Erin Balsa

Content Marketing Consultant and Writer 

I build and execute content marketing strategies for sales-led B2B SaaS startups that sell complex, enterprise-ready solutions.

Erin enjoys B2B content marketing, keeping the Halloween spirit alive year-round, and talking about herself in the third person. 

No but really ... 

I've been working in content since 2011 when I landed my first job as an editor. Since then, I've worn a bunch of hats like:

- Content marketing agency leader
- Inc. 5000 B2B SaaS marketing director
- Freelance content strategist, writer, and editor

Over the years, I've written for a bunch of brands you probably know including:

- HubSpot
- Drift
- G2
- Intuit
- And a Fortune 100 that shall not be named

These days, I help marketing teams at B2B SaaS companies (Series A-C) survey a representative sample of their ICP and write a 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 original research report that positions their brand as a credible authority — to secure press mentions and close enterprise deals.

If you're ready to publish research that builds trust instead of skepticism, let's chat. And if you just want to connect with a fellow marketing nerd who decorates for Halloween in July, I'm here for that too.

Hausofbold.com

Content Marketing Consultant

I build and execute content marketing strategies for sales-led B2B SaaS startups that sell complex, enterprise-ready solutions. 

Unlike some strategists and agencies, I don't hand you a content strategy and say, "Best of luck!" I ensure your success by helping across four buckets:

▶ People 
▶ Process 
▶ Strategy
▶ Execution 

Learn more and read client testimonials at: hausofbold.com

Anyone else feeling like a bear coming out of hibernation today?

After taking extended time off for the holidays, I'm simply not ready for the onslaught of peppy "Behold my 25 top New Year's resolutions!" posts.

I want less of that and more of this:

- I need a nap but also a marketing strategy. 
- Slowly remembering how to be a professional human.
- Desperately searching for things to say at the start of the Zoom call.
- Pretending to remember what we decided before the break.
- Trying to inspire others while feeling like a potato. 
- Eh, that can probably wait until Wednesday. 

Here's to giving yourself (and others) some grace. 🥂

I help B2B marketers create original research reports

An influencer once posted about how to publish an original research study in a week. 

When I asked a technical question about data analysis, it was clear we weren't talking about the same kind of "research."

I could end the story here because IYKYK. 

But for those of you newer to publishing survey-based research reports, I'll add a pinch of color.

*𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘉𝘢𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘫𝘪*

You can NOT publish a 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 study in a week. 

Even if you collect enough quality responses in two business days — and even if you use AI to analyze the data and surface trends — that leaves you only THREE business days to do everything else:

Report strategy
Survey design
Soft launch
Data cleansing
Human review of AI output
Outline building 
Outline review
Copywriting
Editing
Revisions
Graphic design
Proofreading
More revisions
Autoresponder creation and testing
Nurture campaign creation and testing
Rev ops
Sales enablement
PR
Launch day prep
etc. etc.

Shoot, I spend an entire day writing survey questions!

So yeah, it's possible to publish 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 in a week. But there will be trade-offs, like:

- Potential inclusion of AI hallucinations 
- Rushed survey design that produces obvious, shallow insights
- Limited analysis (no time for meaningful cross tabs or synthesis)
- Weak narrative cohesion that undermines thought leadership
- A report that screams "we built dis 4 leads!"

If your goal is credibility, increased trust, and research that actually shapes the conversation in your space, one week simply won't cut it.

I help B2B marketers create survey-based research reports 📈 Next available report kickoff date → April 6

Turns out the rumors are true. 







Washing machines really DO eat socks. 

I’m enjoying a typical morning of juggling work and home responsibilities. 

Today, the appliance repair guy is here fixing our front load washing machine, which has been leaking due to a rip in the door gasket. 

As the guy was fishing around inside the recesses of the machine, he pulled out a freaking sock. 

45 years old and I’m still learning something new almost every day. 🤭

The most difficult part of transitioning from a retainer-based biz to a project-based biz?

Scheduling 

Survey-based research reports are complex projects with lots of moving pieces. 

