HubSpot Academy + World Certification Week: Our top tips and tricks!

This week is HubSpot Academy’s World Certification Week. Let me break it down for you and share why the HubSpot Academy is so amazing.

And why this week-long event is a game-changer for marketers who want to level-up their skills, advance their career and for CEOs who want to grow their business.

What is the HubSpot Academy?

HubSpot Academy offers over 40 industry-recognised certification courses, many of which are used in over 450 global universities teaching students sales, marketing, and service best practices to help jump-start their careers as they enter the workforce.

But the reality is that in today’s world, the skills you need to be successful are constantly changing. That’s why HubSpot Academy is continuing to invest in the global learning community with new educational opportunities including upcoming courses on AI (hello!), expanded group learning options, and updated trainings for sales leaders. And, HubSpot is offering it in six languages (Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, German, and English) to provide global learners with the necessary resources to grow their careers.

At Content Chemistry, all new employees must complete our own ‘Academy’ in their first 3 months as part of our employee onboarding and we’ve leveraged HubSpot Academy massively for this. We also sprinkle a nice selection of Google, Meta, Ahrefs and Semrush (both SEO tools) courses along with our own library of Content Chemistry specific Loom videos.

A little later, we’ll share our recommended top HubSpot Academy courses and certifications to complete based on on your job function (i.e. marketing, sales, customer success).

What is World Certification Week?

This year marks HubSpot’s fourth-annual World Certification Week, which will be held 15-19 May 2023. World Certification Week is a week-long virtual event that encourages professionals around the world to complete free HubSpot Academy certifications.

World Certification Week started as a one-day celebration of knowledge in 2020 and has since transformed into a beloved annual event where HubSpot customers and partners come together to learn, hear from industry experts, get certified, and help local communities.

As a little bonus, this year, HubSpot Academy is thrilled to announce that for every certification awarded during the event, they will donate $5 USD to an education-focused non-profit (up to $50,000 USD).

In addition, during the month of May, HubSpot Academy is expected to reach over half a million actively certified users (amazing right!).

With this donation and milestone achievement, HubSpot Academy continues to make it possible for individuals and businesses to build their careers and grow their businesses while keeping up with today's rapidly changing market demands.

“Getting certified with HubSpot Academy can support your career by breaking down the barrier of entry into marketing, sales, and service roles. This week is dedicated to the Academy's purpose to empower our global learning community through inbound experiences to support individuals’ and organizations’ career development,” said Courtney Sembler, Director of HubSpot Academy.

“Personally, World Certification Week is the best representation of why I love HubSpot Academy. It shines a light on this global community of learners and their goals and, most importantly, focuses on such a core element for the HubSpot Academy: passionate educators empowering global learners, together.”

This epic event is like a marketing playground where you can learn, grow, and level up your skills. From mastering inbound marketing to conquering content strategy, HubSpot has got your back.

Why should I care?

In today's noisy digital world, credibility is the currency that matters. Completing certifications via HubSpot Academy establishes you as a trusted authority in your field. It shows employers, clients, and colleagues that you're serious about your craft and are dedicated to staying ahead of the curve. It's a powerful way to position yourself as a go-to marketing guru.

HubSpot Academy isn't just about personal growth; it can also open doors to exciting career opportunities. Many employers recognize the value of certified marketers who possess the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the digital age — especially so with such a talent shortage. So, whether you're seeking a promotion, a new job, or even starting your own agency, these certifications can be the game-changer you've been waiting for.

2. Have a growth mindset

To truly succeed in the ever-evolving marketing landscape, you need to embrace the growth mindset. HubSpot Academy encourages just that. It pushes you to step out of your comfort zone, take on new challenges, and broaden your horizons. Remember, it's not about being the best; it's about being better than you were yesterday.

One of the most exciting aspects of World Certification Week is the opportunity to connect with like-minded marketing, sales and service professionals from all over the world. Imagine being in a virtual room with passionate humans who share the same hunger for success as you. Networking, collaborating, and exchanging ideas with fellow professionals can unlock doors you never knew existed.

Our top HubSpot Academy courses

With HubSpot Academy, there’s really a course for everyone: marketing, sales, customer success/service, IT and CRM administrators.

Best HubSpot Academy courses for marketers

There’s loads of courses and certifications for marketers. Here are some of our top four recommendations.

