Why It's Time for Some Friendly Coopetition

I'm working on some juicy research for a client right now, and I can't wait to get the survey into the market.

We've made sure to identify some of the key statistics we wished we had for our content marketing (and product marketing) efforts, and are asking them alongside others that provide valuable context.

But, unfortunately, we're going it alone with the research despite having reached out to a few content marketers with overlapping, but non-competing focus areas.

While one of the marketers responded with interest (but never, ultimately, got back to me on working together), the rest didn't reply. Not even those I'd worked with previously!

Now, if my pitch had been "Hey, want to partner with us and share the costs of doing the research?" I'd have understood getting the silent treatment. After all, there are some marketing teams being asked to scale back in Q4 and they simply don't have any budget.

But we weren't looking for someone to foot the bill.

We just wanted a partner in developing the questions, and getting the word out to potential survey respondents and sharing the results.

You see, I'm a firm believer that content marketing activities like these are better when done together. Look no further than the ongoing MarketingProfs and Content Marketing Institute partnership for their annual content marketing research. As soon as I hit send on this email, I'm going to go take a peek at the latest publication—their 14th annual B2B content marketing trends research.

Clearly, either organization could set up its own research project. But there is so much more influence—and reach—by collaborating on the research, and issuing the ensuing reports together.

Collaboration has been on my mind and a topic of my conversations a lot this year, from Tilt Publishing 's CEX in the Spring through the MarketingProfs B2B forum conference earlier this month.

Right now, I'm planning something fun and inspiring with Bernie Borges for January, and an ongoing collaboration with Pamela Muldoon and Carmen Hill that I can't wait to tell you about soon. While I've been a content creator my whole life, and don't anticipate stopping any time soon, I also know that my work—and my writing—is better in collaboration with another content pro.

There's just something about having that sounding board, that person who gets you and your shared audience, that pushes you to have those flashes of insight and come up with those "OMG how smart!" ideas.

If you haven't had one of those moments yet yourself, you don't have to just take my word for it. At noon Pacific today (3 p.m. Eastern), I'm getting to chat with Lee Odden on LinkedIn about soon-to-be-released research from TopRank Marketing on B2B influencer marketing. It's one of the original ways content marketers have worked collaboration into their content marketing strategy.

But even if you can't join the conversation today, I hope you'll consider how you can bring a little friendly coopetition into your content marketing program for 2024. It's a great way to better serve the community you are building for your brand and to stand out from the flood of generic AI content creation your less inspired competitors are planning.

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. Be sure to mark your calendar to join the #ContentChat community and me for these upcoming guests:

• TODAY on #ContentChat, we’ll talk with Lee Odden to explore new B2B influencer marketing research from TopRank Marketing. Tune in live to our video chat as we discuss how working with your industry's influencers elevates your B2B marketing, and how brands can best find and engage influencers for content collaboration.
• Next Monday (Nov. 6) on #ContentChat, ? Kyle Akerman will take the hot seat to discuss all things Google Analytics (GA)! We’ll discuss what’s changed with GA4, how marketers can use GA to identify content opportunities, and more. If you have questions about GA, reply to this post so Kyle can answer them during the chat.

Get Involved with #ContentChat

Want #ContentChat on your calendar? Use this link to follow our calendar, so you never miss a chat.

We're booking guests for November and beyond—send us your pitch! Are you a content marketing practitioner or consultant who is interested in being a guest for an upcoming edition of #ContentChat? We’d love to see your topic pitch via our Content Chat guest submission form.

Content Marketing + Related Jobs

Senior Content Marketing Manager, Ogury. Ogury provides a personified advertising solution that helps brands find new audiences and approach them with personalized ads and offers. The brand is seeking a senior content marketing manager to establish its annual content strategy and measure its success. This includes creating thought leadership content across customer touchpoints and staying up-to-date on trends in the AdTech industry.

Director of Content Marketing, Jobot. Jobot is an AI-powered job search tool with a proprietary recruiting platform that expedites the hiring process. Its team is hiring a director of content marketing based in Utah to support lead generation, audience engagement, customer retention, and brand awareness.

Senior Content Marketing Manager, HR, Rippling. Rippling offers a workforce system for businesses to run HR, IT, and finance, and the company has raised $1.2B in funding. The Rippling team is hiring a senior content marketing manager to own the content marketing strategy to engage, convert, and retain HR audiences. Please note the position is located in San Francisco.

Team Lead, Mindbody. Mindbody, an all-in-one technology platform, works with ClassPass to partner with more than 70,000 fitness studios, gyms, salons, and spas to help them connect with their customers. The company is looking for a marketing content team lead to manage its content team and develop the editorial roadmap for Mindbody & ClassPass. The role includes coming up with new content series ideas and editorial features to move the business forward.

Senior Manager, Content Marketing, DataDome. DataDome’s bot and online fraud protection solutions detect and mitigate bot attacks (it blocked 250B+ attacks last year alone!). The brand needs a senior manager of content marketing to create content across all business units, from PR to product and everything in between. The position is remote, hybrid, and in-office eligible!

Content Writer, Tackle.io. Tackle helps software companies identify the right buyers, grow cloud co-sell relationships, and manage transactions through AWS, Google, Cloud, Microsoft, and Red Hat. The company is hiring a content writer to create a variety of short- and long-form content, spanning case studies and testimonials, customer emails, press releases, and more to support the buyer’s journey and build brand awareness.

Are you hiring? We can help!

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.

ICYMI

LAST CALL: 2024 Creator Economy Expo (CEX) Speaker Submission. The CEX 2024 call for speakers closes tomorrow! This is one of the best content creator industry conferences—and hosted by “The Godfather of Content Marketing” Joe Pulizzi and his team. If you want to teach other content creators how to build better business models and innovative ways to grow their audience, don’t miss your chance to apply to speak! I've already registered and booked my hotel and can't wait to see you there.

In-Ear Insights: CMO Survey, AI, and 2024 Marketing Budgets. To put it lightly, it’s been a turbulent three years for marketers, with many of us experiencing layoffs and budget cuts. So what can we do to stay competitive and do more with fewer resources? This episode of In-Ear Insights from the Trust Insights team digs into a new CMO survey about budgets and priorities, including how AI can help teams stay effective.

How Project Managers Can Say No — While Preserving Relationships. Does the thought of pushing back on a content marketing request make you anxious? Do you say “yes” to every ask, knowing your content plate is already overflowing? This HBR article explains how you can say no without causing upset on your team.

Reduce Friction With a Yearend Marketing Road Map for Smooth Sailing in 2024. The year is almost over, so I bet many of us are scrambling to accomplish what we can of our goals. But don’t forget about your 2024 planning! Often, a year-end reset is needed to reassess where you stand and what you can reasonably accomplish (without causing burnout and sacrificing next year’s results). This MarketingProfs article explains how to set a marketing roadmap to realign your team.

7 Questions to Ask a PR Pro Instead of, “Who Do You Know?” Balancing content marketing and public relations activities can boost your brand recognition and help you achieve your business goals. That said, there are a lot of misconceptions about what PR can accomplish and how to find the right support for your team. Our friend and media maven Michelle Garrett shares seven questions to ask a prospective PR consultant or agency to gauge their fit.

Until next time, stay safe and be well!

Cheers,

Erika

P.S. If you are reading this on the web, or through a forwarded link, subscribe to get this newsletter in your email inbox every other Monday morning.