The Content Lab

The Content Lab is a podcast about the real stories behind building brands and growing audiences with content. We'll sit down with entrepreneurs, CMOs, brand builders, and creators to dig into what actually works. Plus, we'll uncover the strategies, the stumbles, and the lessons learned along the way. This isn’t a show about hacks or shortcuts. It’s about experimenting, learning, and evolving in public- because that’s what content is all about. Whether you’re building something new or reinventing something old, you’re in the right place. Welcome to The Content Lab.

Paid Ads, Social Media, and SEO 05/30/2025

Paid Ads, Social Media, and SEO When is a social strategy the right way to go and when is SEO the right way? We’re joined by Ashley Rector, CEO of Quimby Digital, for a fun convo between agencies about the pros and cons of each of our approaches. We dive into: When we each recommend our clients DON’T use our services Tips for SEO best practices on social media The best ways to use paid ads and social content for lead generation Ashley’s unconventional journey to owning an agency How much you should spend on ads What ROI you can expect from social channels and paid ads Creative ways Ashley is using AI for work Show Notes: (1:12) Welcome back to The Content Lab! Joining us today is Ashley Rector, founder of Quimby Digital. (1:42) Ashley shares her pivot from law to creative work and what inspired her to launch her own boutique social media agency. (5:08) Lindsay and Ashley share hesitations they've heard around the word “agency” and why it carries negative perceptions. (6:52) SEO in the context of organic social is often overlooked but increasingly important. We also chat about on-platform vs. off-platform SEO. (10:59) Social media best practices, including testing strategies and optimizing your bio. (13:20) Balancing platform-specific content with SEO. Why your marketing channels should work together. (17:22) There is no silver bullet or magical solution. Good marketing takes time, consistency, and investment. (19:25) Hear it from Quimby Digital and MBE Group: When we know we’re not the right fit for a client and how success looks different for every client. (25:41) How AI is changing agency work and where it still falls short. (31:22) The value of AI in idea generation and content optimization. (37:27) Customizing AI tools to better fit your agency’s workflow. (44:49) What does a realistic budget look like for organic and paid social strategy? (49:17) UGC actors, influencers, and employee generated content... Oh my! (54:05) How we stay up to date with industry trends and marketing news. (56:32) The most useful KPIs for tracking ROI and knowing when to evaluate performance. (Spoiler: It's NOT after the first week) (1:03:05) That’s a wrap! We'd love to hear your thoughts about this episode. Find us on our social channels in the links below! Links: (2:40) (37:39) Connect with Nora, Heather, and Lindsay: Connect with Ashley: MBE Group: /episode/index/show/growthmachinepodcast/id/36795800

Building An Audience By Saying The Quiet Part Out Loud 05/16/2025

Building An Audience By Saying The Quiet Part Out Loud What happens when you stumble into content creation, and suddenly thousands of women see their story in yours? In this episode, Nora Schlesinger and Lindsay Rios sit down with Paige Connell, a content creator who built a deeply resonant platform by talking candidly about motherhood, mental load, and the invisible work so many women carry. Paige shares how she unintentionally grew her following, and how she balances authenticity, boundaries, and burnout as a creator. In this episode, we talk about: How Paige grew her platform through authentic content Why “mental load” content resonates so deeply The importance of setting boundaries as a public figure Channel strategy and engaging with your audience What creators need to know about feedback, burnout, and platform strategy Show Notes: (0:52) Joining us today is Paige Connell, a working mother of four whose relatable TikTok and Instagram content resonates with millions. (1:49) Paige talks about the early stages of her content journey. Before she turned content into her full-time job, she started with lurking and posting without intention. (5:57) Facing harsh judgment: the challenges of sharing personal experiences in motherhood and child care online. (8:04) Paige shares how she copes with feedback and criticism, and how she sets boundaries as a content creator. (13:20) How posting without direction turned into intentional growth. (17:10) Balancing life as a creator and a parent. Paige shares how she manages both roles. (26:21) Where Paige draws inspiration for her content. (32:39) Consuming content opens you up to different viewpoints and experiences of others. (35:59) Strategizing across different social channels and understanding who you’re talking to when it comes to your messaging. (46:33) Does content always have to be well thought out or scripted? (48:04) Why engaging in your comment section can help you learn more about your consumers and their understandings. (51:10) There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to keeping up with content creation. Paige shares a glimpse of what her day-to-day looks like. (57:33) Don’t overthink, just do it. (1:03:41) Making empathetic content centered around your audience. (1:07:54) How different sides of your personality can emerge through your content. (1:11:12) Paige gives her advice on staying energized and avoiding burnout. (1:17:07) That concludes this episode, thanks for listening! Be sure to check out Paige's content in the links below, and let us know your thoughts on the episode. Links: (25:07) (27:59) (1:06:16) Connect with Nora and Lindsay: Connect with Paige: MBE Group: /episode/index/show/growthmachinepodcast/id/36474600

