What Happens When a Marketing Team Rethinks Its Entire Content Strategy
Introducing my new "Build Up" Series, where I break down — and rebuild — marketing programs. Our first guest is UserEvidence.
Yo! Welcome to the next episode of The Reeder — content strategy and growth in <5 minutes. First time reading? Subscribe here. |
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Jillian was at a crossroads.
She's the content lead at UserEvidence and facing the classic content marketing dilemma.
Figuring out which content is working and which isn't, and ultimately making the difficult "keep or kill" decision.
- The podcast wasn’t growing anymore. Should they kill it?
- The blog content calendar was drying up. Should they keep it?
- The video interview series was thriving. But was it enough?
In marketing, every choice meant a trade-off. Every decision had consequences. The wrong move could waste months of effort, and the right one could take you to the next level.
And sometimes the weight of these decisions turns into pressure.
Lean into it.
You should reflect on your work regularly to stay lean. To stay on point. Your content strategy is all about performance — so it needs occasional maintenance.
I'm a marketing advisor for UserEvidence, so I meet with Julian and the marketing team often to chat about growth and strategy.
This time we tackled: Where do we grow from here?
Step 1: Identify What’s Broken (And Why)
The podcast has stalled out and isn’t growing.
"I used to see and hear about the podcast, but not much lately. Why?" I wondered.
Jilian revealed their original format, with 3-4 guests, was very successful.
But scheduling became too challenging, so they pivoted to 1:1 conversations a few months ago.
Hold that thought.
Because meanwhile…
They launched a video series and it's booming.
Mark Huber (VP of Marketing) goes to events, golfs with Dave Gerhardt, and interviews marketing leaders.
It's insanely good content, and they’ve done a great job distributing it. I see it all over LinkedIn. There’s a good chance you have too.
They didn't stop there. Their Evidence Gap Report crushed.
But there are other things at play.
When you join a new company, you adopt baggage.
Meanwhile, the blog was running out of steam. They let go of their writing agency, and with no fresh content in the pipeline, it was time to decide: invest or cut it loose?
Step 2: Make the Tough Calls
After digging in, here’s my take:
Keep the podcast—if you change the format.
If you’re going to keep doing the 1:1 podcast format and the video series — Cut the podcast.
It's redundant content capture and underperforming.
BUT, that’s not my recommendation.
Turn it into a digital event first, podcast second.
Host it live to get real-time engagement, then release it as a podcast.
Now you'll get all the upside of a digital event and a proven podcast format. Big upside for a little more work.
Lastly, take all those 1:1 interviews that Mark is doing around the industry and make those unexpected “bonus” podcast episodes throughout the month. Those are for your raving fans to enjoy and keep you top of mind. There's also something to be said for a show that simply has a lot of published episodes. It's credible.
Kill the blog.
You could probably kill your corporate blog, and no one would notice.
Because no one is looking at SaaS blogs for information.
We don't find information like that anymore. Because of social media and podcasts — information finds us.
So if you’re going to “just repurpose other content as blogs” — that’s pointless.
Here's my philosophy:
If I'm taking the time to publish the blog, I should also be willing to put in the time to measure and grow the blog.
It’s a waste to do ANY content marketing just for the sake of it. Be greedy. Do the things that bring you the most success and feel empowered to eliminate the things that don't.
Better to focus elsewhere. You can always resuscitate later.
Double down on video. It's working.
The differentiated video content is probably the centerpiece of their content.
Protect it at all costs.
I'd place my big bet here and scale production and distribution.
Step 3: Build the Content Flywheel
Most marketing teams run on content islands—siloed channels that don’t feed each other. We turned those channels into a flywheel.
-Webinar becomes a podcast
-Podcast fuels short-form clips
-Short-form clips drive engagement and discovery
This way, every piece of content builds momentum instead of standing alone.
Final Takeaway: Be Ruthless. Be Intentional.
I'm cautious before going all John Wick and "killing" a content program.
In my experience, you'll see more success by finding the kink in the hose than buying a new one.
-Cut what’s draining you
-Double down on what’s working
-Make bold bets that move the needle
Because every minute spent on meh marketing is time stolen from great marketing.
Holler at you later,
Devin
PS: If you'd like me to help you find and solve gaps in your strategy so you can grow faster — hit reply and let's chat.
How to Build a Multi-Million-Dollar Content Engine
Nick Cegelski founded one of the fastest-growing sales podcasts on the planet.
He recently joined me on Reed Between The Lines to share how to:
→ Create un-ignorable content offers that drive downloads
→ Scale into new channels without burning out and wasting money
→ Maximize engagement with high-impact content distribution tactics
Watch on YouTube
