251. Besties (best of 2021) 💕
Favorite podcasts, marketing ideas, websites, and more
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Hi there 👋
How was your 2021? I feel like I packed more than one year’s worth of action into the last 12 months. Maybe it’s because of starting a new job; I went from Buffer to Polly to Oyster this year. Maybe it’s the thrill of hypergrowth; Oyster saw 40x growth in the number of people employed on our platform, and our team itself passed 300 employees in 50 countries. Regardless of the reason, 2021 had a lot going on, which is reflected in my Best of the Year list. I struggled to pare it down. (Although you should have seen it before the edit.)
This post is the fourth and final Best Of email from me. I’ll be back next week with a quick end-of-year survey, then I’ll see you again in 2022 for some fresh new content.
Here are the previous Best Ofs from the past three weeks:
Wishing you a wonderful, happy, healthy end-of-year and a great start to 2022,
Kevan
Best of 2021
Best community
You!
I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to connect with the people who read this newsletter.
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Best podcasts
We launched a new podcast at Oyster this year — New World of Work. I’m biased, but one of my favorite podcast episodes of any podcast in 2021 was this conversation with Eventbrite’s Chief People Officer, talking about how they completely evolved their business during the pandemic.
70 Over 70 — Conversations with people over the age of 70. It’s hosted by one of my favorite interviewers, Max Linsky.
Radio Headspace — Short, five-minute reflections that I like to pick and choose from throughout the week.
At a Distance — An interview podcast from a whole-earth, long-view perspective.
A Change of Brand — Really cool stories and interviews from the people who have re-made major brands like Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, and Sweetgreen.
Home Cooking — A simple cooking podcast with friends Samin Nosrat (the nicest celebrity chef you’ll ever meet) and Hrishikesh Hirway, host of the Song Exploder podcast.
I also have a couple favorite podcasts year-after-year that are always part of my Best Of list. This year was no exception:
Best marketing idea
Moving budgets from Google and Facebook to sponsorships and influencers
The team at Ahrefs does some unique stuff, like their famous $7 trial. They were at it again late this year with their idea to take a month of Google and Facebook spend ($200,000) and put it into newsletters, YouTube creators, etc. As you may know from my days at Buffer, we were able to grow to a $20 million business with zero ad spend. So I’m quite high on the idea of spending budget creatively. Can’t wait to hear about the results of this! (And to try it myself.)
Best marketing newsletter
Contagious is a marketing and creative agency that serves clients like Adidas and the BBC. Their weekly email is chock full of the latest marketing news but highlights only the most actionable, relevant items in an easy-to-digest way. It’s one of the best curated newsletters I’ve come across.
Some runners-up:
MKT1 — marketing insights and trends, sent a few times each year
Raisin Bread — marketing roundup curated by the team at MarketerHire, sent weekly
Social Studies — the latest social media strategies, sent monthly or so
Demand Curve newsletter — growth tactics, sent a couple times each month
Ask Holly How — Marketing and strategy insights from Holly Howard
Best people to follow
These are a few folks I’ve enjoyed reading on Twitter this year …
Sahil Lavingia, founder of Gumroad — https://twitter.com/shl
Elizabeth Yin, general partner at HustleFund — https://twitter.com/dunkhippo33
Li Jin, cofounder at Variant Fund — https://twitter.com/ljin18
Kimeko McCoy, marketing reporter at Digiday — https://twitter.com/KimekoM
Adam Grenier, VP marketing at Masterclass — https://twitter.com/AKGrenier
Kushaan Shah, marketing at Grammarly — https://twitter.com/kushaanshah
Tina Roth Eisenberg, founder of Creative Mornings — https://twitter.com/swissmiss
Best copywriting
“Zoom out” by Around
Eagle-eyed readers might recognize this copy from last week’s email about Best Of tech products. Around is a cool new Zoom competitor, so naturally they took their best shot at differentiation with their copy.
Heading: Zoom out
Subhead: Meetings don't have to crush your soul. Discover radically unique video calls designed to help hybrid-remote teams create, collaborate and celebrate together.
Footer: tl;dr — Video calls for the new era of work.
Best web design / blog design
It doesn’t get much more unique than this homepage for Snaxshot, a newsletter and consulting group that covers food, beverage, and CPG brands. The page has serious cult vibes — even literal cult language — and the design and layout is unlike anything you’re used to seeing.
Best landing page
Wow, talk about an experience. This Intercom product page oozes with action. It’s engaging to scroll through, but I also love the clear language about what the resolution bot is and how Intercom users — new and existing — can get access.
Best careers page
The design tool Abstract has a careers page that is a masterclass in clarity and inspiration. It’s not the most fantastical careers page out there, but that’s a good thing. The Abstract page gets me excited about Abstract because of its clear focus on company values and work principles — and their unique 4-day workweek (a four-day weekend every other week) doesn’t hurt either. :)
Best songs
I have kind of a different taste in music, so you’re bound to find some eclectic stuff in this playlist: soothing piano music, gritty post-hardcore, and everything in between.
Best commercial
So proud of what the Buffer marketing team created here.
About this newsletter …
Each week, I share playbooks, case studies, stories, and links from inside the startup marketing world. If you enjoy what’s in this newsletter, you can share some love by hitting the heart button at the top or bottom.💙
About Kevan
I’m a marketing exec who specializes in startup marketing and brand-building. I currently lead the marketing team at Oyster (we’re hiring!). I previously built brands at Buffer, Polly, and Vox.
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