And even though I’ve developed — and refined — my report project management template over the past 8 years, scheduling multiple overlapping timebound reports has been surprisingly challenging. 

That said … 

Back in my agency days, I used to manage writer resources for 15+ full-time writers to the 30-MINUTE UNIT! 

Imagine your agency has 350 clients.  Each client gets different types and amounts of content. In order to maximize profits, you need to assign each writer as much work as they can humanly handle — and keep their assignment log full at all times, in spite of frequent delays on the client side. And now imagine that one 30-minute unit is equal to 200 words of “standard content,” 150 words of “premium content,” 100 words of “responsive content,” 1 page of an e-book, a 250-word “gold infographic,” a 500-word “silver infographic,” a 300-word video script (and so on and so forth). 

It was nuts. 🥜 

But that’s the kind of workload I managed — by hand, inside various spreadsheets, long before ChatGPT — for 3.5 years. 

So yeah, scheduling multiple report projects for myself is tricky, but I got this.

No alternative text description for this image

🎬 Behind the scenes of making a Navattic research report 🎬 l

Multiple marketing leaders have told me they love Navattic's reports, so Natalie Marcotullio and I figured it would be cool to show you how Navattic "makes the sausage."

I'll be sharing bits of our 30-minute Q&A across a few different posts.

Erin: When did the idea for your "State of the Interactive Demo Report" first come about?

Natalie: The first report was published in 2023, which means the idea came about in 2022. We kept getting questions from customers and prospects asking for data. When you sell to marketers, they really love data — so it was a no brainer! Let's build a resource that succinctly answers all these questions that we can share whenever someone asks a question.

Erin: What questions were your customers and prospects asking?

Natalie: Customers ask questions like, "How long should I make my demo?" and "What kind of language should I use?" Prospects usually want help making their case internally. So with the benchmarks in hand, they can say to their leadership: "Demos convert at a higher rate than other assets we use," or "If we invest in this, here's what we can expect."

Erin: What was the primary question you were trying to answer when you created your first report?

Natalie: What do top-performing interactive demos have in common? 

Erin: How has that primary question evolved, if at all?

Natalie: In the 2026 report, we're still trying to answer what top-performing interactive demos have in common ... but we're getting more granular. People don't just want to hear how their demo compares against ALL the demos built on Navattic — they want to measure performance within their industry or for their company size. Also, we now have lots more features, and people have specific questions about those. For example, "That extra CTA banner that's always across the demo — is that commonly used in the top 1% of demos?"

👉 Navattic's 2026 State of the Interactive Product Demo 2026 report drops next week. 

Want to be the first to see it?

Get early access here: https://lnkd.in/edZ_e7aJ

Meanwhile in Boston ... 

Just sitting here playing the "Should I try to get some work done even though there are five children in the next room?" game. 

Considering it took me 15 minutes to hear myself think long enough to write this three-word post, I’ll see myself out.

Your research report launched ... and nobody seemed to care. 

What do you do?

Welp, your first instinct might be to stick your head in the sand in shame. Totally understandable. But just know that this is fairly common.

(I recently spoke with a former colleague who spent MONTHS and THOUSANDS on a survey-based research report that didn't do a damn thing for the business.)

Fortunately this is a solvable problem — if you're willing to run a project post-mortem. Here's a simple plan of attack plus the kinds of questions that reveal what went wrong:

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗼𝗻𝗲 - 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱. 

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘵?
𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥?
𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵?

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝘄𝗼 - 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰.

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘐𝘊𝘗 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵?
𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨?
𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘴?

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 - 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆.

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦?
𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵? 
𝘐𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 - 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. 

𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸?
𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘦?
𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?

And if you'd like an outside opinion on where things broke down, I'm always here to help!

The 2026 State of the Interactive Product Demo report just dropped! 👀 

Navattic analyzed the top 1%, 10% and 25% of demos built on their platform to uncover what actually works.

They found that top 1% interactive demos do 7 specific things:

1) They keep it short (5-13 steps).

2) They offer choices. 

Demos that give people options (explore different product lines, personas, or use cases) have a 57% completion rate vs. single-flow demos, which have a 35% completion rate.

3) They get Step One right.

