It’s hard to believe I’m getting settled in for my 10th CMworld conference in 11 years! I always call this event my content marketing family reunion because it’s the one time every year I get to see so many of my friends and colleagues in one place (many of whom have been #ContentChat guests).

But this year is different from any of the prior years for one HUGE reason—it’s being held in San Diego instead of Cleveland. While that’s fantastic for me and my West Coast folks, I suspect we will be missing some of our usual Clevelanders.

I’m presenting an updated version of my brand voice session, focusing on how to define and reinforce your brand voice with the assistance of a few simple AI prompts. It’s a condensed version of my hands-on workshop format, which I’m considering offering as an interactive course next year.

I’ve had the opportunity to recently test out the prompts and process with some client work and definitely surprised them with how easy it was to get a working brand voice chart in hand that stakeholders could react to. In one case, it helped the client push back on a stakeholder’s feedback about how they’d approach one of their channels. The stakeholder had some very prescriptive content suggestions that, when distilled into a voice chart, clearly were not compatible with the brand.

It was validating to see that the updated approach made it possible to give a very quick response for discussion, allowing us to keep the editorial calendar on schedule.

In the past, I’ve heard content teams state they simply don’t have time to define a brand voice and get it through the leadership team’s approval process. I’ve always maintained that the time invested is quickly repaid in the time you save not having to significantly rewrite content.

But now, I’m able to show teams how they can document their ideal brand voice, audit their online content against that ideal voice, and get concrete feedback on what and how to adapt to it in just a few minutes.

I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to share this approach with those who are new to the core concept of using a defined brand voice as part of their content governance toolkit.

Add to this the fact that we are soft-launching The Content Academy for Operations and Strategy (CAOS) here, and I’m going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight!

Hit reply and let me know if you are in San Diego—I’d love to say hello IRL. And don't forget to check out our picks for this year's must-attend sessions. We'll save you a seat.

Coming Up on #ContentChat

Content Chat is my weekly LinkedIn Live video chat focused on sharing expertise and ideas amongst the content marketing community. Join the conversation on Mondays at noon Pacific / 3 p.m. Eastern. RSVP for our upcoming conversations by clicking the chat date below to get a reminder and to access the chat.

• ​TODAY, on #ContentChat, we have a special edition with Pam Didner, who will share learnings from her new books (yes, plural!) about mastering AI and writing great prompts for content marketing and sales. We’re both at CMworld this week, but we pre-recorded this conversation to give you the scoop on how to use AI to its fullest potential to move your business forward, including why data quality is so important for great AI outputs.
• Next Monday (Oct. 28), on #ContentChat, I’ll be joined by my former Schwabbies, Rachel Formaro and Jenny Cronin, to explore how their content strategy informed Blu Pagoda’s rebrand to Collabry. Rachel and Jenny will discuss the early signals that a rebrand could be necessary and what it took to bring the new brand to life.

Get Involved with #ContentChat

• Do you have questions you’d like us to answer during #ContentChat?
  ​Reply to this email or join us on Mondays to ask them live!
• #ContentChat is now on Meetup!
  ​Join our community Meetup page to connect, learn, and share best practices in content strategy, management, and marketing with fellow #ContentChat members.
• ​Want #ContentChat on your calendar?
  ​Use this link to follow our calendar so you never miss a chat.
• We're booking guests for Q1 2025—send us your pitch!
  ​Are you a content marketing practitioner, author, or consultant interested in being a guest for an upcoming edition of #ContentChat? We’d love to hear your topic pitch via our Content Chat guest submission form​

Join My CMworld session!

If you’re in San Diego for Content Marketing World this week, I’d love to see you at my session tomorrow from 2:10-2:50 p.m. about defining a differentiated brand voice and how AI can help. A brand voice is essential for scaling your content operations and empowering human and AI writers to create engaging on-brand content. My session will teach you what it takes and help you set the foundation you need for sustained success. I hope to see you there! ​

Content Marketing + Related Jobs

​Content Marketing Manager, TCP Software.
​TCP Software provides solutions to automate employee scheduling and time tracking, purpose-built for education, the public sector, and healthcare organizations. The TCP team is hiring a content marketing manager who will create cross-format content aligned with the buyer’s journey, including blog posts, ebooks, white papers, how-to guides, social media posts, and more. The individual will develop and own the editorial calendar and enforce editorial governance to ensure brand voice consistency. This in-person role is based in Plano, TX.

