After six years of running my business, I’ve realized I thrive in environments where I can take ownership and drive impact. In a large corporate role, I probably wouldn’t last a week for taking too much initiative. Lol.
But as a founder partnering with other founders and lean marketing teams, I get to focus on what I do best—conversion content marketing strategy and copywriting—to help clients communicate their value and achieve measurable growth. Bonus: I get to skip the pressure (and panic-inducing hives) of climbing a career ladder to a CMO corner office I never wanted.
The year of sustainability
This year, I leaned into sustainability—both in how I work and how I live.
One of the reasons I started this business six years ago was to design a career that gave me the freedom to work with incredible clients while staying curious about the world around me.
I don’t want to wake up 20, 30, or 50 years from now wondering what the hell I did all of these years.
I also reconnected with that flexibility in a way I hadn’t since my early remote employee days, way back in 2016-2018.
I traveled a lot for both business and fun, including but not limited to attending a marketing conference in Burlington, Vermont, a 3-day retreat with a small group of fellow marketing and writing founders in Costa Rica, and a birthday hiking trip to Hawaii.
While exploring new places kept me energized and gave me fresh perspectives, I’ve also been focused on building a sustainable approach to my business. One that ensures I have the creativity and focus to consistently deliver high-quality, impactful work for my clients.
I’ve learned that sustainability doesn’t have to mean doing less. It means being intentional about designing a business that supports both my clients’ goals and my own long-term growth.
This year reminded me how much I value the ability to blend meaningful work with meaningful experiences. And more than ever, I’m focused on making this balance a lasting part of my business and life.
Another year of thankfully working with great clients on incredible projects
Every project this year taught me something, whether it was deep dives into content strategy or just seeing how small tweaks can make a big impact. For that, I’m incredibly grateful and thankful.
I partnered with lean teams across B2B SaaS and professional service firms to craft content strategies and write copy that helps them communicate their value clearly and drive long-term results. By staying hands-on, I ensure every project is aligned with my clients’ goals.
However, there were some things I was especially proud of working on:
- I leaned heavily into my content moat framework this year, and seeing it deliver long-term results for multiple clients was a personal win. As part of an effort to meet clients where they are, I also created a right-sized offer to help companies that were earlier into their content marketing strategy get started and make the process of seeing results happen faster.
- I loved helping a handful of early and growth-stage founders refine their messaging through rebrands, product (and feature) launches, and even how they show up on their personal LinkedIn profiles to land bigger deals. Seeing them go from ‘kind of clear’ to confident was a big highlight.
- I produced over 30 case studies and customer success stories this year for professional service firms and B2B SaaS startups and continued to level up my storytelling and interviewing skills.
- I took on a few consulting gigs with early-stage founders and some in-house marketers looking to make the jump to solopreneurship and realized just how much I like it. As a bonus, everyone who I’ve worked with in this capacity seems to really value it.
Trends I’m seeing
This year, a few trends have been impossible to ignore. They’re shaping how I approach content strategy, copywriting, and how I’m helping my clients stay ahead.
Using AI thoughtfully
AI is everywhere, but the key isn’t throwing it at every problem. Or worse, burying your head in the sand and not using it all.
Instead, it’s figuring out where it actually makes things better. The best use cases I’ve seen are about improving systems and processes so the real work (the stuff humans do best, like creative thinking and building relationships) has more room to shine.
I’ve been experimenting with my own business workflows, and when I find things that work, I share them with my clients. For instance, I use AI as my marketing copilot whenever I’m writing and revising. I set the context, add very specific instructions, and add my rambling draft, and then AI helps me find gaps and refine them. It is not automated, but it makes me a better thinker and writer.
Distribution is everything (and it is getting harder)
Creating great content isn’t enough anymore. Gaming Google? Also, that’s not the answer.
The real challenge is making sure your content actually gets seen when search and social platforms are more fragmented than ever. I’ve been working with clients to map out intentional, multi-channel distribution strategies. Now, all of my strategies are customized to individual clients, but broadly speaking, this looks like:
- Focusing on evergreen topics that can work across more than one channel. While the content is customized for each channel (search, LinkedIn, newsletters, etc), the topic is the same. You aren’t reinventing the wheel every single time. That’s important since the vast majority of my clients have lean teams.
- Leveraging SMEs, collabs, and partnerships – Are there internal experts we can interview? Are there relevant customers to feature? External partnerships and comarketing opportunities to amplify our reach?
- Using metrics to double down on the platforms and formats driving the most engagement. One small thing I changed in my process this year was to track referral traffic in GA4 across Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc., for all clients. Across the board, I’ve seen traffic spikes from LLMs. I’m also starting to see patterns emerging around what is likely to get picked up and drive brand awareness and even traffic from LLMs. I’m using that to refine strategies and tactics.
And yes, that’s easier said than done, but it is a problem I’m very much tackling brick by brick.
The return to real connection
People can smell fake—or bad AI—from a mile away. Whether it’s an overly polished ad or a LinkedIn post that feels robotic, audiences are gravitating toward brands that feel human, authentic, and trustworthy.
For many of my clients, this means creating content that’s deeply empathetic and audience-first. It’s about focusing on their customers’ actual pain points and stories instead of surface-level marketing-speak. I’ve been working with founders and marketing teams to:
- Refine their brand voice to feel more relatable and real.
- Create personal, story-driven content that resonates with readers.
- Show up in meaningful ways where their audience already is, whether that’s a niche newsletter, Google, LinkedIn, Threads, or an offline event. The brands that are getting outsized returns today (and I suspect even more so in the next 3-5 years) are the ones making their ideal customers feel understood and valued.
These are the challenges I’m tackling with clients every day. My content moat framework directly addresses these challenges by helping clients build evergreen assets that are designed to keep getting results over weeks, months, and even years. It’s about building trust, standing out in increasingly fragmented channels, and making sure your content works as hard as you do.
Rethinking limiting beliefs for more intentional growth
I recognized an opportunity to push beyond some limiting beliefs in my business and personal life. While I’ve built stability I’m proud of, I’ve focused on making thoughtful adjustments to position my business for long-term growth, like exploring new systems, building creative partnerships, and delegating more effectively.
I’ve also started prioritizing systems that free up my time for high-impact work, like building out a content strategy and delivering creative solutions, so I can continue growing my business in a way that serves my clients and aligns with my strengths.
Carving out time for business and personal growth
Every year since 2022, I’ve gone to one smaller biz retreat abroad with other founders. I’ve walked around with a new idea or perspective that has been immensely valuable for my business.
I feel like I need to do one of these once or twice a year every year. It’s that valuable, and if I’m honest, a lot of the views that I’m sharing in this 6-year recap came from a retreat that I went to last month.
A lot of the goals I have for the next couple of years require me to think differently. While I have a massive bias for action, I realize there is value in delegating more off my plate and investing in creative collabs and partnerships, especially if I want to continue to grow and don’t want to put in 60+ hour work weeks all the time.
But I’ll share more of my plans for the next year in my 2025 annual theme post.
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