Dear Marketers with Emily Kramer & Friends

“Dear Marketers, Is the company blog dead?”

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“Dear Marketers, Is the company blog dead?”

What content to create & where to publish in the post-blog era | Dear Marketers Podcast & Newsletter | Episode 8

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May 28, 2025

🎙️ This free edition of MKT1 newsletter covers Season 1, Episode 8 of “Dear Marketers with Emily Kramer & Friends” podcast, brought to you by Typeform, Framer & UserGems.

Listen or watch the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube. Plus read the full newsletter below for an even deeper dive on the topic. The newsletter is meant to augment the podcast, not just recap it.

Today’s question:
“Dear Marketers, I was an early marketer at Atlassian, Intercom, Bloom, equals, and now I’m at Lorikeet. I’m currently debating whether I spin up a new Substack to start posting content…or if we should be publishing those as posts on our blog, on our core domain. I had great experiences with Substack in the past, especially at equals, but I was always torn about the potential loss of organic search traffic. Now the million-dollar question to me is, based on where I publish my content, how do I make sure that it is ranking in AI searches?”
– Matt Hodges, Founding Marketer at Lorikeet

Dear Matt and Marketers, Every marketer is facing this exact problem right now. So many options for content, yet no clear answer on where to publish, what to publish, and how to make sure content is actually seen. We’ll dissect it all in the pod and newsletter…

In this newsletter & podcast episode:

The company blog dominated the 2010s. Then Substack and LinkedIn became the home for B2B thought-leaders, SEO got harder, LLMs changed search and content creation behavior—and suddenly everyone’s (rightfully) questioning whether they should still be publishing long-form content on something blog-like at all!

In this episode, Jenny Thai (Head of Content at Vanta), Devon Watts (Head of Partner & Product Marketing at Mercury) join me to answer:

We cover this in the podcast and go deeper in this companion newsletter.

Thanks to our Dear Marketers sponsors:

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Watch Episode 8 here, or keep reading for the full newsletter!

You can also listen to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

A brief history of the blog (RIP?)

“If no one reads your blog, it’s not showing up in SEO, and it's not showing up on LLMs, why does it exist? A lot of people are still doing it, but they no longer know why. And there needs to be an evolution here.” –Kramer, Episode 8

For those who may not even remember when we looked at Tumblrs not TikToks, sit back and let us tell you of the old days…

Understanding the backstory of the blog helps explain why so many companies are stuck publishing content that nobody consumes. The blog’s evolution from personal publishing platform, to SEO content machine, to an archive of a past era, didn’t happen overnight.

Here’s how we got here:

Rise of personal blogging (1999–2007)

1999: Blogger makes it easy for anyone to publish online

2003: WordPress becomes the go-to CMS for personal and professional blogs

2004–2006: RSS readers like Google Reader turn blogs into browsable feeds

2007: Tumblr makes visual “microblogging” mainstream, reshaping how people share content

“The original purpose of the blog was to build an audience when fewer other channels existed on which to build an audience.” –Devon, Episode 8

Dawn of company blogs (2006–2011)

2006: HubSpot launches its blog, sparking the “inbound marketing” movement

2007–2009: Blogs with educational blog content to generate leads become standard

2010: “Thought leadership” becomes a buzzword

SEO gold rush (2012–2016)

2012: Google’s algorithm updates (like Panda, Penguin) start rewarding relevant, intent-matching content

2013: The B2B content playbook is set: blog → gated asset → email nurture → sales

2014: Ebooks become the go-to lead magnet, gated in seemingly every blog post

2015: HubSpot hits 2M monthly blog views. SEO-driven growth goes mainstream

2016: Major blogs move to Medium, then realize they don’t own traffic/SEO and move back

Blog → Resources (2017–2022)

2017: “Blogs” in site nav become “Resources,” cards & filters replace chronological lists

2018: Startups try to become media companies by hiring journalists, launching branded podcasts, newsletters, and editorial-style blogs

2018: Programmatic SEO enables companies like Zapier & NerdWallet to scale thousands of structured pages quickly

2019: Gated content and lead magnets evolve into interactive tools: calculators, quizzes, template libraries

“Blogs started off being more personal, and then company blogs actually had a moment, and now we’re kind of back to having it be very tied to a person (who is associated with a company). So again, history echoes.” –Kramer, Episode 8

Alt-blog era: Rise of Substack and LinkedIn posting (2020–2023)

2020: Substack and personal newsletters surge during the pandemic

2021: Newsletters from founders, operators, VCs (and marketers!) build big, loyal audiences

2022: Companies try replacing blogs with Substack, Ghost, Beehiiv, and prioritize email distribution over SEO

2023: LinkedIn replaces Twitter for B2B, LI feeds become the new blogs

LLM chaos (2023–)

2023: OpenAI launches GPT-4 in March, accelerating the shift to LLM-assisted content

2023: Search behavior shifts to LLMs (ChatGPT, Perplexity). SEO traffic drops

2024: Volume-based SEO content is out. Structured, original, helpful content wins

2025: Companies (and the Dear Marketers co-hosts) question content formats, channels, strategies

“For a while there I think a lot of companies defaulted to churning out SEO content on blogs. Those days are over.” –Kramer, Episode 8

Making content that stands out in the post-blog era

Things have changed in a major way since the blog’s “golden age.” But many companies are stuck in the past, publishing blog posts like nothing has changed, just calling it a “resource center” to feel more modern.

