notice you need to give before resigning, abide by that agreement. If not, two weeks notice is generally accepted as the norm.
    In the case of the latter, if your employee asks you to stay longer than the two weeks, you can do so but you are not obligated to unless your employment contract states otherwise.

    How to write your two weeks’ notice

    Begin your resignation letter with your name, job title, current organization, company address, email, and date of resignation. Since this letter is for official company records, you want to be as formal as possible.
    In the first paragraph, write, “I would like to inform you that I am resigning from my position as X for Company A, effective [Date].”
    In the second paragraph, emphasize your appreciation for any growth opportunities or guidance you’ve been provided by your current employer. If you’d like, you can include where you’re headed next, particularly if you’re switching industries or returning to school. If you’re leaving for a competitor, however, it might be better to omit.
    In the third paragraph, offer specific details regarding how you’re going to assist in the transition or help find a replacement.
    If you want to keep in touch, include your personal email at the bottom, with a short sentence like, “I wish you all the best and look forward to staying in touch.”

    How to Give Two Weeks Notice
    While it can be nerve wracking to give your two weeks notice, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Remember to keep your resignation simple. You may feel like you need to reveal all the details behind your choice to resign, but you are not obligated to share additional information with your manager. All they need to know are the main paint points of interest that pertain to the company itself.
    In addition to keeping the conversation simple, follow these six steps to make your resignation easy for both you and your employer.
    Step One: Organize an in-person meeting with your boss.
    Once you’ve officially signed a contract with your new employer and know your start date, you’re ready to give your two weeks’ notice. The first thing you’ll want to do is write a resignation letter (templates and samples can be found here).
    Once you have the letter in-hand, email or slack your manager and set up a time to meet. Say something like, “Hi, I have something I’d like to discuss with you. Do you have thirty minutes over the next couple of days to meet?”
    Avoid telling colleagues about your departure until you’ve spoken with your manager. Even if you have a best friend at work, it’s critical your manager hears the news from you. If they hear the news from other employees first, it signals a lack of trust and respect and could harm a relationship you put a lot of effort into building.
    Step Two: During the meeting, offer a transition strategy.
    When you sit down with your manager, be succinct and clear. Rambling or offering a long speech will only make the conversation more awkward.
    Say something like, “I wanted to meet with you today to let you know I’ve been offered a position at another company, and it’s an opportunity I can’t pass up. I am giving my two weeks’ notice. I want you to know this wasn’t an easy decision to make, and I’m so grateful for the guidance and growth opportunities you’ve given me.”
    It’s important you don’t focus on the exciting opportunities of your new role. During this meeting, your primary goal should be to express a level of appreciation and gratitude for everything your manager has done to help you grow.
    Additionally, it will help alleviate your manager’s stress over losing you if you come prepared with tangible actions you plan to implement to help with the transition. For instance, you might say something like, “During my final two weeks, I plan to help you search for a replacement,” or “I will create a guidebook to help the next person take over my current projects.”
    Finally, hand over your resignation letter. The letter will make your two weeks’ notice official.
    Step Three: Be prepared for a counter-offer.
    You don’t want to be caught off guard if your manager suddenly tells you they will boost your salary, or move you to another role on another team, if you agree to stay. Before you meet with your manager, consider how you’ll respond if they provide a counter-offer.
    Take some time to consider why you’re leaving your current role, and what your next role is providing. If there are certain circumstances in which you’d stay at your current company, make them clear to your manager, and only stay if you can get those specific promises in writing.
    Of course, this might be impossible if you’ve already signed a contract with the new employer. And, even if you’ve only verbally accepted the offer, changing your mind will likely burn bridges with your new company, so you’ll want to think carefully about your reputation before doing so.
    Ideally, if there are certain circumstances that could greatly improve your satisfaction in your current role, it’s better if you approach your manager with those requirements before you sign another contract. You can make it clear that if those needs aren’t met, you’ll begin considering other opportunities.
    Step Four: Know the details regarding benefits.