On step one, 29% use "you/your" language, 24% add visual beacons to indicate where users should look, and 15% give explicit instructions. 

4) They use multiple CTAs inside the demo.

Believe it or not, they use 4-5 CTAs per demo on average! Most CTAs are actionable (Try for free, Book a demo, Get started).

5) They deploy interactive demos all over the dang place.

50% of top performers have demos in multiple places:

- Product pages: 62% (up from 19% last year)
- Homepage: 48% (up from 8%)
- Demo centers: 45%

6) They tend to be ungated. 

7) They use HTML/CSS web capture. Web captures refer to HTML/CSS cloning of the front end of your product. This means the demo looks and feels real and you can edit the product data for personalization. 

👉 Download the full report for more helpful insights — like interactive demo performance and adoption by industry! 

Link in the comments.

And keep an eye out for more posts from my "Behind the scenes of making a Navattic research report" interview with Natalie Marcotullio!

Chart from Navattic's State of the Interactive Product Demo report

Yesterday I was a bear coming out of a cave. Today I'm a marketer talking about research reports.

More specifically, how brands do it wrong.

Mistake no. 1: Sloppy methodology.

You may have heard the phrase "Garbage in, garbage out."

If you build your report on a foundation of garbage data, you wind up publishing a garbage report that spreads misinformation.

And that's likely at odds with what you're trying to accomplish as a brand. 

Got 30 seconds? Watch the clip.
Got 30 minutes? Watch the full video. 

Thanks Justin Vajko for inviting me on your podcast!

What's the ROI of a research report?

As I told Justin Vajko, while there's nuance, you should generally see two outcomes:

1) In the short-term, press mentions.

There are three things you gotta get right here. 

- Your research has a newsworthy angle.
- Your report is built on high-quality data.
- You let the market know about your study.

If you get those things right, you should see press hits right away. As an example, one of my clients got a write up in an industry publication with 2.6 million daily readers on day one of their report going live.

2) In the longer-term, deal impact.

It generally takes a couple of months to see deals you can confidently attribute to the report, which is why I check in with my clients at the 3-month mark.

At the time of this recording, the same client had just told me that their report had already influenced a few enterprise deals and a few renewals.

Enterprise deals are big, and they take time. 

If the report was that one thing that helped buyers think, "This brand gets it. They seem credible," then I've done my job. 

👉 Liked this clip? Check out the full interview where I explain my approach: Believable Research.  

I'll drop the link in the comments as per usual.

My face when I see someone make sweeping claims about an industry based on their survey of 50 people.

(jk jk — I’m not here to judge, I’m here to help.)

If your survey sample was itsy bitsy teeny weeny, don't present your findings using words like:

everyone
no one
all

That's like walking into a room where all 50 people are wearing Nike sneakers and declaring, "Everyone wears Nike sneakers!" 

No. 

Everyone in that ROOM wears Nike sneakers.

There’s nothing wrong with surveying a small group and sharing what you found. It's a great way to spark interesting conversations on social. 

Just don't frame your findings as universal truths.

Instead, use language like:

"Of the 50 senior leaders we surveyed ... "
"The majority of respondents said ... "
"1 in 3 surveyed BDRs ... "

That way you come across as credible instead of just another vendor who stretches the truth to push their narrative and sell shit.

I believe even the hardest things, misunderstood tools, complex stories, or painful experiences, can be turned into a force for good. That’s what drew me to social media: a space that’s often written off as shallow or overwhelming, but when used well, can move people to act, connect deeply, and create real change.

After a decade working on hundreds of social media campaigns, I’ve seen both sides of it. The impact side and the frustrating side. I’ve watched leaders pour time and resources into social without results, feeling like they’re shouting into the void.

I often hear:
"Social isn't working for us."
 "This is so frustrating."
 "You're my last stop before I throw in the towel."

That’s exactly why I founded Cause Fokus—a social-first thought leadership agency that helps executives and founders step confidently into their story, build trust, and turn their influence into impact.

