Tools and resources

What you need to create better content and keep up to date.

A selection, not a complete list. Tools to research, create, distribute and measure, the channels and people who keep you sharp, the books that last, and the figures on this site with their sources and what they do not prove.

Tools

Research, create, distribute, measure.

Figures with sources

What figures say, and what they do not.

Every figure on this site has a source. Each figure also states what it does not prove, because most statistics about content are self-reported, North American or measured in a specific situation. Checked in October 2026.

18.9%

of content marketers do not know whether their content works. For ten years that figure was between 9 and 14 percent.

Source: Orbit Media, Blogging Statistics 2026, n = 1,042

What it does not prove That the content does not work. It does show that nobody is measuring, and without measurement you cannot adjust course.

59%

of B2B marketers call their content marketing at least somewhat effective. Only 12 percent call it very effective.

Source: Content Marketing Institute, B2B Content and Marketing Trends 2026, n = 1,015

What it does not prove That it is profitable. Effective here means: reaching their own goals, and those differ from company to company.

39%

report strong results when they apply six or more of eight successful strategies, compared with 14 percent on average.

Source: Orbit Media, Blogging Statistics 2026, n = 1,042

What it does not prove That the strategies are the cause. Teams with bigger budgets often do more at once.

200 min

is what the average content marketer spends on an article of 1,312 words on average, or 3 hours 20 minutes. In 2022 it was 4 hours 10 minutes.

Source: Orbit Media, Blogging Statistics 2026, n = 1,042

What it does not prove What an article costs in total. Briefing, visuals, final editing and distribution are not included.

76%

of B2B marketers call LinkedIn the most effective channel for thought leadership. At 37 percent of them, fewer than 5 percent of employees share content.

Source: Content Marketing Institute, B2B Content and Marketing Trends 2026

What it does not prove That LinkedIn is the best channel for you. The sample is mainly North American.

5%

of B2B buyers are in the market at any given moment. The other 95 percent will only buy later, but are already forming an impression now.

Source: John Dawes, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, for the LinkedIn B2B Institute, 2021

What it does not prove That it is exactly 5 percent in your sector. It is an estimate based on switching frequencies.

3,600

searches per month for content marketing in Dutch-speaking Belgium, averaged over twelve months. In September 2025 it peaked at 12,100.

Source: Google Ads search volumes via DataForSEO, September 2025 to August 2026

What it does not prove That they are all buyers. The September peak points to students at the start of the academic year.

34.5%

fewer clicks on the first position with an AI summary, measured in April 2025. Ten months later it was 58 percent.

Source: Ahrefs, AI Overviews reduce clicks, April 2025 and February 2026

What it does not prove That it keeps falling like this every year. It is a snapshot for informational searches.

Better not to quote

Two figures that do the rounds and that we do not use.

You will find them in almost every list of content statistics. They sound convincing, but you cannot verify them.

  • 1

    Content marketing costs 62 percent less and generates three times as many leads.

    The figure is attributed to Demand Metric and has been circulating for more than ten years. No method, sample or basis for comparison has been published. What counts as traditional marketing here, and over what period? Without an answer, it is a slogan.

  • 2

    70 percent of the buying decision has already been made before a customer talks to sales.

    The original is a 2012 CEB study that found 57 percent, among B2B buyers at the time. In later blogs it became 67, 70 and even 90 percent. The idea that buyers inform themselves in advance is correct. The precise percentage is outdated and inflated.

Channels to follow

Podcasts, newsletters and trade media.

Sources

Research, figures and guidelines.

Influential people

Who you should follow.

  • Ann Handley

    Writer and speaker, for many years chief content officer at MarketingProfs.

    Everybody Writes, 2014

  • Joe Pulizzi

    Founded the Content Marketing Institute in 2007 and popularised the term.

    Epic Content Marketing, Content Inc.

  • Robert Rose

    Strategist and adviser, for many years associated with the Content Marketing Institute.

    Killing Marketing, with Joe Pulizzi

  • Marcus Sheridan

    From swimming pool salesman to speaker on honest answers as a sales engine.

    They Ask, You Answer

  • Andy Crestodina

    Co-founder of Orbit Media and of the annual blogger survey.

    Content Chemistry

  • Rand Fishkin

    Co-founder of Moz and SparkToro, critical of platforms and zero-click.

    Lost and Founder

  • Amanda Natividad

    Marketer at SparkToro, popularised zero-click content.

    Zero-click content

  • Avinash Kaushik

    Analytics thinker, devised See, Think, Do, Care.

    Web Analytics 2.0

  • Kristina Halvorson

    Laid the foundations of content strategy as a discipline.

    Content Strategy for the Web

  • Mark Schaefer

    Writer and speaker, who warned of content shock as early as 2014.

    The Content Code

  • Gini Dietrich

    Devised the PESO model and writes on Spin Sucks.

    Spin Sucks, 2014

  • Lily Ray

    SEO specialist, known for her analyses of E-E-A-T and Google's quality updates.

    E-E-A-T and AI search

Books

Six books for your desk.

  • Everybody Writes

    Ann Handley · 2014, second edition 2022

    The handbook for writing clearly, usefully and humanly. Also for those who write with AI.

  • They Ask, You Answer

    Marcus Sheridan · 2017, revised 2019

    Why honest answers about price, problems and comparisons become your best salespeople.

  • Epic Content Marketing

    Joe Pulizzi · 2013

    The classic that turned content marketing into a strategy instead of a series of blogs.

  • Content Strategy for the Web

    Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach · 2009, second edition 2012

    How to plan, create, manage and clear out content.

  • How Brands Grow

    Byron Sharp · 2010

    Why reach and mental availability matter more than loyalty. A fresh look at brand building.

    Read the summary

  • The Long and the Short of It

    Les Binet and Peter Field · 2013

    The research behind the balance between brand building and activation, based on almost a thousand campaigns.

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