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Hello, fellow content peeps!

I’m back again this week to take a quick look at some of the Friday night reflections from the world of content.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the content strategies that win these days + what it takes to build a solid content team; I’ve got some Friday night thoughts.

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This week, I enjoyed getting my ‘hands in the dirt’ on a few content strategies, and boy, oh boy, do I love it.

Here are just a few of my observations on this Friday evening for you:

The harder ‘creative’ content plays are winning.

I’ve heard this theme come up over and over again in my discussions with my fellow creatives + publishers lately.

While I never recommend overcomplicated content workflows, I do feel like the strategies that are getting some traction these days are doing a few more things than workflows of the past:

• Pulling in more experts, opinions and insights to make content better

• Data mining to uncover first-party data that doesn’t exist, or is more timely

• Doing more ‘on the ground’ real-world research

These are just a few of the things I’ve been thinking about more and more these days.

In a sea of AI-generated and templated content, and SEO-created articles served to us through Google, thoughtful, creative work that offers something new stands out.

And, my friends… nothing beats on-the-ground, real-world research. If you can bring this to your audience, you are already ahead of the game.

Last month, I went to the UK on a family trip.

I planned the entire trip on my phone on the weekends leading up to the trip. It became my Saturday morning ritual for the few weeks leading up to our adventure.

I really wanted to do a couple of things, one of which was to take my kid to see a Newcastle United FC game—if not in the stadium, somewhere in town where he could get the real fan vibe.

If you know, you know. Newcastle fans are a dedicated bunch!

I did a lot of online research and visited a few forums, websites, and Twitter accounts to see how I could get some tickets and, if I couldn’t get tickets, where I could take him to see the game with the same ‘atmosphere’.

There was so much conflicting information out there, to be sure! I wasn’t sure I should even order tickets to the match (they are technically illegal) and many, many people recommended a few pubs in the area to take my kid to.

Only, once I was in the UK did I learn a few things.

On-the-ground research is super valuable these days.

First, many pubs don’t allow under 16s in the pubs on game days. This was unclear in a lot of searches.

Secondly, if there is a 3 pm game, it’s not televised in the UK. One of the matches wasn’t televised in any pub while we were there because of a country-wide broadcast ban. I discovered it when we went to a local pub to watch the game. Ugh.

Third, I found a great, family-friendly, pet-friendly place next to the stadium to see the game, which didn’t come up in my online searches AT ALL.

We had a blast and even got a great tour of the stadium, so all is well, but I couldn’t have planned this trip completely online. There is still a lot of real-world information, experiences, tips, and insights we can bring to the digital world that people will find helpful.

Those willing to do the hard yards and gain these kinds of insights will be way ahead of those who don’t.

Finding and surfacing fresh content ideas, and harnessing real expertise, stories and offline, real-world insights takes time and is a much more complex workflow.

For those willing to do the hard yards, I see a lot of ways to win.

It’s personalization for the win, I think.

This keeps coming up with my publisher friends and content friends who are seeing some wins.

Personalization is the secret ingredient to make your content stand out.

Content tailored to individual user experiences is driving engagement like never before.

If you can leverage first-party data and deliver a more personalized point of view with your content, you are ahead of so many who are just regurgitating old playbooks.

I’ve heard (and this is anecdotal) that this is also the key to the publishers seeing some gains this year after HCU, and it makes sense to me.

Personalizing the content is another layer in building real brands, appealing to an audience, and having people come back for more—all elements that give you an edge in today’s digital landscape.

I’ve heard this come up so much in my talks this month. I’ve been pushing it for a while, but I think it’s now table stakes if you want a fighting chance.

We are getting back into the content creation weeds to figure out new playbooks.

As content managers face mounting pressure to do more with less, many are rediscovering the value of getting 'back into the weeds.' Instead of rushing content out the door, teams are slowing down to build thoughtful, high-impact content strategies.

This means getting hands-on with the editorial process, embracing deep collaboration with subject matter experts, and using robust workflows that prioritize quality over quantity. While the pace may seem counterintuitive, taking it slower lets us produce more strategic, impactful, and tailored content. As we build smarter content strategies, it’s becoming clear that quality over quantity is back in style—and winning.

Writers - There’s still work, but it might not look the same.

If there’s one piece of advice I’d like to give to writers this week, you will have to join the club and be a bit more flexible if you want to find new opportunities.

Yes.

I know it’s a brutal year for many of you. Content is evolving, but flexible, fresh perspectives are more valuable than ever.

But this may mean thinking outside the creative box a bit. I’ve hired hundreds of writers over the years, and the ones I continue to reach out to have this innate ability to learn new editorial processes quickly, are flexible and are willing to learn a few new tricks.

• Can you adapt to new editorial processes and stay flexible?

• Are you up for experimenting with less structured, more conversational styles?

• Can you create content that stands out in an AI-heavy, SEO-saturated landscape?

The fundamentals of what we do are still there, but there will be some differences.

I think the tide is turning, and again, I’m seeing this anecdotally in my content world, but we, as creatives, have to be willing to re-learn a few tricks.

If you are looking for your next gig, I have some good news! I am looking for some help!

Call for Writers and More - I’m Hiring

I’m actively looking for some subject matter experts, writers, and more for some of our Reddit marketing projects, and I would love to hear from you.

Even if I don’t have anything in the pipeline for you right now, please contact me directly if you have some bandwidth.

Specifically, I am looking for:

• Creative Account Managers (ideally with niche experience and writing skills)

• Community Builders / Managers

• Writers and SMEs in business tools, fitness and health, pet care, sleep, lifestyle, and more

• Writers and editors with real-world Reddit experience

If this sounds like you, please get in touch with me here: [email protected] — I would love to connect with you!

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Things to Read, Watch, and Ponder

▶️ Lily Ray is joining the Moz team to discuss the future of search, answering some questions in this upcoming webinar; sign up here.

▶️ Rand Fishkin weighs in on the big SEO question of the day — how can our brands appear in answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and other AI/LLM tools? This 5-minute whiteboard is worth watching here.

▶️ Fellow publisher Brandon Saltalamacchia shares his thoughts on the future of publishing in this raw, insightful post here.

That’s it for this Friday night with me!

Cheers! Amy

Some Bonus Newsletters You’ll Love

If you want to get into the weeds on these topics, here are some newsletters that I read regularly that I think you’ll enjoy: