Every Friday we share one non-obvious insight from your favorite creators in our newsletter.
July 1, 2022

The High EQ Marketer: Every Marketer Needs Great Content, with Melissa Zehner

In this cross-over episode, we're sharing an episode from The High EQ Marketer. This show is produced by Sweet Fish Media.
What is the real value of great content? In this episode, John Busby is joined by Melissa Zehner to explore this question. She’s...

The player is loading ...
B2B Growth
In this cross-over episode, we're sharing an episode from The High EQ Marketer. This show is produced by Sweet Fish Media.
What is the real value of great content? In this episode, John Busby is joined by Melissa Zehner to explore this question. She’s been a freelancer, copywriter, editor, and now Director of Content at Foundation. You'll learn:
How brands should hire writers
What makes a great writer for B2B Content
How to build a content marketing strategy
The notion of “Writing for Google”
Best practices for your content



Connect with John Busby:Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnMBusby
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmbusby/

Follow The High EQ Marketer:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HighEQMarketer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HighEQMarketer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/the-high-eq-marketer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/higheqmarketer/

Learn more about Centerfield:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CenterfieldHQ/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CenterfieldHq
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/centerfield-media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerfieldhq/



The High EQ Marketer website:
Centerfield Podcast page: https://www.centerfield.com/podcast/
Podcast Episode Pages: https://www.centerfield.com/centerfieldpodcast/
Transcript
WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:12.880 Conversations from the front lines of marketing. This is B two B growth. 2 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:20.199 Hey, friends, welcome in today I'm thrilled to feature an episode from one 3 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:25.120 of our clients and the show is called the High Eq marketer and John Busby, 4 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:28.760 who is the host and his center field CMO. He's here with us. 5 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:32.359 John, glad to have you on B two B growth. Benji, 6 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:35.960 I'm glad to be here and I love that we're doing a crossover. You 7 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:39.799 know, when I was, when I was a youth, TV shows typically 8 00:00:39.799 --> 00:00:43.840 did crossovers. The fresh prince of Bel Air would do a crossover with the 9 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:48.799 Jeffersons. You know, George Clooney would show up on friends. So so 10 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:53.960 I'm all about this and those are always the best episodes. So, listeners, 11 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:57.640 you are in for a treat, because I just remember like that. 12 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:00.759 You would always look forward to it, and that's I mean got you right. 13 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.960 They got you at a crossover episodes. Okay, so John, you're 14 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:07.840 here because before we go to the featured conversation, I wanted to get a 15 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:11.280 quick like premise description and give some understanding to our listeners. So tell me 16 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:17.280 a little bit about your your show, the High Eq marketer. I'm a 17 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:21.959 CMO, I I'm always learning. I feel like I need to constantly hone 18 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:26.359 and learn my craft and I feel like throughout the course of my career I've 19 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:30.159 learned from talking to other marketers, not necessarily in my industry, and also 20 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:36.840 talking to specialists, whether they're an S C O specialist or content marketing specialist 21 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:41.040 or or branding specialist or come from an agency background, and so I wanted 22 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:47.040 to have a podcast where I could learn from talking to experts across marketing. 23 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:51.560 And it's called the High Eq marketer because there are these trends that I've been 24 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:56.280 seeing really that have accelerated over the pandemic that I wanted to talk about. 25 00:01:56.760 --> 00:02:02.040 One is the importance of making in a sational connection that's inside your organization, 26 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:07.480 with your marketing team outside the organization, to the folks that you're selling to. 27 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:10.439 That's one. Second, I think that everything that you do in an 28 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:16.479 organization comes down to marketing and is a representation of your brand. And then, 29 00:02:16.520 --> 00:02:22.560 third, I feel like marketing has become hyper specialized in all these different 30 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:27.879 ways and I want to learn about those specializations in this podcast. So that's 31 00:02:28.199 --> 00:02:30.840 that's the premise and I'm really enjoying doing it so far. I appreciate the 32 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:36.960 unique nature of wanting to look intentionally outside of just you could go. We 33 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:38.759 wanna Talk Marketing in, you know, more B Two b space, but 34 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:45.240 like looking intentionally outside of just that at other leaders and other industries. I 35 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:49.400 think that it's always a great way to learn and and potentially pivot things that 36 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:53.599 you're doing, uh, to try something new. I wonder, now that 37 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:57.719 you've been doing this for a bit, what are some of the episodes that 38 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:02.800 you really enjoy? Maybe upcoming episodes that people could get excited about? I've 39 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:07.759 had some really great episodes so far. I've talked to marketers and fields as 40 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:13.680 diverse as restaurants and cloud software and subscription based coffee. It's round the gamut. 