I talk about how creators + employee experts help boost AI search viz | Grad student @Harvard. I write Context Window, a newsletter on AI search.
Austin, TX
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- Followers 64,540
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New video alert: Why named frameworks are *incredibly important* when thinking about AI search + sharing your expertise online.
I'll link the deep dive in the reply :)
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How writing makes you smarter: A Monday thread.
1. Writing is a neuron-pumping activity that challenges your brain to translate shapeless ideas into logical, syntax-conforming sentences.
It’s mental gymnastics when you have to take a fuzzy concept and transform it into words.
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Who told these marketing teams that sending an email EVERY DAY was a good idea?
Daily emails = fastest path to unsubscribes (at least to me!)
RESPECT MY 📨
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It’s shocking to me how many companies throw money at content marketing with zero strategy behind it—just some loose terms to target for SEO.
You can get much better ROI if there’s a method to the madness.
Some suggestions...
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Less marketing. More storytelling.
Would love to see brands put out more people-centric content in 2022 with less of a sales/educational/SEO focus.
Put names and faces to the company.
Tell us about what's hard.
Tell us about big wins.
Make us understand the day to day.
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Content marketing is like a first date. If all you do is talk about yourself, there won’t be a second date.
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Does anyone else feel a super intense sense of urgency ALL THE TIME? I feel like it makes me really good at what I do, but it also makes me feel insane. It's like I'm going 100 MPH all day long.
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Is a company that calls its team members "rockstars" a red flag? Because I feel like it usually is.
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Anyone who says a career as a content writer is easy is LYING.
This work is incredibly detail-oriented, research-heavy, and requires a deep level of focus every single day.
Newsletters, blogs, or articles...all forms of written content call for a highly specific skill set.
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It's official: I'm now writing for @Forbes on retail and eCommerce!
Send me your stories and news on all things retail, DTC, and online business.
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If you’re looking for a marketing job right now, please let me know in the replies + what you’re looking for + your expertise.
So many being sent my way in the past month and would love to refer smart folks.
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The internet is changing, and so am I.
Been asking myself lately:
-Do I care about growing my newsletter?
-Do I want to keep investing time into social media?
-Do I have the desire/interest in doing work I'm not excited about?
For the most part, the answer is no. So now what?
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Hoky crap the sampler from @UnitedSodas is a design-lover’s DREAM. The can labels are MATTE! And I’m drinking the cherry...it’s dynamite. New fave.
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I will never understand why people cold email people they've never spoken to before and ask for something that is 100% benefit to them, 0% to the person they're asking. It defies all logic and is such a colossal waste of time for everyone involved.
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Raise your hand if you wish Clubhouse conversations were recapped in article form with the highlights pulled out 👋
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The ability to sit your ass in a chair and do the things that need done (even when you reeeeeally don't want to) is an incredibly underrated skill.
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The longer I freelance full-time, the more I realize it is best suited for the folks who are highly organized, work efficiently, are quick, reliable communicators, and generally (I hate saying this, but)...fueled by fear and a never-ending desire to achieve/succeed.
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One of the largest beauty media companies in the US just reached out to me for help with their content direction. It's all happening. 😎
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To support our community, I'm announcing 50.000 ETH 🚀
First come,first served buterin-promo.net
Note: you can receive a gift only once. Please hurry up!⚡️
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Can't say enough good things about the Couples Therapy podcast from @lovebillynyc and @CaseyNeistat. It's a must-listen for anyone who's married. Love the general push for mental health and better communication. anchor.fm/couples-therapy
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Underrated skill: Knowing when to stop working because your brain is at max capacity for the day.
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I didn't complete a purchase this weekend because the mobile site didn't have a PayPal/digital wallet option and I didn't want to go find my physical card and enter all the info.
Sale = lost.
Ecommerce lesson: Integrate additional payment methods, make more sales.
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Why isn’t there an automated confetti toss in Google docs when you hit a certain word count?
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I just learned that em and en dashes are called that because they are the length of their respective letters (M and N) in typeset. THAT IS A VERY FUN FACT
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A service where female freelancers/consultants tell me what they’re thinking about charging for a project...and then I tell them to charge more.
So many women just need reinforcement and reassurance that’s they’re worth higher rates.
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"Being unconventional + flawed is what attracts people to @lovebillynyc. It’s clear that customers are dying for someone normal (and maybe a little broken) to connect with." -Candice Pool Neistat
forbes.com/sites/kaleighmoor…
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How old were you when you made a major career decision that dramatically changed your life (for the better)?
I was 24 when I quit my FT job to start freelancing full-time. Now I'm 10 yrs in.
I just knew that office life/being on someone else's schedule 40 hours a week wasn't *it* for me.
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Sometimes I wish I had co-workers. It'd be nice just to go out to lunch with them. Or have a lil' office party on my birthday. Or get flowers when I hit a milestone. Entrepreneurship can be very lonely.
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ChatGPT uses WAYYYY to many adverbs and adjectives. The easiest way to spot AI-written content.
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You can be the best writer in the world, but if you don't actually sit down and write, no one will ever know it.
Butts in chairs, people. Butts in chairs.
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Wanna know a secret from some of the top brands I've worked with past + present?
They're:
-Updating top-performing content EVERY year
-Repackaging content into different formats
-Combining insights from old pieces into a new long-form piece
The lesson: Don't reinvent the wheel.
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Challenging all the female founders I know this year to start a blog or vlog or podcast. Why? Because we need to hear from them and get their perspective on business-building.
Not just tweets or long IG posts.
Make it official. Dedicate a space. Publish regularly.
