Are the glory days of content marketing over? Can we get them back?

Hot take?

2019-early 2023 were the organic content glory days.

The content of "The Great Resignation" was 🔥!

Before 2019, organic content was...fine. Did the job.

Post-2023, organic content has been...all over the place.

So, why were "the content glory days so rad?" A couple of reasons:

1️⃣ A shift in style: Organic content got a glow-up. It maintained the traditional formatting internet-content needs and we still saw stories focused on data-driven insights, but writers also started to borrow sound techniques from journalism—creative reporting, editorial content, SME-led content, and original data. Organic content got a glow-up and people were reading it.

2️⃣ Big marketing budgets: When life went online, companies invested heavily in content. This gave content teams the resources ($) and flexibility to build what's necessary to make great content (e.g., a content director/editor, SEO experts, a team of experienced writers, editors/quality control, etc.).

Once AI exploded, the content world got weird. I'm not a data machine, so I'll have to get anecdotal here. But here's what I've seen over the past 2 years:

🤢 The wrong kind of AI-adoption. Conference after conference highlighted keynote speakers with messages of replacing content teams with cheap AI-generated content machines for increased organic visibility. Then, we saw an influx in bland blogs and articles. We've seen gobs of sites created and supported fully by AI. We've also seen AI-automation littering our inboxes, comments, and DMs. We've entered an era where full AI-adoption (not use) has devalued customer-client relationships and crowded out meaningful content.

(Sidenote: I am not anti-AI. I have found so many uses for it. For example, I use it to help me organize interview transcripts. I also use @strut_ai to organize the writing process. I use it to define easy concepts and check for things I've missed. But, I don't use it to think for me).

Google went whack, and so did strategy. First, it was 100% penalizing AI content. Then, it couldn't detect it. Then, it decided to adopt it. Then, we were introduced to SGE. Then, there was the most recent Google update. Then, tons of sites got taken down. Then, Google doubled down on its helpful content messaging (again). Then, there was Gemini. ??? It's been a bit hard to follow. And, instead of focusing on producing GOOD content for PEOPLE, teams have been clamoring to keep up with Google and hold on to a shred of what may still be working. This seems misguided.

👀 Leaders started slashing content budgets. It's shocking and amazing what AI can do. I never thought I'd see a machine that churned out even semi-coherent sentences. And, when you're not a writer—years into understanding what it takes to produce a good piece of content—it's easy to dismiss researching, writing, and editing as easy tasks that anyone (or a machine) can do. It's easy to assume, "well, AI can do that, so why am I paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to my content team?" And the effects of this mindset have been a huge bummer. Good writers and editors are suddenly "too expensive." We've seen companies lay off internal content teams and freelancers en masse.

🤦🏻‍♀️ Audience research is no longer in 1st place. It's easy to adopt a shiny new tool and plaster messages across the world. It's not easy to make good messages find and resonate with the right people. It's been strange to see "let's do more," instead of "let's do what's right by our audience."

🤖 A lack of professional trust and courtesy. Let's illustrate this with an example. My husband is a professional musician. When he listens to music, he hears things that I can't hear or even comprehend. He hears and understands all the tiny elements that make a piece of music enjoyable. I hear the final product and know that I like it. That’s about it. But, I also know that if music making or music direction were up to me, the end result would be a disaster. No one would want to listen to it because I’m not a musician. This seems like an easy concept to grasp, but this way of thinking is not a luxury afforded to writers or editors right now. Professionals who are not writers don't understand the tiny nuances of writing. I see posts all of the time that say, "Hire an SME and teach them to write," or "AI can do this for you” or “10 easy steps to mastering copywriting." You don't just teach an SME to write overnight. You don’t learn to write without years of practice. And, AI can predict, define, and replicate (it’s great at this), but it can't create. As a result of this, I've experienced more professional discourtesy these past 18 months than in my full 14 years of marketing. Prospects balking at prices. Ghosting. Unreasonable expectations. A lack of understanding of what it takes to produce good content and an unwillingness to listen. It’s been weird.

I'm hoping 2024 is the year content gets normal again. That marketers return to their audiences and start creating things that have never existed before.

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State of AI in Content Marketing in 2023

WHAT IS THE STATE OF AI IN CONTENT MARKETING IN 2023?

Over the last several months, we’ve all been drowning in AI hot takes, like:

• ChatGPT is taking over the world

• 10 tricks for using AI to edit

• 75 AI tools you need to know about RIGHT NOW

You’re not alone if all this chatter makes you want to lie down in bed and never get up.

The problem with the chatter isn't the content itself. People are excited about AI and its capabilities. But it’s hard to figure out if we're stuck in a hype cycle or if AI has suddenly revolutionized everything we do.

WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING?

We know that AI is more popular than ever and has gained mainstream traction—within 5 days of its release, ChatGPT had reached 2 million users, according to Greg Brockman, co-founder of OpenAI. The market for generative AI is exploding and is projected to reach $110.8 in 2030. AI is here to stay. But what do things look like in our space right now?

