Don't Say Content

Have you ever had one of those days where you just don't feel like doing anything? Or maybe a deadline is looming, but it's not quite here yet, so you're putting it off? You just can’t seem to make your brain do what it needs to?

Devin and Margaret jump into their shared insights into what motivates them and how they tackle obstacles to rise above the pernicious "shoulds" in their life. The act of inventory-ing the “shoulds” and deciding what is actually key to forward progress is crucial. We call this ruthless prioritization (or as we’ve called it in the past, killing your darlings). Identifying the 20% of work that delivers 80% of the results is essential and cutting out anything that aligns differently from your priorities. 

Get their personal stories on how leadership can craft a more helpful work structure to maximize motivation and the importance of building trust with your leaders to make that happen. Devin shares a hysterical college story about procrastinating until she had a spark of inspiration. You won’t want to miss this one.

Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/

Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

The Year is 2014. The article title is 7 Tips For Cooking The Perfect Marry-Me Chicken. You wade past the thick veil of misogyny, but the stench of grifting just won’t go away. The first tip is to Check Your Local Grocery Store For Sales, with an affiliate link listing nearby sale produce.

Flash forward to 2023. You’re scrolling through LinkedIn and belligerent posts about AI flood your feed. You search for the earnest, meaningful comment furthering the conversation, but all you see are grifters masquerading as “thought leaders”, piling onto the conversation like those zombies climbing over the wall in World War Z.

In the early 2010s, the listicle had a chokehold on the way we wrote content for the Internet. Add all the keywords, the affiliate links, and make them spend MORE time on page.

Today, in the era of trending audios and runaway LinkedIn virality, it seems like the Internet not only wants but NEEDS your griftiest ideas. But even at the mercy of The Algorithm, there’s an authenticity that you can see and feel in good writers and creators even while executing the trendiest of trends. We’re not really sure how you’ll like this episode, but we hope it starts an honest conversation.

See you on LinkedIn?

Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/

Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/ 

The market has rapidly evolved over the last few years. What worked 5 years ago isn’t working as well as it used to, and we’re seeing signs of more “traditional marketing” fading into the background in the B2B space. So what can we do to increase our chances of success? Where is the future of content headed?

Our hosts, Devin Bramhall and Margaret Kelsey dive into their thoughts on what is working currently, how we can all capitalize on technology and existing marketing tactics, and where the future of content is going.

Here’s a quick hit of their takeaways:

• Focus on personal brands and insights attached to lived experiences. Create authentic and relatable content that speaks to the experiences of your target audience. Use your own personal story and expertise to add value. 
• Future-proof your ideas and solutions. Create content that will continue to be relevant even as the market changes. Use a media-first strategy to publish your content on a variety of platforms through a variety of people. 
• Now is the time to experiment. We’re moving away from an owned audience approach—lean into building out channel-specific content to really connect with your audience on their chosen platform.

Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/

Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/ 

The People-First movement in workplace culture has risen in popularity over the past several years and ushered in the concept of bringing your “whole self” to work. It aims to prioritize the well-being and satisfaction of employees. But does bringing your whole self to work truly benefit you and your colleagues? And do you truly want *everyone* to bring their whole self? Your boss, your CEO, etc - does it make you feel more safe knowing every part of everyone at the company? 

Several challenges arise when whole self to work:

1. Unrealistic expectations
2. Increased entitlement
3. Lack of accountability
4. Inequity and division
5. Decision-making challenges

As our hosts Margaret Kelsey and Devin Bramhall dive into the people-first movement, they explore what policies actually put employees first, what amount of transparency is too much, how leaders influence the people-first movement, and how all of this is impacted by the remote and hybrid work environments that are much more common today. 

One thing they know for sure? Choosing to bring your best self to work each day is your best bet for your career growth. 

Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/

Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

• (00:00) - Clean Audio - People First

Over the past 5 years—and especially in 2023—hiring in every industry has been turned upside down.

Marketers want to know what has changed, and what has stayed the same. What goes on behind the scenes of hiring the best marketers? How do marketing execs evaluate cover letters and resumes? What are they thinking about and evaluating during various phases of the interview process? 

Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at Openview, Director of Brand and Creative at Invision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) share their hiring secrets. 

• Revealing how marketing execs are thinking about total compensation and benefits 
• How marketers’ skills are evaluated, from experience, KPIs, and the ever-controversial marketing project 
• How to research and negotiate the best salary
• What hiring teams, marketing managers, and execs are looking for in cover letters and resumes

Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/

Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/ 

• (00:00) - DSC-RC-Interviews + Negotiation

The world of creativity is multifaceted. How do you tap into it? How do you use it effectively? And how do you enjoy it?

B2B marketing execs Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at OpenView, Director of Brand and Creative at InVision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) explore the multidimensional nature of creativity and how it can be unlocked through various means. From taking breaks and pursuing fun activities to pushing through exhaustion with set goals and rewards, they detail their creative journey and the many strategies they use to generate ideas. 

From reading fiction to Jane Fonda, Devin and Margaret talk about the different pathways that have inspired their own creativity, ultimately leading to deeper insights into human emotion and complexity. They also touch on the human tendency to seek neat conclusions and how leaving things open-ended can improve memory retention.

Dive in for a creativity ride—the many ways of creative experimentation and exploration will leave you wanting to get your hands dirty.

Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/

Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/t

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

• (00:00) - DSC-Rough Cut-Play and Creativity

It's bonus episode time!

Our host, Devin Bramhall joined David Khim, Co-Founder of Omniscent Digital, on Onmiscent's podcast, The Long Game. They discuss Devin's rise from content manager to CEO, the future of AI, content marketing, and leadership lessons, where Devin reflects on lessons learned from mistakes she's made along the way.

Listen to The Long Game: https://beomniscient.com/blog/category/the-long-game/

Connect with David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidlykhim/

Why can founders and CEOs let marketers do their jobs? From cutting marketing projects mid-flight, to not clearly defining goals or changing KPIs on a whim, founders and CEOs continue to mettle in marketing. Why does this keep happening?

Last season we talked about what’s wrong with marketers and the marketing industry. It’s time we flipped the script and put the spotlight on founders and CEOs.

B2B marketing execs Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at OpenView, Director of Brand and Creative at InVision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) break down all the pitfalls they’ve seen in the marketer-founder relationship. Listen in to hear their stories and helpful strategies (like a shared decision-making framework) to help you navigate the founder-marketer relationship. 

Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/

Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/t

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

• (00:00) - DSC-Rough Cut-Founders

What if community wasn't a strategy? What if a community was part of your business model? What if it was just part of doing business?

Community isn’t just about building a customer feedback loop or customer support center. And more importantly, it’s not a place to spread your message like a megaphone to your audience. Many founders get this wrong because their head is stuck in scale mode. 

B2B marketing execs Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at Openview, Director of Brand and Creative at Invision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) discuss how community and what we can glean from it as we head into 2023 and beyond. 

Resources:

Nassim Taleb Article: https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dictatorship-of-the-small-minority-3f1f83ce4e15#.hr22nda85

Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/

Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/t

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

• (00:00) - dont-say-content_community-ep_margaret-5bjev2s2d_cfr-synced_2023-apr-18-1324pm-utc-riverside

Quality content is a north star for companies, founders, CEOs and marketers alike. But few agree on what “quality” means. Those who do have a definition are often missing important criteria that can lead to ineffective marketing content that flops despite following their “quality” rules. 

Quality as it relates to content and marketing is relative because it isn't just about the perfection of what you are creating in your marketing strategy. Quality in marketing is also determined by how effective the content you’re producing is impacting company growth. 

Listen to top B2B marketing execs, Margaret Kelsey (VP of Marketing at Openview, Director of Brand and Creative at Invision) and Devin Bramhall (former CEO of Animalz, Director of Content at Help Scout) set the record straight on what quality means and how to achieve it.

Connect with Devin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinbramhall/

Connect with Margaret: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaret-kelsey-104abba/t

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://dontsaycontent.substack.com/

Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://www.shareyourgenius.com/

Sponsored by Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/

• (00:00) - DSC-RC-Quality