How I escaped "checkbox marketing" and broke company-wide pipeline gen record (and how you can too)
Devin Reed
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Today
How to escape checkbox marketing
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I joined as Head of Content at Clari to build our brand, category, and pipeline.
But one of the first expectations was to publish two corporate blogs every week.
Odd, I thought.
So I dug into why.
I discovered that the sales team wanted them because they believed marketing = blogs.
The logic? When prospects hit our website, they needed to see we were "legit."
Everything in me wanted to revolt. But I was new. So I played along... for one quarter.
I hired a writer and cranked out four “good enough” corporate blogs per month. There weren’t any goals or KPIs They weren't SEO optimized. They weren't part of a category strategy.
(Because this is exactly what was asked demanded of me.)
Then I did something radical in Q2: I stopped.
Instead of churning out blogs, we focused on ONE major product launch.
We put all our energy into creating thoughtful, high-impact content that would actually move buyers.
The result? We had our biggest quarter of new pipeline in company history.
That single campaign drove more demo requests in one day than all our corporate blogs combined.
And while I’d “won the battle” — I realized there was something much bigger in play.
We were stuck doing “checkbox marketing”
Checkbox marketing is the habit of producing low-quality marketing efforts as a box-checking exercise.
→ Weekly email blast? Check. → Two blogs per week? Check. → Monthly webinar series? Check. → Results that moved the needle? crickets
When I first read his article, it felt like he was peering into my soul. I felt seen. I felt understood. And I felt like I had to do something immediately.
Our marketing team was busier than ever, but with little results to show for it.
That’s because the marketing team was measured by outputs not outcomes.
And that’s a terrible way to drive incremental growth for the company — and definitely not how I want to grow my career.
How to tell if you're stuck in the checkbox marketing trap:
Most teams fall into it slowly, like picking up bad habits – one compromise at a time until they become the norm.
You start excited about making an impact. Then the pressure to "show progress" creeps in. Before you know it, you're trapped in a cycle of outputs over outcomes.
→ Your strategy is a list of tactics (blog, social, email) instead of desired outcomes → You measure success by output metrics (# of posts) instead of impact metrics (pipeline) → Your team celebrates consistency more than results → You're too busy "keeping up" to try new, potentially game-changing ideas → Your content calendar looks more like a to-do list than a strategic plan
But there's hope.
You can escape checkbox marketing. Here's how:
Have an honest conversation with leadership about output vs. impact. Ask directly: "If I have an idea that will drive bigger results but means less output, is that okay?"
Bring data to support your case. At Clari, I showed that our corporate blogs were getting less than 300 visits each, with practically zero conversions. Hard to argue with those numbers.
Take calculated risks. Sometimes you have to prove the new way works better than the old way. But don't just stop doing something – replace it with a better alternative.
Develop what Brendan calls "content IP" Give words and phrases to problems your audience faces. When you nail this, you'll stand out naturally because you're solving real problems instead of checking boxes. At Clari, it was Revenue Leak.
Focus on outcomes over outputs. Ask yourself: "What do we actually want to achieve?" Then work backwards to determine what content will get you there.
I've seen this work not just at Clari, but with dozens of B2B companies I've advised.
Marketers who break free from checkbox marketing and focus on solving specific audience problems consistently see better results.
My approach? Content Strategy Design — a system for creating content that converts attention into action. It's helped companies escape checkbox marketing and build strategies that actually drive growth.
It’s a system that uses content IP, executive-level goal-setting, and a flywheel distribution model to ensure maximum visibility and ROI from content marketing.
It’s helped companies like Gong, Clari, Centrical, Myinterview, and more:
→ Grow a niche audience of people who can make and influence buying decisions → Become a trusted and leading authority in their industry → Turn content into a reliable engine for qualified pipeline
Time to stop checking boxes and start driving results.
But here's the thing - this isn't just about fixing a broken system.
It's about reclaiming your time, energy, and creativity to do work that actually matters.
Work that moves the needle. Work that makes you proud.
Holler at you later, Devin
PS: This is just the beginning. Next week we're going DEEP on content IP. You'll get:
→ The exact framework for creating content IP that resonates → Three examples of B2B companies crushing it with content IP → A step-by-step guide to building your own
Good times ahead.
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