Melissa Zehner

Scroll-Stopping Content

Helping startups turn content into revenue with a no-bullsh*t approach that boosts your brand, sparks engagement, and drives results. Clients include Gembah, Twilio SendGrid, Ignition, Bright Breaks, Trulitica, and more.

Founder & Fractional Head of Content

Forbes Communications Council

Official Council Member

Foundation Marketing

Head of all content strategy and production for 12+ clients. Accounts included Clicktime, Bright, Jobber, Hubspot, Semrush, LumApps, and more. Foundationite of the Month, July 2022.

Director of Content

Foundr Magazine

Managing Editor

Lendio

Senior Director, Content Marketing

• 2019 Lendion of the Year
• Deemed one of The Best Financial Blogs for Small Businesses by fitsmallbusiness.com

Director, Content Marketing

• 2018 Employee Stand-Out Award in Marketing
• Exceeded November 2017 QL (qualified lead) goal by 12.7%; December 2017 goal by 28%; January 2018 goal by 23.4%
• Lending marketplace infographic picked up by both Lending Times and Small Business Lending

Content Marketing Manager

Mooslet Writing Services

Copywriting and content marketing for magazines, digital marketing agencies, and a variety of B2B and B2C businesses. Articles, blog posts, ebooks, website copy, and more.

• Contributor to Content Marketing Magazine
• 100% client return rate
• Wrote a viral LinkedIn Pulse post: 4,000 reads in less than 24 hours; more than 15,000 reads within a week.

Founder

HyperX Media

Content marketing strategy and production for clients like AdvancedMD, Dentist Advisors, Wealth Advisors, Utah First Credit Union, and more. Employee of the Quarter, Q2 2016.

Senior Copywriter

SkyRocket Media LLC

Content and SEO strategies for an umbrella of online brands and revenue partners

• Hired, trained, and managed a team of original content writers. Created coaching materials for branding, organic search, and content strategies.
• Researched and wrote website copy, blog posts, op-ed articles, and reviews.

Digital Content Manager

NAIOP SoCal Chapter

Directed all marketing efforts and 45+ annual events for the 2nd-largest US chapter of a commercial real estate association and its affiliates

• Managed a team of website developers and graphic designers to complete a full website redesign and migration to a new content management system.
• Directed all marketing and event planning efforts for the annual 1,000-person "Night at the Fights" black tie evening of gourmet dining, boxing matches, live bands, casino-style games, armed forces Color Guard, and more.
• Met with US Senators on behalf of NAIOP to discuss policies.

Director of Marketing & Events

Melissa Anne Consulting

Project-based marketing and outreach copywriting for nonprofit organizations

• Wrote volunteer service programs for six county-funded nonprofit organizations, including outreach materials, scripts, and strategies for volunteer recruitment and retention.

• Wrote detailed training modules, presentations, and six-month action plans for volunteer coordinators.

Freelance Communications Copywriting Consultant

Need help turning content into revenue? You came to the right place. 💰

I help startups build and scale revenue-generating content marketing engines. 👉 You get all the benefits of an embedded content marketing expert at a fraction of the price. I help you with organic lead generation, inbound social media, email nurture, in-app content, online course content, product launches, messaging frameworks, external partnerships, and more. 

Over the past 14 years, I’ve sat in just about every content marketing role: copywriter, managing editor, strategist, content marketing manager, senior director—this gave me insight into the inner workings of a content team and enabled me to scale content production from annual budgets of $0 to $1 million. 📈

Some highlights: 

🏆 In 2020, my powerhouse fintech team generated $254+ million in organic revenue, exceeding all paid and partnership channels.

🏆 In 2021, I helped an online education company increase website clicks 3x in 4 months and 4x in 6 months. 

🏆 I have a 100% client return rate. Clients keep coming back because I’m awesome to work with and damn good at what I do. 

🏆 My email nurture campaign for a healthtech client performed 48% better than their norm, driving thousands of extra site visits and leads. 

I often take unique approaches to solving content challenges, such as applying agile and scrum methodologies to content production.💡I also have ample experience partnering with stakeholders in UX, design, paid marketing, PR, product, software engineering, customer success, and sales. 

In addition to working with major players in fintech, healthtech, and online education, my content can be found on Forbes, Business.com, Comcast Business, BestCompany, and more.

I love content marketing because I believe access to information and ideas can change lives. I’m passionate about helping others advance their skills, advocate for themselves, and build strong career paths. 💫

When I'm not geeking out on content, you can find me cooking, wine tasting, reading, and hiking with my dog.

Fractional content leadership and strategy for startups and small businesses. A no-bullsh*t approach to content that boosts your brand, sparks engagement, and drives results.

