Content Pros Update is a free, monthly recap newsletter of all goings-on from The Content Technologist. It is distributed on Substack, Medium, LinkedIn Newsletters, and to monthly subscribers of The Content Technologist on roughly the third Tuesday of every month.

It's been a while since we sent our social/recap newsletter, but we've finally cleared enough room in the workflow to restart this overview so we can save room in our weekly Thursday newsletters for our best content.

In brief, here's everything going on so far in 2024 from The Content Technologist:

Limited preorders available: Get all four courses (and start More than (key)Words today!) for a deep discount here. Limited to the first 30 orders. Perks and benefits for these early adopters on their way.

  • What's Good?: A forever portal to submit your favorite links: software you can't live without, articles that get your brain moving, websites that excite, your stuff, others' stuff, you name it. Share what's good on the internet. If we think our audience would like it, we'll share.

"Audiences unfamiliar with the nuances of the medium will not see the discrepancy between how the computer automates content and how a professional would construct a similar product. But I see the shorthand in the process, and I'm frustrated that I have to learn a new way of doing things and correct a machine's—or a CEO's—mistakes. The software company did not build with experienced users in mind."

Acting is actually doing something: On craft and its role in content production
The thing about great ideas is that they also need to be accompanied by the skills to execute to completion. Acting is actually doing something, as a great teacher once said.
The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

High school acting class has a deep influence on how I think about craft and production.

More from the newsletter:

"Digital-first companies believe they can hack their way around or disrupt the realities of human content production. Performance-oriented digital marketing and content companies will often hire senior editors with a background in journalism, only to find that the journalist’s honed skills in fact-checking and editorial quality control can be an impediment to productivity and, thus, revenue generation.

"The company doesn’t scope for the journalist’s actual skills. And the journalist will back away from learning about the business requirements because their professional education insisted that business and content were separate endeavors; or push back on audience research, suggesting that the audience’s needs were secondary to the production of quality information or news."

What is content administration? | The Content Technologist
Nestled between strategy and production, content administration provides the necessary legal, budgetary, structural, and forecasting functions for content of all types to succeed in corporate environments.
The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Content, on its own, can be a significant expense. Read more about how strong admin makes content profitable.

"In the past decade or so of content marketing and web self-publishing, many businesses ignored the idea phase of content, focusing only on the immediate outcomes (traffic or revenue) and giving little thought to brand reputation. 

But when we publish content on behalf of a business — for any reason at all — we are always making an argument. We are always floating an idea for our audience to accept or reject. Otherwise, why are we speaking if we do not have something to say?"

Cultivating ideas in content production: This one weird trick will separate the bots from the professionals
When we publish content on behalf of a business — for any reason at all — we are always making an argument. We are always floating an idea for our audience to accept or reject. How can we bring ideas to the forefront of content production?
The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

For more on ideas, read this one.

"Content strategy defines why, how, where, and for whom a company creates content. It comprises the activities that connect business goals with audience (aka consumer, customer, user, or client) needs, defines content’s purpose in an organization, and specifies the conditions that make content successful."

Revising the definition of content strategy
How can we better elevate content strategy at the business level so that our roles, our passions, our work, and our brains are not considered replaceable?
The Content TechnologistDeborah Carver

Read the full post arguing that content strategy is NOT planning.

Upcoming events:

Our summer calendar is coming together. Here's what we have planned, with more details on their way next month:

  • Virtual event - late June - Content Strategy Meetup Australia
  • Minneapolis content analytics workshop with MIMA - August 15, 2024 - more info coming soon!

Revised media kit:

Advertise with us! We've revised our media kit for the remainder of 2024. Get your product in front of content strategy leaders at brands, agencies, vendors, and other organizations that publish content. Become one of our first toolkit sponsors.

Join the Content Strategy Expansion Pack

Preorder the Expansion Pack today
The Content Strategy Expansion Pack: An interconnected set of self-paced courses designed to help content strategists conquer content in a world of generative AI. Preorder today!

The Content Technologist is a newsletter and consultancy based in Minneapolis, working with clients and collaborators around the world. The entire newsletter is written and edited by Deborah Carver, independent content strategy consultant, speaker, and educator.

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Cultural recommendations / personal social: Spotify | Instagram | Letterboxd | PI.FYI