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Search Is Being Rewritten. So We’re Building the New Playbook.
Two weeks ago, I got my first LinkedIn DM that said: “Found you in ChatGPT.”
That’s when I realized the way people discover content is changing fast — and I don’t have a plan for it.
So I started digging — talking to experts, prompting LLMs, and researching the new playbook.
Now I'm sharing what learned so far.
Join me and Drew Brucker for a live session where we’ll break down:
✓ How to think about GEO (mindset shifts most marketers haven’t made yet)
✓ Three changes to make immediately (tactical ways to show up in AI results)
✓ How to communicate to you leadership team (and explain traffic drops with confidence)
🗓️ Thursday, July 24 | 11:00 AM PT
👉 Register here
No hype. Just two marketers learning out loud.
You'll leave with everything you need to rethink your strategy — plus our new playbook.
I spent a year at Gong creating content for the 95% of buyers who weren’t ready to buy.
We grew from 12K to 220K LinkedIn followers and generated millions in pipeline — and never talked about our product.
Below is a shortened version of the playbook I ran at Gong.
If you'd like the entire playbook, you can get it here.
Ready? Let's ride 🌊
Most marketing teams burn budget chasing the 5% who are actively buying. They’re fighting over scraps.
Meanwhile, 95% of your market isn’t even looking for you yet.
That’s where the real opportunity is.
𝗔𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲: 𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸.
For an entire year. No features. No demos. No “why Gong is better” posts.
Just pure value for sellers trying to hit quota.
Sounds crazy. But here’s what happened:
LinkedIn: 12K → 220K followers
Podcast: 100K downloads in 18 months
Webinars: 500 → 2,500 registrations
Email open rates: 28% (industry average: 15%)
But the real win?
Sales reps using our content in their calls.
Buyers showing up to demos already trusting us.
Inbound pipeline grows quarter over quarter without fail.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟵𝟱-𝟱 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴:
𝟭. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀
We mapped every micro-frustration in a rep’s day:
-Writing cold emails that get ignored
-Running discovery calls that feel like interrogations
-Handling pricing objections without panicking
Each pain point became content gold.
𝟮. 𝗕𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿
We asked ourselves:
-What are they doing that’s not working?
-What have they accepted as “just the way it is”?
-What would actually help them tomorrow?
Then we created it. No strings attached.
𝟯. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀
Instead of “Here’s what the data says…”
We’d start with: “You’re 5 minutes into a discovery call. Your buyer just said your price is too high….”
Emotion first.
Data second.
People remember stories, not statistics.
𝟰. 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽 (𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆) 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆
Blog posts for readers. Podcasts for listeners. Videos for visual learners.
Same value, different formats.
Because your audience consumes content differently.
Meet your audience where they already are.
𝟱. 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹
Forget last-touch attribution. (It’s mostly pointless).
Track:
-Follower growth
-Direct traffic (brand recall)
-Inbound opportunities
-Pipeline influenced by content
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁?
You HAVE to play the long game.
Create value without asking for anything back.
Trust that helping the 95% today will create customers tomorrow.
Most marketers fight for existing demand. The smart ones CREATE demand.
Which game are you playing?
Holler at you later,
Devin