Welcome to The Content Lab 05/02/2025

#46 Lessons From a Merger Pt. 2: The Buyer Side 04/18/2025

#45 Mailbag: Subpar Website, Optimizing for AI, and Selling Your Company 03/14/2025

#44 How to Make Sure Your Content Agency Doesn’t Fire You 02/28/2025

#43 Setting Yourself Apart and Getting Hired as a Freelance Writer 02/14/2025

#43 Setting Yourself Apart and Getting Hired as a Freelance Writer As our VP of Content, Heather has hired hundreds of writers in all sorts of niches. There are writers who pop right off the page and make her want to talk to them immediately, and there are writers who get disqualified before she’s even opened their portfolio. She’s sharing all her tips and answering new freelancers’ questions in this advice-packed episode. You’ll walk away knowing how to structure an application to a freelance writing job and how to communicate your eagerness without looking too desperate. In this episode: Advice from working freelance writers How to stand out from masses of applicants Easy tips to become indispensable once you get the job Red flags you’ll want to avoid having in your application, socials, and portfolio Show Notes: 0:51) How can you become an irresistible hire? Take it from a content agency who has worked with hundreds of freelance writers over the years! (1:41) Heather kicks off the episode by sharing her background in working with freelance writers. (4:20) The top 3 things to avoid that will likely disqualify your application right off the bat. (9:12) What does it take to make yourself stand out from hundreds of other applicants? (11:57) We give some real-life examples of great responses we’ve received, and why their answers hit the mark for us. (25:29) Ways to give the extra *zing* on your application. (27:20) So… you got the job! Now, how can you make yourself indisposable? (33:07) Let’s talk dealbreakers. (37:05) Heather shares a few recent stories of things writers have done to make her job easier. (40:35) AMA time! We invited Heather’s network on LinkedIn to submit any questions they had about being successful freelance writers. (53:01) That concludes this episode. Thanks for listening! Links: (43:44) (43:53) (49:38) (50:32) Connect with Nora and Heather: Growth Machine: MBE Group: /episode/index/show/growthmachinepodcast/id/35289665

#42 Lessons From a Merger 01/31/2025

#41 How Do You Become a LinkedInfluencer? 01/24/2025

#41 How Do You Become a LinkedInfluencer? Heather, Lindsay, and Nora spent a few months trying to post on what could be considered the lamest social media of them all: LinkedIn. We all took different approaches and each found at least some degree of success building up a LinkedIn network and getting more followers. We share what worked, what miserably failed, and our pleasant surprises in navigating the cringey waters of LinkedIn. Show Notes: (1:01) You guessed if from the title… today we’re talking about our journeys on LinkedIn! (2:20) Lindsay kicks us off by sharing why she began using LinkedIn a year ago, and what her initial posts would look like. (4:31) Is LinkedIn only for active job hunters? Nora tells some of her previous misconceptions before she began posting more regularly. (7:14) The power of creating content that makes your audience say, “Me too!”. (10:41) If you’re just mimicking the content that’s already out there without adding your personal touch, you’re going to fall flat. (12:06) Should you outsource your LinkedIn content creation for your personal profile? Our short answer: No. (19:27) From posting dinner ideas to resonating with fellow working women, we share what topics and posts have done well for us. (28:12) It’s not about the glamorous, but the authenticity. (35:15) Heather shares the details of one of her LinkedIn posts that gained traction within the freelance writer community. (37:21) Lindsay describes how she found her balance of providing helpful advice for those interested in what she does while also educating her ICPs (Ideal Customer Profile) as a fractional sales leader. (41:40) It’s tempting to go where you’re getting the most attention. But we encourage you to stick to who you are to continue to build trust. (50:01) What do our schedules for posting look like? (53:36) We share our final tips for finding success on LinkedIn and making it your own. As always, thanks for listening! Connect with Nora, Heather, and Lindsay: Growth Machine: /episode/index/show/growthmachinepodcast/id/34998580