Rather than guess, Content Connect and Stories By Us distributed a survey to 220 content marketers to learn how they are using AI. We wanted to understand:

• How people are using AI in their workflow

• Whether it’s directly resulting in layoffs or loss of work • What tools are most popular

In this report, we’re outlining the results of the survey and working to separate fact from fiction about the state of AI in 2023.

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Who took this survey?

The survey was completed by 220 respondents who self-identify as content marketers or copywriters. All responses were collected in May 2023.

• FREELANCERS. We had substantially more freelancers (70%) take the survey than in-house marketers (9%), which we kept in mind when we analyzed the results. 70% of respondents are freelancers, 21% are in-house marketers, and 9% are long-term contractors.

• SMALLER COMPANIES. The majority of in-house marketers (61%) work for a company with between 0-50 employees. There were not a lot of respondents from corporate settings.

• MANY ARE IN B2B. Most respondents (41%) work in the B2B industry.

• VARIED INCOME LEVELS. There was a large disparity between how much respondents make: 24% make between 31K-70K, 22% make between 71K-100K, 22% make less than 30K, 14% make between 101K-150K, 15% make between 151-200K, and only 8% make over 201K.

• LONGFORM CONTENT WAS A TOP SPECIALTY. Respondents create all different types of content, but 83% create some type of long-form content, 58% create content marketing strategies, and 50% do email copywriting.

The survey was shared in our networks via LinkedIn, Twitter, Slack channels, email newsletter, and via personal asks. As such, there may be some natural bias in the respondents. Basically, friends of ours and those in our close network. We work in the B2B space providing content marketing services.

Content marketers are using AI and are lukewarm on its ability

AI is all the rage right now. Everywhere you turn, there’s a new article, a slew of social posts, and courses about how to incorporate AI into your content marketing strategy.

But, how many marketers are actually using AI in their day-to-day, and how helpful are AI tools? The survey found 76% of content marketers are either always or sometimes using AI for different projects. Only 24% have never used AI for tasks like writing, editing, and SEO.

While most content marketers are using AI, a majority of respondents (57%) said it was only moderately helpful. And only 5% of marketers said it was extremely helpful.

This suggests most marketers are buying into the hype of using AI and testing it out in their

day-to-day operations, but have yet to find ways to use AI to fully streamline operations or completely take over everyday marketing tasks.

Chat GPT is the most commonly used tool followed by Grammarly

ChatGPT has gotten a huge amount of media attention. It is, indeed, the tool that content marketers are using most. Forty-five percent of respondents are using some version of the tool– 28% reported using Chat GPT (free version) and 17% reported using Chat GPT 4 (paid version).

Grammarly followed closely behind with 35% reporting that they use it, which is a large contingency. Content marketers are not taking much advantage of Google Bard with only 6% of respondents using it.

Premium tools like Writer (1.75%) and Jasper (4%) were even less widely used, but we can reasonably infer that this may be because they are premium tools targeted for large enterprises. Our survey respondents were mostly freelancers and those at small companies.

Brainstorming and research are the top AI use cases

Seventy-six percent of content marketers are using AI in their daily operations, but what exactly are they using it for?

Respondents reported they were using it for several tasks, including research, brainstorming, outlining, creating briefs, improving grammar and flow, creating visuals, and writing complete assets.

While marketers are using AI in various ways, the most popular use case was brainstorming (71%), followed by research (49%), outlining (49%), and improving grammar and flow (47%). The least popular use case for AI was creating visuals, with only 8% of content marketers reporting they use it for this purpose.

While almost 59% of marketers are using AI for research, respondents pointed out in their qualitative responses that AI often hallucinates and plagiarizes. In other words, AI makes things up when it doesn’t know, needs intense fact-checking before publication, and can’t be fully trusted to be unique.

AI writing isn’t better than (most) human writing

When you first try an AI writing tool, you may find yourself impressed with its ability. But is it better than a human writer?

Although 76% of respondents use AI for writing tasks and 11% are using it to write complete assets, 0% of respondents rated AI writing quality as “excellent” or better than a human writer. In fact, 53% rated it as either below average (worse than a human writer) or terrible (much worse than a human writer).

That said, AI can write better than some writers. One respondent reported: “AI scares me because it’s much better than some of the subcontractors I’ve hired.”

There’s a lot of talk about job loss from AI, but respondents aren’t feeling the heat

With recent advancements in AI, there’s been widespread talk about how the marketing industry will change and how drastically. Namely, marketers wonder how competent AI really is and whether or not it will replace the jobs humans do.

We wanted to understand both the current state of anxiety among marketers about potential job loss due to AI and whether or not they’ve already lost a job to AI.

Only 8% of respondents said they were “extremely stressed” about AI and how it will affect the future of content marketing, and 31% said they were “moderately stressed.” The remaining 61% were only “a little stressed” or “not stressed at all.”

We also asked how many had experienced job loss in the past 6 months. 41% said they had lost work in general, but only 12% said it was due to AI.