41 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:19.120 But the ones coming up I am stoked for. I am interviewing the 42 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:23.599 CO inventor of Siri in a couple of weeks and and he he's going to 43 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:28.319 tell the story about marketing and creating Syria and also what it was like to 44 00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:31.400 work with Steve Jobs. He's got some personal stories there. That's gonna be 45 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:36.919 really cool. And then the episode that's dropping next week. I'm not sure 46 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:40.520 when this episode is going to come out is a conversation with the former chief 47 00:03:40.560 --> 00:03:46.120 marketing officer of Nike, and there's so many cool things about that episode, 48 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:50.960 things that he learned from Lebron James, which is really cool, and then 49 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:54.840 also that his path to CMO was non traditional. He started out at Nike 50 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:00.360 as a design intern. So, uh, those two episodes I'm really pumped 51 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:05.240 about. Well, that that gives some great context and I think I got 52 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:09.800 to tune into the Nike episode because I got to say I'm not the biggest 53 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.840 Lebron James Fan, but it's still intriguing and I love Nike and I was 54 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:17.560 wearing wearing my nikes today. So all right, tell us what episode you 55 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:24.360 chose to to bring to us today and maybe the why behind it. The 56 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:29.399 episode that I chose today as a conversation I had with Melissa Zaner. She 57 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:35.800 is the head of content for an agency called foundation, and so she was 58 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:41.160 she and I have a really in depth conversation about content marketing, how to 59 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:44.360 do it, how to hire writers, how to how to think about a 60 00:04:44.480 --> 00:04:48.560 content strategy and if you're in in B two B or you're really in any 61 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:54.079 industry, how you communicate to your audience with contents one of the most important 62 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:57.399 things that you can do. So that's why I chose that one. And 63 00:04:57.480 --> 00:04:59.680 she's an expert. So I think if you listen you learn a lot. 64 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:05.439 Well, I appreciate you stopping by, John, and excited for this episode. 65 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:10.639 Hey, if you're listening and you're interested in starting a podcast for your 66 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:15.600 business, you can go to sweet fish media dot com and feel free. 67 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:18.279 We have tons of free resources and then you can always reach out and and 68 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:25.720 now it's time to jump into today's episode from the High Eq Marketer. John, 69 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:32.040 thanks for being here and listeners enjoy. Thank you, Benji. Welcome 70 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:35.759 to the high eq marketer. I'm John Buzzby. This show is about learning 71 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:39.639 from the best and most interesting marketers in the world, which are, not 72 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:44.560 a coincidence, highly emotionally intelligent. If you'd like inspiration, lessons, war 73 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:48.079 stories, from startups or Fortuneies, that's why we're here. So let's go. 74 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:54.759 Hi, Melissa, how are you? I'm well today. How are 75 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:58.720 you, John? I'm doing I'm doing great. Um, so we're not 76 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:02.360 here to talk about about voting, but in the coding world there's this holy 77 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:06.639 war around tabs versus spaces. I don't know if you've seen the episode in 78 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.600 of Silicon Valley that really really makes fun of that. Um, in the 79 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:19.120 editorial world, where do you stand on one space or two spaces between sentences, 80 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:24.399 and are there any kind of editorial pet peeves or hills that you die 81 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:29.680 on? It has to be one space after a period. I am probably 82 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.120 in that camp. That is a hill I will die on. The two 83 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:39.680 spaces after a period was something that was came about during the days when we 84 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:45.360 were all using typewriters. Now that we have moved to a completely different machine, 85 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:48.600 it's no longer necessary. So firmly in the one space after a period 86 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:53.199 camp. And I'm going to add another hill that I will also die on, 87 00:06:53.319 --> 00:06:58.759 which is Oxford Comma or death. Okay, right on. Well, 88 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:02.720 uh, I I didn't start learning to type on a typewriter, but but 89 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:08.959 I will say that that whenever I started, I was either told to do 90 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:13.439 to spaces or whatever, and I have a really hard time stopping, stopping, 91 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:16.879 so I have to set up my my like a word auto correct thing 92 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:23.279 to uh, to stop myself. Um, Melissa, you your your background, 93 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:27.759 you you've done everything in terms of content. You've been a writer, 94 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:30.399 editor. Now you're a leader, and I know we're going to get deep 95 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:35.600 into content marketing strategies, but if you were to pick one adjective, I 96 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:39.199 feel like a lot of my questions are going to be grammar related today. 97 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:45.240 You could if if there's one adjective you would pick to describe the best content 98 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:51.079 marketing strategies, what what would it be? And why deliberate? I think 99 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:59.079 many organizations treat content as an afterthought. There's a go to market strategy, 100 00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:05.199 a really wrong paid program and oftentimes people create content and then say, okay, 101 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:09.600 how do we fit this into what's already going on? Right, Um, 102 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:13.720 and it's never going to generate the same level of quality results that it 103 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:18.279 would if it was integrated from the beginning. So I think just starting there 104 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:24.399 from the beginning and including content from the get go is going to naturally give 105 00:08:24.439 --> 00:08:28.360 you a much stronger strategy. Right, don't create it as an afterthought. 106 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:33.559 Along the same lines, content strategy, just like any other marketing channel strategy, 107 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:39.000 needs to directly align with and support the broader marketing organization's goals. Right. 