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I've been thinking a lot about how I can add more value to this newsletter. I want this newsletter to be the place for content marketers and writers who are interested in creativity, testing + data, and innovation to bring content to the world that really hits the mark.
I'm always open to feedback (press reply). But this is what I've come up with so far:
I'll be sending three different newsletters each week:
Tuesdays = Extended expert interviews and ways to use the insights to grow your network and improve your business.
Thursdays = More relevant and timely content updates, breakdowns, and fun stuff to help us all be more innovative and creative marketers. Plus, a little nod to AI, because it's...like...not going away...or whatever. Ugh.
Fridays = Job updates that are high-quality and exclusive to content marketers. I'll be working hard the next few months to really make this niche relevant and awesome. Stay with me. Stay tuned. I want this to be THE PLACE that helps you earn more money. Because we ALL LOVE MONEY!
You'll notice a different layout starting today.
I'd love your feedback on what you liked/loved/hated, etc.
This newsletter is for YOU, so don't hold back (actually, hold back a little if it's negative because, to quote my favorite artist from the 90s, Jewel, "I'm sensitive and I'd like to stay that waaaaaaay.")
Over 4 million readers rely on our 5-minute newsletter for a clear, fact-based view of the world. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you unbiased news on politics, global events, business, and culture. Free of charge and free of bias.
Quick hits: This week's sharpest content marketing, search, and social articles.
1/ A behind the scenes look at my content strategy (MKT1). Emily Kramer shares the exact strategy powering MKT1’s lean but high-impact content engine—complete with her core frameworks (“Krameworks”), guiding principles, and how even tiny teams can drive big results with product-style thinking. A must-read for B2B marketers, founders, and anyone serious about strategic content that actually works.
2/ Nerding Out on SEO with Jono Alderson (Advanced Web Ranking). The future of SEO isn’t ranking. It’s relevance. As Jono Alderson puts it, your brand’s value, differentiation, and presence across the entire digital journey will matter more than any keyword ever did. Dive in to learn more strategy.
3/ Google says it is 20X better at catching scams in Google Search (SEL). Google says it's now 20x better at catching scammy pages, and has cut fake phone number scams by over 80% in search. This is thanks to upgrades in its AI-powered scam detection systems and improved classifiers that can spot coordinated campaigns and emerging threats faster than ever.
4/ OpenAI's Latest Patents Point Straight to Semantic Search (Go Fish). OpenAI's new patents reveal that ChatGPT and CustomGPTs use vector embeddings, not keywords, to retrieve content. This means your content must be structured, semantically rich, and clearly chunked to appear in AI-driven search. Traditional SEO tactics aren’t enough; semantic search is the future.
5/ Why You Should Care About Semiotics (iloveseo). Gianluca Fiorelli explains how semiotics (the study of how people create meaning) can help you optimize content for modern, AI-powered, context-rich search. Key takeaway: treat search like a fluid, personal dialogue, and structure your content so it aligns with user intent, culture, emotion, and journey stages.
🎙 Real Talk | What’s Working & Flopping
Honest wins, fails, and takeaways from the trenches.
Topic clusters are one of the most effective SEO strategies today because they help search engines and AI models understand how your content connects. By organizing content around a central pillar and related subtopics, you build topical authority, improve internal linking, prevent keyword cannibalization, and increase your chances of being included in AI-powered search results.
Keyword-first content strategies are breaking down. AI-driven search, misaligned traffic, and volatile SERPs are exposing their limits. Starting with search volume leads to shallow content that misses the real user need. Instead, a Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) approach reframes strategy around user motivations, not keywords. The result is deeper engagement, higher conversions, and content that aligns with how people actually search today.
🤖 AI Corner | What the Bots Are Doing
The latest AI tools, updates, prompts, and how marketers use them.
At the 2025 Google Creator Summit, Google told all. AI Overviews aren’t going anywhere, most informational content won’t rank like it used to, and creators must stop writing for algorithms and start building trust through video, social, and direct audience connection.