After being forced to work in PowerPoint for the past two days, I say this with my whole chest: 

What sort of 1998 unfresh hell is this??? I'd pay 10x more for Canva before I'd use PowerPoint again. 

It's a tragedy that one of the richest software companies in the world doesn't care enough about UX to streamline UI and upgrade functionality even a tiny bit. Come on, Satya...

Organic marketing (& sparkling wit) for B2B startups

I was called "bossy" all the time when I worked in-house. 

The leadership team delivered it as a critique, an area where I could "do better." 

The reality: I wasn't really that bossy at all. I was confident in my area of expertise, willing to speak up or volunteer when others wouldn't, and practiced at projecting my own voice to be heard in rooms full of men with deep voices. 

I had no problem letting others take the lead. But most of the time, no one else was raising a hand. As someone who likes to get sh*t done, I would inevitably be the hand-raiser. I thought it was a good thing. 

After all, I was leading an entire department and a large team. My area of the business was consistently high-performing. I put in the work to collaborate with stakeholders across several business units so I could gain a more holistic perspective of the org. I was engaged and enthusiastic. 

I viewed "bossy" behavior as dominating. Those who worked with me would have absolutely said I was driven and had high standards, but they wouldn't have said I was trying to steamroll them or take over their areas of ownership. 

The third time I was called "bossy" in a performance review, I finally pushed back. "Am I bossy though? Because you keep promoting me and literally making me The Boss of more teams, projects, and budgets." 

People love all the performance benefits that come with hiring hardworking women — but they just don't want to hear from us. 

Flash forward a few years and I saw this necklace right around the time I started my business. I bought it without hesitation.

Funny enough, no one has called me "bossy" since then. I've been lucky enough to work with clients who want someone to bring forth ideas, drive strategy, and call the shots for their marketing programs. They want me speaking up and pushing forward. It's a welcome, refreshing change in the dynamic. 

I still have a hang-up about the word "bossy." I keep it in check by reminding myself that my assertiveness will inevitably make some people uncomfortable. But as long as I'm delivering my message with grace and respect, I'm not being bossy. I'm responsible for showing up the best way I know how but I'm not going to make myself smaller to accommodate others' misperceptions or insecurities...

A gut check for those who need it: 

Is she bossy, or are you uncomfortable with assertive women?
Is she bossy, or is she maintaining accountability and setting boundaries? 
Is she bossy, or did she ask you to do something that's your job? 
Is she bossy, or is she refusing to make herself small so you feel bigger?

Paying it forward — resharing some resources and approaches that were shared with me yesterday...


If you want to stay informed without being bombarded with clickbait and bias, here are some non-partisan, non-spin news resources: 

• Tangle News (https://lnkd.in/g4Ya4dFv)
• Ground News (https://ground.news/)
• Unbiased Politics podcast (https://lnkd.in/gHGgkC_F)


And a list of ideas for taking positive action outside of voting or protesting: https://lnkd.in/geARA_zy


There were also three common threads that several people shared were working for them: 

1 - Creating rather than consuming. People mentioned coloring, knitting, playing music, woodworking, crafting, and more. I myself took up painting a few months ago. It seems that a lot of us are reconnecting with joy and fulfillment by working with our hands, exploring our creativity, and spending time on passions that aren't rooted in capitalism. 

2 - Focusing on local communities and relationships. Several people said they were channeling their energy into helping neighbors and friends so they could feel like they were taking meaningful action. It definitely feels more manageable than stressing over how to make change on a national scale. And think of the positive ripple effect we could create if we all commit to doing a little bit of good in our tiny corners of the world... 

3 - Spending time in nature. Gardening, hiking, and long walks seem to be at the top of the list. We already know that movement is healthy and good for working off some frenetic energy, but the nature piece is also important. Getting away from screens, breathing fresh air, and moving at a slower pace is no doubt good for the mind, body, and soul. 


P.S. A hearty thank you to everyone who took the time to reach out with kind words or share some resources and habits that are working for you. I feel so seen and supported, and just that simple fact feels reassuring. We'll get through this together.

One of the few hills I'll die on: You can't hold the marketing team accountable for metrics they don't control. 

If someone has to answer for the performance of specific metrics, they should have control of those metrics. That means they get to optimize the full funnel for strong messaging, design, offers, UX, CRO, and so on. 

Making changes the marketing team doesn't agree with, refusing to set up accurate tracking and attribution, not allowing room for testing, or just generally inserting half-baked requests into the process ("my nephew says we should use this meme"), undermines your team. It sets them up for failure and frustration. 

Here's an example: 

I once worked for a company where we sent a few thousand organic leads to product pages every month, yet only a handful of them converted to sales once they hit those pages. 