108 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:45.480 So I also think it's important to start there and reverse engineer content that's 109 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:48.440 going to help you meet those goals. Versus, once again, just creating 110 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:50.960 something and saying great, how do we fit this in? Where does it 111 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:54.559 go? So that makes a lot of sense to me. What what are 112 00:08:54.639 --> 00:09:00.399 the are the building blocks of a content marketing strategy? Like, like, 113 00:09:01.159 --> 00:09:05.240 Um, you're you're meeting with a client for the first time. You're thinking 114 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:07.799 about it for your own brand. You're going to execute a content marketing strategy. 115 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:13.000 Like what? What kind of planning needs to be done in advance? 116 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:16.679 If you if you kind of know what I mean? Yeah, first and 117 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:20.320 foremost, audience research. Who are you talking to? What makes them tick? 118 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:24.279 What gets them excited, what frustrates them? What problems can you solve 119 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:30.039 for them? Understanding your audience and your ideal customer is always going to be 120 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:33.960 key, right, because the whole point of content, if it's performing well, 121 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:37.720 is getting that engagement, and you can engage someone if you don't know 122 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:41.080 what they're all about, right. So that's always the first place to start. 123 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:46.639 I think research is always really crucial. A lot of people aren't doing 124 00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:50.320 research. They're just spinning out content to check the box, right, taking 125 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:52.799 the time to see what competitors are doing or not doing? What people are 126 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:58.639 searching for, what they're complaining about is great. Um, that helps you 127 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:03.279 figure out every piece of content that you need to be creating, whether it's 128 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:05.960 a blog post and email, even a tweet. Right. That's how you 129 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:11.440 really start getting people interested and having a conversation with you, versus you just 130 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:18.879 sort of speaking to them. How that you talked about some some parts of 131 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:24.480 the research where you're looking at what people are searching for Google and what competitors 132 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:31.360 are doing. Do you think at all about trying to like create an emotional 133 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:33.399 connection? And I think, I think we listen, we're gonna talk a 134 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:37.480 lot about B two B content. Um, is it weird to think of 135 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:41.840 that for a b two be audience like an emotional connection, because we're like 136 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:46.159 here to talk business or you know what I mean? I know what you 137 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:48.840 mean, and the answer is not at all. Even in B two B, 138 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:52.840 we're still talking to people, right, a business is just a bunch 139 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:58.440 of people with a common goal. It's still a person that is the decision 140 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:03.720 maker. It's a person that is deciding to buy, click, subscribe, 141 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:09.559 whatever that action is that they're taking, right. And so there's this misconception 142 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:13.840 and B two B that everyone needs to be very professional and very stuffy and 143 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:18.600 very conservative because we have this view in our heads that that's what the business 144 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:22.320 world is like, and there are segments of the business world that are like 145 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:26.600 that, sure, but we're all still people, right, and so being 146 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:30.840 able to create an authentic human experience is going to take you much further with 147 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:35.519 your content than anything that seems as professional as possible, right, Um, 148 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:41.039 just like B two C, if you can engage people on an emotional level, 149 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:45.399 you're going to have their attention. Yeah, I can see that, 150 00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:50.759 Um, is so I wanted to dive a little bit deeper into the notion 151 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:58.159 of being stuffy. Like I really enjoy reading things that feel conversational to me. 152 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:03.120 I mean Malcolm Gladwell, what he writes just like everything rolls off his 153 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:07.559 tongue or his pen like perfectly. It just just it just feels so right 154 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:11.320 to read, at least at least to me. But sometimes I read, 155 00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:18.159 I read B Two b content and the tone and style is trying to Communic, 156 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:22.000 communicate to me like on a on a personal conversational level, but doesn't 157 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:28.159 really feel authentic. So, Um, how how do you think about that? 158 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:33.519 That level of authenticity, tone, style, how does how does the 159 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:37.159 brand figure that out. I think you have to start with your audience. 160 00:12:37.559 --> 00:12:43.759 We talked a little bit earlier about understanding them right. What makes them tick? 161 00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:46.759 What are they frustrated by? Where are they hanging out online? The 162 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:54.360 other thing that's really easy to Glean from that research upfront is how they're talking, 163 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:00.399 and if you can replicate that and talk to them in a way that 164 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:03.720 they're comfortable with, then you're going to stand a better chance of creating engaging 165 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.320 content or content that they're going to notice. Right. So if your audience 166 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:13.600 is very casual, you probably need to be very casual. If your audience 167 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:18.799 is short on time and very efficient and sending five word tweets and that's how 168 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:22.120 they like to talk, that's how you should probably be talking as well. 169 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:26.000 So you know, Um, I majored in in social science and school. 170 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:30.039 So in social science they talk about this concept of mirroring, right. So 171 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:35.600 that's how we oftentimes make other people more comfortable. You're watching someone else talk 172 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:39.440 and you're nodding, you're saying, you're giving them that constant feedback, right. 