There’s also been worry that if, with easier access to AI tools, freelancers will need to lower prices to remain competitive. A large majority (88%) of freelancers haven’t changed their prices in light of advancements in AI, and 5% have even raised their prices.

Qualitative feedback about AI in content marketing

AI IS A COLLABORATOR

Scores of respondents said that AI was a helpful collaborator. Some said it reduced time, while others said writing with AI took the same amount of time but helped with brainstorming and ideation.

IT’S TOO EARLY TO KNOW ABOUT AI

Some respondents felt that it is too early to know how things will turn out with AI. One of them even thinks that AI is a fad.

LARGER COMPANIES ARE WARY

Due to privacy and legal concerns, large companies might not be keen on using AI tools. Fact checking remains an issue, as well.

THE FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN

No one knows what will happen with generative AI. The future is uncertain– that’s scary for many content marketers.

About the researchers

This study was conducted by Emma Siemasko from Stories By Us and Ashley R. Cummings from Content Connect.

We conducted this study because we wanted to understand what’s actually happening with AI. There has been a lot of hype, but it’s been difficult to understand how content marketers are using the tools, as well as how they feel about them.

Emma and Ashley have a combined 20 years of experience in freelance writing, research, and content marketing.

EMMA SIEMASKO

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ASHLEY R. CUMMINGS

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What to look for when you hire a B2B freelance writer

Content marketing is a critical part of any B2B business’s marketing and sales strategy. Excellent content can make the difference between engaging and capturing qualified leads or having a potential lead click out of your website and forget about your company forever.

Investing in content marketing is non-negotiable. But with 1.57 billion freelancers in the world, how do you ensure you’ll hire a writer who will write engaging content that drives results?

This article will dive into the following:

• How to find good B2B freelance writers

• What to pay a B2B freelance writer

• What a B2B freelance writer should do for you

Let’s get started.

How to find good B2B freelance writers

I have good news. Even though there are millions of freelance writers, you don’t have to sort through millions of websites to find someone who will drive results. Here’s what to do instead.

1. Read bylined B2B content and contact the writers directly

Finding excellent B2B freelance content writers can be as simple as reading articles on the best industry blogs and taking note of the author's name. Some notable industry blogs include ShopifyPlus, Klaviyo, and HubSpot.

Once you have the writer's name, search for their portfolio or professional social media profiles. Find their contact information and send them a message. Writers love nothing more than when a new client pops into their email or slides into their DMs.

2. Scour Twitter and LinkedIn

Most of the best B2B freelance writers are highly active on Twitter and LinkedIn. You’ll see them posting daily about content strategy and SEO and offering free writing tips.

While follower count and likes are vanity metrics, they’re also good indicators that industry professionals consider them subject matter experts.

Take note of some of the B2B freelance writers you see pop up on social media over and over. Follow them. Read their posts. Decide whether or not you like their ideas. Contact the ones you like.

3. Ask an industry professional for a referral

90% of my client roster comes from referrals from other clients. If you aren’t sure where to start, call up one of your colleagues and ask them which writers have done a good job.

If you aren’t sure who to ask, put a call out on social media. People will come running with their referrals.

Trusted connections provide candid feedback about a writer's capabilities, professionalism, and reliability. They’ve done the vetting for you. 

4. Ask another B2B writer for a referral

Now time for some bad news. The best B2B freelance writers are often in high demand. Sometimes it takes a month or two to squeeze into their schedule.

If you need immediate help and you don’t have time to wait for your first pick, don’t worry. All the freelance writers know each other. Okay, well, maybe we don’t know everyone. But we will know several other writers who will do a great job.

I have a handful of other professionals I recommend when I can’t take on new clients. Come ask me. I’ll tell ya who to hire.

What to pay a B2B freelance writer

It’s hard to know what to pay a freelance writer, especially since there are no hard and fast rules about rates. 

You’ll come across freelance writers who’ll ask for $5, $100, $500, $1500, or $5000 for the exact same request. 

The truth is—you get what you pay for. 

It’s kinda like going to the hair salon. You can pop into an EZ-Kutz, pay the stylist (if you can call them that) $20, and come out with a hat on your head. Then, you’ll learn your lesson and end up paying the $350 for a nice cut and color anyway.

It’s the same with writers. Most writers have a good hold on industry rates. The writers who have been around longer and provide more value will charge more. Those who don’t know what they are doing will scramble for anything they can get. They will also give you garbage.

I wanted to dive into this topic a bit more, so I spent a summer researching the topic. I ended up with a 34-page report on what freelancers charge. The report is a good indication of what you’ll pay a writer for different types of content, across industries, and with varying levels of experience.

Here are some things to consider if you’re tempted to get grumpy about rates.

1. You’re paying for much more than words

When you hire a writer, you’re paying them for hours, research, subject matter expertise, SEO, interviews, and more.

Here’s a quick look at how freelancers rate different criteria when pricing content:

I personally factor all of these things into my prices.

