Ryan Paul Gibson

content lift

We help B2B businesses run investigative customer interviews,
so they can build a more qualified pipeline,
and avoid wasting money on go-to-market activities that don't influence buyers.

We map out a customer's entire journey in their own words.
We find the hidden reasons people are buying your product.

The data helps you make smarter choices with marketing budgets. 
It helps uncover ideas for messaging, campaigns, content and copy.  

All the stuff we do: 

* Primary Buyer/Market Research 
* Voice of the Customer Work
* Brand Perception & Identity
* Subject Matter Expert Interviews

Founder

RPG Marketing 

I work with B2B marketing teams as a fractional senior marketer,
helping build, launch and maintain marketing programs.

The benefits of hiring a part-time senior marketer are:
* Flexibility: I can work on a variety of projects, rather than one deliverable 
* Cost savings:  A senior skill set without an increase in headcount
* Dependability: I'm in independent contributor who can balance strategy and execution

My specialty is research, content and product marketing.
Some of the projects I've worked on for clients:

* Buyer & market research, gathering insights to create new personas and messaging
* Development of content strategies to support the entire customer lifecyle 
* Thought leadership and strategic narrative development with C-Suite 
* Sales enablement programs
* Copywriting for paid search, landing pages and other high-conversion content.
* Traditional PR activities with trade media and other communications tasks 
* Original research for whitepapers, ebooks and other content formats 

Happy to chat, walk you through these various projects and see if I can help in any way.

Fractional Senior Marketer

Invest Ottawa

I teach early-stage entrepreneurs the fundamentals of customer discovery. We cover: 

- different methodologies like Jobs to Be Done and Lean Canvas 
- different types of customer research
- how to define your research objectives and find potential buyers
- how to conduct 1:1 interviews with examples from projects I've run

Mentor - Customer Discovery

GrowthMentor

Mentor - Customer Research 

Rewind

Working with the CMO and the rest of the marketing team, I help the company refine it's go-to-market strategy and oversee special projects.

Senior Marketing Consultant

Managing content team & company strategy.

Head of Content (Interim)

Helping the company with Messaging, Content, PR & Branding as they build out their core team. I have led or assisted in the following projects: 

* Messaging frameworks for multiple products
* Customer research  
* Content strategy
* Tone & voice documents
* Audits & analysis of organic channel performance 
* Overseeing contract writers
* Creation of lead magnets (Reports, Ebooks, etc)
* Customer case studies 
* Content for product launches
* Sales enablement materials

Senior Marketing Specialist

Perth Brewery

Giatec | Smart Concrete Testing Technologies

Member of the senior leadership team, reporting directly to CEO.

Led development of annual operating plan for marketing, ensuring marketing activities aligned with overall business strategy.

Oversaw a team of six direct reports, responsible for Lead Generation (SEO, PPC, Content), Social Media,  Graphic Design and Web Development.

Worked with the product, sales and customer success teams to refine the go-to-market strategy and positioning of core product lines.

Created preliminary key messaging documents, brand guides and buyer personas.

Interviewed customers for success stories and content ideas; during tenure as manager, organic traffic increased on average 175% YOY.

Built relationships with industry analysts and trade media; successfully achieving media coverage goals in annual operating plan. 

Oversaw execution of tradeshows and events.

Worked with designers and UI/UX to improve customer experience and increase conversions on key landing pages.

Copywriting for google ads, landing pages and other high conversion content.

Marketing Manager

Entrepreneurs, Tech, Jobs. Rinse. Repeat.

Helped shape and execute marketing plans, to meet the strategic objectives.

Oversaw creative development of local, national and international campaigns.

Chief architect of the “Work in Ottawa” Campaign, which generated over six million unique impressions through our digital tactics.

Member of Amazon HQ2 Task Force Marketing Committee

Senior Marketing Strategist

Manager, Marketing & Content Strategy

Dan Rascal

P/T with Ottawa's strongest & spiciest video creative agency. 

http://danrascal.com/

Consultant

Northern Army

I help B2B businesses run customer interviews that don't suck / Founder @ content lift 🎈

Today B2B buyers spend most of a buying journey,
figuring stuff out on their own.

They spend weeks, months or years.
Trying to solve problems.
Evaluating solutions.
Trying to determine what’s credible.
What makes sense for them? 