​B2B Content Marketing Manager, Financials, Dow Jones.
​Dow Jones has been a global provider of news and business information for consumers and organizations for more than 130 years. Its team is seeking a B2B content marketing manager focused on the finance industry to develop and execute thought leadership and content strategies. The role will focus on developing content for the banking, investing, and payments industry, as well as managing internal and external content production partners. This hybrid role is based in NYC.

​Content Marketing Manager, Gem.
​Gem is an AI-powered recruiting platform designed to help talent acquisition teams maximize productivity, hire faster, and save money. Its team is looking for a content marketing manager who will develop and own Gem’s content strategy and create high-quality content that drives organic traffic, generates leads, and supports broader marketing goals. The role includes experimenting with innovative content types beyond traditional blog posts and ebooks, and repurposing existing content from webinars and events into digestible formats for social media, digital advertising, and more. This hybrid role is based in San Francisco.

​Senior Manager, Content Marketing, TruGreen.
​TruGreen is a leading U.S. lawn care company servicing residential and commercial customers, and it is the official servicer of the PGA Tour. The organization is hiring a senior content marketing manager to help drive expansion and optimize its digital presence across channels. Responsibilities include creating content aligned with TruGreen’s marketing and business goals and collaborating with the social media team to align content with social media strategies. This in-person role is based in Nashville, TN.

​Content Marketing Manager, Inkhouse.
​Inkhouse is a strategic comms/public relations agency serving clients in enterprise tech, cybersecurity, finance, healthcare, VC, and other industries. The agency is hiring a content marketing manager to oversee and execute content marketing and social media strategies for the agency, including the creation and distribution of a weekly newsletter and ongoing social media content. This hybrid role can be based in Waltham, MA, or San Francisco.

Send Us Your Content Jobs!

If you have a content marketing contract position, full-time job, or freelancer opportunity, reply to this email and let us know. We are always happy to share jobs with the community at no cost.

ICYMI

​MarketingProfs B2B Forum Volunteer Sign-Up.
​MarketingProfs is looking for volunteers for its B2B Forum on Nov. 13-14 in Boston. I volunteered for the conference the first year I attended, and it was a blast! You’ll commit for one day and can attend the rest of the event (and maybe even catch my session?!).

​[#ContentChat Recap] How Content Helps Businesses At All Sizes Scale.
​Creating content as a small business will build your reputation and unlock opportunities in ways you may not realize. Want to learn how to get started and where to focus? I was joined by Michelle Ngome in this recent #ContentChat conversation, where she shared insights from Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Businesses program to help entrepreneurs use content to scale.

​B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025 [Research].
​The annual B2B Content Marketing research is here! This report is a trove of insights to help you understand how content marketing teams are structured, where they’re allocating resources, and what strategies have been effective in meeting their goals. You can access the full ungated report through this link, which includes my take on why generative AI content is often underwhelming.

​[#ContentChat Recap] AI, Content Marketing, and the Law: A Fall 2024 Overview of Top Considerations.
​Most marketers I know are not legal experts, but we navigate so many situations that could have legal implications for our companies. If you’re hoping to stay ahead and avoid legal hot water, check out this #ContentChat recap with my friend and licensed attorney, Ruth Carter, who explains some of the top legal considerations for Fall 2024.

​The Perfect B2B Website Service Page: 13-Point Checklist.
​If you or your organization offers a premium service to other businesses those businesses have multiple decision-makers, check out this guide from Andy Crestodina that breaks down how to write the perfect service page. For starters, you need a short and descriptive headline, keyword focus, and quick visual credibility.

Until next time, stay safe and be well!

Cheers,

Erika

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​Erika Heald, Founder & Chief Content Officer​
​Erika Heald Marketing Consulting​
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LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erikaheald​
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misserikasf/
​Threads: @MisserikaSF​​
​YouTube: @ErikaHeald​