Despite the fact that the internet has been utterly flooded with content, it is still one of the greatest drivers of business today.

Because of content’s near unparalleled ability to increase brand awareness, drive traffic and amass sales, businesses are still busy cranking out blogs, infographics and videos like tomorrow will never come.

That same superabundance, however, has made it more difficult than ever to get noticed. Only the best and brightest pieces shine through the dense and formidable ocean of repetitious content.

Marketers today need to bring something more than just another blog into the world. And to do that, they must look to the industry’s leading content producers to understand how they are standing out and crafting materials that drive results.

If you want to up your content game and learn how to stand among the masters, here are 20 content marketing practitioners that you need to start following.

Content Marketers to Follow

Sujan Patel

Sujan Patel, co-founder of Web Profits, is a digital marketing legend. He specializes in growth marketing, and he writes about the discipline for a myriad of publications, including Forbes, Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur Magazine.

Sujan has helped shape the marketing strategies for big name companies like SalesForce, Mint, Intuit and other Fortune 500 powerhouses.

He’s high on our list of content marketing experts in part because of his avid blogging, but also because he’s a partner at software companies like ContentMarketer.io, Mailshake, and Quuu.

John Rampton

John Rampton is the founder of Due.com, an online invoicing company. His intimate business and marketing knowledge has landed him columns in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Inc.com, The Huffington Post, Fortune, Fast Company, and just about every major business publication there is.

John has received numerous awards including being listed at No. 3 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 50 Online Influencers in the World for 2014.

Neil Patel

Every marketer has heard the phrase “content is king.” While that may be true, Neil Patel is the king of content.

Neil is the co-founder of Crazy Egg, KISSmetrics, and Hello Bar. As one of the most recognized and honored marketers alive, Neil has influenced and assisted millions of advertisers and business owners with his in-depth and comprehensive blogs and podcasts that regularly garner thousands of shares.

Ann Handley

Ann Handley is the co-founder of ClickZ.com and is the world’s first Chief Content Officer; a position she still holds at MarketingProfs.

In addition to her digital content expertise, Ann is the author of The Wall Street Journal bestselling book, “Everybody Writes” and is the co-author of the bestselling eBook, “Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, E-books, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business.”

Matthew Barby

Matthew Barby is an award-winning blogger, digital marketing consultant, and the Global Head of Growth and SEO for HubSpot.

His blog regularly produces top-notch content on SEO, content production, and various aspects of digital marketing success.

His knowledge and skills have earned him columns in high-profile publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, Social Media Today, The Guardian, and many others.

Heather Lloyd-Martin

Heather Lloyd-Martin is an author, SEO copywriter, keynote speaker and CEO of SuccessWorks where she has been teaching writers about SEO and content marketing for nearly 20 years.

Her preeminence in her field has resulted in Forbes Magazine calling her “. . . the pioneer of SEO copywriting.”

Zac Johnson

Zac Johnson is widely recognized and respected throughout blogging communities.

He has built two now-established blogs — bloggingtips.com and zacjohnson.com — from the ground up. These digital destinations have allowed Zac to help thousands of individuals learn how to make money online in the same way that he has; his personal blog is directly responsible for driving over $5,000,000 in business to his advertisers and partners.

Jordan Kasteler

Jordan Kasteler is the SEO Director for Hennessey Consulting and former co-founder of Bluegrass Media. Jordan’s various high-level corporate SEO positions have earned him international speaking opportunities, columns on Inc.com, Search Engine Land, The Huffington Post, Social Media Examiner and many other reputable publications.

Jordan is also the author of “A to Z: Social Media Marketing.”

Erika Heald

Erika Heald is the Chief Content Officer for Arment Dietrich, Inc. and the former Vice President and Head of Content for Highwire PR and Anaplan.

Her extensive 15 year history in B2B and B2C content marketing has earned her various accolades such as Skyword’s 25 Enterprise Software Content Marketers to watch in 2015, Onalytica’s Top 200 Brands and Influencers in 2014, along with other achievements and recognitions.

Erika’s work has appeared in leading publications like Content Marketing Institute, Spin Sucks and many more.

Hans van Gent

Hans van Gent is a veteran in the digital marketing industry, the founder of Inbound Rocket, and serves as the Client Service Director Digital at Havas Worldwide.

Hans’ Inbound Rocket blog covers vital aspects of digital marketing, content production, advertising and business growth in a comprehensive and compelling fashion.

Tamar Weinberg

Tamar Weinberg is an inbound sales, customer experience and digital marketing expert. She was Mashable’s sixth employee and wrote for Lifehacker when it was one of the world’s top tech blogs.

Tamar is also the author of the bestselling O’Reilly book “The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web.”

Matt Heinz

Matt Heinz is the President of Heinz Marketing. Prior to starting his own agency, Matt held numerous positions with major companies like Microsoft, Weber Shandwick, Boeing and others.

With more than 15 years in the marketing industry, Matt has become a prolific author, award-winning blogger, and multiple-time winner of awards like the Top 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management and Top 50 Sales and Marketing Influencers.

Matthew Toren

Matthew Toren is the owner of iSmallBusiness.com and is the co-founder of the largest social networking forum for entrepreneurs, YoungEntrepreneur.com.

Matthew’s expertise in content marketing has allowed him to develop Blogtrepreneur.com into a helpful resource of information and inspiration to entrepreneurs across the globe.

Matthew is also the author of “Small Business, Big Vision.”

Carla Johnson

Carla Johnson is the President of Type A Communications, a content consulting and training agency. Through the company blog, Carla shares intimate and impactful insights on digital marketing trends and content marketing practices.

Carla is also the author of “Experiences: The 7th Era of Marketing.”

Bill Widmer

Bill Widmer is a freelance content marketing expert who has been featured in major industry publications like Social Media Examiner, Search Engine Journal, Hootsuite and various others.

Bill’s focus lies solely in producing results for business through content marketing and his clientele can attest to the spectacular results he generates.

Chirag Kulkarni

Chirag Kulkarni is the CEO of Insightfully and Co-founder and CEO of Taco, a content marketing agency.

Chirag has been named as a thought leader and marketing expert by Inc.com and has gained recognition for his work by publications like Business Insider, Fortune Magazine, Forbes and many more.

Alex Hisaka

Alex Hisaka serves as the Head of Global Content Marketing for LinkedIn and has been recognized as one of Skyword’s Top 25 Enterprise Software Content Marketing Experts to Watch in 2015.

She has also gained recognition as one of Onalytics’ Top 100 Social Selling Influencers and Brands for 2015.

Alex has also filled high-level content roles for major companies such as PayPal, Salesforce, Yahoo! and others.

Joe Escobedo

Joe Escobedo is the Director of Digital Marketing for Happy Marketer and Future Marketer.

His extensive experience in strategic and crisis communications has earned Joe highly-visible columns on websites like Forbes and The Huffington Post.

In addition to his content marketing efforts, Joe is also an award-winning public speaker and holds a variety of marketing certifications.

Carolyn Frith

Carolyn Frith has more than 30 years of content marketing experience that led to her founding Carolyn Frith Marketing, LLC.

She is acknowledged as one of the foremost experts on content marketing and shares her effective strategies through her company’s blog.

Ramon Ray

Ramon Ray is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker and bestselling author of The Facebook Guide to Small Business Marketing.

Ramon’s experience in starting four businesses (one of which he sold) has allowed him to become an expert in sales, business and personal branding, and (of course) content marketing.

Reading at Laptop Photo via Shutterstock

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