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— Ann Gynn

🟩 ATTRACT → 🟧 CONVERT → ⬜ RETAIN → ⬛ AMPLIFY

I know I need to create content to market my business, but I waste a lot of time staring at a blank screen trying to figure out what to say. Sometimes I turn to AI just to get something started, but the results often feel generic or disconnected from what I’m trying to accomplish. How can I make content creation easier — and make sure what I create actually helps my business?

I’ve been there. The blank screen stares at you, waiting patiently. The cursor blinks, daring you to type a word.

You’re tempted to head to ChatGPT and ask it to do all the writing. 

Resist the temptation. Don’t start creating the content. Start creating a content brief.

A content brief doesn’t just make it easier to get started. It connects what you create to what your business needs to accomplish.

As a former journalist, I’m a fan of the 5Ws + H model: who, what, where, when, why, and how. For marketing, I use the 5Ws + 2Hs. Let me share:

Think audience: Knowing who you’re creating for is the foundation for any good marketing.

Think benefit: Your target audience should get something from consuming the content. Will they be better informed? Will it help them solve a pain point? Will it entertain them?

Think format: Blog article? Video? Social media post? Guide? Something else? The content format automatically provides helpful creation parameters.

Think distribution: Website, email, YouTube channel, LinkedIn, etc.? If you plan to repackage the content for multiple channels, that’s great. Just make sure you pick a primary distribution vehicle around which you’ll develop the original content.

Think timing and context: Is this an evergreen piece they’ll find when they search for help? Is it a timely newsletter item? Will they use it in the decision phase or when they become aware of a problem?

Think purpose: How will it help your business? A piece designed to position you as a subject matter expert will look different from content intended to motivate an audience to subscribe to a newsletter.

Think metrics: Knowing how you’ll assess this content’s success will inform the creation process. If the metric is newsletter subscribers, the content and call to action should give readers a reason to want more. If the metric is reach, you might create something shorter and easier to consume and share. 

Once you’ve answered these seven questions, you’re ready to create. And if you want to turn to ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or whatever AI tool you use, give it the brief. The more relevant information you feed it, the more useful its output will be.

And whether it’s you or AI, the screen won’t be blank for long.

Got a question you’d like me to answer in a future edition of The Hotline? Call or text Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.

This week: Download the MBO Content Brief template (below). Look at the next piece of content on your to-do list. Can you answer all seven questions about it? If not, complete the content brief.

Want to go deeper? Get The New Recipes for Standout Content and Marketing Writing guide I wrote for the Content Marketing Institute. It’s free, but you'll need to register.

Hopefully, my video pain will be your gain. I was creating a mobile video and wanted Canva to create B-roll by panning a horizontal image. ChatGPT integrates with Canva. So I asked it for help. We spent 90 minutes before it determined my version of Canva couldn’t do what I wanted. Only then did it tell me, “Do you want me to create an MP4 file that pans the image?”

OMG. It knew it could do what I wanted, but it didn’t tell me until we had exhausted all other options.

So, now I use this prompt: “I want to do X. Is that something you can create, or is there a tool you recommend I use to do it?”

Try it. It may save you hours (and your sanity).

Have any AI tricks of your own? Hit reply, call, or text the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.

Run a semantic search for a thesis or sector, like "GLP-1 exposure" or "commercial real estate," and read what experts have said about it, speaker-attributed and timestamped.

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Does your email signature include more than your contact info? If not, add a CTA — subscribe, book a call, visit your site, read this content, attend something, etc.

🗂️ Meta B: Instagram added new Edits features — folders and bookmarks to help keep projects organized. And now, you can turn any photo into a moving clip with an AI prompt. (Or maybe just do it through AI—see my AI This Week note above.)

✂️ Clip it: In keeping with the video theme, LinkedIn added an option that uses AI to create recommended clips and chapters from your live events on the platform. Great help for repackaging content for greater distribution.

👀 Watch counts: YouTube defines views as when a video appears and plays for a second. Engaged views occur when someone watches more than the first frame or actively clicks to watch. Qualified views are engaged views on public long-form videos. Which metric matters to you?

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Got a question you’d like me to answer in The Hotline? Email me or DM me on LinkedIn. Even better: Text or leave a message on the Marketing By One Hotline: +1.440.661.3984.