Blogs got really formulaic, and SEO made us a bit lazy. We got away with creating some pretty crappy blog content. As long as the blog post answered a question people searched for, it got views. Now that the SEO game has changed, it’s time we get back to making content that actually matters, which includes making “shows” and relying on expertise to stand out.

In a world of “feeds,” you need content that’s a “show”

“A show has an opinion, feels like there’s a start and end, feels like it’s connected together…whereas a lot of blogs feel like feeds where they’re just recapping things.
And part of the problem is there are so many feeds…so I think where we are now, you need to be making shows.” –Kramer, Episode 8

When creating content, you of course need an idea, then to figure out what format and distribution plan is best for your audience. But there’s something else to consider. And I admittedly stole this line from Ian from Caspian Studios, our podcast producers: “You need to decide if you are making a feed or a show.”

Feeds are streams of loosely connected content. They may help keep your company “visible”, but aren’t always very memorable.
Shows require more intentional planning, but they create deeper connections with your audience. They have a consistent voice, recurring themes, and each piece builds on the last.

Most companies default to building “resource centers” that are feeds, posting updates, articles, and announcements. But it’s hard to stand out with yet another feed. For at least some of your content, it’s helpful to think like a Hollywood showrunner, and make a show!

The key is knowing what you’re making when you’re making it. Don’t accidentally create a feed when you need a show.

Content is commoditized, authenticity and expertise are not

The most valuable content comes from people who actually know what they’re talking about: the operators, the specialists, the ones solving real problems. Your job is to create content that only you can create and today’s content marketers need to think more like journalists or multi-media producers (or showrunners as we mentioned) than SEO writers.

“Content has become such a commodity now—it was already headed that way with programmatic SEO, and now with ChatGPT you can churn out 500 articles in 2 seconds. You really have to lean into expertise in order to stand out. A lot of LLMs will give you secondary or tertiary sources of information at best. But humans are the ones with the actual expertise and insights and real-life experience. So be the primary source of information.” –Jenny, Episode 8

Even if you don’t have experts in-house, you can rely on ecosystem marketing. Your ecosystem includes all the people in your network who have credibility and reach with your audience already. You don’t need to be the expert yourself as long as you can partner with experts effectively.

For more on creating authentic content that stands out, read my recent newsletter series:

A behind the scenes look at my content strategy

Emily Kramer

May 6

Read full story

And where should we put that content?

“Don’t start with the question, should this live on our website or not? Start with the question of what you’re doing for your audience.” –Devon, Episode 8

So now you understand that content is commoditized, blogs are old news, and SEO alone won’t propel you into the startup stratosphere. Authenticity wins, and well-constructed “show-like” content that relies on experts and is multi-media can be a way to stand out.

But Matt’s big question remains: Does all of your content need to live on your website? We think the answer is some of it does, and some of it doesn’t. Helpful, right? Don’t worry, we’re going to give you some guidelines.

Blog → Resources

“I think we are converging on resources as the word to put in the top nav. But if you’re gonna call it a resource center, actually have resources. Don’t just have a lot of boring blog posts.” –Kramer, Episode 8

If you’ve noticed that companies have stopped calling blogs “blogs” and usually call them “resource centers,” or even nest blogs within resource centers, you’d be 100% correct. Well 97% correct.

We did some research, and only 3% of the Cloud 100 currently have “blog” in their site navigation. Most of them are already using “resources,” and a few other names are on the rise (“research” was trending for AI companies).

The problem is, many resource centers are just blogs with different names. But when done right, resource centers that house a mix of resource types are the better option these days. People don’t just want to read your version of the same written content everyone else has. They want tools, templates, quizzes, calculators, aka “sidecar” products. And it’s so much easier to make these now, with tools like Lovable, Replit, Typeform, Framer, Clay, and more to help us.

Resource centers on your website are useful for:

SEO and LLM discovery: Well-structured content still gets found through Google and LLMs
Your non-prospect audience: Candidates, investors, analysts, and reporters will dig through your site to assess your credibility
Keeping an archive: Social platforms come and go, but your website remains your source of truth

So yes, your true resources should have a permanent home on your website.

Should you optimize for LLMs?