    It’s critical you know your options regarding benefits, health insurance, pension, and 401(K). It can be confusing to transfer benefits or healthcare from one company to another. Additionally, your new company might not be ready to offer new coverage immediately.
    If this is true, you have alternative options — for instance, if you’re facing a gap in health coverage, COBRA allows you to continue your current health insurance for 18 months, at your own expense.
    Take a look at “What Happens to Your Benefits When You Leave Your Job” by Northwestern Mutual, to learn more information regarding your options.
    Step Five: Don’t check out—work just as hard in your last two weeks.
    It will be impossible to maintain a positive relationship with your employer after you leave, if you check out during your last two weeks and put in minimal effort. First, your employer is still paying you, so they deserve your utmost effort. Second, the effort you put into your role now will go a long way towards sustaining better connections down the road.
    Coworkers will remember what you were like at the end. Give them something good to remember. You never know how your positive reputation can help you network in the long-run.
    You’ll want to work hard to tie up loose ends and make it easy for the next person to take your place. For instance, perhaps you’ll create a document so your team members know where certain files are, or where you left off on a project.
    Additionally, you’ll still want to arrive on time (if not early), leave at an appropriate time, and remain a team player. If the rest of your team is staying late to finish a project before a deadline, you should, too.
    Step Six: Offer warm and heartfelt goodbyes.
    In today’s business world, it’s all about who you know. You never know if a colleague on your team will end up helping your younger brother get a job or become a freelancer for your new company a few years later. Nurturing those relationships is critical to ensuring success throughout your entire career.
    Two Week Notice Examples
    It can be difficult to find the right words when you’re resigning, so if you need a little guidance, here are some two week notice examples to keep in mind:
    1. Hardcopy
    May 2, 2022
    John Smith
    Regional Manager
    XYZ Company
    456 Laura Street
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Dear Mr. Smith,
    I, Jane Doe, would like to inform you that I am resigning from the position of Assistant Regional Manager at XYZ Company, effective two weeks from this date. My last day will be May 16, 2022.
    The past ten years with this company have been incredibly rewarding. I’ve enjoyed working for you, and I’m grateful to have been a part of an outstanding team that has experienced so much growth and success over the years. Thank you for the amazing opportunities you have provided me.
    I will continue to complete all of my tasks with the utmost care and detail until my last day. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make the transition go as smoothly as possible.
    I wish you and the company all the best.
    Sincerely,
    Signature (hard copy letter)
    Jane Doe
    jane.doe@gmail.com
    2. Email
    Subject: Resignation Letter – Jane Doe (Assistant Regional Manager)
    Dear Mr. Smith,
    Please accept this as my formal resignation from the position of Assistant Regional Manager at XYZ Company. My last day will be May 16, 2022, two weeks from today.
    My time with the company has been very rewarding and I’m grateful to have been a part of such an outstanding team of marketers. Thank you for the amazing opportunities you have provided me.
    In the meantime, I will continue to fulfill all my responsibilities as the assistant regional manager until my last day. Please let me know what I can do to make this transition go as smoothly as possible for you and the team.
    I wish you and the company all the best.
    Kind regards,
    Jane Doe
    jane.doe@gmail.com
    3. If You Want to Include Where You’re Headed Next
    Dear Mr. Smith,
    I would like to inform you that I am resigning from the position of Assistant Regional Manager at XYZ Company. My last day will be May 16, 2022, two weeks from today.
    My time with the company has been very rewarding and I’m grateful to have been a part of such an outstanding team of marketers. Thank you for the amazing opportunities you have provided me.
    I am leaving the company to pursue my masters degree at New York University and to be closer to my family.
    In the meantime, I will continue to fulfill all my responsibilities as the assistant regional manager until my last day. Please let me know what I can do to make this transition go as smoothly as possible for you and the team.
    I wish you and the company all the best.
    Kind regards,
    Jane Doe
    jane.doe@gmail.com
    When the day comes for you to say goodbye, you should take the time to send thoughtful goodbye messages to your colleagues. You might even send out a farewell email to the team.Alternatively, you could consider writing a handwritten note or personalized email to members of your team to whom you feel particularly close. Warmly wish them well, and provide contact information like an email or LinkedIn account, so you can stay in touch.