#40 Our Own Blog Used to Suck 01/03/2025

#40 Our Own Blog Used to Suck Welcome back to the Growth Machine Marketing Podcast! In this episode, we’re peeling back the curtain on a project near and dear to us: Transforming our own blog into a high-performing, strategic asset. It’s a story of starting from scratch, building a strategy, and practicing what we preach. You’ll hear from our Senior Director of Client Strategy, Leilani, on how she spearheaded our blog’s overhaul. Plus, we're dropping the deets on the tangible results we’ve achieved—from ranking competitive keywords to increasing our blog's traffic by 65%—and how we’re keeping the momentum going. We chat about: How we took our blog from overlooked to overachieving Building SEO success with long-tail keywords Consistency, consistency, consistency And much more! Show Notes: (0:51) Why our company blog wasn’t working—and how we turned it around by practicing what we preach. (2:37) The starting point? A blog without strategy or direction. (6:00) It's can often be challenging to prioritize your own content when client work takes center stage. (8:11) Leilani discusses what she did to create a winning strategy for our blog. (12:12) After months of consistency, we found success. We share some traffic wins, and how we built momentum from longer-tail keywords in order to achieve results for more competitive keywords. (14:35) You can’t go in expecting to rank high for your industry’s most coveted keywords right off the bat. SEO takes time. (17:21) Unlike other agencies, we use human writers who are subject matter experts, not AI or generalist writers. (19:03) A common problem companies face is not having the bandwidth to consistently write quality content and keep a steady publishing cadence. (26:04) What are our goals for the blog in the future? Incorporating first-person perspectives and staying agile with search trends. (30:41) That concludes this episode! Be sure to check out the for inspiration and guidance on getting your blog off the ground. Links: (2:37) (9:56) (9:57) (31:02) Connect with Nora, Heather, and Leilani: Growth Machine: /episode/index/show/growthmachinepodcast/id/34715860

#39 Why AI Checkers Don’t Work: A Content Agency’s POV 12/13/2024

#39 Why AI Checkers Don’t Work: A Content Agency’s POV The Growth Machine Marketing Podcast is back! And we're excited to jump back in with a topic that has been all the buzz lately. Our VP of Content, Heather, and CEO, Nora, are here to discuss both sides of the AI coin. Does it have a place in content marketing, what are its limitations, and what is Google's algorithm favoring? We chat about: The accuracy of AI checkers Why human-generated content remains the best investment Which types of tasks AI can be useful in And much more! Show Notes: (0:55) After a long hiatus, we’re back! We remain cautiously optimistic about AI, and Nora explains why. (05:05) How AI takes away the mental strain of having to start from zero. (08:29) What are some things that AI is not particularly good at? (12:39) AI and humans continue to differ in the way that they process and classify information. (16:33) Heather shares her experiences working with our freelance writers amidst the emergence of ChatGPT. (21:30) The over-promise of AI tools and why investing in human writers and editors is the best decision you can make for your content. (26:29) Google continues to favor articles that share unique perspectives. Is Google making movements towards penalizing AI content? (31:21) It all comes down to quality vs quantity, where quality always wins. (34:54) Despite the many changes and updates throughout the years, Google has not changed their stance on rewarding high-quality, authoritative content. (36:55) Keyword research and strategy: Can AI assist in planning your SEO content? (40:54) We’ve got the much-awaited tea you've been asking for. We've tested numerous AI content checkers. And the results are in... (46:01) Our final take: Work with writers and teams that you can fully trust with your content. (53:01) Thanks for listening! We have more episodes coming your way, so make sure to stay tuned. Links: (42:40) Connect with Nora and Heather: Growth Machine: /episode/index/show/growthmachinepodcast/id/34433372

