Hello Reader!

Hello [FIRST NAME GOES HERE]!

Raise your hand if your business looks EXACTLY the same as it did...even...well...a year ago.

I'm looking around, and it seems none of you are raising your hands.

It's been a roller coaster. Am I right?

And it hasn't been easy staying afloat.

Have you felt this?

I know I have.

To give you a little context, my business was rockin' up until Dec 2023.

In fact, it was exploding!

I had more work than I could handle, and it led to...you'll never believe this...more money, but also burnout and a wrist injury.

I needed a change and to take care of myself. So, I fired a bunch of clients, took a month off, and scheduled a wrist surgery.

Since I'd had a progressively thriving business for 13 years up to this point, I figured sliding back into the content world would be a breeze.

Boy, was I wrong, and wow was that timing bad.

For me, January was a month of freezing cold everything:

• Freezing cold weather (well, up until I moved to Mexico for 6 months).
• Frozen pipeline of work.
• Lots of cold outreach. Brrrr.

As you know, the market experienced some weird changes that left everyone scrambling:

• Companies were bullish on AI.
• Google was going completely batsh*t.
• Search patterns were changing.
• Budgets were slashed.
• Organic traffic was down (remember Hubspot?)

It's been the Wild West of Marketing.

But, I'm grateful and happy to report that within 6 months, my business was back to normal.

I'm once again steadily climbing up the massive burnout hill (but hopefully I won't have to get wrist surgery again).

Anyway—here's the important part:

My business does not look the same as it did in previous years.

And it hasn't been as easy.

I had to do A LOT of learning.

I had to do some serious pivoting.

I had to think outside the box.

I had to create new services.

Ultimately, I had to learn how to make myself completely irreplaceable.

If you've felt some of the same pain of changing times in content and want to level up your business to be better than ever, listen up, my friend.

Next month, I'll be starting an awesome 25-day challenge. You'll get one thing you can do every day to make your business—and your writing—irreplaceable.

Let's level up together. Indicate your interest here:

Thanks for reading,

​Ashley R. Cummings​

Partner

Support Content Connect: Every click supports this newsletter.

Must-Read Industry Content

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/ 5 B2B content types AI search engines love​

2/ 3-step copywriting formula that makes buyers act​

3/ LinkedIn post outranks blog post in Google search​

5 expert takes on "the pivot" into SaaS writing

Reader Question:

"I’ve been freelancing for about a decade—mostly editorial work for publishers (high-profile nonfiction like cookery and lifestyle) and the past five years ghostwriting books and helping authors shape their manuscripts.

I’ve also done some online writing (blogs, case studies, carousels, etc.). But now I’m looking to pivot into SaaS or something that pays better, feels more future-proof, and offers a fresh challenge. How can I make that jump?"

Become a Content Connect VIP

Are you ready to be part of the Cool Content Club? As a Content Connect VIP member, you get:

• Industry intel—early. Weekly updates 24 hours before anyone else.
• Expert interviews. The new, the legendary, and the hidden gems.
• All the goods. Every product, template, and asset we’ve ever created ($700 value). See some of them here.
• More job leads. More curated, higher intent, and faster to your inbox.
• Slack community access. Join a smart, kind, members-only crew of content pros.
• Discounts. Save on courses, workshops, and future drops.
• Deep dives.Thoughtful breakdowns that help you level up your work.

If you subscribe today, you get 20% off your first 6 months. Please use the discount code: EARLYVIP.

Don’t miss your shot to be part of the most useful, no-BS space in content. This is where the good stuff happens first.

Free Resources

Let's Connect!

​​​