“We should all keep writing for humans…I think the LLMs are going to optimize for getting the best human-like answer to a human question at the end of the day.” –Devon, Episode 8

Pretty much everyone is talking about how to show up in more in responses on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, etc. And spoiler alert, no one really knows the answer yet. But boy is there a lot of noise out there.

My take is: Yes, you should think about optimizing for new platforms, it would be silly not to. But don’t lose the plot. Remember that LLMs are one of many distribution channels. It’s not your only option for “making up for lost SEO content.”

For more on creating a content distribution plan, read this newsletter ».

And at the end of the day, writing content with a strong point of view and distributing it on channels that your audience cares about is what’s going to help you grow. Authentic opinions and points of view have always mattered, even if we lost them a bit during the “SEO gold rush” phase. And they’ll outlast whatever technical updates you make to optimize for the latest platform.

Can external platforms be your source of truth instead?

Control vs. distribution

You’re giving up control over the audience, data, conversion points, etc. in exchange for distribution. This is a seesaw to balance." —Kramer, Episode 8

When thinking about where content goes, ask yourself: Are any potential gains in distribution worth the potential losses in control over what you own?

When you publish content on your own site, you get full control: analytics, conversion tracking, audience insights ,etc. Everything’s measurable.
But control comes at a cost. You have to build distribution from scratch, and that’s getting harder. SEO isn’t what it used to be, and optimizing for LLMs is still a moving target.
Third-party platforms like Substack, LinkedIn, and YouTube offer built-in discovery and growing audiences. But what you gain in reach, you lose in visibility. It’s harder to connect engagement back to revenue.

The key is understanding the trade-offs. Sometimes, control matters more. Sometimes, reach wins. The best content strategies know when to prioritize each.

“If I were very strapped for resources, I would focus on things that have built-in distribution. Day zero at a startup, I’m not making things for my blog. I’m making things for social, I’m making things for communities, I’m making things that go where my audience already is.” –Kramer, Episode 8

When you should publish & where

“A lot of people are still checking the boxes we used when we were at Asana 10 years ago, that’s not necessarily gonna work. They think, ‘Every time we have a launch, it goes on the blog, every time we do an interview or webinar, we make a blog post.’ Some content can be nomadic and some can have a permanent home.” –Kramer, Episode 8

For years, the default answer was “write a blog post.” Product launch? Blog post. New hire? Blog post. Company news? Blog post.

Not anymore. Some content can be “nomadic,” some should live in a resource center, and everything should be distributed (a lot)!

So me and my co-hosts made you a cheat sheet for kicking your blog post habit:

Here’s how to think about the trade-offs for the specific platforms:

On Substack? Maybe, if it’s from a person

Why people like it: It has built-in distribution through subscribers, discovery through recommendations from other writers, and you own your email list.
Use it: If your founder/experts have strong POVs, they want to create content, and you think they can gain subscribers quickly.
Don’t use it: As a new home for your resource center or traditional company blog posts. Company Substacks usually don’t work. People subscribe to individuals, not brands—and it’s not a fit for content that isn’t word or video heavy!

Only on social? Yes, for some things

Why people like it: It’s easy to publish and reach your audience where they already are.
Use it: Announcements, quick updates, and timely content that doesn’t need a permanent home can just go on social. Yes we said announcements. Not every exec hire needs a blog post, which you can hear me rant about in the podcast.
Don’t use it: Content that deserves depth or longevity. If it’s a big idea, original research, or anything you want to rank or repurpose, it needs a real home: your website.

Just in a Slack community? Maybe, if that’s where your audience lives

Why people like it: You get direct access to your exact audience with high engagement and tight feedback loops.
Use it: Relationship building, early feedback, and sourcing content ideas (or actual content) straight from your community.
Don’t use it: As your primary content strategy. Slack, Circle, Discord, Reddit, and other community platforms aren’t really built for discoverability or longevity—content disappears fast. And ultimately, you don’t own these platforms.

Final answer: Is the blog dead? Is that even the right question?

Here’s where we landed on the big questions:

Is the company blog dead? Not completely. But with SEO fading as the primary way to “distribute” blog content and LLMs able to generate basic blog content quickly, it’s definitely not alive and kicking.
Should you replace your blog with a resource center? You need actual resources, not just written content. Call this part of your website whatever you want.
Is there still a place for long-form content in this new world? Absolutely. But it needs to be in the right format, make use of expertise, have a stand-out POV, and proper distribution.
Should you host your company blog on Substack? Maybe for individual experts, but company Substacks usually don’t work. The loss of control doesn’t make up for the distribution gains with company Substacks.
Should you build a blog for LLMs, not humans? Think about the LLMs, but don’t forget the humans. Focus on your long-term strategy: writing with a strong and memorable point of view.

So there you have it. The blog isn’t dead, but the derivative content era is (thankfully) on the way out. The better question now is: How are you going to make content that stands out from the pack?

Check out the full podcast episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

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