2. Prices will vary depending on the type of content

Not all content is created equal. For example, it takes a lot longer to write an 800-word case study than an 800-word blog post. 

Why? Because case study writing involves interviewing, client and customer management, and sometimes interpreting analytics to tell the right story. It’s more work.

Here’s a breakdown of median prices for different types of content:

3. You’ll pay more for experienced writers

When I first started writing, I charged basically nothing. It’s embarrassing when I look back on it. But I also didn’t know what I was doing. My view of freelance writing started and stopped with delivering copy.

Since then, my expertise has grown, and my services have evolved to provide a lot more value (we’ll talk about this more in a minute).

Anyway, according to my research, writers with over eight years of experience will charge upwards of $1-$2 per word for a long-form blog post. And it will be worth every penny.

What a $1/word freelance writer should do for you

So, you’ve officially decided that you’re ready to hire an expensive freelance writer. Yay! But being expensive isn’t the only qualification. There’s a reason these freelancers are expensive, and it’s important to know what you’re paying for. Here’s a rundown of what top-notch writers are doing behind the scenes.

1. Own processes and onboarding

If you’ve never worked with a freelance writer before, it’s normal not to know how to work with one.

And to be honest—micromanaging a freelancer shouldn’t fall on your shoulders. Ain’t nobody got time for babysitting someone who isn’t officially a team member.

When you speak with a freelancer, they should tell you how to work with them. They should make it so easy for you that all you have to do is give them a topic and publish the post. The expensive writer should do all the rest.

An excellent freelancer will outline their processes and expectations. They’ll provide you with a detailed content or copywriting brief that will take you 10-15 minutes to fill out. They’ll give you a contract to sign. They’ll make the revision process easy. And they’ll set up payment terms, provided your company doesn’t have a strict accounting process in place.

2. Research

The world is oversaturated with content, especially with how easy it is to create (bad) articles with AI writing tools.

Awesome writers understand that outstanding content requires a fair amount of research. Good writers typically work within a single niche and constantly keep up with industry news, reports, and trends. This is one thing you’re paying them for.

The best writers will dig deep and reference relevant and recent reports to back up their claims. 

3. Offer perspective and analysis

Imagine how boring it would be to read an article that was claims and stats. Sheesh. What a nightmare.

Not only will writers add credible and interesting statistics to their pieces, but they will offer a detailed analysis of what these claims and stats mean, how they affect customers, and what business owners can do to get a competitive leg up based on this information.

The reader will always finish an article caring about what the writer said, learning something new, or thinking more deeply about a topic.

Offering interesting analysis and a unique perspective is something AI cannot do. It’s something bad writers don’t do. And that makes it worth its weight in gold when a writer pulls it off well.

4. Conduct interviews

Content writing has taken an interesting turn these past few years. More and more blog posts don’t look like traditional blog posts from previous years. 

They look a little bit more like a business blogger married a journalist, and then they had a little writer baby who takes the best of both worlds to make content.

I’m not sure if that analogy worked, but excellent business article writing adopts many traits of journalism.

The best writers are interviewing subject matter experts to get “hot takes” and then infusing these quotes into the articles. 

5. Provide subject matter expertise

Speaking of subject matter experts (SMEs), writers aren’t only interviewing SMEs, they ARE SMEs. Other writers will probably contact the writer you hired to ask them for quotes.

In today’s competitive digital marketing landscape, you can’t afford to hire a writer who doesn’t inherently and deeply understand your industry.

Now, I’m not saying a writer has to know every nuance of your software. That’s ridiculous. They’ll need to review your assets and demo your products. But they should have a hold on how the industry works and who the key players are.

6. Understand content marketing strategy

The best writers also have a good hold on content marketing strategy. In fact, if you’re struggling with your strategy and need a little help, pay your writer a bit more, and they’ll point you in the right direction.

A $1/word writer will ask you about your thought leadership and content marketing goals. In fact, that’s the first thing they’ll do. Why? Because how they approach an article, what they choose to emphasize, the language they use, how they position the article—everything—will depend on what your goals are.

For example, if your goals are to drive traffic to your site and capture leads, the writer will write and optimize with this top of mind. If your goal is to become a well-known media site, the writer will lean heavily into trends, pitch fresh ideas, push for quick publication, and emphasize the importance of distribution.

7. Implement search engine optimization (SEO)

If you want a full SEO strategy, you’ll have to pay an extra fee. SEO is complex, changes often, and requires a lot of work to get right.

But the best B2B freelance writers don’t only want to tell stories. That’s what The Times and The Washington Post are for. Yes, B2B and SaaS writers want to tell stories, but they also want to drive results that boost your company’s bottom line.

And this means doing everything in their power to make sure your content gets seen by your target audience. As such, you can count on your writer to implement B2B marketing and SEO best practices and optimize the crap out of your post so you rank for your target keyword.

Writers will manually review the top results in the SERPs and create their outlines based on what’s ranking and what’s missing from the conversation. They’ll write with search intent in mind. And, they’ll most likely use a paid on-page optimization tool to make sure the content ranks.

