5 Hard-Earned Lessons on Executive Thought Leadership I Wish I’d Known Sooner.
Five hard-earned lessons on how to create thought leadership content that earns attention, builds trust, and drives real impact
Part One: From avoiding the product-pitch trap to unlocking the power of original insights, here are five lessons every marketer should know about creating content that drives real thought leadership.
I’ve spent over 20 years leading teams responsible for creating thought leadership content for some of the world’s top B2B brands. Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about marketing, branding, the creative process—and most of all, people.
There’s too much to share in a single article, but here are five of my top lessons. The rest—like why gating content can be both a good and bad thing, or when to use AI and when not to—will follow in Part Two.
1. Not all subject-matter experts can write.
The smartest companies hire the smartest people. These people often have incredibly valuable insights to share. But just because someone has something smart to say doesn’t mean they know how to say it in a way others will want to read—or listen to. Explaining this to them can be challenging.
That’s where editorialized storytelling comes in. Pairing your internal SME with a skilled writer—someone who knows how to build a clear narrative and strong story arc—can be the difference between dry, dense content and something that genuinely connects with the audience.
2. Talking about your products is boring.
Some marketers can’t help turning every piece of content into a product pitch. But when something reads like a sales brochure, it instantly loses credibility. Rather than building thought leadership, it actively turns your audience off.
Real thought leadership isn’t about selling your products and services—it’s about sharing original ideas, valuable perspectives, and credible insights. That’s what earns trust, attention, and respect.
3. Great thought leadership is built on original insight.
The best content is grounded in fresh data or analysis—ideally generated from the audience you want to reach. That might mean commissioning a custom survey, analyzing internal data, or partnering with a research firm.
This kind of research doesn’t have to break the budget. Even smaller studies can reveal compelling insights that set your content—and your brand—apart from the competition.
4. Think audience first.
The best content creators—like publishers—start with the audience in mind. What do they care about? What challenges are they facing? What would help them do their jobs better?
If you can answer those questions and offer something genuinely useful, readers will reward you with their time and attention. That’s how you build credibility—and how real thought leadership starts.
5. There’s no one-size-fits-all format.
One of the most common questions I get is, “What format should this content take?” Unfortunately, there’s no single right answer.
It depends on a few key factors:
The subject – Is it highly technical, or more of a big-picture overview?
The audience – Are they younger, older, executives at large companies, business owners?
The channel – Will they find it on LinkedIn, at a trade show, your owned & operated, or in a B2B publication?
The message – Are you trying to educate, inspire, or persuade?
Once you’ve thought through these four dimensions, the right format—be it a whitepaper, video, article, or podcast—usually reveals itself. Also remember: the biggest investment is often in the initial content development. So, make sure you maximize its value by repurposing it—break a report into blog posts, create a video summary, or build a series of social media cutdowns.
One Final Thought
A helpful formula for great thought leadership is simple:
Expertise + Insight + Relevance = Real Impact
I can’t go back and share these lessons with my younger self—but I can share them with you. I hope you find them helpful.
If you’re interested in getting help creating original thought leadership content, then please contact me.