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A few years ago, I helped my folks pack up and move to a new place. During the packing and purging of decades of accumulated stuff, my Mom invited me to peruse the bookshelves and take anything of interest—one of my picks was Deadline Artists, an anthology and celebration of some of America’s greatest newspaperRead more

I expect many tech executives must largely live in fear of ghost writers. Putting your name to someone else’s writing is a scary prospect, particularly when so many writers miss the mark. I should know. Earlier in my career, I opened an email from a new client about a piece I’d ghosted for him. WithRead more

Several years ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see and hear content strategy discussed more in B2B technology tradeshow panels and conversations. At one show in particular, I saw leading brands address the power of visual storytelling and heard various CMOs talk about how they try to involve customers and the broader community in theRead more

It’s not easy for a B2B tech company to break through with earned media. Editorial teams continue to shrink. Only the biggest of the big tech giants is covered with regularity. And very few of tech’s dwindling media outlets dedicate resources to product news anymore. Real-world customer stories still command attention. But we know thatRead more

Effective strategies for running high-impact customer co-marketing programs. It’s been nearly five years since I first penned a blog reflecting on how so many companies struggle with running effective, scalable — and genuinely high-impact — customer reference programs. I felt it was important to revisit the topic and offer some sharper perspective and advice forRead more

We at Big Valley get a lot of satisfaction from helping B2B tech companies inject new life into moribund blogging programs. Time and again, we’ve helped companies embrace an “outside-in” editorial model to attract a bigger, more engaged audience that develops more long-term affinity for the brand. The recipe works, and we aren’t the onlyRead more

Five Tips for Executives In Search of the Right Ghost Writer I expect many tech executives must largely live in fear of ghost writers. Putting your name to someone else’s writing is a scary prospect, particularly when so many writers miss the mark. I should know. Earlier in my career, I opened an email fromRead more

Why Do So Few Break Through? When I started out in tech in the Valley, we were still producing physical clip reports using x-acto knives and Elmer’s paste. The office memo was far more commonplace than a relatively new innovation called email. There were dozens of industry publications dedicated to the burgeoning PC revolution, withRead more

It’s not easy for a b2b tech company to break through in a media environment that spends such an inordinate amount of time reporting on the big tech companies, scandals, and, well, big tech companies involved in scandals. Editorial teams continue to shrink and very few dedicate resources to product news anymore. Real-world customer stories stillRead more

I recently binge watched Amazon’s new take on Tom Clancy’s CIA-analyst-turned-field-operative, Jack Ryan (played by John Krasinksi, formerly John Halper in “The Office”). Early in episode one, when the higher-ups at the C.I.A. strongarm Ryan to strap on a SIG-Sauer P226 and hop on a plane to fight terrorists in Yemen, he delivers his takeRead more