Erin Balsa

Content Marketing Consultant and Writer 

I build and execute content marketing strategies for sales-led B2B SaaS startups that sell complex, enterprise-ready solutions.

Erin enjoys B2B content marketing, keeping the Halloween spirit alive year-round, and talking about herself in the third person. 

No but really ... 

I've been working in content since 2011 when I landed my first job as an editor. Since then, I've worn a bunch of hats like:

- Content marketing agency leader
- Inc. 5000 B2B SaaS marketing director
- Freelance content strategist, writer, and editor

Over the years, I've written for a bunch of brands you probably know including:

- HubSpot
- Drift
- G2
- Intuit
- And a Fortune 100 that shall not be named

These days, I help marketing teams at B2B SaaS companies (Series A-C) survey a representative sample of their ICP and write a 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 original research report that positions their brand as a credible authority — to secure press mentions and close enterprise deals.

If you're ready to publish research that builds trust instead of skepticism, let's chat. And if you just want to connect with a fellow marketing nerd who decorates for Halloween in July, I'm here for that too.

Hausofbold.com

Content Marketing Consultant

I build and execute content marketing strategies for sales-led B2B SaaS startups that sell complex, enterprise-ready solutions. 

Unlike some strategists and agencies, I don't hand you a content strategy and say, "Best of luck!" I ensure your success by helping across four buckets:

▶ People 
▶ Process 
▶ Strategy
▶ Execution 

Learn more and read client testimonials at: hausofbold.com

It's been 3 years since I joined Navattic as a marketing advisor.

In celebration,  I'm pressing buttons on my keyboard! 

(Look at me go.) 

I remember reaching out to Devin Reed and asking him how he got into advising. A simple question — but putting my intention out into the world changed things for me. 

Next day, Natalie Marcotullio reached out ... and the rest is history!

I'm grateful to have found such a wonderful long-term partner. Amazing people, amazing product, and super customer-obsessed. What's not to love?

👉  If your B2B needs regular guidance from a content/brand leader with deep experience in content strategy, original research, and thought leadership, drop me a note.

B2B Content Marketing Leader & Advisor | Creating Data-Backed Narratives That Make Selling Easier

I opened my LinkedIn notifications to see that someone left me a mean comment. 

My blood instantly started to boil. 

"Your research report reads like a sales brochure — you just don't know it yet."

𝘞𝘰𝘸. 𝘙𝘶𝘥𝘦! 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦?!

Oh. 

It was me.
I posted that.
A few days ago. 

This is what happens when you take the advice to "lead with a spicy hook." It comes back to haunt you every time you open your notifications. 😂

It’s 9:07am and we have already:

- eaten breakfast, twice
- built a haunted house out of Picasso tiles 
- made cookies with Play-Doh 
- put ghost stickers on a sheet of paper 
- colored (but not on the wall this time)
- played in 3 feet of snow 

Ah, what other joys will the day bring? 

I know one thing it won’t bring: the ability to work in silence. 

Those days are long gone. 🙃

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If your buyers are skeptical — and they are — would your research pass the sniff test or raise red flags? 🚩 

Most B2B research falls into one of four categories based on:

Rigor of methodology (competence)
Transparency of reporting (integrity)

Here’s a quick gut-check:

Is your methodology rigorous or sloppy?

Q: Was your sample size large enough to support the claims you made?
Q: Was your sample actually representative of your target market?
Q: Was the person who designed the survey and handled the data properly trained?
Q: Did you do data quality checks to weed out bots and people speeding through for rewards?
Q: Did your screener questions weed out respondents who lacked relevant, recent experience?
Q: Were your survey questions clearly worded, non-leading, and free from bias?
Q: Did you run cross-tabulations to analyze relationships within the data?
Q: Did you clearly disclose your confidence levels, margin of error, and study limitations?

Score it like this:
1 point for every “yes”
Higher score = higher rigor

Is your reporting transparent or selective?

Q: Did you set out to test a hypothesis rather than go digging for interesting stats after the fact?
Q: Did you report on the findings that challenged your assumptions — and not just the ones that supported them?
Q: Did you publish your survey questions verbatim instead of paraphrasing them?
Q: Did you distinguish between correlation and causation?
Q: Did you invite external experts to interpret your findings?
Q: Did you acknowledge limitations and uncertainties in your data?
Q: Did you keep your analysis neutral without turning it into a sales brochure?
Q: Did you show the full distribution of responses instead of only highlighting favorable results?

Score it like this:
1 point for every “yes”
Higher score = higher transparency 

Tally up your answers and see where you're at: 

High rigor + high transparency = Believable Research 
High rigor + low transparency = “Trust us” research
Low rigor + high transparency = Amateur research
Low rigor + low transparency = Hogwash research

Was this helpful?

Hi, I’m Etashe, a content partner and community designer. 

Over the past five years, I’ve developed content for companies in the data, cybersecurity, and AI spaces, managed content strategy for editorial and e-commerce projects, and led community design for a marketing-career brand.

✨ I care and share a lot about…

→ Creating frameworks for content production.
→ Using insights from community behavior to inform content and product development.
→ Improving operational systems in content teams using workflows, collaboration hubs, and more.
→ Human behavior and how language influences it.

Outside work, I muddy my hands with many things: I design sketchnotes, make tickling tea, and write Letters of Consolation—a bi-weekly newsletter for moving towards calm, meaning, and connection as humans—etc, etc.

You'll often find me talking about content/community frameworks, principles, and systems here on LinkedIn.

Want to work together or say hi? Send a direct message!

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