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Welcome to Volume 175 👋
Happy Thursday!
In this week’s newsletter, we cover:
- 📚 The 4Es of Content: Educate, Engage, Entertain, and Empower
- 📱 The Impact of Reddit’s Upcoming IPO
- 👀 What’s the Latest in B2B SaaS This week?
- 🧠 This Week’s Brain Food
- ➕ The Best Content across the Web
Let’s get into it.
The Prompt Swipe File: Over 100+ ChatGPT Prompts for Marketers and Creators
In the last year, a new friend has joined marketing teams in B2B SaaS: Generative AI. Sure, plenty of brands don’t publicly state that they use it, but our recent survey found that nearly 84% of marketers are using tools like ChatGPT on a daily basis.
It’s the marketers who build up the most experience with AI — who become true power users — that will stand out from the rest of the pack. We’ve got a resource to help you join that upper echelon.
Our AI Marketing Prompt Swipe File is a comprehensive list of over 100 inputs to help you make the most out of powerful tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and Copilot. These are tried and tested prompts that you can use for:
- Content and campaign planning
- Podcast and video marketing
- Landing and webpage copy
- Email marketing
- Thought leadership
B2B SAAS NEWS
The 4Es of Content: Educate, Engage, Entertain, and Empower
In the latest Foundation blog post, The 4Es of Content: Educate, Engage, Entertain, and Empower, we introduce readers to a compelling framework that captures attention and resonates deeply with audiences to elevate online content. The post argues that successful content must align with at least one of the 4Es to drive shares, clicks, and high SERP rankings. By focusing on educating, engaging, entertaining, and empowering, content creators can more effectively connect with their audience, prompting them to feel, react, or take action in meaningful ways.
Chris delves into each “E” with illustrative examples, showcasing how to craft content that educates (providing valuable insights), engages (stimulating dialogue), entertains (a blend of humour and personality), and empowers readers (inspiring and motivating action). It emphasizes the importance of each “E” to build a brand presence and deliver real value to readers.
The post is chock-full of examples outlining how companies and personal brands use the 4Es to create high-performing content across platforms, including:
- How Bankrate uses high-value educational content that shares bad loan rates from popular providers.
- How Watershed engages climate enthusiasts on LinkedIn by asking them to share their favourite content creators.
- How Ryanair’s social team uses self-deprecating, light-hearted humour to entertain their readers on Instagram.
- How Foundation Labs empowers other SaaS marketers with tactical breakdowns of companies like Canva.
(I’m biased, but I have to agree with that last one.)
Chris cautions against incorporating all four Es into a single piece. It’s tough to do it all, and more often than not, you end up with a confusing and diluted message. The most impactful content focuses on one or two of these elements to maintain clarity and effectiveness.
Whether you’re crafting a detailed guide, sparking a lively discussion, sharing a humourous anecdote, or inspiring your audience to achieve their goals, this blog post is a must-read.
New Episode Alert — Create Like the Greats
There’s a new episode on Create Like the Greats — you don’t want to miss this one.
Ross sits down with Dmytro Gerasymenko and Tim Soulo, CEO and CMO of Ahrefs, respectively, to discuss how the company has transformed how marketers approach search engine optimization.
It’s the type of exclusive peak-behind-the-curtain intel that every marketer dreams about. Here are some of the insights they cover:
- Building a suite of world-class SEO tools to draw in users.
- Generating over $850,000 worth of organic traffic — every month.
- Creating one of the most successful YouTube channels in SaaS with over 21 million views across the globe.
- Shutting down a 16,000-member Facebook group to unlock future growth.
Catch the episode on Apple or Spotify, and learn the tactics and growth approach used by the masterminds behind one of the most transformative SaaS marketing brands.
B2B SAAS INSIGHTS
Reddit’s Upcoming IPO — What It Means for Users, Tech, and Marketers
Reddit’s impending IPO is sparking some serious controversy among the tech community. On the one hand, industry leaders and investors are excited about the prospect of a massively popular platform going public. On the other, the Redditors themselves are less than enthused — take a look for yourself.
For nearly two decades, Reddit has created spaces for people to dive deep on virtually any topic while engaging with like-minded people in the process.
History enthusiast? Learning how to ferment? Disgruntled programmer looking to vent? There’s a subreddit for all of those and more.
The fact that you can engage anonymously means people can provide honest feedback and “takes” they might not otherwise provide on Instagram or LinkedIn. And then, of course, there’s the popularization of the upvote-downvote feature.
No character counts, no over-the-top formatting, just millions of posts and comments from passionate people. That’s why marketers and growth hackers consistently turn to Reddit to unlock growth.
According to a source, Reddit finished the last quarter of 2023 with some pretty impressive usage numbers:
- 73.1 million daily active users
- Over 100,000 active subreddits
- Over 1 billion cumulative posts
That’s a lot of valuable content.
Reddit reportedly signed a deal with Google, giving the search engine giant access to the social media platform’s massive archive of content for $60 million. That’s a big deal for a company that’s struggled to reach the financial success of Facebook and Twitter. It’s also interesting that this Reddit-Google arrangement follows an increase of Reddit content making its way to the top of Google SERPs 👀.
