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In this issue…

Expert insights from Campfire Labs CEO Cassandra Naji
Must-read stories on AI’s impact on search, freelance wealth, and how bots are learning about your brand
Big AI shifts this week

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Partner | Samantha Anderl

Ready to break through your growth barriers?

There are 2 ways I help businesses find clarity and build client acquisition strategies that actually work.

For freelancers/solopreneurs:

My Growth Accelerator Program (single session or 3-month partnership) helps you break through growth barriers. We'll get crystal clear on who your ideal client is and build a sustainable client acquisition strategy that gets you out of the feast-or-famine cycle. I become your business bff and we work through all of the little nuances together.

For female founders:

My coaching + consulting hybrid is designed for when you've outgrown your current growth channels but feel overwhelmed by what comes next. We partner together to clarify your goals, build an actionable plan to reach them, and connect you with the right resources to make it all happen.

Want to tap into either? Email me directly @ samantha@meetharlow.com to get a consultation set up!

Expert Interview | Cassandra Naji

Free consulting: One smart expert, one focused conversation that you can apply to your work.

1/ How did your background in journalism and content strategy lead you to founding Campfire Labs and now serving as CEO?

I didn’t actually found Campfire Labs, Michael Thomas did. Michael hired me in 2023 and placed me in my first CEO position; prior to that, I had a leadership role at another content agency.

Studying newspaper journalism and starting out in magazines definitely informed my approach to B2B content—at Campfire we do a lot of data-driven writing, interviews, editorial-led campaigns, etc. I wouldn't have felt as comfortable with that if I had already run online publications.

The most helpful thing about a journalism background is that you’re practically immune to deadline pressure. In newspapers you have to turn stuff around with a couple of hours notice, which stands you in good stead for the inevitable product team pivots and last-minute launch campaigns you encounter in B2B.

All our writers and team members at Campfire are also ex or current journalists, with bylines in everything from The Verge to the Financial Times. I’m the least accomplished among the whole team, I think.

2/ What prompted your shift from hiring content generalists to advocating for specialist-driven teams, and how has that impacted performance?

I’m a generalist myself in most ways, so I wouldn't advocate against generalists! But I do think it’s increasingly true that, now AI has largely commoditised the actual craft of writing (don’t come for me!), specialist expertise has grown in importance as a differentiator. When hiring writers, we look for deep subject-matter expertise and experience, because that’s what’s hard to replicate right now.

3/ What criteria and data do you rely on when analyzing LinkedIn post performance, and how do those insights inform your clients’ content strategies?

The success criteria is based on what the clients are trying to achieve with LinkedIn; that said, most execs want us to track impressions and engagement as primary metrics. For my own LinkedIn, my most important metric is leads, as LinkedIn is one of our primary acquisition channels.

In my experience, success on LinkedIn is a bit of a jungle. Some posts take off and you don’t know why, some tank and you still don’t know why. We’re in a constant state of making and testing hypotheses, and the LinkedIn conversation moves very fast in most verticals. Success is predicated on how immersed you are in a specific LinkedIn community and the narratives gaining traction among that group, and how good you are at generating ideas. For me, the style of writing on LinkedIn is (almost) irrelevant, particularly for anything beyond the hook. You have to have really good ideas, and lots of them, to find any traction.

Must-Read Content This Week

Think smarter, faster: Each week, I share the articles that are shaping where content marketing is going, so you don’t have to dig.

1/ What content strategy looks like in the age of AI

Search is collapsing, bots are rising, and traditional content strategies are breaking down. If you want your content to survive the AI era, you need to build for both humans and machines, because Google isn’t coming to save you. More of the how in the article.

2/ I earn £232,000 as a freelance writer — my salary feels surreal

Freelance writer Lizzie Davey shares how she built a £232K business without chasing luxury—proof that niche expertise, consistency, and smart saving can turn a writing career into serious wealth.

3/ What content is informing the bots?

AI bots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude are more likely to cite journalism, corporate blogs, and third-party content than marketing materials, meaning comms teams, not marketers, are shaping how brands appear in AI-generated search. As AI search grows, knowing which content gets cited (and by which model) is now a critical part of media strategy.

AI Updates + Tools To Watch

Don't get left behind: The most useful AI updates and content tools worth paying attention to this week.

🤖 OpenAI plans to launch GPT-5 in August

GPT-5 is officially landing in August—and according to Sam Altman, it’s so advanced it made him feel “useless.” With built-in reasoning upgrades and mini/nano versions, this model could redefine what AI is capable of.

🤖 Microsoft Edge transforms into an AI browser with new Copilot Mode

Microsoft Edge's new Copilot Mode turns your browser into an AI-powered assistant that compares tabs, books reservations, and organizes your browsing into smart, topic-based journeys.

🤖 5 AI predictions for the second half of 2025

AI search is expected to hit a new level of maturity in the back half of 2025, while “AI slop” — low-quality, spammy content — could spark major consumer backlash. Marketers will need to balance innovation with clarity as AI tools evolve fast and user expectations get sharper.