Human in the Loop: Why I’ve Never Been More Excited to Build a Content Marketing Business

I've been in the content business since 2004, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard some version of "This is the end." First, it was the web and open information that was supposedly going to kill publishing. Then came social media. Now it's generative AI and large language models like Claude and ChatGPT that are going to make content creators obsolete.

Here's what I've learned after two decades in this industry: things absolutely change, but the fundamental need for communities to learn and connect doesn't go away. What changes is how people come together and how they consume information.

And honestly? I think we're living in one of the most exciting times to build a content and event business precisely because of AI, not in spite of it.

Let me explain.

Diving In Instead of Keeping Distance

When ChatGPT launched and everyone started freaking out about what it meant for content creation, I made a conscious decision. Instead of keeping these tools at arm's length or treating them as a threat, I dove right in. I wanted to figure out how they could actually help me build what I'm creating.

The result? It's been like having a partner and an assistant rolled into one. Not a replacement for me, but a genuinely powerful tool that amplifies what I can do.

Take the event I'm hosting on February 3rd about confidential computing, for example. I had an intuition that there was a gap in the market for this kind of gathering, but I needed to validate that hunch. I used AI to help me research the landscape, identify where the real needs were, and produce an outline for how I was thinking about positioning the event.

The same thing happened with our April 9th event for OSPOs (Open Source Program Offices) I had the seed of an idea, but AI helped me confirm it was solid and flesh out the details much faster than I could have alone.

This kind of market research has been transformed by AI tools, allowing people like me to move from concept to execution much more quickly. But—and this is critical—there still needs to be what AI folks call "a human in the loop."

The Human in the Loop

Here's what AI can't do: it can't understand the nuances of your specific community. It can't feel the energy in a room during an event. It can't build genuine relationships with speakers and attendees. It can't make the judgment calls about what will resonate with your particular audience.

What it can do is pull together research and information faster and more efficiently than traditional web searches. It can help you see patterns you might have missed. It can take something you're already strong at and speed it up considerably. And in areas where you're not as strong? It can act as a capable associate, filling in gaps in your knowledge or capabilities.

For me, AI has been particularly helpful in producing outlines for how I'm thinking about a topic and identifying verticals I can go after; spotting where there's a genuine gap or need for content or an event. But I'm the one who ultimately decides which opportunities to pursue, how to position them, and how to bring them to life in a way that creates real value for people.

The Marketing Shake-Up

If you've been following tech news lately, you know we're seeing massive layoffs across the sector, and marketing teams are getting hit particularly hard. I think a lot of this is happening because companies are trying to figure out how AI will change content creation and audience acquisition, and they're making reactive decisions rather than strategic ones.

This is exactly why I think it's so important to educate yourself about these tools and actually start using them. Don't wait for someone to tell you how AI should fit into your workflow—get in there and figure it out yourself. That way, you can be the person suggesting innovative ways to incorporate it rather than being on the receiving end of decisions made by people who don't understand the work as well as you do.

The reality is that AI is reshaping how we think about search and customer expectations, but that doesn't mean the need for thoughtful, strategic content disappears. If anything, it becomes more important to cut through the noise with content and events that genuinely serve your community.

Building My Company in the AI Era

When I think about how I'm building my business at Punch Tape, I see AI as fundamentally additive, not subtractive. It's taken the things I'm naturally good at, like understanding what communities need, spotting market gaps, and bringing people together, and helped me execute on them faster and more effectively.

In areas where I'm less strong, maybe getting the ball rolling or data analysis, it acts as that associate I mentioned. It's not doing the work for me, but it's helping me do the work better and more efficiently.

The key insight? Content and event businesses can absolutely thrive right now. People still want to learn. They still want to connect with others in their field. They still need spaces, both physical and digital, where they can engage with ideas and each other in meaningful ways.

What's changed is that you now have incredibly powerful tools to help you create those spaces and serve those communities better than ever before. But only if you're willing to engage with those tools thoughtfully, keep yourself firmly in the loop, and remember that technology is a means to an end, not the end itself.

The businesses that will thrive in this era are the ones that use AI to amplify human connection and insight, not replace it. That's the approach I'm taking, and honestly, I've never been more excited about the future of content and events.

Having a hard time getting started, check out our marketing training or hire us to be additive to your team! Fill out the form below and we will respond within 24 hours!