173 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:43.480 So you can take this concept of mirroring and apply it in content marketing 174 00:13:43.879 --> 00:13:48.440 and start mirroring your audience a little bit better so that they feel like your 175 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:52.200 brand is a really good fit and they feel comfortable having a conversation with you. 176 00:13:52.679 --> 00:13:58.320 Yeah, okay, I like that. So so we've we've gotten to 177 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:03.240 know our audience a little bit and we we have the background research and we've 178 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:09.519 developed this tone, tone and style for for, let's say, a typical 179 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:13.080 client of yours. May maybe there's no such thing as a typical client, 180 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:18.000 but how do you break down the types of content, the types of content 181 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:22.080 you need? Like, imagine you're in, Um, a kickoff meeting or 182 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:26.159 brainstorm meeting with someone, someone new, a new client or or someone on 183 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:30.799 your team that you're mentoring. What are the elements of a content marketing strategy 184 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:35.320 at that point? It's going to vary based on what the rest of their 185 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:39.960 marketing strategy looks like. Right. So, for a company that is very 186 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:46.720 product led, the content may need to reflect that. So are we looking 187 00:14:46.840 --> 00:14:50.679 at features or solutions of the company offers that directly solve the problems that people 188 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:56.159 are having? Right, Um, think of comparison pages on a website or 189 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:03.480 a technical support page that would tell you exactly how to do something step by 190 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:07.120 step on a software as you're on boarding. So that's an option. Then 191 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:13.840 you have companies that are very focused on being a lifestyle brand. Think something 192 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:18.320 like Nike or Apple. Right, it becomes really integrated into almost every aspect 193 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:22.919 of someone's life. So then you're going to be producing pieces of content that 194 00:15:22.039 --> 00:15:26.679 are much more focused on that emotional element, making someone feel like they're part 195 00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:31.759 of a community, making them feel like you get them. Right. Um, 196 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:37.480 so I think again, it really depends on the larger strategy that's at 197 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:39.840 play there and how content marketing fits into it. It integrates with it really 198 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:43.240 well. So, unfortunately, like many things in marketing, the right answer 199 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:48.320 is it depends. Yes, because right there's no one right answer for every 200 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:52.879 client. You know, I built my career in content marketing and for a 201 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:56.360 long time focus really heavily on organic, but I often times have saddened meetings 202 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:02.279 with clients the past few years and listen to them talk and said, you 203 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:04.039 know, I don't think that organic is a really good starting place for you. 204 00:16:04.200 --> 00:16:07.759 Right, I think you should start with email marketing or I think you 205 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:11.080 should do some paid landing pages first and, you know, work your way 206 00:16:11.080 --> 00:16:15.399 into it. So if you're if you're being really thoughtful about your job, 207 00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:18.279 it's much more about what is a good fit for the client in that moment 208 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:25.320 versus just sort of pushing a model that you're used to onto them. Right. 209 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:30.919 Yeah, that that's true, Um. And you mentioned the term organic. 210 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:33.120 So I wanna, I want to kind of Um, click into that 211 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:37.759 a little bit. And you and I have have joked off camera about the 212 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:41.240 concept of writing for Google. You know, Google is going to be the 213 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:49.039 source of so much for any business and and there's almost like this this playbook, 214 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:55.399 if you will, for how how you how you write in the hopes 215 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:59.799 that Google will like what you say. But Google is a robot and you're 216 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:03.360 writing. You know, you know what I mean. So, UM, 217 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:10.640 Melissa, breakdown for me the how you should consider google as part of the 218 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:15.559 equation of content marketing. That's a great question. I actually had to correct 219 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:22.440 a writer this week who kept writing the phrase the Google Bot thinks, and 220 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:26.279 I kept, I kept commenting on this document saying does the Google but think 221 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:30.799 isn't thinking right now. But we we are so used to that, right, 222 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.720 and especially in content marketing, there is this idea of somehow having to 223 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:38.720 pray to the Google gods to get the results that you're looking for. Um, 224 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:41.400 you can't overlook S E O. I think if you're going to be 225 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:45.720 successful in content marketing from an organic standpoint, you absolutely still need to be 226 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:51.279 following seo best practices. Um. In my opinion, the people that say 227 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:55.640 just right, good content and it'll rank are being a little blase and possibly 228 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:59.880 a little naive about it. At this point in time, there are people 229 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.079 publishing millions of new pieces of content. What, what is it every minute? 