🎙️ Your content needs more voices

I was recently answering a media request, one of those roundups where they ask different marketers to weigh in on “the one strategy marketers should double down on in 2026.”

As I started filling this in, I was looking for an answer beyond the AI hype. Finally, I decided to focus on something bigger than a platform, a tactic, or a tool.

I ended up with this: stop creating content alone.

Most brands are still operating in isolation mode. Publishing from their own perspective, positioning themselves as the sole authority, trying to own the conversation entirely.

And that’s becoming a strategic weakness.

The approach I’ve been recommending to clients (and increasingly practicing myself) is to build your content around conversations with others. Customers, partners, industry peers. People whose perspectives complement yours. Let those exchanges become the engine for everything else you publish.

You don’t have to be the only expert in the room

There’s a seductive assumption in content marketing that you need to be the authority. Every post, every article, all your perspectives, all the time.

But bringing other voices into your content does three things that solo content simply can’t.

First, it creates richer material for your audience. A conversation between two people with different angles on the same topic is inherently more nuanced (and hence, more interesting) than a single take. Your readers get exposed to viewpoints they wouldn’t encounter if you only ever shared your own lens.

Second, it builds your authority by using “The Halo Effect.” When you curate ideas from respected voices and get associated with other sources of influence, you don’t become less of an expert. Instead, some of their authority rubs off on you. You become the person who brings smart people together. That’s a stronger position than being one voice among a thousand.

Third, it generates social proof that feels organic. When a customer joins your conversation and shares how they solved a problem using your framework, unprompted, that’s more convincing than any case study you could write yourself. It’s proof delivered in someone else’s words, which is always more credible than proof delivered in yours.

The relationship nobody expects

Here’s what I find most compelling about this idea.

I have the perfect example: over the past few months, I’ve been running a live session series where I invite an expert I admire to explore a topic with my audience.

These are people I’d never have cold-messaged with “Hey, want to hop on a 90-minute call so I can pick your brain?” That’s a big ask with very little in return. But an invitation to co-create something shifts the dynamic. I’m offering them my audience, a content piece they can reuse, and a conversation that’s enjoyable for both sides.

As we work on a session together, our relationship runs deeper than the occasional LinkedIn comment or Slack DM.

And this is where it gets interesting for brands, not just solo creators.

When you build content around conversations with others, you’re also building relationships with those people and their organizations. That opens doors to collaboration opportunities, co-marketing that actually benefits both brands, and business connections that wouldn’t have happened through cold outreach.

It’s marketing that builds relationships and relationships that fuel marketing. Both at the same time.

One conversation, many pieces

There’s a practical upside here, too, especially if you’re a small team or a founder who can’t produce content at volume.

A single 30-minute recorded conversation or live webinar can become a blog post, several social posts, short video clips, newsletter material… An entire content library from one session. The conversation already has structure, narrative, and multiple angles baked in. You’re carving distinct pieces from a discussion that was inherently multi-dimensional.

For teams running lean, this changes the efficiency equation while keeping your content consistent across channels. Instead of building ten pieces from scratch, you get one conversation distributed ten different ways, reaching a wider audience.

***

The shift I’m describing works regardless of format. Although live video is probably the first thing that comes to mind, you can work on audio, written interviews, or whatever else works for your brand.

The key reason this works, though, is that you’re moving from content creation to content curation, where your role is less about being the sole voice and more about orchestrating exchanges your audience genuinely wants to be a part of.

This is especially powerful for brands in complex markets (B2B, tech, SaaS, consulting) where differentiation is difficult. When everyone’s saying similar things about similar products, the conversations you host and the voices you platform can become the thing that sets you apart.

Collaborations matter,

📝 From the blog

As I was speaking about repurposing in the editorial this week, I thought I’d share my framework for surfacing repurposing opportunities at scale. I’ve codified six methods for repurposing different content pieces into others and I hope you find them useful!

Read the post →

👌 Handpicked stories for you

Here are some interesting things I stumbled upon this week while reading, writing, researching, and being a generally curious marketing person on the internet:

💼 Three for work

Can influencer marketing work in B2B? | Looking beyond the simple endorsement, this piece shows exciting ways to build partnerships with opinion leaders in your B2B niche. It covers everything from choosing the right people to setting up the initial pilot run.

An ‘antidote’ to short-form video: Why some brands are leaning into short films | I’ve always found branded shorts a great way to connect with audiences. And while this used to be a space reserved for big brands with big budgets, short films are becoming more democratized, and you may just be able to get on this trend.

Why Trust Will Be the Defining Metric of 2026 | The transition to trust as a primary metric won’t happen overnight, but the evidence suggests it’s already underway. An in-depth look at our focus on trust and structuring brand partnerships and executive thought leadership around it.

👀 Two for fun

This awesome site with different visual explorations | A few gorgeous visual essays on anything from the dithering effect to the optimism of La La Land (or lack thereof).

This opinion on the purpose of art in the age of AI | One of my favorite writers, Brandon Sanderson, discusses the nature of the artistic process and how he thinks about AI.