Data from your dashboards & CRMs can help. 
Yet it’s a fraction of the buying story.
And this data typically measures the end.

Marketing teams have to influence the ENTIRE buying journey.
If you don’t have a detailed understanding,
of HOW and WHY you best fit buyer buys,
Then you will FAIL to influence their buying decisions.

In-depth customer investigations (aka interviews),
are the best process for reverse engineering the buying journey.
And the best source of data,
To build marketing & sales programs that win new business. 

Yet B2B teams struggle with this.
They tell me:

- We don't have experience in it
- We don't know how to be unbiased
- We struggle with how to use the insights
- We don't have the bandwidth
- We don't want to bother our customers
- We did it before and hadn't seen the value
- Honestly, it can be intimidating

It's hard out there for a marketing team
Always guessing.
Always spending $$.
Rarely moving the needle.

🤔 HOW I CAN HELP:

I help B2B marketers run better customer research interviews 🕵️‍♂️

After working with me you will have:
*  A reversed engineered buying journey, in the words of your ideal client
* A list of the business triggers & motivations for your target buyer (ICP)
* Insights on how to spend marketing $$$
* Possible solutions and action items for each insight
* Fresh messaging, campaign & copy ideas.

🤔 HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER:

There are three ways:
* I can run a turnkey research project for you ($$$)
* I can interview your customers & hand over the content ($$)
* I can teach you how to do it ($)

You can read my ONE case study in my "Features" section.

🤔 WHY ME:

I've logged 21+ years in Marketing, Branding & Communications.
I spent 3 years working as an investigative reporter.
I've interviewed over 1900 people in my career.
I've worked with over 100 businesses of all shapes and sizes.

👋 SAY HELLO!

- Feel free to DM me here on LinkedIn
- Send an email to ryanpaulgibson@contentlift.io
- Visit my website: https://www.contentlift.io/

We help B2B marketing teams run investigative customer interviews. 

We map out a customer's entire journey in their own words.
We find the hidden reasons people are buying your product.

The data helps you make smarter choices with marketing budgets. 
It helps uncover ideas for messaging, campaigns, content and copy.  

All the stuff we do: 

* Primary Customer Research 
* Brand Perception & Identity
* Subject Matter Expert Interviews

Herra Communications

It's maddening when you see people gaining attention and influence with low-value fluff while your expert ideas are ignored.

I help C-suite executives and scaling founders cut through the noise and build a personal brand to build influence and unlock professional opportunities.

Ever dream of switching companies, advancing roles, launching a startup, or leaving the rat race to start a consultancy? Those are all easier when your expert reputation precedes you.

Forget bland personal branding advice like "change your profile picture background to yellow." We're talking about combining the power of storytelling with savvy brand strategy to get, keep, and build attention.

Let's:
- Crystallize a clear, unique personal brand message tailored to your goals
- Develop engaging brand storytelling in a natural, true-to-you voice
- Map a thought leadership content strategy to get your brand in front of the right people
- Plan how much of your content you want to create yourself and how much you want done for you by an award-winning writer

Let's connect for a free, zero-pressure, no-hassle clarity call. DM me to schedule.

Story-Driven Brand Strategist

I'm helping businesses and businesspeople stand out in a sea of bland, humdrum content with ideas that pop, in packaging that's hard to ignore.

I've got hands-on experience in content strategy, conversion copywriting, and both long-form and short-form ghostwriting. From articles to emails to video scripts, I've got you covered.

I'm a certified brand voice expert with a science-backed process for identifying and mimicking your unique voice.

My content and copy are optimized for SEO and conversions. Pretty words are well and good for poets, but we're focused on driving toward your goals.

I'm industry agnostic. Sectors I've worked in include (but are not limited to) SaaS, med tech, data analytics, industrial manufacturing, law, financial services, procurement, coaching and consulting, architecture, professional services, recruiting, garden, higher education, and municipal government.

Content Marketer

If all branding was removed and only words were left, could your customers tell the difference between your website and your competitor's?

With an understanding of buyer psychology and the best practices of conversion copywriting - plus a better-than-average understanding of branding - I write websites that showcase your business and turn browsers into buyers.

Copywriter

Argelith Ceramic Tiles, Inc.

When I was first called for an interview at this company, I wondered if it was legitimate because I couldn't find it in a web search.