230 00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:06.720 Um, that's a lot of competition that's out there in the world, 231 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:08.359 right. So you do have to be thoughtful about it. I don't how 232 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:14.160 or think you should write first and foremost for Google. I oftentimes advise writers 233 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:17.519 to think of it in terms of a check in process. So you want 234 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:22.079 to be very well versed in how the algorithm works, the factors that Google 235 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:26.960 uses to decide how it's going to rank a piece of content. Right, 236 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:29.839 what good page experience looks like, and you want to have that in the 237 00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:33.160 back of your head as you're creating a piece of copy. Right. And 238 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:36.519 there should be these moments in time where you stop and you do this little 239 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:40.759 check in. Right. We know that Google likes keywords and subheads. We 240 00:18:40.839 --> 00:18:45.400 know that Google likes you to present information in a question and answer format. 241 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:49.680 We know that Google likes you to break things up into bulleted lists or easier 242 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:55.480 to digest information. We know that Google really likes it if you have multimedia 243 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:59.119 that also corresponds with the topic you're talking about. So if you happen to 244 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:03.000 have a short video that ties in, embed that in the in the post, 245 00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:07.319 right, but it's it should be something that really is just sort of 246 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:10.319 there as an undertone in the back of your mind while you're creating a piece 247 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:14.400 of content and periodically do that check in and if you can ask yourself, 248 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:18.039 is what I'm doing right now hurting or helping? S C oh if you 249 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:21.640 say no, it's probably helping, then you're going the right direction. Right. 250 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:26.160 If you can ask yourself some of those questions and you know that you're 251 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:29.039 not doing any of those things as you're crafting the piece, then no, 252 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:33.000 it's probably not going to rank that well right. Yeah, I feel like 253 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:40.279 Um like writing, writing that really draws you in and captivates you, is 254 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:45.160 is a bit of a lost art. And and whereas in the old days 255 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:48.599 I have I have that in quotes. In the old days, like Um 256 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:52.039 like writing, in the use of words and and everything was maybe the most 257 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:57.400 important skill in marketing. Now, Um, getting to be UH CMO or 258 00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:04.680 advancing and marketing. Some folks might look at at analytics or paid search experience 259 00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:10.039 or whatever. Um, I want to ask you about that. But let 260 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:14.559 me actually want wind back for a second. How do you actually hire a 261 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:21.160 writer? Because I feel like I when I see see good writing, I 262 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:22.960 can I kind of know what it is, but I don't know if I 263 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:29.519 know how to interview for it. That's a wonderful question. I hire writers 264 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:33.440 very discerning Lee. First and foremost, I ask a lot of questions. 265 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:38.799 Um, you really have to get past the portfolio and into the character of 266 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:44.119 the person. So one of my favorite questions to ask is whether someone reads. 267 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.799 In my experience a lot of aspiring writers spend a lot of time cranking 268 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:53.759 out content, which is great. We all need a portfolio, we all 269 00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:57.920 need to practice the craft, but they're not actually reading Um, and so 270 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:03.440 there are things you can learn by reading someone else's work that you're not going 271 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:07.000 to learn by just writing right. And it doesn't have to be an industry 272 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:11.680 pub it doesn't even have to be a marketing book. I, having built 273 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:15.079 a career in content. Oftentimes in reading poetry or a novel and the author 274 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:18.559 has done something really clever and I have this moment where you step out of 275 00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:22.240 the story for a minute and say, Oh, I see what you did 276 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.680 there. That was really genius, right. Or someone uses a really a 277 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:29.920 really great turn of phrase that just captures a moment. You know. Um, 278 00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:33.119 I on a personal note, I love F Scott Fitzgerald because if you 279 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:36.680 read the Great Gatsby, there are parts where he describes those summer days so 280 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:41.359 well you can almost smell it. Right, Um, that that's the art, 281 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:47.680 that's the craft of writing. So someone who's actively reading is typically going 282 00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:52.319 to be a better writer. I also look for a level of curiosity. 283 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:57.400 Marketing is always changing, even if someone is just a copywriter. There are 284 00:21:57.440 --> 00:22:02.440 different clients, different in just trees. They're releasing different products. It's evolving 285 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:06.720 and so, uh, research and learning is a really integral part of the 286 00:22:06.759 --> 00:22:10.440 writing process. It's always going to be that way. So if someone isn't 287 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:15.119 curious and it doesn't naturally enjoy that learning process, they're probably not going to 288 00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:18.440 excel as a writer. Um, I think being able to detach from the 289 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:22.960 work is very important. Writing in a professional setting is hard. You're signing 290 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:29.599 up to get feedback all day every day, and there's writing for pleasure and 291 00:22:29.640 --> 00:22:33.400 writing for yourself and there's learning to write for your audience, which is not 292 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:37.880 about you, right, and so you have to detach yourself from that process 293 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:41.079 a little bit. And in a setting where you're writing for clients, you 294 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:45.000 also have to write for them and what's going to help them meet their goals. 