The hardest thing is to put pen to paper. Even marketing managers, who aren’t necessarily creative types or content curators, have a hard time with what to actually draft up in an email marketing campaign. This becomes a special type of challenge when you’re on an aggressive schedule, sharing campaigns weekly or sometimes even more than that.

To ease your pain, I’ve created a list of my favorite go-to destinations for inspirational content. Here’s the best of the best from a content curator.

For the Cultural Beat

 

VICE – They cover news, culture and trend. What make Vice stand out though is the super cool millennial attitude that likes to have fun in everything they do. So even if they’re talking about war, they’re doing it with style and a tone that easily engages and gets to the point. If millennials are your target, this is your publication. Recent titles include:

  • What It’s Like to Be a Teenager and Homeless
  • This Is What It Looks Like When an Instagram Photographer Switches to Film
  • Miyazaki-Inspired Short Follows an AI’s Coming of Age
  • Searching for Refugee Housing in Berlin

Quartz – A relative new-comer, Quarts is a great publication that is more cultural and less news focused. The audience is more sophisticated but still interested in great content that’s delivered in a snap. Recent titles include:

  • Here’s an “extraordinarily rare” peek inside Apple’s secretive design lab
  • A floating school in Lagos has helped bring solar power to one of the city’s oldest slums
  • How to get more done – and in less time
  • Parents are buying their kids all the wrong toys
For the Heart and Soul

 

Brain-Pickings – The incredibly thoughtful and exquisitely curated brain child of writer/editor Maria Popova, Brain Pickings offers daily reads that reads easily, captures the imagination, and inspires the heart and mind. With posts ranging from art, literature, science, productivity, and history, there’s absolutely no way you won’t find something to pull from or get inspired by. Recent posts include:

  • Kandinsky on the Spiritual Element in Art and the Three Responsibilities of Artists
  • Susan Sontag on Storytelling, What it Means to be a Moral Human Being, and Her Advice to Writers
  • An Antidote to the Age of Anxiety: Alan Watts on Happiness and How to Live with Presence
  • Leisure, the Basis of Culture: An Obscure German Philosopher’s Timely 1948 Manifesto for Reclaiming Our Human Dignity in a Culture of Workaholism
  • Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets that Shape Our Lives
  • The Science of Stress and How Emotions Affect Our Susceptibility to Burnout and Disease.

On Being – Spiritual without being religious, On Being ponders the questions of the heart and soul without being preachy. It’s the modern day equivalent of Chicken Soup for the Soul – but catering to a more cultivated crowd. Recent titles include:

  • When Words Become Flesh: Risking Vulnerability in a Violent World
  • Reflections and Opening Questions for the New Year
  • Inheriting the Kingdom of Motherhood and Homemaking
  • The Capacity to Connect with Others

A cultural beat and heart + soul are the two most overlooked aspects of content curation. They’re also the hardest to find since it requires a blend of content types that are curious, informative, and yet not too confrontational. Is there another type of content you’re looking to source? Ask me below!

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by Shireen Qudosi

Shireen Qudosi is Benchmark Email's Online Marketing Specialist and Small Business Advocate. An Orange County based writer, Shireen specializes in online marketing and public relations. She has written for over 75 publications and has launched nine successful new media campaigns to date. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Denver Post, the Oklahoman and Green Air Radio, among others.