So, how is this all going to play out?
The (understandably) skeptical Redditors look at this as the executives cashing out on the back of a strong community.
Investors and tech leaders see it as an opportunity to successfully monetize a struggling social media platform.
In the meantime, there are plenty of developments to watch in the aftermath of the IPO announcement, like the company giving Redditors a chance to buy into the company or the fact that it’s reportedly spending 55% of its revenue on R&D.
Introducing Foundation’s AI Marketing Console
A few years ago, if someone said that mastering a single SaaS tool could save you 500+ work hours every year, make you a better creator, and increase your chances of landing a leadership position, you’d probably laugh them out of the room. Well, no one’s laughing now.
Generative AI is projected to add billions of dollars to the marketing industry in productivity savings alone, and the vast majority of professionals in our industry are incorporating AI this year.
Like all emerging technologies, there’s a huge advantage to moving quickly. Experimentation and research are key to building the skills you need to stay ahead. Unfortunately, these are also time-intensive processes.
That’s why we’re excited to announce the release of the AI Marketing Console.
With the AI Marketing Console, you get an arsenal of 130+ battle-tested ChatGPT prompts to help you create everything from landing pages and email drip campaigns to reports and customer research.
Plus, you’ll get exclusive access to the following:
- A visual AI toolkit with 20+ video walkthroughs
- Two keynote presentations on the state of AI in marketing
- An AI content evaluation checklist to level up your outputs
Get full access to the AI Marketing Console, and start building your AI skills now!
If you want more information on why we’ve created this offering, check out this video from Ross!
👀 What’s the Latest in B2B SaaS This Week?👀
- As it prepares for IPO, Reddit is making millions licensing its data to platforms for AI training.
- Creative Ops platform Air pushes the envelope, hiring a prominent influencer as Chief Imagination Officer.
- Salesforce wants to take business intelligence to a new level with AI-powered Tableau Pulse.
- OpenAI now lets you rate custom GPTs and share feedback directly with creators.
📩The Ultimate Guide to Content Distribution 📩
If you’ve followed Foundation long enough, you know there’s one thing we always preach:
D.R.E.A.M. — Distribution Rules Everything Around Me
It’s easy to forget about the critical role distribution plays in connecting your target audience to your content — from sales posts on LinkedIn to community hubs like Reddit and Quora. That’s why we’re bringing back this gem from Ross.
In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn how to do the following:
- Master the art of leveraging Owned, Earned, and Paid Channels for maximum reach.
- Discover strategies to stand out in the content overload and effectively connect with your target audience.
- Gain actionable insights on choosing the right distribution channels to boost brand awareness and drive conversions.
Check out Ross’s Ultimate Guide to Content Distribution, and transform your content to engage your audience and grow your business!
🧠 This Week’s Brain Food 🧠
For the first time in what feels like ages, I strapped on a snowboard again.
I bought new equipment and spent more than I would like to admit for a ski pass in mountainless Ontario, Canada. Still, I was full of excitement and nostalgia, ready to conquer the trails during one of the few snowy days we’ve had this winter.
Admittedly, it wasn’t just the snowboard that had gathered dust over the years.
The initial runs were a humbling reminder of time’s passage. Turns were much less intuitive than I remembered, and muscles I forgot I had quickly reminded me of their existence. I paused a little longer than I used to at the edge of the steeper hills.
But here’s the thing: That pain and hesitancy went away after a little while, and I remembered why I used to enjoy spending entire days outside in freezing weather.
Those old hobbies will welcome you back, no matter how long you’ve been away. There’s something liberating about acknowledging your fears, embracing your rustiness, and giving yourself permission to be a beginner again (even when it’s expensive and you’re sore for the next week).
It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to get back on the horse — or, in this case, the snowboard — even if you’ve fallen off it a while ago.
Whether it’s a professional ambition, a personal project, or, like me, a return to a long-lost hobby, don’t be afraid to get back on the board. You might be surprised at how exhilarating the journey can be, no matter how long it’s been since your last run.
Till next time, keep embracing those rides.
Want to sponsor our next issue? Reply to this email, and we’ll share how you can reach more SaaS founders and marketers today.
🏅Twitter/X Thread of the Week
An overview of the Reddit IPO by Greg Isenberg
🎖️ LinkedIn Post of the Week
9 facts to keep in mind about Google SEO by Mark Williams-Cook
🤳🏽 Nice finds You Should Binge
- Tech Job Interviews Are Out of Control | WIRED.
- Strategies for an Accelerating Future | One Useful Thing.
- 5 Real Growth Hacking Strategies for SaaS Companies | Foundation Labs.
- OpenAI Claims the Times Cheated to Get ChatGPT to Regurgitate Articles | The Verge.
🎧 What We’re Wired into This Week
This smattering of SaaS stories is brought to you by Ethan Crump!
If you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas you want to see in this newsletter, feel free to email me at ethan@foundationinc.co. We always look for ways to improve and provide the best B2B SaaS marketing resources.
Have a great weekend, and see you on the other side!
