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Howdy hey ,

To understand Mother Nature’s power, walk through an old, dense forest in the heat of summer. Look up and study the canopy. Leafy branches overlap, twist, and turn. They seek. 

Particularly, they seek sunlight. Those brilliant green leaves capture the sun’s photons and transform that energy into sustenance. Light becomes food, and the tree grows. 

If the forest you’re exploring is old enough, you’ll spot trees that have gotten more creative in their chase for sunlight. Amid overstuffed canopies, a tree might grow sideways. It bends as needed to survive.

Kinda like this.

You can see Mother Nature’s hand guiding the bend, leading that tree to a healthier future. Maybe that tree wanted to grow straight and tall, like a mighty, centuries-old sequoia that inspires and delights generations of human onlookers. 

But, it didn’t. Instead, the tree adapted to the environment and the forces acting upon it. And those bent trees still inspire and delight humans — just, differently.

C’mon Alex, bent trees? What?

Please forgive my forest-induced self-indulgence. But, the start of Q4 and the looming new year has me thinking. Over the past 18 months, I’ve nurtured a little tree of my own. I planted my content consulting business and tended its branches to help it grow tall and mighty. A sequoia of excellent content production and management.

But, like Mother Nature, you can feel the Market’s invisible hand (shout out Adam Smith) influence that growth. The canopy is busy, and the light is scarcer. My business has bent to survive. 

I neither admonish my business for its need to change, nor do I regret how it’s changed. In fact, those changes let me meet amazing people and do incredible work for organizations I’m proud to help. My little tree inspires and delights me in ways I never predicted.

That said, this bend also leaves me questioning my ability and desire to tend this business for the long haul. Do I see myself growing the tree as-is for the next two years? Five? Ten?

And I have decided that no, I do not. At least, not how I’ve done it to this point.

So, you’re quitting?

Sorta. I currently work with several fantastic clients. I have more joining my roster this month. And I’m interested in working with even more. Especially those with big white papers, research reports, or case studies to write.

But, I need my tree to grow on its own a while longer. Plant it in the greenhouse and let it become a mighty side business.

And in the meantime, I’ll return to a full-time in-house role.

I’m looking for that role now. Ideally, I’d love to continue my work in developing a company’s content program, team, and strategic and execution capabilities. Those job titles sound like:

• Head of Content/Thought Leadership Development
• Content Strategy Lead 
• Director of Digital/Content Marketing

I can even jazz it up with my recent AI experience (talk about bending the tree). I’d be unsurprised to see titles like “AI-Driven Content Strategist” appear more often. I’m down for those roles, too.

As for industries…I’ve been in B2B tech for a while now, so I’ve started there. But I’ve worked for clients in fields like physical/cyber security, manufacturing and logistics, and public relations. That stuff interests me. And while I like startups, I’m more interested in larger B2B companies for a full-time gig. Regardless, I’m up for hiking deeper into the forest for something new.

What about your newsletter?

I don’t know yet. I enjoy sharing cool content news with folks. And I’m so grateful for your support this past year.

At minimum, I’m turning this into a monthly newsletter. So, the next issue will drop at the start of November. I’ll still focus on important content news and tips and tricks. My Ball State professorship will offer plenty of opportunities for juicy content nuggets.

Beyond that, though, I’m unsure. But, I always appreciate y’all’s feedback. It warms my heart when you respond with a neat opportunity or an article I missed. It’s made tending the tree that much more fun, and I could use more of that right now.

Alex, how can I help you?

Oh, you’re too kind, thank you :) 

For now, I’d appreciate leads for:

1. Full-time content roles, as noted above. I’m also game for part-time options offering 20+ hours/week.
2. B2B companies seeking larger writing projects (e.g. white papers, case studies, or a series of blog posts)

I’d also be glad to figure out some kind of referral bonus for your hottest prospects.

I’m also not sharing this news super publicly right now. My social channels will still focus on growing my business and sharing content how-to’s. But, you’re welcome to tell others around you if it helps fulfill Item 1 on the above list.

Lastly, thank you. Besides torturing a tree analogy, I wasn’t overly thrilled to write this post. And my heart’s beating fast as I schedule this email. Change — and the future — can be scary. 

But, I appreciate your support and enthusiasm for my business to-date and The Executive’s Guide to the Content Galaxy. It has meant the world to me.

It’s been a fun ride so far — and we’re not done yet. Maybe we’re taking a detour, and that’s okay. We’ll bend the tree and see where the forces-that-be guide us.

Thank you all,

Alex

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Stellar content about content

Google Recognizes Content Creators: A Breakthrough for E-E-A-T and SEO

By Jason Barnard, Search Engine Land

So hey, we're seeing a big win for topical authority emerge from Google. The Almighty Algorithm now recognizes individual content creators and elevates them as trusted sources.

It looks like Google is trying to reward individual users for their expertise. I imagine the desire for fresh data for its Gemini AI platform might drive some of this change. But, to the larger question of AI-generated content, attaching personhood to online content might help separate people from bots — and give positive reinforcement for companies to do so.

Dig into the article for SEO tactics for content creators.

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Emerging Tech Future Report: Updating Our Generative AI Outlook

By PitchBook

Industry analyst PitchBook made a bunch of predictions about generative AI, including how enterprises might use it and where it could affect specific industry verticals. The company revisited its predictions and expanded on their takes in this quarterly report.

If you've been riding the AI train recently, you would not be surprised to hear enterprises have been taking it slow with adoption. As the report puts it:

Although enterprise adoption is widespread, we believe that traditional cost concerns are restraining investments. Outside of a few obvious integrations (such as more intelligent chatbots), we believe that many enterprises have taken a “wait and see” approach as today’s startups continue to develop their offerings.

Questions on costs and data privacy and security swirl around generative AI. PitchBook notes how these and other challenges have altered AI's trajectory.

Fair warning: The full report is behind a content gate. But, it's been an interesting read so far.

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Closing the AI Gap in Internal Communications

By Justin Joffe, Ragan

Continuing the AI discussion, we have a new report from Ragan and Ruder Finn on how internal comms leaders have deployed generative AI so far. Much like the PitchBook report found, there's a big ol' discrepancy between goals and actual implementation.

Interestingly, resistance isn't coming from the top:

The research found that C-suite communicators are twice as likely to use AI than less senior internal communicators — 83% of C-suiters surveyed said they use AI daily, compared with 41% of senior and mid-level respondents.

There's also a sizeable gap in training comms pros on AI. And respondents reported that most training kinda sucks. So, if you're considering AI use in your comms programs, learn it first from the companies making it. And then help your team figure out how to actually use this stuff. (Shameless plug: I can help with this.)

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Content from my pocket of the galaxy

Sorry, gang — nothing here this time around. Be back soon with more!

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See you soon,

Alex