24 Blog Posts Every Manager Should Bookmark

If you’re a manager, chances are you’re responsible for making sure a lot of things happen in a given day, week, or month. Your primary task might involve managing employees, teams, and shifts, but you’re also in charge of keeping customers happy, meeting sales quotas, and even engaging with online communities on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. If you want to be an effective manager—one who can meet the expectations of your boss and your team—you need to spend some time learning about what makes managers successful. In this post, we’ve collected 24 helpful blog posts that every manager should bookmark and read. Take a look:

Employees

These first blog posts fall under the umbrella category of employees. Every manager likely has to interact with a team (or multiple teams) of employees fairly regularly in a given day, week, or month. Read these blog posts to learn how to better manage employees:

How to Hire: 6 Traits Every Employee Must Have by Neil Patel, co-founder of Crazy Egg, Hello Bar and KISSmetrics

Six Reasons Your Best Employees Quit You by Louis Efron, Writer, Entrepreneur, and Contributor at Forbes

50 Startup Founders Share Their Biggest Hiring Challenges by David Smooke, Director of Content Marketing & Social Media at Smart Recruiters

7 Great Employee Retention Strategies by Chad Halvorson, CEO of thisCLICKS, makers of When I Work

When you take time to educate yourself on the needs, desires, and behavior of your employees, you can address and improve your ability to manage them.

Productivity

These next handful of blog posts relate to productivity. Every manager struggles at one point or another with productivity. Read these blog posts to learn how to be a more productive manager:

10 Simple Steps to Exceptional Daily Productivity by Jeff Haden, Writer and Contributing Editor at Inc. Magazine

Top 50 Productivity Tips for Entrepreneurs by Sujan Patel, Digital Marketing Strategist and Entrepreneur 

The Psychology of Getting More Done (In Less Time) by Gregory Ciotti, Content Strategist at HelpScout at Contributor at Entrepreneur

The Complete Guide To Improving Employee Productivity by Chad Halvorson, CEO of thisCLICKS, makers of When I Work

When you take time to learn how to be more productive, you’ll find that every task you need to accomplish and every challenge you face becomes a lot more manageable.

Customers

The next blog posts on this list focus on customers. As a manager, you probably interact (or will at some point) with customers. Read these blog posts to understand who your customer is, what they need from you, and how they can help you.

Boosting Your Business By Using Your Ears by Sandi Krakowski, CEO and Founder of A Real Change and Contributor at Entrepreneur

The Big List of Little Things That Destroy Your Customer Experience by Adrian Swinscoe, Contributor at Forbes

5 Things That Drive Away Customers by Bill Murphy Jr., Author and Contributor at Inc. Magazine

Creative Ways to Get Customer Referrals for Your Small Business by Chad Halvorson, CEO of thisCLICKS, makers of When I Work

When you take time to learn from experts about what makes customers tick, you can more clearly see things through the eyes of the people that keep your business afloat.

Sales

These next blog posts relate to sales. As a manager, you’re likely responsible for helping your team meet the sales quotas set for them. Read these blog posts to understand how to help your team be more successful salespeople.

How To Give a Flawless Elevator Pitch by Geoffrey James, Writer and Contributor at Inc. Magazine

How to Close a Sale When Competing with Big Brands by June Brockmeyer, Multimedia Content Strategist at Infusionsoft 

Boost Sales by Appealing to Customers’ Unconscious Minds by Alicia Lawrence, Contributor at Entrepreneur

How Technology Can Help You Increase Sales by Chad Halvorson, CEO of thisCLICKS, makers of When I Work

When you take time to educate yourself on sales strategies that work, you can do a better job of helping your prospects, your team, and your business.

Marketing

The next blog posts on this list zero in on marketing. If you’re a manager at a small business, you likely have been given added responsibilities that relate to marketing products, services, and the business in general. Read these blog posts to learn how to become a better marketing manager for your small business.

Why Facebook Is Blue: The Science of Colors in Marketing by Leo Widrich, Co-founder and COO at Buffer

25 Tricks For Effective Instagram Marketing by Sujan Patel, Digital Marketing Strategist and Entrepreneur 

The Big List of The 61 Best Social Media Tools for Small Business by Kevan Lee, Content Crafter at Buffer

Case Study: How Content Marketing Saved this Brick-and-Mortar Business by Beth Hayden, Author

When you take time to learn more about small business marketing, you can launch effective campaigns that market your products, services, and business.

Leadership

The final group of blog posts address leadership. If you’re a manager, your team looks up to you as a leader. Read these blog posts to learn how to become a more effective leader.

Why Good Managers Are So Rare by Randall Beck, Managing Partner at Gallup, and James Harter, Author and Chief Scientist at Gallup

Treat Your Employees Like Your Best Customers by Jen Agustin, Senior director of marketing at Bizo and Contributor at Fast Company

What Inexperienced Leaders Get Wrong by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, professor and Contributor at Harvard Business Review

18 Apps Every Smart Boss Knows About by Chad Halvorson, CEO of thisCLICKS, makers of When I Work

In the world of small business, most managers are expected to be able to effectively perform additional duties and tasks outside of simply managing employees. Managers who educate themselves in order to become better leaders, salespeople, customer relations specialists, and marketers can learn how to effectively manage all the tasks assigned to them and all the expectations set for them—which ultimately can lead to more success and more happiness in their role.