FREE Certification Course

4.5 hours

Discover the power of inbound marketing, a customer-centric approach that attracts and connects you with your ideal customers by solving their problems and creating valuable experiences. Through interactive lessons, you'll learn how to create accurate buyer personas using HubSpot tools and map out your buyer's journey to develop impactful content that drives action. Don't let 60-70% of your marketing content go unused - enroll in the Hubspot Inbound Marketing Course and scale your marketing with ease.

https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/inbound-marketing 

FREE Certification Course

4 hours

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your website to increase visibility on popular search engines such as Google and Bing. In this certification course, you'll learn all things SEO, including website optimization, link building, keyword research, and much more.

https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/seo-training 

FREE Certification Course

2.5 hours

Learn how to rank your website higher in search engines with HubSpot’s SEO II certification course. This course will teach you technical SEO and analytics tactics, including optimizing for Google Page Experience, conducting a technical SEO audit, creating a website migration plan, and analyzing SEO performance. Note that completion of the SEO Certification or foundational SEO knowledge is required to enroll in this course. Enroll now to level-up your technical SEO skills and continue enhancing your SEO strategy.

https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/seo-ii

FREE Certification Course

3 hours

Today's digital advertisers require many skills to be successful: design, audience targeting, optimization, analysis, and more. Organic content channels are flooded and not reaching as many people as before, so paid advertising is an effective way to get your content to the top of people's feeds (and their minds). In this certification course, you'll learn everything you need to create a customer-centric advertising strategy, including journey-based advertising, bidding and targeting strategies, paid search, social media advertising, programmatic, reporting, and more.

https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/digital-advertising 

Best HubSpot Academy courses for sales reps (SDRs, BDRs, BDMs, AEs)

Working in sales? Don’t worry, we’ve also got you covered! Here’s our top picks (full list here).

FREE Certification Course

3 hours

Learn how to identify new prospects, connect with them, explore their needs, and advise them on a path forward.

Side note: This course really helped us to “shelp” our prospects (get it?). Basically helping them and identifying their goals and challenges vs a hard-sell equals shelping. It’s how HubSpot sells and how we sell at Content Chemistry.

FREE Certification Course

4 hours

Most sales managers are former salespeople who have been promoted. They know how to sell but often don't know how to lead a team. If you're a new sales manager, or thinking about becoming a manager, this certification course is for you! In it, you'll learn how to define your target market, create a scalable sales process, and build training, coaching, hiring, and onboarding programs to help your sales team grow better.

https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/sales-manager-training-program

FREE Certification Course

6.5 hours

Revenue Operation (RevOps) is key to helping your company achieve scale. If you're in RevOps, or if you aspire to be, this course will give you a solid foundation to build on. It's full of actionable advice from current RevOps professionals who will teach you what revenue operations is and everything you need to know to excel at it. By the end of this course, you'll know enough to be able to get started and make a real impact at your company.

https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/revenue-operations 

Best HubSpot Academy courses for customer service/success

What about customer success/service roles? Don’t worry, we’ve also got ya! Here’s our top picks (full list here).

FREE Course

1 hour

Delivering exceptional customer support means you're creating value for your customers, inside and outside your organization. In this course, you'll learn how to become an exceptional customer support rep by developing competencies, analyzing cases, managing your time, and adhering to service level agreements. This course is accompanied by a workbook that's intended to be used as you engage with these lessons, as well as for your first few months as a support rep. Engage with the videos, download the workbook, complete the quizzes, and you'll be well on your way to delivering exceptional customer service to your customers.

https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/delivering-exceptional-customer-support

FREE Certification Course

2 hours

Discover the power of inbound with HubSpot's free Inbound Certification Course. Attract, engage, and delight customers with a human-centered approach that builds trust and provides value. Learn how to create a flywheel that fuels your company's growth through the fundamentals of inbound methodology, including shared goals, buyer personas, and defining the buyer's journey.

https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/inbound 

Conclusion

In a nutshell, HubSpot Academy and World Certification Week is an absolute beast of an event that can take your marketing, sales and service game to unprecedented heights. It's an opportunity to learn, grow, connect, and showcase your skills in the ever-evolving marketing landscape. So get out there, crush those certifications, and become the marketing, sales and service pro you were born to be. Let's do this! 💪