#38: What We Wish You Knew About SEO 05/12/2021

#37 How a Recruiting Website Tripled Organic Traffic in 6 Months 05/04/2021

#36 There’s No Such Thing As an Impulse Purchase 04/29/2021

#36 There’s No Such Thing As an Impulse Purchase Impulse purchases are just a story we tell ourselves. Stewart Hillhouse, Head of Growth at Customer Camp, joins the show to tell us why. He explains: it’s actually a series of experiences that ultimately trigger customers to purchase. And in the end, “impulse purchase” is the excuse given in the event a purchase doesn’t work out. Stew and I also discuss: Measuring success of his podcast What to know about Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) customer interviews How content fits into Customer Camps’ marketing strategy And some little-known facts about trees. Yes, trees. Show Notes 0:54 - Stew shares how he made his switch from a career in forestry to a career in marketing. 4:17 - Podcasting as a form of networking. 5:01 - How Stew came to the decision to study forestry in college (and some bonus fun facts!). 9:20 - Stew talks about his role as Head of Audience Growth at Customer Camp, and the way that job title came to be. 14:33 - Customer Camp gives their clients concrete and actionable steps to improve their marketing campaigns. 18:29 - Conducting customer interviews. Why the buyer’s full journey is important in learning new insights on your product or service. 24:41 - Is there such a thing as an impulse buy? (See Stew’s ) 29:42 - Stew takes us through his thought process behind his last major purchase. 33:04 - What Stew has learned from his last major purchase and whether his original need for the purchase was met. 35:03 - How content fits into the overall marketing strategy at Customer Camp. 39:41 - Measuring podcast success - why it’s essentially different depending on the type of podcast you’re creating. 43:38 - The future of marketing; with everything today being so screen-focused, what evolutions will we see in the upcoming years? Links: (0:30) (0:42) (2:39) (16:31) Stewart’s (24:41) (25:53) (26:47) (32:19) (38:34) (39:44) (39:46) Connect with Stewart Hillhouse: Growth Machine & Amanda Natividad: /episode/index/show/growthmachinepodcast/id/18906203

#35 Why Good Marketers Act Like Journalists, Not Columnists 04/21/2021

#34 How to Manage Content When You’re Not a Content Marketer 04/06/2021

#33 SEO for Content Marketers at Any Level, in Any Industry 03/30/2021

#32 The 3-Step Framework to Making Your Brand Stick 03/23/2021

#32 The 3-Step Framework to Making Your Brand Stick There’s a three-step framework to user onboarding. And you can apply to your marketing efforts as well — to ensure that your brand is top of mind to your audience. Adapted from psychologist BJ Fogg’s habit-forming framework, Ramli John, Managing Director and ProductLed and author of the new book, “Eureka,” explains how it applies to user onboarding journeys: Make it easy. (Create helpful content that can grow your organic traffic.) Increase motivation. (Explain the outcomes you give your customers.) Add prompts. (Remind customers of your value.) Listen to the episode to learn how to apply it to your content and user onboarding strategy. You’ll also learn: User onboarding done right The importance of saying “no” How Ramli secured his first podcast sponsorship for Growth Marketing Today. You can read the first chapter of Ramli’s new book, “Eureka,” on . Show Notes: 1:08 - Saying “no” to opportunities that don’t fit the direction you’re heading in. 5:40 - Ramli talks about the intersection of teaching and marketing and what his experience as a college professor has taught him. 8:58 - Human connection: Why successful podcasts are far more than just the numbers and stats behind it. 14:06 - Ramli talks about Growth Marketing Today’s LinkedIn sponsorship. 15:55 - Ramli talks about his upcoming book, Eureka, which is geared towards those looking to improve their user onboarding. 18:10 - What are the 3 key stages in user onboarding? 21:06 - How product marketers can help consumers reach their "Aha!" moments early on in the process. 24:50 - The critical role content plays in communicating value to customers. 30:50 - Ramli shares an example of a company who continues to provide value through the onboarding process. 32:45 - How does onboarding play into retention rates? 36:16 - It should be clear from the start the role each department plays in the onboarding process. Links: - Work Horse vs. Show Horse (3:53) (9:00) (10:10) (15:12) (16:44) (17:08) (17:48) (22:36) (25:50) (40:06) Connect with Ramli John: Growth Machine & Amanda Natividad: /episode/index/show/growthmachinepodcast/id/18432680