John Bonini

Founder at Content Brands | Dad x5 | Shoots 85% from the free throw line

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

Last week I announced that after 6 years at Databox, I’m leaving to go full-time on consulting and creating under the Good Content brand.

Helping build brands, audiences, and businesses through content marketing has been the thing I’ve enjoyed most over the 12+ years I’ve been in this industry.

Going FT on this will allow me to spend more time on the things I’m best at and enjoy working on the most.

At Databox, I was able to work with Peter Caputa to build out the marketing function from scratch. They were just 300k ARR when I joined and focused on getting to profitability and growing profitably. We couldn’t rely on big spending to grow. Content *had* to work. For someone like me, it was a dream scenario.

I’m grateful for that experience, opportunity, and ultimately what we were able to accomplish over that time.

Now, I’m helping other companies do the same.

I've had a lot of great conversations with brands over the last week that have me excited.

Content is even more splintered and siloed right now.

Brands are investing in different mediums and have separate editorials for their blog, podcast, video, social, etc., and very little connective tissue between them to help communicate their message and build an audience.

They know that.

In some of my early conversations, I’m hearing similar concerns––companies are seeing diminished returns from SEO, have concerns about the impact of AI, are over-reliant on one channel, and feel they lack a strong POV and brand in the market.

This is my wheelhouse and where I’m best positioned to help.

I’ve built out a framework to help other companies build Content Brands. Content Brands are brands that create content so good that they inspire brand loyalty from those ready to buy now as well as those who may never buy from them.

In a world of transactional content (click this link, visit this page, download this ebook), Content Brands are the ones that get ahead.

I’ll be sharing plenty more on this in the days and weeks to come.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@davegerhardt Perfect I should be good to go by Monday morning

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

This is why content needs to be multi-channel.

I published one piece of research on my website, on LinkedIn, and my newsletter. Each one got picked up somewhere different.

Different platforms pull from different places. And people find things wherever they already spend time.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

Really just started investing in YouTube over the last month or two. Gotta start somewhere!

Don't quit before it gets good.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@dcancel Still got it.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

I’m publishing the first original research from Content Brands this week.

Every week there’s a new stat about how [X]% of AI citations come from third-party sites. So what about our own blog?

I have thoughts. But along with my own POV, I wanted data on what others are doing.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@davegerhardt Me, but Meerkat. Shit was HOT for like, literally, a minute.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@AbassSahrawi Looks like you got some newer ones to catch up on : ) (Appreciate you!)

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

Saw this today when someone booked a sales call.

The seeds you plant now will bear fruit in the days, weeks, months, and even years to come.

Don't quit before it gets good.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@AbassSahrawi you're not subscribed to the newsletter?

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@acapland Pouring one out for all the marketers and growth folks that have to message these changes, manage slowing acquisition, and somehow also have to deal with the repercussions on churn 😅

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@acapland The loss in organic isn’t necessarily correlating to a loss in actual business that I’m seeing.

I think the realization is that A LOT of organic traffic was low intent, unqualified traffic.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@ariellejohncox

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

So, who else is back to hanging out more on here?

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@ariellejohncox Definitely a heavy Beehiv presence lately 😂

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@RemingtonBegg Yo! Me either, really. Just stopped posting.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@defeated I never stopped

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@ronniehiggins And also recording videos whilst drawing on your iPad.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@nathanojaokomo 🫡

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@Ashread_ Ash! Now there's a name I haven't seen in the feed in quite a while.

[John Bonini @Bonini84]

@gaetano_nyc More paid ads. I'm convinced most marketers only know how to operate as performance marketers.