I’m so excited to introduce you guys to one of my favorite coworkers, friends, and fellow Austinites: Becca Sherman.
Becca has an incredible media mind. She spent 4+ years as general manager of the business newsletter The Hustle, and 5Xed its subscriber list AND ad revenue.
When she left, it had 1.5M subscribers (!).
And she learned that in today’s B2B media landscape, people follow people even more than publications — so in 2021, she co-founded Workweek.
Today, she’s COO, helping people like me, my wife Ari, social media star Tommy Clark and DTC pro Nik Sharma use their industry knowledge to become B2B creators.
She and the Workweek team support our podcasts and newsletters on everything from ad sales to audio engineering to audience growth.
Let’s dive into 5 of Becca’s hot takes on the future of B2B media, in her verrry lightly edited words.
1. Why authenticity is trending:
Being able to get personal with your audience, say what you think, talk how you talk to your friends — I think all of media and definitely newsletters are moving in that direction.
Because when I’m looking for a job, I’m going to go talk to my friends and my network.
When I’m looking for advice, I’m going to talk to my friend who has expertise in the space.
FORMALITY IS DYING.
2. A newsletter ≠ email marketing:
There has been this newsletter boom over the past couple of years, and a lot of brands have launched newsletters that aren’t good.
They’re not thinking critically about the difference between email marketing and newsletters.
What is your mission?
Who is the audience you’re trying to serve?
Do you have the resources to make content good enough for them?
Level up your marketing game
Zero BS. Just fun, unfiltered, industry insights with the game-changers behind some of the coolest companies from around the globe.
No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
If the answer is no, stick to email marketing.
3. How to find content-market fit:
IF YOU WANT PEOPLE TO HEAR YOU, the most critical piece of that is really being self-aware, listening to your audience and formatting your thoughts in a way that’s going to be right for them.
Understanding the people you’re writing for and what your purpose is — it’s so critical.
Then you can get creative with your content format to find CONTENT-MARKET-FIT..
4. How to reuse content “sawdust”:
At Workweek, we have this analogy that writing your newsletter essay is like building a big, beautiful piece of furniture, and there’s a ton of sawdust left on the floor after.
How can you use that in different places?
How does that newsletter essay become 10 really great tweets?
Content for your podcast?
How does it become a course someday?
We’re always thinking about how we can most EFFICIENTLY repurpose content.
5. Becca’s advice for new creators:
DON’T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF.
So many new creators and media companies at large focus so much on the polish, like every period and semicolon and everything matters.
I just don’t believe it does.
If your content is good and it’s formatted in a way that is accessible and consumable for your audience, no one cares.
So stop worrying and JUST HIT PUBLISH.
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