Hi there!

With the summer solstice in the rearview mirror and fall conference season ahead of us, it’s a good time to review our content marketing performance to date.

In addition to reviewing the KPIs you outlined when you put your plan in place, I encourage you to ask yourself these questions:

1. What has been your biggest challenge in sticking to your content marketing plan for the year?
2. Where have you been spending the most time?
3. Have you had any unexpected successes that you could replicate in the second half of the year?
4. Do you need to sunset some strategies that were successful in the past but haven’t lived up to their potential this year?
5. If you could invest in one new tactic for the next quarter, what would it be?
6. Is there something you could stop doing that would allow you to try out that new tactic?
7. Of everything you’ve produced so far this year, what is the one thing you are most proud of?

When combined with a review of your content performance metrics, these seven questions can help you fine-tune your content strategy to ensure you “set the table” for a successful second half of the year.

P.S. Let’s go, Giants! They know all about pulling out all the stops in the second half...

Coming Up on #ContentChat

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

• ​TODAY, on #ContentChat, I’m joined by Margie Agin, founder and chief strategist of Centerboard Marketing, to share strategies for amplifying your customers’ voices through content marketing. We’ll explore how you can learn your customers’ voices, lead effective customer interviews, and write better customer case studies.
• ​Next Monday (July 1) on #ContentChat, our guest is Zontee Hou, author and managing director at Convince & Convert. She will share her advice on creating more personalized content marketing and preview insights from her new book, Data-Driven Personalization, as we explore how to deliver more targeted content without falling into the many potential customer privacy pitfalls.

Get Involved with #ContentChat

• Do you have questions you’d like us to answer during #ContentChat?
  ​Reply to this email or join us on Mondays to ask them live!
• #ContentChat is now on Meetup!
  ​Join our community Meetup page to connect, learn, and share best practices in content strategy, management, and marketing with fellow #ContentChat members.
• ​Want #ContentChat on your calendar?
  ​Use this link to follow our calendar so you never miss a chat.
• We're booking guests for H2 2024—send us your pitch!
  ​Are you a content marketing practitioner, author, or consultant interested in being a guest for an upcoming edition of #ContentChat? We’d love to hear your topic pitch via our Content Chat guest submission form​

THIS Thursday, 6/27, Join Me for Optimizely's Content and Beyond

Are you looking for expert tips to make your content strategy stand out in the second half of 2024? Register today​ for Optimizely’s free virtual event, where you will learn how to unify your content and web teams to create an exceptional customer experience with every visit.

Content Marketing + Related Jobs

​Content Marketing Manager, Alpaca.
Alpaca is a fintech startup offering an API-first stock and crypto platform for developers to build trading algorithms, applications, and brokerage services. The company is seeking a content marketing manager with a strong project management mindset to define and execute its developer-first content strategy. The role involves managing the growing contributor network and all brand social platforms. This role is remote.

​Content Marketing Manager, Talkdesk.
​Talkdesk is on a mission to rid the world of bad customer experiences by providing a cloud-native, generative-AI-powered CX platform. Its team is hiring a content marketing manager who will develop and execute a comprehensive content strategy and integrate AI-driven content creation tools where appropriate to help Talkdesk achieve its business goals. This role is remote.

​Strategic/Content Marketing Manager, Braintrust.
​Braintrust is a talent network that connects candidates with the world’s leading enterprises. The Braintrust team is looking for a strategic/content marketing manager to create its marketing, content, and lead generation strategy and oversee a team of employees and contractors to execute it. This role is remote.

​Senior Content Marketing Manager, DataRobot.
​DataRobot offers businesses one unified platform for generative and predictive AI, helping teams operate with confidence and govern with full visibility. Its team seeks a senior content marketing manager who will create content and manage a bench of writers to develop white papers, web content, articles, blog posts, video scripts, and more. This role is remote.

​Content Marketing Manager, Figma.
​Figma is a leading collaborative design and whiteboarding solution that aims to make design accessible to all. The company is seeking a content marketing manager to develop its content marketing foundation and drive the narrative themes for quarterly integrated demand generation campaigns. This role is based in San Francisco or NYC.

​Senior Content Manager, AI, BetterUp.
​BetterUp is a platform that combines coaching, science, and AI-fueled experiences to improve workplace performance. The organization is hiring a senior content manager to oversee its AI content ecosystem and help the team scale its content creation abilities. The individual will create and refine processes to improve the quality and scalability of content personalization efforts and maintain a content roadmap and taxonomy to power the company’s digital experiences. This role is remote.

​Senior Manager of Content Strategy and Operations, Commvault.
​Commvault is a public company that provides cybersecurity solutions that help customers uncover, take action, and rapidly recover from cyberattacks. The company is hiring a senior manager of content strategy and operations who will be responsible for content strategy development, content planning and scheduling, performance analysis, and more. This role is remote.

​Content Editor, Compound Content Studio.
​Compound Content Studio is an agency that builds social-led content engines for B2B SaaS companies. The team is seeking a content editor to support its client content creation, with a focus on written LinkedIn and newsletter content for SaaS founders. This role is remote.

Send Us Your Content Jobs!

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

ICYMI

​How To Market Your Marketing To Marketers [New Research].
​Marketers can be one of the most demanding audiences to market to. We have strong feelings about how others should do their marketing, and we’re quick to judge outreach that feels off-base, impersonal, or eerily invasive. So, how can marketers market to marketers? New research from CMI breaks down the top content types marketers use while researching tools, technologies, or services, plus insights on what they expect from webinars.

​How Content Marketers Can Create More Engaging Email Content.
​Email is a compelling channel for delivering personalized content, but organizations stumble in a few common areas. In this #ContentChat recap, Julie Revelant joined me to explain how brands can send better content-centric emails, including our advice for engaging readers and boosting click-throughs.

​#BrandCraft: A Podcast Transformation Success Story.
​Our friend and longtime community member Anh Nguyen hosted the first episode of #BrandCraft, her new livestream spotlighting marketing teams achieving considerable success without a big budget. Listen to the episode here, where she joins Rachel Moore to explain how Rachel revived a brand’s podcast and increased daily downloads by 300%.

​How to Use Visual Storytelling in Marketing to Gain Customers.
​Many marketing teams don’t have a dedicated design resource. The resulting lack of visuals can significantly limit the potential impact of their content. Consciously designed images can take readers on a journey and engage them emotionally to deepen their connection with your brand. If you’re interested in learning how to do this well, this MarketingProfs article explains how to find visual storytelling opportunities for your content.

Until next time, stay safe and be well!

Cheers,

Erika

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