The kicker? Another team owned those product pages and refused to partner with us to make even the slightest changes, even though it was clear the pages weren't performing. And yet our success was measured on that final conversion, not the thousands of users we were able to send to those pages. We spent a lot of time apologizing for a weak spot in the funnel that was owned by another team. 

Imagine if we were given the freedom to optimize and we managed to increase conversion by even a few percentage points. It would have been exponentially more revenue... 

I've encountered several scenarios like the one above, and it always results in the same dynamic: An irritated founder who comes down on the team for not meeting their goals, a team who feels like they're working for a founder that doesn't understand or respect marketing, and a lead gen program that doesn't really gain traction. 

Everyone ends up spinning their wheels. Turnover is high. Conversions are low. 

This doesn't serve anyone. 

Hire people you trust, who know their sh*t. Then give them the space and grace to win. Most of the time, they'll exceed your expectations.

Just sat through (half of) the worst webinar I've been to. I sincerely can't remember one that's been worse. Here's why: 

• The host was pretty clearly reciting a script word-for-word. It felt generic and impersonal. He may as well have sent an AI agent in his place. 
• All attendees were muted and chat was disabled. I can understand muting because a lot of interjections can be disruptive, but he didn't even provide a way to ask a question or promote any sort of interaction. 
• There wasn't a single helpful piece of information shared in the first 30 minutes. There were, however, several shameless plugs for his own org and several bios of people who work for his org. Who cares? I didn't stick around past the 30-minute mark because no one needs an hour-long commercial. 

This kind of experience is what not to do. I was unfamiliar with this org prior to the webinar but this experience pretty much assures that I won't do business with them. 

If you want to use webinars as lead magnets, you need to bring something valuable to the table and make people feel like their time and engagement is appreciated. 

If I'd crafted this webinar, here's what I would have done differently: 

• Speak naturally, even if it means some moments may be peppered with "um." Authenticity is paramount for building connection and affinity. 
• Enable chat so attendees have a way to participate. Give people the option to agree, disagree, ask questions, and share related ideas or resources. Interaction is a *good* thing. 
• To the point above, I would have included opportunities throughout for people to ask questions or share what's worked for them. I'd be intentional about creating opportunities for connection, engagement, and community and treat it like part of the webinar rather than an add-on.
• Lead with value. People come to a webinar to learn and grow, not to be pitched to. It should be 95% value and maybe a 5% pitch at the end after you've shared plenty of helpful info and built trust. 
• Keep an eye on the audience. If eyes are glazing over and everyone looks like they're typing, you're losing their attention. Be prepared to pivot or adjust if you need to recover your audience. 

What else needs to be added here? Where are people going awry with webinars these days?

I try to thoughtfully assess potential clients: Do they have proof of concept? Is there a clear path to profitability? Are they ready to invest in marketing? And so on... 

And then there's energy. You know when you meet someone and they just radiate good energy? That little piece hasn't steered me wrong yet. Maybe it's the hippie in me but I pay more attention to energy as I get older. 

It's tough to make a business case for it but I know it when I see it. It's usually a combination of positivity, drive, curiosity, and empathy — and a conspicuous lack of ego or anger. 

If someone is consistently showing up with good energy, everything else is easier. The work, the relationships, and especially the challenges. When people simply work hard and support each other, the hardest days don't feel so hard. And positive outcomes feel inevitable. 

This is why prioritizing character and relationships is so important, in business and in life...
 

P.S. Shout out to Jeffrey McNeal for this little swag surprise. He's building a fantastic team and product at AdaptHR, and he just started posting on LinkedIn. Nothing but good energy aaand Silicon Valley memes. Give him a little follow. (I promise he didn't pay me to say any of this.)

Still the simplest, truest way to assess opportunities: If it doesn't feel like a "hell yes!," it's a hell no. 

If I'm hedging, I leave space for something better.

When I ask myself what I've found life is too short for, the word that pops into my head is 'bullsh*t.' I realize that answer is somewhat tautological. It's almost the definition of bullsh*t that it's the stuff that life is too short for. And yet bullsh*t does have a distinctive character. There's something fake about it. It's the junk food of experience.

If you ask yourself what you spend your time on that's bullsh*t, you probably already know the answer. Unnecessary meetings, pointless disputes, bureaucracy, posturing, dealing with other people's mistakes, traffic jams, addictive but unrewarding pastimes.

Relentlessly prune bullsh*t, don't wait to do things that matter, and savor the time you have. That's what you do when life is short.

- Paul Graham


This passage is always what I think of when someone asks me what I don't want for myself, my lifestyle, or my business. A perfect summary...

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