8. Hire third-party editing

Most writers are good editors, and most editors are good writers. But good writers who are good editors aren’t great at editing their own content.

It’s science. When your brain looks at something over and over and over, it starts to adapt and accept whatever is on the page. That’s why brilliant writers who only self-edit will publish content with the most obvious of mistakes. It’s not their fault! THEY ADAPTED!

Good writers get this, and they pay a hefty fee to third-party editors to make their content pretty. When you receive a draft, it will be polished and ready to go.

Hire an excellent B2B freelance writer

It can be challenging to find a high-quality freelance writer if you’re not sure what to look for. 

When marketing managers and strategists at B2B companies are vetting freelance writers, don’t just ask them what their prices are. Ask them about their processes. Throw them a couple of content marketing and SEO strategy curveballs. Ask them what they think makes a good article.

If they give you acceptable answers, hire them on the spot. And don’t balk at their prices or ask them to match Upwork prices for their writing services.

Marketing Experts & Freelance Writers: Interview Series

Over the past few months, I’ve been interviewing some of the best content marketers and freelancers in the industry to learn more about how they got started, what lessons they’ve learned, and what advice they would share with other freelancers.

In this first interview series, you’ll learn from the following experts:

• Elna Cain

• Adrienne Barnes

• Rand Fishkin

• Maria West

• Kat Boogaard

• Lizzie Davey

• Jessica Malnik

• Dana Herra

• Jason Resnick

• Tommy Walker

• Deya Aliaga Kuhnle

Let’s dive in!

Elna Cain

1. How did you get started with freelance writing and blogging? Take us through your journey.

I started freelance writing in 2014. I had just ended my 1-year maternity leave, and at that time we moved from British Columbia to Ontario. Before I had twins, I was a Special Education teacher and primarily taught children with Autism in ABA therapy. My MIL helped me raise the twins and moving in with them was the best decision of my life. 

When September 2014 came, I had enough time during my twins' nap times to dabble in something. My husband suggested VA work but I found freelance writing a better fit for me. I'm more creative, and I didn't want to manage something, I wanted to create something instead. So I read up on moms who were staff writers and talked about staying home and getting paid to write. This intrigued me. I had blocks of time, I had a laptop, maybe I could do this?

My husband helped me design a simple service-based website, and I spent my free time reading about freelance writing. I started emailing other writers, asking them what to charge and about managing clients. This was new to me. I only used the internet for Youtube, Facebook, and Amazon!

I spent the first few months writing blog content, marketing my business, and finding clients on job boards. I found my first client, and over time I changed my niche from natural health and parenthood to digital marketing. Over the years, I've worked with small businesses and big notable brands, and this has also grown my other business: blogging and product creation.

And this freedom to start new websites or work with certain brands has allowed me to volunteer at my twins' school, have family road trips and start fun renovation projects.

2. What two lessons from blogging can be applied to email marketing sequences?

Be authentic and use storytelling.

I started my brand, Twins Mommy in 2016. This was the place I shared my case study in growing that blog. I wanted to try "traditional" blogging tactics like affiliate marketing, product creation, and using platforms like Pinterest and Instagram. I found the blog posts where I shared my challenges and thoughts about my blog plan I received the most comments. People follow the blogger, not the blog. So, I didn't shy away from my failures. Instead, I used it to connect with my audience through storytelling.

The same goes for your email sequences. I get the highest open rates when my email subject lines are more internal (What I did to land a client, How I grew my pageviews to 54,000, or I've been on Twitter more...), and in my email, I share a story about what I did. This helps my subscribers trust my information and who I am as a person. I'm a mom who is a writer and blogger. Not a marketer who is a mom.

Adrienne Barnes

1. How did you start your work in marketing? What was the first job/gig you took?

I started working in marketing as a freelance content writer. My very first job came from Upwork, and I wrote blog content for a neurofibromatosis charity with a positive and upbeat tone. It was an interesting project for sure.

2. I have two sub-questions here: What is the one brilliant way you've seen data being used in content strategy, and what's one terrible example of data-driven content strategy?

A brilliant way I've seen data being used, is when a B2B SaaS company uses their own proprietary data to create content that will be interesting to their industry. It makes such a difference in the quality of the content. The worst example is when data isn't used to create a content strategy. This happens often when marketing teams aren't clear on their customers' pain points, needs, and jobs-to-be-done. 

 Rand Fishkin

1. Can you share your journey in the marketing industry? You've worn many hats in the past 20+ years.

I started in digital marketing doing web design, then SEO consulting in the early 2000s. In 2003, I launched a blog called SEOmoz that later became the software company, Moz, and grew that from a tiny team to 200+ people, $50M+ in revenue, and tens of millions of monthly visitors. In 2014, I stepped down from the CEO role and left the company 4 years later to start a new one: SparkToro, which makes audience research software. We're very different at SparkToro - eschewing venture capital and hypergrowth in favor of Chill Work and a tiny team of only three.

