Off the Page with Ashling Lee
David McCarthy
In her Off the Page interview, Ashling Lee dishes on the brand whose sustainable performance inspires her, on the type of content that’s ever-reliable to a business, and on the actual purpose of content.
Meet Ashling Lee
When it comes to using content to drive business, Ashling Lee isn’t into short-term thinking. The brands she admires, her go-to content, and even her perspective on content operations, they all lean into playing the long game. Because to her, it’s the long game that delivers the buying audience something that content, increasingly it seems, may be lacking: value.
Her perspective isn’t merely an echo of best practices shared on LinkedIn or Substack. It’s steeped in experience and hard-earned outcomes achieved at high-growth brands like POPSUGAR, Virgin, and, most recently, healthcare startups Quartet Health and Season, where she served as the director of content marketing.
Dive deeper into her candid point of view on content and the promise of long-term thinking in her interview below. And reach out to her on LinkedIn to discuss potential projects or roles.
What is a recent piece of content, outside of work, that you loved?
This New Yorker article about how we often feel the pressure to be interesting came up on my feed recently. It captured such a common sentiment so perfectly.
Which brand’s content do you admire most, and why?
Intercom.
I've yet to see another tech brand take content to such a robust level, and importantly, sustain it.
What is the most underrated type of content, and why?
"Top-of-funnel" blog posts that are focused on educating an audience, based on your expertise.
When executed well and as part of a thoughtful strategy, they can do wonders for a brand. It's a long game for sure, but the payoff is huge in terms of building trust and loyalty.
What skill are you learning this year?
Growing as a leader
What type of content do you secretly hope to never see again?
Anything that has something along the lines of: "At <company name>, we provide a...." sprinkled within the content. Don't use every opportunity to make a sales pitch!
What don't non-marketers understand about content?
How it can truly be a business' superpower.
Investing in storytelling is never going to be wasted. Many often fall into the trap of thinking, if we build a good product/offering, people will come, but in reality, people need to see how your business fits into the/their world to really take that next step. And that comes through content!
What part of the content-marketing workflow needs fixing?
Briefing/conception.
This is where intent, messaging, and goals get muddled, or aren't clear. Getting this right sets the tone for the entire workflow.
What is your favorite marketing tool?
Asana.
I love getting a bird's eye view on editorial calendars, and being able to quickly update the status of projects.
Fill in the blank: The purpose of content is to ________.
Offer value
What would you love to change about healthcare content?
Setting goals!
Often, there's no clear guardrails or purpose for why content exists for a company. This makes it very hard for content marketers to do their jobs well, measure success, and prove their value to an organization.
Who else should Off the Page Feature?
Recommend a content marketer for a future edition of Off the Page.
