The blog of Ready State, a creative agency

Derek Slater, Content Director

Prior to joining Ready State, Derek spent two decades in B2B technology journalism. He was editor in chief of award-winning security publication CSO for seven years, and he previously held editorial leadership positions with CIO and with the Enterprise IT and Finance media groups at FierceMarkets. He wrote the book Content Marketing in 30 Minutes and has special interest in two areas: the use of analytics and SEO data to inform content creation, and content reuse and recycling. Derek has helped clients from startups to tech giants to develop more effective content strategies and create better content.

Recent Posts

Don't get machine-washed

As marketers start evaluating machine-learning systems, it’s crucial to spot when that title is deserved—and when it’s just a buzzword

By Derek Slater, Content Director  |  Aug 28, 2017
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7 hurdles to effective content marketing (and how to jump them)

From a lack of candor to ill-conceived job descriptions, we’ve identified several pervasive issues content marketers within large organizations face—and ways they can handily address them.

By Derek Slater, Content Director  |  Mar 27, 2017
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Jargon can be good. Here are 3 ways

Jargon isn’t gibberish to everyone. And it’s not all bad. When you use and target it appropriately, you can considerably improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your message.

By Derek Slater, Content Director  |  Feb 6, 2017
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How to talk to your data scientist

To effectively collaborate, marketers and data scientists need a common language. Here are seven of the most important terms to know in our glossary of AI terms for marketing.

By Derek Slater, Content Director  |  Dec 12, 2016
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A case study about rethinking case studies

We paired a writer with a designer, and asked them to analyze, deconstruct, and rebuild the case study. Here’s what we found and what we recommend doing.

By Derek Slater, Content Director  |  Nov 22, 2016
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21 ways to make your content feel fresh

You can create wildly varied content by experimenting with different text-driven formats.

By Derek Slater, Content Director  |  Jun 9, 2016
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On second thought, don’t think like a publisher

Producing great content is nothing like manufacturing SpaghettiOs. The best ingredients, tools, and metrics of success change frequently.

By Derek Slater, Content Director  |  Apr 28, 2016
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How to ruin your B2B content marketing, one revision at a time

Sometimes, rounds of well-intentioned edits chip away at reader value. Here’s how it happens.

By Derek Slater, Content Director  |  Dec 18, 2015
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