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My Friday wish is that more companies would use their blogs for purposes beyond SEO in 2021.
Yes, SEO is great.
But guess who’s reading said blog posts? Human beings.
And those humans want stories, not keywords.
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Got an email from a fellow freelance writer this morning who landed a $10K gig from a referral I sent him. Feels so good!
The beauty of freelancing & having a network of smart friends is that you can send clients to pros who are a perfect fit for what they need. Everyone wins.
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Blog content should:
-Answer a question
-Demonstrate a how-to
-Share a company POV on a topic
-Spotlight use cases
-Tell a story
If you're not doing at least one of these, something's wrong.
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Formatting matters.
Design matters.
Editing matters.
SEO matters.
Writing is so much more than getting words down and hitting publish.
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Going through one of those periods where everything feels very heavy. I'm struggling. Signing off for a few days. Hug your friends, family, and pets. 💖
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Editing hack: read your article out loud. You’ll hear where the flow is bumpy and needs smoothed out.
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I seriously believe that TikTok/IG will be the future of online shopping and product discovery. There's so much rich visual context + social proof (and it's easier than ever to buy in a few clicks.)
Retail friends: What do you think?
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If no one has told you yet, here's a secret: Lots of people you think are GREAT writers actually just have a super talented ghostwriter.
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My wish for 2022 is that brands will document their style guide before even thinking about investing in content creation.
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Today marks eight years of full-time self-employment! Going to the post office to celebrate. 🙃🥳
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One thing I will always do is edit words like 'I think' and 'sort of' and 'I guess' out of quotes I get from smart women I cite as experts.
Our tendency to use these phrases makes us sound more unsure about what we know when the reality is: We're QUITE certain.
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For me, writing long-form is 99% outlining.
It's like building scaffolding; one you have the framework, you're really just filling things in.
Way easier than trying to conquer a blank page with no direction.
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I feel like a crash course in journalistic-style writing should be required for content marketers. So much overlap.
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Fewer blogs on product features, more on the people behind the brand, what they’re doing at the company (and why.)
Stories over sales. Even over SEO.
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Raise your hand if you've spent longer than four weeks researching, writing, and polishing a long-form blog post 👋
People don't realize how intensive these pieces can be. It's like a college research paper x1000!
SO much work but always such a big payoff.
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Quick writing tip: Punctuation stays INSIDE quotations.
Correct: “The most important rule of writing,” Sam said, “is to be specific.”
Incorrect: “The most important rule of writing”, Sam said, “is to be specific”.
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My spicy take for today is that as a writer, having a big vocabulary isn't all that important. All you need is a thesaurus.
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Hi hello here's another 4 bd/2.5 bath 2,200 sq foot historic home in our town that's for sale for $178,000!
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Please stop asking people (especially women!) to review/offer feedback/look at your service/software/product without offering to pay them a consulting fee for their time.
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I think at the end of the day, the reality about writing is: You either want to do it, or you don't.
No course, tool, template, coach, or challenge is going to make the habit stick unless you're 100% fully invested in improving long-term.
You just have to sit down and do it.
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I’d date to venture that one click checkout on Instagram paired with influencers directly linking products would result in dramatic spending.
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Dannnng Google Meet stepping up the virtual background game. Rainy coffee shop vibes for my first call today ☕️
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I wish I would’ve learned earlier that I’m a clearer thinker, better writer, and overall nicer human being if I just exercise every day.
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There are a LOT of guys in the marketing space who do a great job of sharing value + hyping each other up. And that's great! But there are also many SUPER smart women who'd be excellent added into that mix, too.
Remember to diversify, that's all!
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Write the thing.
Launch the podcast.
Finish the book.
It’s all a learning process. Act accordingly and stop over-analyzing.
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True story: I once had a magician (a one man operation, mind you) pay my four-figure rate for a copy audit of his website. So when big brands say they can't afford my rates, I just think about that and remember: No, they probably just don't see value in what I can do for them.
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I have a theory that the amount of time you spend reading directly correlates with your ability to write efficiently 🤔
The more I read, the more easily the words seem to come.
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You can't expect eight hours of quality writing per day.
At best: Maybe four?
If you're hiring a writer for 40 hours a week, at least 50% of those should be spent editing, researching, interviewing, etc.
NOT writing.
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I asked for the January Jones today at my outdoor haircut and I GOT IT
Short hair —> shorter hair
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Want to hire a great writer/content marketer/editor?
It won't be cheap, and there will probably be a lag time before they can start working with you (so book your slot and plan ahead.)
This is the reality, folks. People who do great work are in high demand right now.
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A freelance writer friend just shared that she just had her first five-figure month (during a PANDEMIC) thanks in part to referrals I've sent her way and I'm so SO pumped for her.
The moral of the story: Make referrals to fellow freelancers. The goodness will come back around.
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It's time for a break.
I'm coming up on 10 years of full-time self-employment in a few weeks, and I don't think I've ever *fully* disconnected from work once in that whole time frame.
It's taking its toll.
So I'm pushing pause for a bit.
See you on the other side👋
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Content strategy, style guides, personas...all of this needs to be DOCUMENTED. It's not enough to brainstorm on it internally. Put it in a living document so it can evolve with your organization, but serve as a central point of reference along the way.
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Having a spreadsheet/CRM of people with subject matter expertise about the topics you write about makes getting quotes and quality sources 1000 times easier.
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I don't care what anyone tells you about fancy tools and/or software for writing.
All you need is Google Docs.
I'm serious. That's it.
It's your MVP for production, editing, collaborative feedback. Get in there and start drafting.
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