It can be fun to break the mold—to try something new and unexpected in your content marketing program. But there is one mold you shouldn’t try to break: your brand’s voice. Yet, it seems to be the one standard that most frequently does get broken. But why is that? Unfortunately, there isn’t any one answer to that question. The many reasons why brands have inconsistent voice include: No defined brand voice chart for content creation Multiple freelancers creating content you haven’t explicitly...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
SEO has never felt like a content marketer's BFF. Rather, it's been more like that annoying relative who follows you around at family events, making sure you don't forget about them. Which is why it seems unlikely that its cousin—generative AI optimization (GAO)—should even be allowed to sit at our lunch table. But here's the thing: GAO, unlike SEO, is actually all about context. And when we are creating content, it's the context that other people always try to take out in the name of shorter...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
I once had a manager who would send back documents I'd emailed for their review with dozens of revisions in the copy, some of them IN ALL CAPS, others with a yellow highlighter background, and a good number of the words I'd written newly formatted with strikethrough. You know—strikethrough. For those of you about to close this email because you think I'm being a sensitive artist whose precious about her words—that's not it at all! I like edits. I appreciate comments that help me understand...
2 months ago • 4 min read
I had a boss whose first quarterly goals for me were to publish 12 blog posts and acquire 30 demo signups. Somehow, we managed to publish a blog post every week and cranked out a whole slew of social content in pursuit of those "goals". Unfortunately, we could only prove that we were the source for 29 demo signups, so I didn't get my bonus. The lack of a bonus was definitely a bummer. But, more importantly, because we had to publish a blog post every week, and spend most of our time creating...
3 months ago • 4 min read
For the past month, it's felt like Summer here in Sacramento, California. I've been walking to my local library branch and spending afternoons reading on the patio while the bulldogs soak up the sunshine. It's nice to change things up and enjoy the slower pace Summer brings. Last night, after seeing the wonderfully funny and smile-inducing film, The Phoenician Scheme, I had a brain wave. Why not put our weekly #ContentChat livestream into Summer Camp mode for the next couple months? I've...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Back when #ContentChat was still a Twitter chat, every 6 months we did a community check-in where I asked everyone to share their wins, their biggest challenges, and what they wanted to learn about in the months to come. It was a great way to bring the community together and help me identify great guests and topics for the upcoming months' chats. As much as I love the livestreams we do now, I miss those check-ins! So, in that spirit, I give you a poll: What is the one thing you want to learn...
4 months ago • 3 min read
Over the weekend, we helped our 16-year-old cat cross the Rainbow Bridge, putting an end to his fight against kidney disease. I wanted to honor his memory and let the friends he'd met and loved know about his passing. But I was not at all up for writing anything. Luckily, I had a blog post I'd written about him and his brother when we'd adopted them. I'd remembered the adorable photos I'd included in the post. But I was surprised to rediscover so many little details about their kitten...
4 months ago • 4 min read
Hey there! I'm taking this week off for a much-needed staycation. That means we're also taking a break from our usual newsletter format, so I can actually take a breather! Sp, while I'm hooking up my new printer, reorganizing my closets, making headway with my reading pile, and having some truly epic lunches around town, I hope that you will take a moment to commit to always be learning—the ABL in our subject line. This may seem like a tough time to invest in yourself and your career. With so...
5 months ago • 2 min read
It's been fun looking at everyone's most recent round of AI-generated portraits and action figures. You can tell that people realllly needed a bit of a distraction by how much some of them look like the human they're imitating. Sure, they say they just typed in "Create a picture of me based on what you know about me" and out popped that spitting image of themselves with their dog and a bunch of on point, seasonally appropriate accessories. But I have to call shenanigans on that for most of...
5 months ago • 3 min read