By the time I left, organic web traffic had grown by more than 300% and the brand was ranking for multiple search terms.
...
Website Content Management
Content Marketing
Email Marketing
Social Media Management
Print and Digital Advertisements
Public Relations and Media Placements
Trade Show Management
Print Marketing Collateral Design and Content
Product Photography
Marketing Strategy

Marketer

Northern Illinois University

With thoughtful strategy and a storyteller's voice, I worked with college administration and university marketing to recruit new students, build a reputation of excellence in the public eye, inspire donors and corporate partners, and engage alumni and existing students.

Director of Marketing and Communications, College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

NIU has an enormous alumni base - more than 200,000 - so audience targeting and segmenting was key to delivering messages with impact. I partnered with the communications director of the NIU Foundation to develop the first-ever communications standards guide for the NIU Division of Advancement. Always eager to learn something new, I learned basic HMTL coding to create better web pages and emails and eventually became the go-to person on campus in using the Alumni Association's CMS.

Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications, NIU Alumni Association

Shaw Media

Two weekly community newspapers, each with a loyal following - and one editor. I supervised a staff of three plus freelancers and did everything from soup to nuts - from planning an editorial calendar to writing stories to laying out pages and sending them to press.

In my first year as editor of The MidWeek, I oversaw the paper's physical move from one office location to another, began social media accounts and participated in a full redesign of its website. I sharpened the paper's news focus and worked to improve the quality of storytelling and efficient use of resources. At the end of my third year in this position, I also took on the role of editing the Valley Life, which I had helped to completely rebrand and redevelop in the months prior.

Editor, The MidWeek and Valley Life 

Sourcing, reporting and writing anywhere from 10 to 20 stories a week, I learned to write clean, accurate copy to specified lengths on tight deadlines in this thrilling occupation. I covered a variety of beats, garnering 20 state-level journalism awards over five years. The best projects were finding new ways to tell annual stories and hearing from readers when a story made an impact.

Reporter, The Daily Chronicle

LESS EFFORT, MORE IMPACT | Focus your marketing energy on content that moves the needle | Content Strategy + Writing

There are two approaches to building a personal brand:

1. Hand it off to an assistant, post occasionally, and share generic company news.

2. Follow a strategy with a clear message, a targeted audience, and a unique point of view.

Most executives pick the first. It feels easier.

But since when is "easy" the way to success? You didn’t get where you are by half-assing it the easy way.

Especially when the easy way doesn’t work.

Maybe you’re stuck in a middle approach. But that doesn’t feel good either.

You’re posting, but struggling to connect with your audience.

Visibility is low. Engagement is lower. And people don’t really “get” what you’re great at—even if they know your name.

Pretty discouraging, especially when it's a struggle to find time for content to begin with.

Almost enough to make you give up. Except…

If you left your company, would you have the connections to pivot to a better role or high-paid consulting?

Are board positions and speaking gigs going to people less qualified but more well known?

And why are those people “thought leaders” when their ideas aren’t even that good?

If you had a goal-oriented brand strategy (and someone to help you execute it):

You’d build a reputation for insightful expertise.

You’d have an audience that knows you, respects you, and wants to work with you.

And you wouldn’t have to stare at a blinking cursor wondering what to post.

I can hear your eyes rolling. But I’m serious. You can get there. Here’s how.

🍊 Using insights about you, your audience, and your competition, we develop a clear, uncopyable position and message.
🍊 We build a content blueprint focused on impact—not “posting three times a week.”
🍊 We create powerful content that sounds unmistakably like you (even if you didn't write it).

I help leaders build a brand that unlocks opportunities and positions them as the influential voice their career has earned, with no content stress.

Here’s what my client Lauren said:
"Give Dana a ring if you’re looking to develop clear messaging and thoughtful content. She‘s a great researcher who knows how to take my ramblings and put structure around them. And she’s an awesome person to work with.”

And my client Brian:
“Apart from always meeting deadlines and staying on budget—which she makes look easy—the creative, custom strategies and deliverables Dana provides continue to amaze my team.”

I could go on, but I’m out of characters.

If you’re serious about building a brand and being known beyond your company, let’s talk.
DM me or email dana@herracommunications.com

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The Battle

Ryan Paul Gibson

Dana Herra 🍊

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