Want to learn how to be amazing at marketing automation and take your business to the next level?
This article discusses some of the best marketing automation courses and experts out there.
First off, you don't have to pay a lot of money to get access to incredible marketing automation training. There are lots of resources available online for free.
For every marketing automation software platform in existence (check out our list of the top marketing automation software tools here), there are undoubtedly dozens if not hundreds of courses available that promise to teach you the best tricks, hacks, and techniques.
Some of these courses are incredible. Others are complete crap. And the cost for the training available is all over the place.
It’s no wonder society is beginning to question the practicality of having a degree in marketing. To say that marketing has come a long way in the last 20 years is a massive understatement.
In that sense, it's an incredible time to be a marketer! There has never been more effective ways to engage your customers. At the same time, the consumer has never had so much power and choice in regards to the products and services they consume.
So what courses are the best? Well that depends...
Answer This Question First
Chances are you already know the benefits of marketing automation (see our list here). Now you're ready to dive in, but the first thing you have to do is to answer this question:
Why do you want to learn marketing automation?
The answer will determine what courses and training is perfect for you.
Which scenario best describes you?
- 1Are you a business owner or marketing manager that wants to apply marketing automation to your current business?
- 2.Are you an individual planning to enter or double down on e-commerce?
- 3.Are you a marketing agency that provides marketing services on behalf of clients?
You can save yourself a lot of time and stress by approaching your marketing automation training if you have a firm grasp on your WHY. Before diving into the courses and their descriptions, I’ll give you one more piece of advice:
Whatever your reason for attaining this skill, train yourself to always keep the end customer in mind. As you are learning new concepts, you should ask yourself, “How can I apply what I'm learning in a way that brings value to the consumer?”. It should not be, “How can I apply this to sell more stuff?”.
In addition, it's absolutely critical that you apply what you learn immediately. It's too easy to just "learn" and not "do." Taking action is very important, otherwise learning is a waste of your time.
Best Marketing Automation Courses and Training
Next, let's discuss some of the best marketing automation courses out there. No matter what your skill level is, there's options available.
In addition, the prices range from free to thousands of dollars. The key is to find the best fit for where you're at and your needs.
1. Marketing Expert: Russell Brunson
A legend in online marketing and marketing automation is Russell Brunson. His book Dot Com Secrets is a must read if you want to take your marketing automation skills to the next level. You can grab a FREE copy of 'Dot Com Secrets' by clicking here.
In addition, Russell co-founded one of the best marketing automation tools out there: ClickFunnels. You can get a 14-day free trial of ClickFunnels by clicking here.
I highly recommend checking out Russell Brunson's Youtube channel (click here) and absorbing as much knowledge from his content as possible.
You can learn a lot for free, and then invest in some of his more advanced training if it's a great fit for your needs.
2. Free Training at Hubspot Academy
Hubspot is one of the leading providers of marketing automation and sales tools. In addition, they have some incredible training available for free.
Hubspot's email marketing course (check it out here) is a great place to start if you're brand new and need marketing automation 101 training. After learning the basics of email marketing (for free), you can then buy more advanced training based on your specific needs.
Hubspot also offers other great training courses, which you can check out at their online Academy here. These courses can be done very quickly, but typically only cover some of the basics. They're a great place to begin if you're new to marketing automation.
When you're first starting out with email marketing and automation, a common mistake is getting your emails flagged as SPAM. Check out this incredible list of which SPAM words to avoid (click here to check it out).
Another common mistake is not taking the time to create a really good subject line. If your subject line sucks, no one will even open your email. We've got a great guide on how to come up with some incredible subject lines (click here).
3. ClickFunnels Master Training by Kevin David
ClickFunnels is a great marketing automation software for small-medium sized businesses and e-commerce.
If you're just starting out or if you’re a seasoned marketer, Kevin's Ultimate ClickFunnels Master Course (click here to check it out) on is great. Udemy is known for hosting incredible courses that are inexpensive and some are even free.
Kevin David brands himself as an online marketing ninja. He's a 2 time member of Clickfunnels’ 2 Comma Club, which is an exclusive group of online marketers who have earned over a million dollars online.
Kevin also offers more advanced training at higher price tags (check them out at www.officialkevindavid.com).
When you complete Kevin’s training, you will receive a marketing automation certification. In addition, the knowledge you gain at such a small ticket price is absolutely worth it.
4. Free Training by Marketo
Marketo is a software tool that has some of the best marketing automation capabilities out there. In addition, its platform is a great fit for medium-large sized organizations wishing to scale.
When it comes to marketing automation for large enterprises where multiple people within an organization will require training, Marketo (www.marketo.com) is an excellent platform.
For example, Marketo offers free training for marketing automation (check out their course list here).
It's a great way to get your entire team up to speed without busting your marketing budget.
If you browse their website, you will find some great training content on various topics throughout. These guides offer tremendous insight and knowledge about the various marketing concepts.
The site also has free training on how to use their platform. After all, Marketo’s main objective is to sell you their software tools, and they're one of the best platforms out there.
Marketo also offers some in depth training and certifications, which are available here.
5. Great Courses by Frank Kern
Some people consider Frank Kern to be the godfather of modern internet marketing. He has been at it since the 1990’s and hasn’t slowed down since. Just check out his website, www.frankkern.com and have a look at his copywriting. He truly is a master of persuasion.
His premium courses (click to view full descriptions) include:
- 1Mass Conversion
- 2.Info Business Blueprint
- 3.Client Acquisition System
Frank Kern also has a ton of free mini-training snippets floating around the internet (check out his Youtube channel here) that are worth your time.
WARNING: Frank is HIGHLY persuasive. Whenever you watch his mini-trainings, he is surely setting up to call you to action. If you opt-in to his funnel, I guarantee you that you’ve been segmented into an automatic follow up campaign that has been perfectly tailored to your “why”.
Just signing up to his email list to see his marketing automation and funnels in action can give you some incredible ideas. Just be careful that you don't buy all of his products. He's also a master at creating contests to engage potential customers (see our guide here).
Another thing I love about Frank Kern is his transparency. He unabashedly displays the pricing along with the descriptions of every one of his programs. He will tell you himself that if you find the price scary, then he is probably not a good fit for you.
Conclusion
As you research the available marketing automation certifications online, it is best to do so after you've determined your WHY as mentioned earlier.
If all you know is that you want to learn how to implement marketing automation, then I would recommend consuming as much free training and expert content as possible. Youtube and Google are incredible resources for this.
Once you determine WHY you want to learn marketing automation, you will have a much easier time learning HOW. The exact skills you need will become obvious, and then you can zero in on the best courses that will help you get there.
One last thing: There are a lot of posers out there. Don't get fooled by promises for instant success with little to no effort. It doesn't exist.
Whoever you decide to follow and learn from, a good indication of whether or not you should invest your money in their course is by how much value they offer up front. The best experts and coaches will give the bulk of their training away and only make you pay for the last remaining pieces of the puzzle.