Heather Kenny

Me: Ugh, I hate short-form content.

Me when I do short-form content: Actually this is pretty fun, like a word puzzle.

Since content marketing (and marketing in general) seems to be in chaos, I'm going to start posting the most unhinged takes on LinkedIn and see what happens.

Just got off a networking call with other B2B content marketing writers, and the mood is pretty grim.

a man with a national geographic logo on the bottom right ALT: a man with a national geographic logo on the bottom right

Me following up with warm leads

image from Heated Rivalry: Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov staring at each other on the ice.

Am I going to write about the popularity of the tv show Heated Rivalry can apply to content marketing in my next newsletter?

Yes. Yes I am.

Sign up here: www.heatherkenny.com/newsletter

When a content platform emails you about your services with a ton of info about working with them that includes everything but their rates 🙄

Screenshot of a job description for a content writer position at Aronson Advertising with a salary range of $36544 to $109042

That’s . . . quite a range.

It sounds pretty boring IMO

New blog post: how I became the Executive Whisperer. www.heatherkenny.com/blog/the-exe...

Heather Kenny on AI, Nonprofits & Storytelling | Faith, Fortune, or Fiction Series YouTube video by My Nonprofit AI

I was excited to do this video with Nonprophet Advisors' Mike Mitchell talking about AI and writing: how it helps with the process, how it might hinder creativity, and more. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDjo...

Also, this made it crystal clear that this person was not actually very knowledgeable about SEO.

I did respond and point these things out in a professional manner. Normally I wouldn't bother but I thought it might be a learning opportunity for this person. 🤷‍♀️

I'm not averse to constructive feedback, but not when it's implied that I was trying to lie about my experience.

I approach everyone in good faith, and it's what I expect in response. I don't think that's too much to ask.

--They didn't say they were looking for writers with SEO strategy skills
--They didn't specify they wanted to see examples that ranked on page 1
--I don't have control over optimizing those articles over time as SEO strategies change and keywords shift

I responded with some links of posts and articles I've done within the framework of an SEO strategy. They let me know they'd decided to move ahead with other candidates but that they'd run my articles through Semrush and "none of them rank on page 1."

When did it become acceptable to dis potential freelance resources based on some criteria in your head?

I recently sent a message to someone in a Slack group who said they were looking for "help from content writers with net-new SEO content."

Why should I write better when a machine can do it for me? Because actually no one can do it for you, because your voice is unique among all the people on earth. Siri never petted a horse's neck. Alexa has never been ghosted by the captain of the football team. But you have lived, your heart is beating, you have suffered, and you have something important to say. It's a human's job, to use words, and whatever job you give to a machine, that part of your brain goes dark. Maybe it's worth it when it comes to remembering phone numbers and directions, but when that part of your brain that uses words goes dark, that's a vast area that's very close to your soul. Don't let some internet platform convince you that what you have to say and create isn't worthwhile. Words are the echo of your soul. Honing that echo matters.

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

Writing a blog post on certificate lifecycle management for a cybersecurity client and the brief refers to "certificate lifestyle management" at several points 😜

Analyze your strengths, examine your goals, and map out a strategy for creating high-value, high-quality content across the board.

Voice, authenticity, and originality are more important than ever. Your content shouldn’t look like everyone else’s. This means you need to conduct research, figure out what you know or can do that everyone else doesn’t, or find a way to speak about what you do in a unique way.

So what does this mean for your content marketing strategy? Well, first of all, there’s no magic bullet. You gotta do a lot more things to keep up in this environment.

But also:

🤖 Those AI searches you’re trying to optimize your content for? They’re pulling mainly from sources you don’t control—like reviews.

👎 Organic search has plummeted, no surprise.

🧨 The traditional SEO funnel is now a pinball machine, with consumers bouncing across TikTok, Reddit, private chats, and other touchpoints before potentially reaching brand sites. That means we have to think of content marketing as an ecosystem, not a path.

(Personally I don’t know that this can last, as expecting marketers to be unicorns and perform all of these well isn’t realistic.)

🦄 Content marketing roles are evolving toward more “full stack” responsibilities, looking for people who can adapt to multiple functions like demand generation, product marketing, and brand storytelling.

I went to a webinar hosted by Women in Content Marketing recently that tried to explain what the F is going on in marketing right now (literally the title of the event). Some of the conclusions:

I'm thinking I need to start a newsletter aimed at marketing professionals and others who handle content to help us all navigate this volatile landscape.

So content marketing and marketing in general are kind of . . . nuts right now. If you're struggling, a reframe might be necessary. www.heatherkenny.com/blog/an-empt...

What kind of content marketing are B2B businesses looking for these days? I'm hearing a lot of mixed info, from "blogs are dead" to "content is more important than ever."