As SparkToro's CEO, I do a lot of talking to customers, helping folks use the product, and talking about the problems SparkToro helps solve. We all work remotely, but I'm on the road a good bit for conferences and events.

2. What are two things you wish (as a SaaS founder) a freelance marketer/writer should know or do?

We've used a lot of freelance and consulting talent at SparkToro, and I've been consistently impressed with folks in that world. My best advice for anyone in that role is to think like a business owner/founder/CEO -- put yourself in their shoes, think about the things they care about results-wise: branding, traffic, sales, leads, perception, etc. If you're struggling, ask! Business owners love talking about themselves, what they care about, what they're focused on, what they value and don't. Use those learnings in how you pitch projects, present results, and prioritize work.

Maria West aka DTC mom

1. How did the brand DTC mom come to be? Was it from the beginning of your marketing journey or evolved somewhere in the middle?

I started my content marketing career in an agency with complex B2B clients, then moved in-house to financial services after that (boooooring). When I started freelancing over the pandemic, I fell in love with the consumer space and wanted to lean into the clients I was getting that matched my new-parenthood life stage. I decided to niche down as DTC Mom last year (during the third trimester of my second pregnancy), and it gave me the energy to get back into things after having my son. Since "I'm not like other moms," people quickly came to know me as the parenting copywriter for DTC/ecom space, so it's helped my personal brand immensely. However, I'm about to take a career pivot with a new B2B SaaS full-time role. It'll be interesting to see what happens! Stay tuned.

2. You have a unique personality—witty, funny and unapologetic. What's the secret to developing that, and how does it help in being a kickass marketer?

LOL Well, thank you (I think!) Honestly, I'm me. Ask anyone who has met me in person, and they'll say online Maria = IRL Maria. I do a lot of my best work and most creative stuff off the cuff, so I found Twitter a natural place to connect and share thoughts. I'm also a starter and think quickly, and I love networking and hyping people up. People skills and being genuine and likable can go a long way, and using your gut to find clients, projects, etc. YOU like matters big time, too.

Kat Boogaard

1. Do you recall your first (a few firsts) writing project? What was it like, as in Freelance or in-house, what niche etc.?

I did quite a few writing projects throughout college and even in my in-house marketing job. But as a freelancer, my first paid writing gig was writing one article per month for a local women's magazine (in print!). I was paid $50 for every 500-ish-word article and was absolutely thrilled. Some of my other early projects were writing blog posts for a storage unit company (for $40 per post!) and product descriptions for fitness trackers as part of a content mill. Not exactly a glamorous start. 

2. Your blogs have a theme of making freelancing topics relatable for people with traditional jobs. Is this something you aimed at, or it naturally evolved as such?

My niche as a paid writer is the "world of work," which means I write a ton of advice and content geared toward people who are employed in "traditional" full-time jobs. But on my own site, most of what I publish is aimed at fellow freelancers who are trying to start or grow their businesses. I worked in a traditional full-time job prior to freelancing, so I do try to write content for existing freelancers as well as people who are considering taking the leap.

3. On the same note, develop your voice is often an advice for freelancers to stand out. How to develop that voice/flavour when working with multiple clients?

One of the compliments I receive the most is about my writing style, which is always flattering. My own writing voice tends to be pretty casual and conversational, with a decent dose of humor and sarcasm peppered in. Obviously, when doing client work, I need to adapt to my client's tone and style guide. But honestly, most of my clients found me because of my own voice and style—they see my work in other places, enjoy it, and want to do something similar with their own content. 

From reading your work aloud to taking notes about the approach of other writers you admire, there are tons of tips for finding and refining your own voice. But my go-to one is usually something along the lines of "stay patient and commit to the process." Finding your voice is a journey, and an oftentimes-long and constantly-evolving one at that. Keep experimenting to find what feels right for you. I go back and read some of my old stuff and chuckle because I don't think it sounds like me at all.

Lizzie Davey

1. How did you start freelancing?

I started freelancing in 2014 when I decided to spontaneously move to Spain with my ex-boyfriend with just one month’s notice. It was chaotic, but I had already been blogging for five years prior to that and had a successful travel blog I thought I could leverage to get clients.

My very first client was the company I’d left which hired me for a day’s work. My second was a hotel brand I found on Craigslist. I ended up working with them for 1.5 years. At the time, my roster was a mishmash of clients in pretty much every industry you could think of (so much for becoming a renowned travel writer!) that I found through content mills, job ads, and doggedly pitching. 

I had set myself the goal of replacing my full-time income in a year otherwise I would go back to the UK and “proper employment”. Turns out freelancing was pretty lucrative and here I am almost 10 years later! 

