May 08, 2026

Does Content Marketing Actually Work

Does Content Marketing Actually Work for B2B Fundraising?

2:16

I'll be honest with you. When Charlotte first told me I should be posting on social media, I had every reason ready to say no.

I'm not an influencer. I'm a CEO. What am I going to post about? Who's going to care what I have to say? And underneath all of that, the real thing I didn't want to admit: I was afraid of how it would land. Afraid of putting myself out there and getting nothing back.

That's imposter syndrome. And if you've felt it, you know it doesn't announce itself politely. It just shows up and tells you all the reasons you shouldn't bother.

Charlotte pushed anyway. We got going. And what happened next surprised me.

People responded. Not to the polished stuff. Not to the content that took the most effort to produce. They responded to the real stuff. The morning routine. The double iced espresso from Starbucks I order every single day. The story about walking into a restaurant with a client and how you treat the maître d' tells you everything you need to know about a person. They responded because it was true.

That's the thing nobody tells you about content marketing. It doesn't work because it's clever. It works because it's authentic. Because it helps someone, in some way, on the day they see it. Maybe they feel less alone. Maybe they learn something they can use. Maybe they just realize that the person posting isn't that different from them.

I am not close to perfect. I'm putting one foot in front of the other every day, the same as everyone else. I've built a company for almost 20 years and I still have days where I wonder if I'm doing the right things. That's what I post about. That's what lands.

I have a lot of respect for the people I follow. The ones who show up consistently, share what's actually working and what isn't, and treat their audience like people worth something. I try to be that.

So does content marketing work? Does social media work?

Here's my answer: if you're genuinely trying to help people, in any shape or form, yes. It works. Not immediately. Not every post. But over time, consistently, it compounds into something real.

The only thing that doesn't work is not starting. That's the only guaranteed loss.

Throw your hat over the wall. The rest figures itself out.