295 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:48.839 So being able to remove the ego from that is going to produce a 296 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:52.240 better result. Right. Um, maybe you don't like it, maybe it's 297 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:56.359 not your personal style, but if it ties in perfectly with a client's brand 298 00:22:56.440 --> 00:23:00.480 and tone and voice and it's really on track to help them meet their goals, 299 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:03.880 that's a successful piece of content. Right. That's what we would call 300 00:23:03.920 --> 00:23:07.640 a great piece of content. Um. Final thing I think I would say 301 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:12.720 is someone who is well versed, or interested in being well versed in skills 302 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:18.160 that are complementary or adjacent to copyrighting. So someone who is learning about S 303 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:23.200 C o UX, reader, comprehension, branding, even if they're not actively 304 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:27.720 having to write about these things, it's going to give them a stronger understanding 305 00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:33.640 of what high caliber content looks like. I love that answer. I have 306 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:38.319 like a million follow ups. I was I was really wondering if you were 307 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:44.160 going to use the term curiosity, because I feel like in in B two 308 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:48.880 B in particular, like if you were going to write for for my company, 309 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:56.480 center field, there's there's a certain level of understanding of digital marketing or 310 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:00.480 or certain parts of technology. You kind of need to know that jargon and 311 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:04.400 how words are going are used in context about where the industry has come to 312 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:10.559 really connect with, Um, with the the audience. And Yeah, it 313 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:14.400 does make a lot of sense to me that someone who who would, even 314 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:19.039 if they're not passionate about marketing technology, appreciate the process of learning something new 315 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:25.279 and how to how to put it into words. Um, I wonder, 316 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:30.960 uh, this question kind of just came to me, but I wonder how, 317 00:24:30.039 --> 00:24:37.480 as a as a writer, full time writer, you recharge or take 318 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:41.519 breaks. I I know for me, whether I'm writing for myself or whether 319 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:47.880 I'm I'm writing something for other folks at center field or whatever, I write 320 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:52.200 for two hours, I am exhausted and uh, and maybe that's just me 321 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:56.680 and how I use my brain, brain in other ways. But Um, 322 00:24:56.680 --> 00:25:00.160 as a writer, how do you keep things going day in and day out. 323 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:07.240 It can be tough. I freelanced for quite a while before I got 324 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:11.920 my first full time copyrighting job and because I was freelancing, it was very 325 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.839 intermittent work right, which is easier to get through. And then suddenly I'm 326 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:19.359 sitting in an agency and I've got forty hours plus of writing to get through 327 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:25.359 every week, all day every day. And in that environment you don't have 328 00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:29.400 the luxury of having a writer's block and staring at that cursor for a while. 329 00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:33.119 You don't have the luxury of saying I'll walk the dog and I'll come 330 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:36.480 back to it later. There are these really stringent timelines and you just have 331 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:40.440 to get the work written right, Um, and you just have to squeeze 332 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:42.359 it out. Where does it come from? Um, I'm not sure I 333 00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:49.359 have a complete answer for you, but I will say for me, I 334 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:53.839 if I was feeling drained or burned out or like I was just tapped out 335 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:56.960 and didn't have any more creative ideas, that's when I would try to shift 336 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:03.759 gears and move into research mode for one UM. That's when you take a 337 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:10.000 break right, start looking up stats and data, start reading up on this 338 00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:11.759 topic, so you can become more of a subject matter expert? Can you 339 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:15.880 reach out to someone in the industry and schedule an interview and ask them a 340 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:19.200 few questions? And sometimes that conversation will give you a lot of ideas? 341 00:26:19.319 --> 00:26:23.000 Right? So you're still doing the work, but you're giving your brain a 342 00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:26.799 chance to sort of process, right. I think that's why writing is so 343 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:32.359 exhausting, because you're taking a specific topic and you're trying to distill it from 344 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:34.799 every possible angle. Right, have I answered all of the right questions? 345 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:37.960 Have I covered it in a way that makes sense? Am I also sounding 346 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:41.079 really smart while I'm saying it? Because that's just a natural human concern, 347 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:45.319 right, you know. And then you're also thinking about s e o and 348 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.559 reader comprehension and all of these other things. You have a deep thought in 349 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:51.880 the middle of it where you're wondering if your editor is going to hate that 350 00:26:51.920 --> 00:26:55.039 line or not. Right, and that's why it's so exhausting, is because 351 00:26:55.039 --> 00:26:57.160 your brain is on overdrive, and so sometimes I feel like you need to 352 00:26:57.160 --> 00:27:00.759 give your brain a little time to sort of pross us all of that and 353 00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:03.759 catch up and make sense of it. Right, Um, think of it 354 00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:06.680 like sleeping like we go to bed every night and while we're doing that, 355 00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:10.480 that's when our brain organizes everything we learned that day and that's when it puts 356 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:14.920 memories into different files. Right. Um, that's that's when it actually updates 357 00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:18.240 your memory, your muscle memory, about different skills. So it's kind of 358 00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:21.279 the same thing for a writer, like you're going to go through different phases 359 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:25.039 