If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say, “content is weird right now…”
It's true. Content IS weird, and it's not going to unWEIRD itself.
Here are my thoughts on why it’s so bonkers and the way forward.
The Why:
1/ 🤖 AI (duh)
If your content is thin, surface-level, and built on copying other work, AI is replacing your content teams.
AI is good at anything predictive. It can scrape what exists. It can define. It can summarize. It reads really fast.
AI has already replaced bad writers….with more bad writing.
But this strategy isn’t sustainable and will lead to a HUGE crash and burn.
If you’re allowing bland machines to say what everyone else is saying, your brand identity is a mix of nothing and blah.
2/ ✅ The search roller coaster
Google has been all over the place: AI overviews. No overviews. Paid listings smack dab in the middle of organic listings. Endless scroll. Back to page scroll. Google telling lies to the DOJ. API leaks.
Good gravy.
It’s a wild ride, and anyone who says it’s not challenging to keep up is lying.
What’s more, search has changed.
What influences search has changed.
Where & how people start searches has changed.
Search has hundreds of different touchpoints now.
And that means the old content playbooks are largely irrelevant. And, as much as we want to wish that old strategies will just somehow start working again, it’s not gonna.
3/💰 VC money
The same money that was floating around a few short years ago isn’t there anymore.
People are being more careful with content budgets. I’m sure there is data around this.
4/ Tech and journalism layoffs
This is a symptom of recent changes.
But it’s thrusting us into one of those weird loops where people can’t decide if they want an in-house team, a new content team, an agency, or freelancers.
Instead of starting with the root of the problem (i.e., how do we pivot in the face of all these changes in a way that’s creative and rooted in understanding the audience so we can deliver highly relevant and meaningful stories), there’s a lot of panic firing and hiring happening.
💎 The way forward? 💎
1/ Let go
What. Used. To. Work. Won’t. Anymore. Let. Go. Of. The. Sinking. Ship. Don’t. Waste. One. More. Penny. Of. Your. Budget.
2/ Be patient
No content team can wrap their minds around these changes in 5 seconds.
Stop making drastic and expensive changes. Let your content teams research, create, innovate, and iterate.
3/ Capture data
Talk to your customers. Watch your dashboards. Adopt tools that tell you about your audience. Talk to marketers.
4/ Embrace AI and reject AI
Let AI do mundane defining. Let it read articles for you. Let it summarize your transcripts. Let it finish thoughts that you can’t quite seem to get out.
Don’t let it create for you.
5/ Innovate & create
Cater to Google still, yes. Double duh.
But also:
Be daring. Bold. Make something weird. Make something funny.
There is so much content fatigue. If you want your audience to care–connect, inform, educate, shock, entertain.
Tell stories that matter to you.
Tell stories that matter to your audience.
Thank you,
Ashley R. Cummings
I've been building an agency behind your back!
The day is here! I've been secretly building a content marketing agency behind your back.
And, I'd love your help spreading the word. If you know anyone interested in boutique content marketing services from a team of creative, innovative marketers (who also love data), I'd appreciate a referral.
Welcome to your life, Searchlight Content!
(Technically, this has been my LLC for 14 years, but...)
Expert Interview | Juliana Casale
1/ Tell me more about yourself and your career journey.
Basically, I’ve lived 9 lives.
Through it all I learned the lesson that a stable paycheck is an illusion, and that you only own what you build for yourself. So in 2023 I took one of my favorite things (sparkling water) and launched a brand around it, called Balloon.
I used everything I had learned about marketing to create a website, a newsletter, social media channels, a tone of voice and a vibe via graphic design and product photography.
And I’ve been using my copywriting skills to bring in some freelancing money to fund the business.
I’m currently putting my toe in the water with popup markets and selling on Amazon; paid ads are next :).
2/ What advice would you give to a marketer looking to build a new venture?
To be successful you have to be super passionate about what you’re building. You’ll need a lot of self-motivation to overcome roadblocks, and the ability to network to find the right support system. You’ll have to be okay with “no’s” and excel at the follow-through.
Creativity is key in the early days, particularly if you’re bootstrapped and don’t have much seed money.
The biggest piece of advice I can give, though, is just get started. Taking the first step is often the hardest part (whether that’s announcing your intentions, incorporating your business or buying a domain).
The more steps you take, the more the momentum will carry you - until you’re looking back on all that you’ve done and marveling at how far you’ve come.
You’ve got this!
Life In A Backpack
I also write a more candid newsletter about life as a digital nomad.
It resonates with a lot of freelancers and content marketers.
If that's your jam, feel free to check it out.