You’ve got the blogs.
You’ve got the whitepapers.
You’re showing up on LinkedIn.

So why isn’t any of it… working?

Why aren’t people clicking, engaging, or buying?

It’s not that your content’s bad.
It’s that no one (not your team, not your writer, not your sales lead) actually knows why you’re posting it.

Content without a ‘why’ is just noise

A lot of B2B content gets published because it’s “time to post something.”
Not because it fits into a strategy.
Not because it supports a sales goal.
And definitely not because it has a defined purpose or audience.

It’s activity for activity’s sake.

But content without a clear goal is just another thing to scroll past.
And content without a clear distribution plan? That’s a great blog no one ever sees.

How to tell when your content is missing its ‘why’

  • The sales team doesn’t know it exists (and wouldn’t use it if they did)
  • You’re picking blog topics based on “what haven’t we written about lately?”
  • There’s no obvious throughline across the last 10 pieces you published
  • Content gets posted on LinkedIn once, then forgotten
  • Everyone says “we need more content”, but can’t say what for

It’s not about doing less.
It’s about doing it on purpose.

Why this happens (and it’s not laziness)

Misaligned content isn’t usually a sign of a lazy team. It’s the result of gaps that no one’s quite sure how to fix.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

❌ Misaligned teams

Sales, marketing, and product all have different priorities. Without a shared view of what content is for, you get a mess of mixed messages.

❌ No mapped customer journey

You’re publishing, but there’s no clear journey from problem-aware to solution-ready, so content sits in isolation.

❌ No role for content

Are you building trust? Driving demos? Attracting talent? If the answer is “all of the above,” your messaging is probably trying to do too much.

❌ No distribution plan

Even the sharpest content won’t land if it’s dumped into a single LinkedIn post and never shared again.
If you’re not thinking about how and where content will be distributed before it’s created, you’re already behind.

❌ No one owns the strategy

If content is “everyone’s responsibility,” it often becomes no one’s priority. And that’s when it turns into a box-ticking exercise, not a tool for growth.

What it looks like when content actually works

You don’t need a 50-page strategy doc or an Airtable board full of colour coding.

You need clarity.

That looks like:

  • Knowing exactly who each piece is for (and what they need to hear)
  • Mapping content to actual stages of the buyer or client journey
  • Creating pieces that sales want to use — and know how to share
  • Publishing with a plan: LinkedIn, email, website, pitch decks, internal Slack, PR… whatever makes sense for your goals
  • A writer or strategist who doesn’t just say “sure” to your brief, but asks, “what are we trying to do with this?”

If this feels familiar… stop posting for the sake of it

Seriously.
Stop posting because it’s Tuesday.
Stop briefing things that “might be useful.”
Stop building content in isolation and expecting it to perform.

Take a breath.
Zoom out.
And ask the question every piece of content should answer: Why does this need to exist?

Then — and only then — hit publish.

You don’t need more content. You need content with purpose.

If your current content plan feels like shouting into the void, it’s probably not your messaging.
It’s your strategy.

I help marketing teams untangle the mess and build content that’s actually useful... for your audience and your business.

👉🏻 Book a 1:1 strategy session
👉🏻 Or explore my monthly content retainers

Let’s make your content work harder, and go further.

About the author

Alice Xerri is the founder of AX Content, a Melbourne-based content consultancy helping businesses build from the ground up, one piece of content at a time.

She works with brands across finance, tech, and professional services to turn complex ideas into clear, confident content that drives growth.

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