2. What are your 2 tips for managing personal content with client work for freelance writers?

I’m an absolute stickler for time management! Ask anyone I know, and they’ll tell you I’m predictably on time, every time. These are my best tips: 

a. Bulk create content and plan ahead

I have a personal content schedule that I map out at the end of each week for the following week so everything is set up and ready to go. Bulk creation is my best friend and I will often spend a couple of hours on a Friday writing up social content, scheduling blog posts, and planning my LinkedIn content and newsletter topics for the next week. 

b. Time block days based on my most productive hours 

I also plan my days to maximise my productivity hours. I’m most productive between 8.30-11am and then I usually get a second wind between 2-4pm. I focus on client work for the first chunk of the day (basically I “eat the frog”) and then in the afternoons, I focus on creating content for my personal brand, taking calls, and working on future personal projects.

Jessica Malnik

1. How did you get started with freelance writing?

I started moonlighting on the side of my day job writing the occasional freelance article or two about a decade ago, and then in 2018, I started my own business.

For me, I had saved up enough money in advance to have a runway for about seven months, and my previous boss also became one of my original anchor clients. This gave me peace of mind in the first few months as I was still getting a feel for running a business.

I made a ton of sacrifices. There were many late nights and Friday nights spent in front of my computer instead of going out. In the end, I’m also building something that’s truly my own. And that’s deeply satisfying.

2. What's your advice for freelance writers in the context of finding their tribe?

I wrote an article regarding this, you can find more about it here. As a remote/asynchronous worker, I think there are a lot of chances of meeting and making internet friendships, whether that be through Twitter, LinkedIn, or even Instagram hashtags, you can always find minds that think like yours and strike up interesting and fun conversations, just for the sake of it. Put yourself out there!

But mostly, I would recommend investing in conferences that are going to make you grow! The largest investment I made last year was going to CaboPress in early October 2022, and it was so worth it. Two and half months later, it has already paid for itself 3x over. 

Dana Herra

1. What's been your journey in content marketing?

I was a journalist first. That's where I learned critical skills like storytelling, interviewing, and cutting fluff without cutting flavor. After 10 years, I eased into marketing - my first full-time marketing gig was as the editor of a university's alumni magazine. So it was journalism but from a marketing angle. I learned copywriting on the job (and from Copyhackers) and while I still do a fair amount of it, found I prefer long-form written content.

Over the next few years, I held marketing director jobs for several organizations. I kept learning everything I could about content marketing, applying it on the job as I went along. When I learned an interesting concept I couldn't get approval to try, I started freelancing. The whole B2B world was a giant lab for me to experiment in and learn from.

Late in 2020, I was a victim of pandemic-related layoffs. By that time I'd been freelancing for almost six years, and taking my side hustle full-time seemed just as good a bet as getting another job. January was the start of Year 3.

2. You recently tweeted that "4 blogs per month on some keywords" is a bad content strategy. Give us a sneak peek (1-2 examples) of a good content strategy.

The problem with basing your content strategy on tactical advice like "write 4 blogs a month" or "post 5 times a week to LinkedIn" is that it's tactical. It's not strategic. If that activity is going to make an impact on your progress, you need to know what to create, not just where to put it. Otherwise, you're just spinning your wheels and making noise.

A good content strategy starts with a goal. Like "become a recognized thought leader" or "generate 10 demo requests a month." You need to know why you're even creating content in the first place.

Next, you need to figure out how to measure your progress toward that goal. I just wrote a newsletter about this. For the thought leader goal, you might track social media engagement, press opportunities, or invitations to speaking engagements.

Figure out the audience you need to reach to make those milestones happen. Who are they? What's important to them? What makes them excited or scared or mad? Where do they hang out? Who do they trust for information on your topic? And why should they listen to you?

Now you're ready to start strategizing. Your content strategy should be designed to post the kind of content your target audience likes to consume in the places they expect to find it. Your strategy tells you where to post and how often, but more importantly, it tells you what to talk about and why.

"4 blogs a month" isn't a content strategy. It's not even the beginning of a content strategy. It's the middle. Before it you have "why do this" and "who is it for," and after you have "where do I distribute this" and "how do I measure it." Then you take what you learned and start again.

Jason Resnick

1. How did you get started with a career in email automation?

I started out as a web developer, but then around 2014-2015 I saw a trend that tied in what people saw on the web with what they were taking action on in their inboxes.

As a study of human behavior (I minored in Psychology in College) and a data geek, this fascinated me and I was hooked.

My unique ability to map out complex ideas and campaigns in a simple way due to my skills as a developer, it's helped me and my clients tremendously.

2.  What are your 2 tips for marketers or creators to avoid being "just another email campaign?"

The first tip I would say is the more specific you can be with your campaign, the better the results. That may sound vague, but when you use the language that your subscribers use and can anticipate their thoughts, the campaign becomes much more powerful.

The second tip is any nuance and personalization you can make will go a long way.

For example, I run a newsletter that has a tagline/ In that tagline I use the word "freelancer." Not everyone on their list calls themself a freelancer. Some identify as a consultant, virtual assistant, or a developer, etc.

If they've filled out a survey and told me what they describe themselves as, I store that information and swap "freelancer" out for it.

Tommy Walker

Q1) How did you get started with content marketing? How was the journey to The Content Studio?

