Stop blaming the algorithm

Instead: throw your tone of voice doc in the sea

Author

David Broderick
February 19, 2026

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Stop blaming the algorithm.

Be honest – your content is utterly forgettable 🤷

So instead:

Grab your 137-page tone of voice doc, and your A+++ Clearscope score, and the FAQ section humans won't read (and AI ain't gonna cite)...

AND THROW THEM IN THE SEA

Because your audience will forget all of that in seconds.

But if you teach them something?

✨ They’ll remember you forever ✨

That’s what whatshisname says, anyway... (I think it was Ian Lurie?)

And he showed us how to get our Ned Schneebly on in For Unforgettable Marketing, Teach The Shit Out Of Everything

Let’s dive into Ian's tips for creating unforgettable content…

🎯 One sentence summary

Teach your audience something and they’ll keep what you taught them – and a reminder of you and your brand

💬 One important quote

“You want unforgettable marketing? Teach the shit out of everything. Teaching makes you memorable. It’s the best marketing tool you’ve got.”

🗝️ One key takeaway

I think of Henneke Duistermaat whenever I use her three-step editing process to zhuzh up a clunky sentence.

I think of Tommy Walker every time I raise the stakes in an intro.

And I think of Macaulay Culkin every time I hang a paint can from my ceiling by a piece of string to stop Joe Pesci from breaking into my house.

These folks live in my head rent free.

Because they stuck to Lurie’s Three Laws Of Teaching The Shit Out Of Anything:

  1. Deliver useful knowledge

  2. With zero friction and

  3. Make it easy to consume

That means:

Think zero-click (shoutout Amanda Natividad). Posting on Instagram? Include everything folks need to know in the post.

Don’t try the hard-sell. A subtle lil’ CTA is cool. A gigantic popup that blocks your view when I land on the page? Get in the bin 🗑️

Don’t gate all the good stuff. Grab the juiciest bits from your whitepaper and share ‘em. Folks are a lot more likely to fill out your 10-field form if you’ve shown them it’s worth their time. 

Check out Ian Lurie’s short-and-sweet article For Unforgettable Marketing, Teach The Shit Out Of Everything to learn why teaching is the best marketing tool you’ve got (good news for us content marketers, ey?) 🧑‍🏫

TOFU Community Manager

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