Hi ,

Happy October! Here’s what’s included in this month’s newsletter:

1. 8 interesting links to inspire your marketing

2. (Spooky) Marketing meme of the month from HubSpot

3. The authority trap that's quietly sabotaging your content strategy

4. A motivating marketer quote from Mark Twain

5. Team spotlight with Bitesize Bio’s Producer, Conor McBay

If you have a minute, we’d love you to reply to this email, letting us know what you liked, what you didn’t, or what you think we could do better.

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OUR FAVOURITE FINDS

For better marketing, check out these links

🌱 HubSpot AI Search Grader – HubSpot
This tool scores your website’s performance in AI-driven search. Essential intel as search behavior continues to evolve.

🌿 Community Building Stages – Creator Spotlight
A clear, stage-by-stage framework to help you build and grow an engaged brand community with intention.

🌳 5 Steps I’d Take If Starting B2B Marketing Today – Matthew Carnevale
Practical, no-fluff advice from someone who has built B2B strategies from scratch. Especially valuable if you're refining your playbook.

🌾 Personal Brand Post Ideas – Pretty Little Marketer
If your personal brand content feels stuck, this list offers timely, low-effort ideas that still build meaningful visibility.

What we’re reading this month

📚 Fear in B2B Marketing – The Marketing Meetup
A thoughtful read on how fear shapes B2B decisions and how marketers can respond with empathy and clarity.

📚 Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Still essential reading. Godin's case for why being remarkable isn't optional in today’s saturated market.

What we’re loving this month

🧡 The Marketing Manager – Ink Digital Trailer
What if Pixar made a movie called “The Marketing Manager”? This relatable post will make you smile.

🧡 Communities Are the Next Social Shift – Estia Ryan
Smart perspective on why the future of social media is less about reach, more about connection, and how brands can adapt.

MEME OF THE MONTH

DEEP DIVE

The Authority Trap That's Quietly Sabotaging Your Content Strategy

If you’ve spent hours on well-researched content, and yet your website still gets buried under fluff from bigger, less helpful names, this month’s deep-dive is for you. In this article, we break down why “helpful content” isn’t enough anymore and why authority is more important than ever.

Content isn't king anymore. Authority is.

Bitesize Bio’s founder discovered this the hard way. After building a content platform that attracted 400,000 researchers monthly through pure educational value, Google changed overnight. Suddenly, having helpful content wasn't enough. You also needed expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (Google's "EEAT" score) before your content could be seen.

This is why your technical articles rank below generic Wikipedia entries, your industry insights lose to basic listicles from big-name sites, and why your startup's brilliant content struggles against mediocre pieces from recognized authorities.

But here's what's working: leaning even harder into serving your audience's actual needs

Most content marketers stumble into the "news trap," i.e., publishing timely updates because they're easier to create than original insights. But news doesn't address the core problems your audience faces, and it becomes outdated quickly. It's essentially wasted effort in the content marketing world.

Instead, look at your own experience for those small insights you might take for granted. The troubleshooting steps you've memorized, the shortcuts that save hours, the mistakes you wish someone had warned you about earlier. These pieces of hard-won wisdom become your foundation, bringing in relevant traffic for years.

The maintenance of your blog also matters more than you'd think. Google increasingly favors longer, more comprehensive articles. Nick had to merge two successful pieces into one authoritative resource just to maintain rankings. Think encyclopedia, not magazine. Your content needs regular updating and optimization to stay competitive.

What you can do starting today:

1. Audit your existing content
   Look at your top 10 articles from the past year. Which ones still get consistent traffic? These are your potential evergreen pieces worth updating and expanding.

2. Mine your team's expertise
   Ask your scientists and technical staff: "What's one thing you wish someone had told you when you started?" Their answers become article topics that address real pain points.

3. Stop the news cycle
   If more than 30% of your content is time-sensitive (product launches, industry news, event recaps), shift that ratio toward problem-solving pieces that will be relevant in two years.

4. Test the "merge and expand" strategy
   Take two related articles that are underperforming and combine them into one comprehensive resource. Update the stronger URL and redirect the weaker one.

5. Focus on search intent
   Before writing, ask: "What specific problem would make someone search for this information at 1am when their experiment isn't working?"

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 

“When it comes to design, don’t take feedback personally.”

This month's spotlight is on Conor McBay, Bitesize Bio's Producer. He's the person who makes our webinars look effortless, but there's a lot more work happening behind the scenes than most people realize.

Most people think putting on a webinar is simple. You just show up, hit record, and you're done…

Conor McBay laughs at that misconception. As Bitesize Bio's Producer, he knows most of the work happens long before anyone joins a Zoom call.

"There's so much more background work than people realize," says Conor. "A webinar starts with raw data and builds from there. You're creating assets, building landing pages, coordinating everything. The actual day is just the tip of the iceberg."

And it shows. If you've sponsored one of our webinars, you've experienced Conor's behind-the-scenes mastery. The smooth transitions, professional polish, and seamless processes don't happen by accident.

Conor didn't plan to become a webinar expert

He started as a freelance graphic designer fresh out of university when Nick reached out about an eBook project.

"I didn't even know what a webinar was when I started," Conor admits. "I had no clue about podcasts, HTML, or any of this stuff. It was complete learn-on-the-job territory."

That willingness to dive into the unknown has defined his journey at Bitesize Bio. What began as part-time design work evolved into overseeing our production operation - webinars, podcasts, design projects, emails, social media, and client relationships.

His biggest transformation so far? Communication skills.

"I was terrified to speak to clients when I started," he says. "Now I'll jump on a call with anyone. Learning about people and collaborating on projects has become my favorite part of the job."

Outside work, Conor's creativity flows through music and cooking

He's played in two bands, toured Scotland, and recorded in studios with dreams of making it big. While that particular dream didn't pan out, music remains his "other world of creativity."

His lottery fantasy? Converting an old industrial building into combined art studios and recording spaces where other creatives can bring their visions to life.

"Just run that setup and help other people create," he explains. "That would be my thing."

For now, he channels his creativity into making our content shine. Whether it's perfecting a podcast setup or collaborating with sponsors on their next big campaign, Conor brings the same passion and energy that once had him hauling speakers around Glasgow at 3 am as a sound engineer.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Remember—there are three ways that Bitesize Bio can help you grow better:

• Brand awareness: Get your products directly in front of a relevant audience and foster credibility and recognition among scientists actively seeking technical information.

• Lead generation: Obtain qualified prospects for your product and robust data insights that allow your sales team to follow up with leads who show genuine interest.

• Integrated Marketing Campaigns: Blend multiple touchpoints to create a cohesive journey that amplifies the brand message, drives engagement, and generates leads.

Get in touch with us to find out more.

Have a great month, and keep on growing 🌱

—The Bitesize Bio Team

PS: Did you love this newsletter, or do you think we can do better? Let us know by voting in the poll below 👇

Why The Growth Factor? In cell biology, growth factors are molecules that regulate processes like cell proliferation and differentiation. One well-known example is transforming growth factor (TGF), a key player in cell signaling. Marketers are also focused on growth of audiences, engagement, and impact.