Prologue

My youngest daughter and I shared a silent, I’m-about-to-throw-up mind meld over the dinner table.

Two nights in a row.

We somehow managed to quell our gag reflexes.

Finished each meal without much drama.

But, it’s been… challenging.

Here’s the deal:

My husband is trying to eat mostly vegan these days.

For health reasons.

If you don’t know what vegan is, it’s plant-based only.

No meat (duh), but also no animal products (eggs, butter, etc.).

He’s not trying to force it on us.

But he is our home chef.

And I don’t want him feeling like he’s got to cook two meals every night.

Also, I’m not a huge fan of slopping a pile of lentils on my plate and pretending I’m satisfied.

So I’ve started collecting recipes for variety.

We’re in an experimental phase.

Monday night was salad with seasoned chickpeas.

No complaints.

Tuesday, we had a pureed carrot and red lentil soup.

It was really thick and had a mostly cumin / onion taste.

Pretty gross.

Last night, we tried BBQ jackfruit “pulled pork” sandwiches and beans.

Not as gross.

But, still, very strange.

It’s going to take a while to find recipes we like.

To stop exchanging “are-you-able-to-swallow-this?” looks across the table.

Is there a content lesson here?

Yep:

You don’t just declare you’re going to do a thing and do it well within the first few tries.

It takes time to experiment.

To find a way to make it work for you.

When you launch new content tactics like organic social, podcasts, newsletters, a live series, or whatever you’re hoping to try in 2023, don’t expect them to take off overnight.

You’ll probably feel a little nauseous several times along the way.

An optimistic attitude and determination can help you push through and endure the phase of being bad at a thing until you’re good at a thing.

This week’s digest of content includes some inspiring pieces that could prompt greatness. Bon appetit!”

Newsletter Tips

Time To Clean Up Your Email List

Yanna-Torry Aspraki delivers a few tips in this Inbox Collective article:

• Never buy an email list
• Beware of the spam trap
• Segmentation and reactivation opportunities
• Your list might shrink sometimes, and that’s OK

I love this:

“Everyone wants to reach a big audience! But just because you’re reaching more people doesn’t mean they’re automatically going to pay attention to what you have to say.”

Content Marketing

A Free “Helpful Content” Guide Worth Downloading

MarketMuse has put together a guide designed to help you better understand Google’s Helpful Content update. Download it for free here (name and email required).

Demand Generation And SEO

Can you create demand with SEO?

In this LinkedIn post with a companion video, Gaetano Nino DiNardi says nope, but that you can

• capture demand
• build audiences
• educate the market

He also emphasizes that you can create content for terms you want to be known for before they have search demand, the way Hubspot did with Inbound Marketing.

Check out more examples here.

Have You Listened To These Content Marketing Podcasts?

Looking for a new podcast to help improve your content marketing?

Here’s a list of 8 good ones from Cierra Loflin.

By the way, she didn’t include promotional ones, those without solid substance, and the ones that show up on Google as “best content marketing podcasts.”

Discovered via Ghost Newsletter.

Content Crimes

In her LinkedIn post, Emilia Korczynska lists 3 of the worst content crimes she thinks you can commit:

1. Influffation, aka inflation of fluff (I really hope this word catches on!)
2. Haunting “distribution cemeteries”
3. Optimising for search volume over intent

Learn more.

Guilty?

Marketing

Your Homepage Copy Shouldn’t Be Confusing

When people arrive at your homepage, can they easily identify what it is you do/offer?

Make sure you’re not just assuming they do by frequently interviewing prospects in your ICP about what they think the copy means (without leading them to say what you want to hear).

Additionally, follow Emily Kramer’s 6 steps for creating effective homepage copy (it’s a Twitter thread).

Wait. These Were Dead?

Traditional marketing tactics can feel… old. But what if they’re just mature?

Emily Noel reports that these 3 (somewhat) older marketing tactics are making a comeback (with a few updates):

1. Direct Mail
2. Blogs
3. Cold Emails

I don’t get much direct mail, but I’ve not experienced a lull in publishing blogs or receiving cold emails.

While I may not agree that blogs were ever out of style, I enjoyed the way Emily structured this article, the bits about how these tactics can be updated for 2023, and the success stories she included for each “comeback.”

Discovered via Social Media Today.

Writing

Try This Storytelling Tip

Stuck in a storytelling rut? Try replacing your “and thens” with “but” or “therefore.”

This TikTok from Story First Media explains why and how it works.

Audience Ops Insights

Today’s insights are courtesy Sara Robinson, Director of Operations at Audience Ops, whose team has shouldered the overwhelming bits for our podcast clients over the years.

From Sara:

“We’re in the process of handling the heavy lifting for Ashley Amber Sava’s soon-to-launch Unpopular Opinion podcast.

Our job on the production side is to make it as easy as possible for Ashley to do her thing and produce content about something she’s passionate about:

Actual unpopular opinions (not the ones that many people claim are unpopular, but really are as common as peppermint in the winter time).

So what 3 tasks make it run smoothly?!

1️⃣ Get everyone on the same page and get clear on responsibilities.

Having an initial kickoff meeting helped Ashley and I get clear on what she wants to create. We discussed the production help we can give and what she wants to own in the process.

A second kickoff call with the creative team allowed us to be clear on who’s responsible for what, but also let them hear directly from Ashley what she wants to create. This is super helpful for our designer so that we can start developing show artwork.

2️⃣ Create shared documents for the process.

After kickoff call #1, I put together a doc that outlined call #2, what we’d discuss, and what people need to come prepared with.

I also added in a tentative timeline for the kickoff phase so that we know what to expect, but also so that everyone can compare this against their other projects and we can decide if this first phase’s timeline is realistic (good news—it is! Looks like you can expect to hear Unpopular Opinion Podcast in early 2023!)

3️⃣ Use a project management tool.

Docs are great, but when it comes to a project that has multiple people, tasks, and mini-projects, you need to keep it all organized. We’re using ClickUp for this, but I’ve used Trello for kicking off podcasts as well.”

What she’s learned over time

“The early steps of a podcast launch are critical and help create momentum for the show. Getting organized at the start helps you keep track of critical details (like getting your website set up!) which means you’re more likely to hit your ideal launch date.”

Opt In Challenge

Stop Trying To “Do Story” And Actually Become A Storyteller

Jay Acunzo thinks the way we understand story in business needs to evolve.

Your Opt In Challenge this week is to read this thought-provoking piece and consider if you’re focusing more on process than posture and practice.

Now, go out and create something SINGULAR.

Signature

Let me know. Reply, email me at Ashley[at]optinweekly.com, or find me on LinkedIn to hit me with some feedback. I’d love to know what you think.

Happy content marketing (and newslettering),