March 27, 2025
It’s been exactly 2 years since storyarb started.
We went from a tweet about executive ghostwriting to a mid 7-figure, 18-person agency helping high-growth B2B businesses crush their content motion.
Ask me anything about this journey.
I will spare no details.
Community Q&A
Here are some of the responses I got from my LinkedIn post.
On Starting Over
Paul asked: “If you were to start over today, what would you do differently?”
My response: I wouldn’t start an executive ghostwriting agency; instead, I’d go straight to our existing offering.
On Client Experience
Tristan asked: “What does the client experience look like? Is there a self-serve board in Notion or something?”
My response: I thought my CEO and co-founder, Abby, could give the download better than me.
Here’s what she had to say:
“Each client has their own personal content dash (kanban board) that gives transparency into the progress of each content kit week over week. This dash is built on Notion and paired with some Zapier and Google Drive integrations. The majority of the content drafting and review process is now almost solely in Google Docs, accessible through each content kit in their dashboard. This draft/review process used to be directly in Notion, but it was too much change management for clients.”
On 12-Month Commitments
Andrew asked: “What’s the thought process behind the 12-month commitments?”
My response: I think there are arguments to be made on the exact length of time that is in the best interest of a client, and it likely will vary client by client, but I do believe a long-term contract is what’s best. If you want to get into the content game and truly make a dent driving demand through content, you can’t expect results in anything less than 6 months. It takes time, and if a client isn’t aligned with that, that’s totally cool, but we just won’t be the best fit.
On Results and Expertise
Leyla asked: “Was wondering about the results and how you measure over time. Also developing the subject matter expertise, as a buyer I’d want someone who knew my business. Plus retainers > one-off projects for stability.”
My response: Two points to address:
- Results — We’re spending a ton of time making sure we can very clearly monitor content performance & be able to attract it to attributable pipeline. That shows us the content motion is working & it also gives us confidence in maintaining a long-term relationship with our partners.
- Subject matter expertise — I believe there are two types of expertise. There is business/product expertise and there is industry expertise. There’s overlap between the two, but there’s also very clear delineation. I believe that our writers and CS should be a 501-level in your business/product and a 301-level in the industry. Why? Because I believe the people who are 501-level in a client’s industry are the practitioners (aka your ICP), which is why our entire content strategy is anchored in interviews with industry SMEs.
On LinkedIn’s Role
Cat asked: “Was LinkedIn organic/inbound ever a major factor in your initial success? If so, what was the game changer/unlock moment?”
My response: Huge. That’s where a ton of our leads came from.
On Effective Content Formats
Juan asked: “What channels/formats are working better for your clients?”
My response: Long form gated playbooks, weekly editorial newsletter, exec, and the company’s social media to amplify the anchor content.
On Common Objections
Pat asked: “What’s the biggest objection you face?”
My response: I’ll need to pull Abby in once more.
Here’s what she had to say:
“Top 5 objections would be:
- Why the 12-month contract?
- How much time will this take my team?
- How can we get unique, deep-niche content every time?
- How long will it take to work?
- How do you measure ROI?”
On Pivoting the Business
Marvin asked: “When did you know you had to pivot?”
My response: When we knew there was no way to hit our long term vision with the amount of churn we had.
On Early Beginnings
Steve asked: “How’d you start in the very beginning? Did you go from 1 person / small team to hiring? Did you let client revenue grow the business? How far ahead did you plan?”
My response: Got first few clients through my Twitter audience. Paired them with ghostwriters I vetted from Twitter. Didn’t take anything at first. Just passed the entire monthly fee to the writer. At some point, I started acting as content strategist, so the writer could focus on just writing. At that point I took a bit of margin.
Conclusion
Two years in and we’ve come a long way from that initial tweet about executive ghostwriting. The journey to a mid 7-figures, 18-person agency hasn’t been without its pivots and learnings.
Building storyarb has reinforced what I believe about content: it’s a long game that requires commitment, expertise, and a strategic approach.
Content isn’t just about putting words on a page—it’s about creating assets that drive real pipeline and growth for our partners.
As we continue scaling, we remain focused on what’s working: deep industry knowledge, measurable results, and content that genuinely resonates with our clients’ target audiences.
Here’s to the next two years.