I started my career after getting fired from a retail job over a pair of pants. Having never been fired before, I decided I'd never put myself in a situation where someone else had that kind of control. With zero prospects and a laptop with a crack in the screen from corner to corner, I started studying what was going on in internet marketing, which I had a small background in. 

Two weeks later, I was introduced to my first client by someone I met at a random Super Bowl party. I took whatever work that'd pay, which led to running a Facebook page for a client where we grew from 0-150k followers in the first month shortly after Facebook introduced Pages to the platform.

A few years passed, and I eventually started writing for the site CXL.com where I would become the most trafficked author in my first year of writing, which I then negotiated into becoming the full-time editor. We built that blog to a pretty considerable size, and eventually, I was recruited into an unknown startup called Shopify (pre-IPO).

Within a few months of working on the core product's blog team, the CMO asked if I'd be interested in running the enterprise blog, where I had the unenviable task of:

1.) Distinguishing Shopify Plus from the rest of the enterprise ecommerce market, and 

2.) Distinguishing Shopify Plus from Shopify when there were very few differences in features

Fortunately, I was able to do both and helped see Shopify Plus to their first 1,500 customers. 

Eventually, I left Shopify Plus to work with Intuit where I went from running the U.S blog to running Global content spanning 16 markets with 45 contributors across multiple disciplines. This was an amazing learning experience where I learned how to build content operations that could scale quickly and efficiently. Sadly, Intuit eventually ended up laying off 7% of their entire business portfolio, of which I was one of 117. 

Shortly after the announcement, deciding I never wanted to be put in a position to be laid off again, I registered my business - The Content Studio, and in the past two years have had the pleasure of working with clients like GoDaddy, Twitch, and LinkedIn. 

In late 2021, The Content Studio also launched a web series called The Cutting Room, where we talk to industry-leading marketers about their content marketing philosophy, process, and pre-game before they edit an audience member's article live on the stream.

Q2) What is a lesson from The Cutting Room which is relevant in 2023 as AI tools see increased adoption?

The biggest thing my guests and I have talked about is differentiation. Having a point of view and taking a stance on whatever industry it is you're in. 

A.I. has been an excellent research tool, and works well to provide inspiration and help position your thoughts, however the idea itself has to be born of market research and tap into some kind of desire, which can only be done by a person. 

We've heard people recommend using A.I tools for tasks like generating headline ideas and recommended semantically related keyword clusters, which have genuinely been great use cases. 

For my part, I've been experimenting with improving the specificity of my prompts to give the A.I a far clearer direction, which has, in turn, has helped me to give better feedback to the people I collaborate with the most.

Deya Aliaga Kuhnle

1. How did you get started with freelancing? What role did your internships and uni days play in that?

Never in a million years did I think I would be freelancing or end up owning my own business.

I was raised to follow a very step-by-step path: study hard, get straight A’s, get into a good college, do a few prestigious internships, get an entry level job and climb the corporate ladder for 40 years. So after graduating from university, I started a 6-month internship at a large consulting company where I was working more than 40 hours a week earning minimum wage.

That was honestly the first time I ever confronted the concept of: “THIS is what I am supposed to do for the next 40 years?” 

I couldn’t make peace with it.

This brief glance into my corporate future forced me to re-evaluate a lot of things about my life. Out of pure desperation for an alternative (ANY alternative), I began freelancing in the evenings for $10/hr.

I offered absolutely everything as a freelancer because I had no clue what I was doing. I offered voice overs, admin work, design, copywriting, editing, translations, and a few other things when I first began. 

All of those eventually led me to become a freelance Digital Business Manager — which was the career that stuck. :)

2. You've been in key decision-making roles as a freelancer as compared to, let's say, writing a blog for a company as a freelance writer. What's a day-to-day takeaway you have from having those roles?

So many takeaways! Though I will say that in working alongside CEOs: A CEO’s favorite freelancer is the freelancer who asks themselves: “How can I make things easier for my client?”

For example:

• If you need a client to review something, include the link and specifics on what you need feedback on to move forward.

• If you need a decision from your client, present them with researched options instead of just handing them your problem.

• If you don’t know something, google it first. Double check the team google drive, search through your slack history, search through the project management tool. Try your best to figure it out first. 

• If your client seems stuck on something, offer up ideas or advice you have on the topic. You have a unique perspective on their business; most business owners would be delighted to hear your strategic feedback.

From the client’s perspective, they have a million things on their to-do list, a packed calendar and everyone (internal team members & external clients/customers) is constantly adding more problems and questions onto their plate. Do your best not to be one of those people, and you’ll be their favorite person on the team. When the CEO and I decide who to re-hire for a job, who to pay more $ to, or who to refer to others, it’s always the freelancers that make working with them a breeze.

And I know it’s easy as a freelancer to say, “that’s not really within my job description,” or “that’s out of scope,” and that’s totally within your right to say and think. But if your goal is to be indispensable, to be promoted, to increase your rates, to be referred out, to become the industry go-to — this is the easiest way to get there.