We use empathy-driven strategy, grounded in human psychology, to get you in the room with the people who matter most to your mission. I’ve had the privilege of leading social for U.S. policymakers, international NGOs, small businesses, professional athletes, artists, and global change-makers.

And yes, I’m very proud of my Swedish roots, so you might hear me talk a lot about quality over quantity, fika breaks ☕️, and clarity in everything I do. (That’s also why "fokus" is spelled with a k. 😉)

3 ways to work with me:

- Subscribe to my free newsletter
- Hire me as a fractional consultant
- Hire our team for LinkedIn content strategy & support

CASE STUDY: Turning Influence into Opportunity

A CEO of a patient advocacy foundation came to me with a big problem: no traction from their company’s LinkedIn ad campaigns. Cold outreach was falling flat. They were losing momentum with healthcare partners—and couldn’t afford to keep spinning their wheels.

Our solution:

We activated the Chief Development Officer’s personal LinkedIn presence.
In his own voice, we posted 3–4 times a week, spoke directly to the pain points of ideal partners, engaged in strategic conversations, and sent warm, personalized messages to his top-tier contact list.

In just 6 months:
- His content reached 100,000+ impressions
- Profile views from key decision-makers jumped 508%
- Connection acceptance rate hit 60%
- A major lapsed partner re-engaged and said: “I love what you’re doing on LinkedIn. I can tell the organization is taking a turn for the better. Let’s chat.”

Because when the right people trust you, the right doors start opening.
Trust is currency. Let’s spend it well!

Brynne Krispin

One year ago today, I received this email from LinkedIn inviting me into the Top Voices program.

It's been a journey!!

But here's what I want you to know:

The badge didn't change anything.

Not my credibility, influence, or ability to connect with the right people.

All of that was built in the years before the badge ever showed up.

Every single post I published was a tiny experiment.

An experiment to figure out who I am. What I actually believe. The message I want to clearly communicate.

And an experiment to see what resonates. What sticks. What makes people stop scrolling and say, "Yes, that."

Some posts flopped. Some I cringe at even now! Some got 3 likes and a comment from my dad. 🙃

But every single one gave me data.

Data about my voice.
Data about my audience.
Data about what it looks like to keep showing up, even when it feels like no one's watching.

If you're just starting out, remember this:

→ You don't need a badge to have influence.
→ You don't need permission to share your ideas.
→ You don't need to wait until you've "figured it out."

The figuring out happens in the posting.

Every time you hit publish, you learn something. About yourself. About your audience. About what you're actually here to say.

So if you've been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for some sign that you're ready...

This is it.

Start experimenting. Start failing. Start learning.

The badge is just a byproduct. The real win is becoming the kind of person who shows up anyway.

What's one thing you've learned from posting that surprised you? 👀

Your book: polished, well-researched, years in the making.
Your keynote: compelling, rehearsed, standing ovations.
Your decades of experience: undeniable.
Your LinkedIn presence... 

😬😬😬

If this hits a little too close to home, you're not alone!

So many brilliant leaders have built incredible bodies of work, but when it comes to showing up online, it feels awkward. Unnatural. Like you're suddenly forgetting how to do the thing you've done your whole career.

You don't need to become a content creator. You just need a strategy that actually fits how you think and work.

That's exactly what we're building together in the Thoughtful Leaders Cohort starting Feb. 4!

Small group. No fluff. Just a clear path from invisible to in-demand — on your terms.

We have a few spots left, and I'd love for you to join us!! 
📓 Sign up: https://lnkd.in/eza5za4r

I've seen one LinkedIn post lead to a multi-million dollar corporate grant for a nonprofit. Here's exactly how it happened:

A subject matter expert at a nonprofit posted a niche, data-driven piece about a new initiative they were rolling out. I remember her asking, "Do you think people will actually care about all these nerdy details?" 

I said: "Yes! The nerdier the better."

She walked through why they were investing in it, shared some of the candid conversations that led to the decision, and made a case for why it was the right move.

It wasn't viral content, but it was strategic content. The post got around 10 likes.

But then a World Economic Forum employee saw that post. Sent her a DM: "This aligns so well with our conference theme. Would you be open to submitting a proposal to speak at WEF?"