and you're going to feel different ways. You cannot just be writing nonstop, 360 00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:27.279 forty hours a week. I don't know anyone who can successfully do it. 361 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:32.359 There's naturally going to be an Evan flow. I will say, however, 362 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:36.240 there's a caveat that I want to add in. There are a lot of 363 00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:40.440 people that complain that they're not successful in copyrighting, but they're the same people 364 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:44.160 that say I had writer's block, I need an extension, I didn't hit 365 00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:47.640 the deadline, I just wasn't inspired by this topic. I've had writers tell 366 00:27:47.680 --> 00:27:51.000 me they didn't want work because they didn't think the topic was fun. If 367 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:55.000 you're trying to build your career as a copywriter, you also have to treat 368 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:56.400 it like a job, right, and you have to hit that deadline. 369 00:27:56.799 --> 00:28:00.880 Um, there was this quote that is really famous back in the day, 370 00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:08.440 also in quotations, someone asked Somerset mom how he managed to never get writer's 371 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:12.119 block and he said I'm lucky the mews, the mew shows up every morning 372 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:17.480 at nine am, because when you're being paid for it and your rent depends 373 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:21.440 on it, right, it's a different level of inspiration and motivation. That's 374 00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:26.119 funny. Yeah, so, Melissa, your story is really, really interesting. 375 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:29.519 Um, start, you mentioned starting as a freelancer. Now you're you're 376 00:28:29.640 --> 00:28:33.480 leading a team, you're leading a company effort Um. I'd love, I'd 377 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:37.559 love for you to share your story, but then also ask answer the question 378 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:44.880 or or or talk about what are the natural ways to advance as a writer, 379 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:52.359 whether it's into other parts of marketing or becoming a marketing leader. One 380 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:56.839 I think you have to know what's possible. I see a lot of conversation 381 00:28:56.039 --> 00:29:00.480 on social media these days and I have a lot of writers reach out to 382 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:03.920 me who say it's impossible to be a six figure copywriter. You know, 383 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:08.200 you see all these success gurus on Linkedin, you know, and and everyone 384 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:11.599 thinks they're full of it, and I'm sure some of them are, I 385 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:15.400 have no doubt, Um, but it is possible. I know several six 386 00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:18.960 figure copywriters who are doing just that and they haven't even advanced, at least 387 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:23.319 title wise, at that marketing chain right. Um, they're excellent at what 388 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:26.559 they do. I talked about that curiosity. So if you're a writer, 389 00:29:27.400 --> 00:29:32.039 and especially if you want to succeed in the marketing world, you need to 390 00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:37.119 have that understanding. That is going to help you not only succeed in the 391 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:40.960 role that you're in, but in terms of being a member of a team, 392 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:44.799 in supporting the rest of the department, in your interactions even with other 393 00:29:44.880 --> 00:29:48.799 team embers. So understanding s e o is always going to help the content 394 00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:52.119 rank, but it's also going to help you have an effective conversation with your 395 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:57.000 seo manager right and get that guidance that you need. Understanding you x will 396 00:29:57.119 --> 00:30:00.480 help you know how to cap off in our ICAL maybe and suggest that someone 397 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:06.319 include a c t a right. Reader comprehension is crucial. There are a 398 00:30:06.359 --> 00:30:11.200 lot of people that are wonderful, wonderful writers, but they don't necessarily understand 399 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:17.000 the elements of how reader comprehension keeps someone engaged in a piece and how that 400 00:30:17.079 --> 00:30:21.079 level of stickiness can help, especially in a digital environment. So Um, 401 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:26.240 the I has a hard time reading uh Sarah Font versus a sand Sarah Font, 402 00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:30.240 anything that is actually too stark, black and white. The contrast exhaust 403 00:30:30.279 --> 00:30:33.559 the eye. Um, how many characters you have across and body copy? 404 00:30:33.640 --> 00:30:37.079 It shouldn't be more than seventy five if you're on desktop, most most websites 405 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:41.920 are gonna have nine. These are little things that, if you understand and 406 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:47.279 you can start weighing in on those conversations, are going to not only elevate 407 00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:51.319 how you're looking at the work but also how you're building relationships in the department. 408 00:30:51.400 --> 00:30:53.599 Right. Um, a lot of things that I learned were just because 409 00:30:53.640 --> 00:30:56.079 I was impatient. I was a copywriter. I was paid to sit in 410 00:30:56.119 --> 00:31:00.000 the corner righte copy, that's it, and sometimes I would go to a 411 00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:03.759 Dev and say, Hey, I've noticed X Y Z isn't working on this 412 00:31:03.799 --> 00:31:06.680 page. Can you fix it? And someone would say submit a ticket right. 413 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:08.799 Eventually you don't want to do that. So I just started figuring out 414 00:31:08.839 --> 00:31:12.839 myself. Great, I'M gonna look up html and I'm gonna start standing up 415 00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:15.799 on wordpress and I'm going to learn how to do these friend and changes myself, 416 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:18.480 and then I don't have to wait on Dev right. Um, it 417 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:22.119 was the same thing with S C oh. I didn't start out learning S 418 00:31:22.119 --> 00:31:25.839 C O, but I was writing and no one was reading my stuff and 419 00:31:25.920 --> 00:31:29.039 I really wanted my stuff to get written, so I started learning s e 420 00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:32.400 o so that more people would actually find and read the content. Right. 421 00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:36.400 So I think this, this curiosity, is key, Um, and I 422 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:38.599 think it will take you very, very far. I have sat in every 423 00:31:38.680 --> 00:31:44.000 position on a content marketing team. I was junior copywriter, than senior copywriter, 424 00:31:44.079 --> 00:31:47.920 than editor, than strategists, than manager, now director, right. 