Marketers routinely discuss content production in terms of tools, tech, and processes. Use that app or this device, and we’ll produce better content.

We want to know which tools other marketers or content creators are using as if they might reveal the secrets to their success.

I’m not criticizing – I’m just as guilty.

It’s incredibly tempting to imagine a new tool could be the path to stress-free and frictionless creative brilliance. You know, like in all those movies where the great author sits at the typewriter and bashes out a classic novel, only pausing to load each new sheet of paper.

Why can’t I write like that? Perhaps I could if I used the same tools and adopted the same practices.

That’s a more comforting thought than the truth: Creativity is hard.

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I’m a curious person.

No, not in the sense that I’m bizarre or odd (stop sniggering). I’m curious in the sense that my ADHD-addled brain becomes obsessed with finding answers whenever it stumbles across an interesting question. Interesting to me, that is.

I recently spent an entire Saturday afternoon confirming exactly how many issues of the weekly British comic Princess Tina were published between 1967 and 1973. (Or rather 1974 – I eventually proved all of the published sources wrong. Take that, Denis Gifford, and your Complete Catalogue!)Continue Reading

It’s a common refrain: “We’re a B2B company. We can’t do the same things those B2C funsters get up to.” Another good one is, “Our product/industry/niche is just too serious and boring for content marketing.”

But it’s also worth pointing out that shedloads of content are published every day for which “boring” might be a polite description (“predictable” and “unnecessary” would be others.) I regularly come across reports, white papers, and articles that would require me to stab myself repeatedly in the leg with a fork simply to stay awake beyond the opening paragraphs.Continue Reading

OK. Blank screen.

No problem. I’ve already agreed with the editor what this article will be about, and I kinda know what it should say. All I need to do is translate those thoughts into words on the page.

Welcome to the first of the five stages of grief writing: Denial.

Writing always takes me longer than planned. The more creative or reflective the writing, the worse this time dilation becomes – and I know I’m not alone. Creativity doesn’t like to be measured with a stopwatch when it can be measured in ice ages.

Each time I start a new project, I convince myself this time will be different. It won’t.

Before this article is done, denial will be followed by anger, bargaining, and depression. Eventually, I’ll reach acceptance that this draft is as good as it’s going to get and email it to the editor.Continue Reading

Looking for a reliable, data-driven process to help your team consistently produce amazing content? Don’t. Instead, forget formulas and aim for the heart.

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So much of what you do as content marketers relies on your creative abilities – coming up with new solutions to old problems or devising fresh angles for tired topics. However, all the creative genius in the world doesn’t matter if you can’t effectively convince everyone else to come along for the ride.

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Why brands muddy their case studies with self-promotion and bland or unsupported claims is an enduring mystery. Editorial detective Jonathan Crossfield pieced together the clues and discovered how to turn this format into a showcase of your brand’s strengths.

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Throughout history, younger generations have perplexed their elders. That can be baffling enough for parents, but seasoned marketers need to understand what makes each new generation of consumers tick if their strategies are to succeed.

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