She said yes.

A few months later, she gave a powerful talk on exactly what her post laid out to a room full of global leaders and policy experts.

A major corporate foundation was in the room, and they asked to meet. 
After a series of conversations and proposals, they funded a comprehensive study. 

Then another grant to develop initiatives with a local government. 
Then a third grant to support practical interventions.

One post → One DM → Millions in funding.

Now, you might say: "That's just luck. You can't plan for that."

And you're right — you can't fully predict these moments.

But you can increase the odds.

You can stop posting randomly and start positioning strategically. You can ask yourself: Who are the game-changers who need to see my content? What do they care about? What would make them stop scrolling and say, "We need this person in the room"?

Connect with them. Engage with them. Post for them.

The more you post with intention, the more you turn random into predictable.

You can wait for the right moment to find you.

Or you can create the conditions for it to happen.

What's one opportunity that came from a post you didn't expect?

I'm extremely picky about who I connect with on LinkedIn. It's one of the top questions clients ask me: 

"Should I accept every connection request? What's your process?"

My take: There's no one-size-fits-all answer. Your strategy depends on your goals, your capacity, and who you're trying to reach.

But if it's helpful, here's exactly how I filter connection requests:

First, I look at their profile. I consider:

→ What their headline says about what they do.
→ If they've posted recently, and what they're sharing.
→ Whether their content makes me think.

Then I ask myself a few questions:

→ Could I realistically see myself having a strategic conversation with this person?
→ Are they sharing ideas that challenge me or teach me something?
→ Would I want to work with them someday — as a collaborator, client, or peer?
→ Or does their profile scream "I'm going to pitch you something in 30 seconds"?

If the answer to that last one is yes, I pass.

My feed is my learning environment. My network is my community. And I want both to feel like spaces where real conversations happen.

Your approach might be totally different, and that's okay.

Maybe you're in growth mode and want to cast a wide net.
Maybe you're more open to serendipity.
Maybe you have more bandwidth than I do.

The goal isn't to copy my process, but to develop one that truly serves you.

For me, a curated network is about intention.

What's your filtering process? I'm curious how others approach this. 👀

Excited to welcome these newest members of our team!! 🎉

We're growing! Meet the newest members of our team! 🎉

👋 Daren Colbert – Ghostwriter
Daren helps CEOs and senior leaders translate hard-earned leadership lessons, strategic insights, and culture-building beliefs into LinkedIn posts, newsletters, blogs, and email campaigns that build trust and drive real business outcomes. He blends narrative craft with direct-response discipline to make leaders sound unmistakably like themselves—only sharper. Off the clock, he’s a husband and proud dad who still believes stories can change outcomes when they’re told with honesty and heart.

👋 Alex Piscatelli – Content Strategist
Alex is a social media strategist and creator based in San Francisco. Her media and storytelling experience ranges from newsrooms such as E! News and San Diego’s public media station, to nonprofit clients Saga Education, It Gets Better, and more. She is currently a graduate student researching grief and representation in media and popular culture, and writes and podcasts at griefandmedia.com.

👋 Max Moclock – Outbound Specialist
Max is a brand strategist who helps organizations cut through the noise. He’s guided everyone from federal agencies launching mission-critical initiatives to consumer retailers building breakthrough digital experiences–all focused on one thing: crystallizing go-to-market strategies that deliver results. When he’s not sharpening brands, he's throwing punches in kickboxing, playing ice hockey, or practicing piano.

We are beyond thrilled to have Daren, Alex, and Max on board as we continue to help leaders turn their expertise into impact. Help us welcome them to the team!

I ended the year with 72 drafts sitting in my "to post" folder. 🙃 
Here's exactly what I'm doing to turn that pile of drafts into actual published posts this year:

1. Turn on my Olivia Dean playlist.
   
2. Open my custom AI agent (the same model we use for our Builder clients).
   
3. Drop all 72 drafts in.
   
4. Upload my 2026 priorities doc so my agent knows what I want to focus on this year.
   
5. Ask it to rate each draft based on two things (using a scoring sheet):
   → How aligned is it with my goals?
   → How close is it to being done?