425 00:31:48.359 --> 00:31:49.759 Um. So it absolutely can be done. I want people to know that 426 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:55.279 it's possible, but you have to have the curiosity and the drive to be 427 00:31:55.319 --> 00:31:57.799 really smart about it, the same way that you would any other career. 428 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:01.519 Right, even a sales person doesn't just know sales. So if you're a 429 00:32:01.519 --> 00:32:06.640 copywriter, you can't just know copyrighting. You have to be really smart about 430 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:10.440 all of these other things you can learn that can complement your skills and elevate 431 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:15.759 the quality of the work that you're producing. Uh, that that's an amazing 432 00:32:15.799 --> 00:32:22.440 answer. and Um, the question I was going to ask, because sounding 433 00:32:22.759 --> 00:32:28.000 sounding really elementary right now, I was going to sort of break down content 434 00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:34.400 marketing into like these these metrics which which I had thought of as volume, 435 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:38.039 distribution and conversion, and then, Um, you're giving me like these PhD 436 00:32:38.200 --> 00:32:44.160 level, number number of characters on a on a desktop screen, and I'm 437 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:49.000 feeling like, I'm feeling like maybe I'm not knowing what some of the key 438 00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:54.119 metrics or KPI s are for Um, for content writing. Maybe you can 439 00:32:54.119 --> 00:32:58.920 break down to me how, how you how you approach looking at success, 440 00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:06.680 uh, for a content marketing execution? Well, there's always going to be 441 00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:13.359 the qualitative and the quantitative, right, so I want to highlight that quality 442 00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:19.519 is always key there. You have to have that piece first and foremost, 443 00:33:19.559 --> 00:33:23.359 which means you need to have a successful strategy. You have to be really 444 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:29.279 deliberate, deliberate about how you're approaching content. You need to have a talented 445 00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:32.920 copywriter. You probably need to have a talented designer as well, because we're 446 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:38.960 creating for a digital environment. Right. You are going to think of all 447 00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:43.039 of those things as the ingredients that are going to help you produce a really 448 00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:46.240 wonderful piece of content. Right. That's just the starting point, though. 449 00:33:46.680 --> 00:33:51.480 Once you're done with that piece of content, how are you distributing it? 450 00:33:52.039 --> 00:33:55.799 How is it part of a larger marketing strategy? Is it fitting within a 451 00:33:55.880 --> 00:34:00.920 funnel or a buyer's journey that's going to get someone from point A to B 452 00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:06.079 to see until they're ready to buy? How does it fit into the larger 453 00:34:06.119 --> 00:34:10.119 picture? Right? So that's really important as well. The metrics are also 454 00:34:10.199 --> 00:34:14.360 really important and something that I think more people need to pay attention to, 455 00:34:14.519 --> 00:34:20.280 especially in content marketing. Metrics are everywhere in a lot of other marketing channels 456 00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:25.079 and it's amazing how many places start off really strong with a pay program and 457 00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:29.679 then start doing content marketing but tell you that they don't have tracking an attribution 458 00:34:29.800 --> 00:34:34.039 in place for their content marketing program. I've been hearing that for ten years. 459 00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:37.840 Right. You can set up tracking an attribution for organic just like you 460 00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:40.400 can for paid, and you can know exactly how much revenue it's bringing in. 461 00:34:40.519 --> 00:34:44.840 So I think that's really important if we're talking in terms again of content 462 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:47.360 marketers that want to advance their careers, just like the pay team is doing. 463 00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:51.440 You need to be able to tie your work two leads in revenue, 464 00:34:51.519 --> 00:34:54.679 and when you can successfully do that you've proven your value. Right. So 465 00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:59.880 it's also really important to think about those logical next steps along the chain is 466 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:04.960 well, so that you are the full package. Right. That's a successful 467 00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:09.119 piece of content. It's something that's quality, it's thoughtful, someone enjoys reading 468 00:35:09.159 --> 00:35:14.000 it, but also it's getting you the results that are really going to make 469 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:17.079 a difference for your client or for your company. I don't know how articulate 470 00:35:17.119 --> 00:35:22.719 that was, very I circled around before I drove it home. You know 471 00:35:24.679 --> 00:35:28.880 so so, Melissa. Thanks, thank you. Thank you so much. 472 00:35:29.119 --> 00:35:34.000 My last question will be Um. If, if folks listening want to learn 473 00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:37.760 more about what foundation does or what you do, where should they go next? 474 00:35:39.039 --> 00:35:45.599 They can visit us at Foundation Inc DOT Co. Uh. Foundation also 475 00:35:45.719 --> 00:35:49.920 has a twitter handle which I believe is at Foundation Inc. I'll check on 476 00:35:49.960 --> 00:35:54.199 that later and double check. Our CEO, Ross, is also incredibly active 477 00:35:54.199 --> 00:36:00.360 on twitter and his twitter handle is the coolest cool which tells you they're what 478 00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:04.280 you're getting into once you get him a follow. Um and we do share 479 00:36:04.360 --> 00:36:08.440 a lot about every aspect of content marketing, both qualitative and quantitative. Um 480 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:12.880 and in my opinion we are doing some things that not any of the other 481 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:15.199 content marketing agencies are doing out there. So I definitely encourage people to check 482 00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:23.440 it out. Thanks so much. Thank you. Center field delivers outcome based 483 00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:30.760 marketing solutions and customer experiences that convert to many of the world's largest brands in 484 00:36:30.840 --> 00:36:35.840 home services, insurance, e commerce, business to business and more simply stated, 485 00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:38.000 if you'd like to get more customers out of your digital marketing, we 486 00:36:38.039 --> 00:36:40.960 believe we're the best and we'd love to meet and show you what we can 487 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:45.119 do. CHECK US OUT AT CENTER FIELD DOT COM. Slash podcast, and 488 00:36:45.159 --> 00:36:52.119 thanks for listening. You've been listening to the high eq marketer. Subscribe to 489 00:36:52.239 --> 00:36:57.039 US anywhere you listen to podcasts and if you enjoyed this episode, police drop 490 00:36:57.119 --> 00:37:00.800 US alike. Rate The show five stars. That's the I e Q thing 491 00:37:00.880 --> 00:37:07.639 to do. Thanks for listening. MHM.