An interesting prompt on good ol' Reddit for internal linking. Thoughts? Check it out here.
Authenticity is now a measurable quality, and fake “human” content is under serious scrutiny. If you're using AI to scale content, this matters. More about what this means from SEJ.
🔥 How Dare You? | Spicy Takes
Hot takes, bold moves, and content that’s stirring things up.
Ryan Law: Educational blog content is dead. LLMs killed it. The next era of marketing belongs to those who actually market—not just publish. What does this mean? Join Ryan's LI convo to learn more.
Danielle Messler: Marketers should get their team—especially execs—active on LinkedIn, even if it means writing the posts for them. (Is this code for execs should start shitposting as a strategy? Thoughts?)
Rosana Campbell: B2B content is boring, but not because it's bad. It's because writers are afraid to be specific.
Lee Densmer: If your content strategy is just “whoever yells loudest gets a blog post,” you don’t have a strategy—you have chaos.
💡 Creativity Corner| Innovative Content Ideas
Smart ideas that break the B2B blahs.
What can B2B markters learn from Little Caesar's Pretzel Crust Island?
Quick Context: Little Caesars created Pretzel Crust Island, a long-form, reality-style YouTube series where die-hard fans compete in wild, over-the-top challenges to win a single Pretzel Crust Pizza. The tone is chaotic, the editing is TikTok-inspired, and the show leans all the way into entertainment. It’s essentially Survivor meets branded content, and it works because it speaks the language of the internet while building deep affinity with a specific product.
Lesson: Entertainment-first, long-form content can drive serious brand affinity, even when it’s unhinged. People don’t need a twist on the boring product demo and a reason to care.
Idea: Instead of pitching features, create something binge-worthy where your customers and tools are the stars.
Ideas for real SaaS companies:
1. Shopify
Show Title: Launch Wars: eComm Edition Premise: Three aspiring DTC founders are given 72 hours, a basic product idea, and a Shopify store. They race to create, brand, and sell something from scratch.
Challenges:
Build a store from a template with weird constraints ("Your store must sell only moss")
Shoot a TikTok ad with $50
Run a flash sale and hit $500 in revenue by morning
Why it could work: It’s entertaining and educational. The creators show how to use Shopify’s tools in a high-stakes, chaotic environment. Every win is a subtle flex of the product’s capabilities.
2. Superhuman
Show Title: Inbox Arena Premise: Eight overworked execs compete in an email triathlon.Their mission: hit inbox zero, avoid emotional breakdowns, and win the gold in email speed and clarity.
Challenges:
The “Monday Morning Mayhem” round: 1,000 unread emails and one investor meltdown
A rapid-fire round: Reply to 20 cold emails with grace and power
Final boss: A group thread with 17 stakeholders and no clear CTA
Why it could work: It dramatizes the daily chaos Superhuman users face, while showing off features like snippets, reminders, and speed, all through humor and pain we all recognize.
Could adopting a DTC play into a B2B content strategy work?
Community: Join 145K+ other content marketers in our free community.
Resources:Get organized with templates, frameworks, and proven processes, so your content efforts aren't a jumbled mess.
Post a job: Having trouble finding a good content marketer? No longer! Post your job on our niche content marketing job board. Contact me if you need help with recruiting (a quick response to this email will do).
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Content Connect
Ashley R. Cummings
Subscribe now to grow your content marketing and writing muscles! Each week, you'll get an expert interview from a leading content marketer (free consulting—yay!), quick & actionable writing tips, and content marketing trends you may have missed delivered straight to your inbox. It's an easy decision—join 7000 other content marketers now!
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Hello! Thanks for joining the Lettuce webinar yesterday. I hope it was as helpful for you as it was for me. :) Here's a link to the recording if you missed it (or want to watch it again).And, here's the sign-up affiliate link. Remember to use the code "SOLOVIP" for your discount. Sign up here Thanks, Ashley
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