6. Move the ranked drafts into my content calendar.
    
7. Block 1 hour each week to finalize and schedule.

That's it.

I don't have time to waste staring at a blank page. No more "what should I post today?" panic. No more letting good ideas collect dust.

The goal isn't to post more.

It's to post smarter with intention, aligned to where I'm headed.

If you've got a graveyard of drafts haunting your notes app, give this a try and start building on what you already have.

What's one draft you've been sitting on that deserves to finally see the light? 

p.s. We're accepting 2 more Builder clients Feb. 1. Message me if you need help with this!

In the late 1700s, a scientist discovered hydrogen, calculated the Earth's density, and laid the groundwork for Ohm's Law.

Almost no one knew.

His name was Henry Cavendish, and he hated being seen. He rarely published. When he did, it was quiet and incomplete. His genius stayed hidden in notebooks until after he died.

Compare that to Einstein — another introvert, but one who understood that for ideas to matter, they have to reach people.

Two brilliant minds. Two very different legacies.

When I first read about Cavendish, I got a pit in my stomach. Because for years, I was the same way. Content to stay behind the scenes, ghostwriting for others, believing the work should speak for itself.

It took me a long time to realize the quiet cost of remaining behind the scenes.

Full article below. ↴

In the late 1700s, there lived a man who changed science forever, and almost no one knew it. His name was Henry Cavendish, and he hated being seen. He

Open article: The Cost of Remaining Behind the Scenes by Brynne Krispin • 4 min read

One of our writers just turned a Slack message into a viral post.

A client sent over a rough idea: "I want a post about supply chain delays in my industry. I've been hearing the wait times are getting out of control."

He mentioned a few data points he wanted included. A case study he remembered hearing about. He knew the angle — these delays are holding up growth and threatening long-term stability.

Some writers would've taken that brief and started typing.

Ours didn't.

She built a deep research framework:

→ Current lead times across multiple product categories
→ Industry reports on what's causing the delays
→ How these bottlenecks impact downstream projects and infrastructure
→ The specific case study and what actually happened
→ The broader implications for the industry's future

14 pages of research later, she had a comprehensive deep dive.

Then she summarized it. Drafted the post. Revised it several times.

And here's the step most people skip:

She ran the final post back against the original research to check for content decay — making sure nothing got diluted, no context was lost, and every statement still aligned with the source material.

The client posted it with minimal edits, and it took off.

Why? Because it was SO specific.

Not "5 tips for better leadership."
Not "Here's how to scale your business."

It was the exact frustration his audience was already feeling, articulated in a way they hadn't seen before.

This is what we train our writers to do.

They're constantly looking for signals. 

Picking up on the things you mention in passing. Researching what your audience is saying when you're not in the room and what keeps them up at night.

They think like detectives, not order-takers.

And in a world drowning in generic AI content, that's the difference between getting scrolled past and stopping someone mid-scroll.

Depth is your differentiator. Lean into it!

Arthur Brooks is a happiness expert. He started with anxiety and depression.

I picked up his book at a used bookstore a few weeks ago ("Build the Life You Want"), and it completely reframed how I think about expertise. 

Brooks didn't write because he had all the answers. 
He wrote because he was desperate to find them. 
His expertise was born out of his own struggle.

This resonated deeply with me, because so many of the founders and executives I work with are waiting to share their ideas until they feel "ready." They're waiting until the framework is polished, the book is finished, or they finally feel like a real expert.

But here's what I've learned after working with 50+ experts: the ones who resonate most aren't the ones who've "arrived." They're the ones still in motion — still learning, still figuring it out, still willing to say "I don't have all the answers yet."

That honesty makes you more trustworthy, not less. Your audience doesn't need you to be perfect. They need you to be a few steps ahead, willing to share what you're learning along the way.

So if you've been sitting on the sidelines, waiting until you feel like an expert... you already are one. You just haven't started talking about it yet.

What's something you're still learning that you could also be teaching?

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The Battle

Erin Balsa

Brynne Krispin

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Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Erin Balsa's LinkedIn Performance

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