---
title: "Content as a growth engine for your business - The Intercom Blog"
description: "Content marketing advice often focuses on promotion rather than the substance of the content itself, leaving businesses without a clear strategy. Drawing on his experience leading Intercom’s content team and two decades as a journalist, John Collins argues for evergreen content that addresses timeless themes like filing a good bug report rather than news events. Evergreen content decays slowly and provides a compound return, with analysis showing it grows traffic three times faster than news-focused blogs over a year. He applies a journalist’s 5W and 1H framework—who, what, where, when, why, how—to plan content strategy, emphasizing that specialists should write, topics should help customers solve problems, and content must be relevant to the business. Collins concludes with four key takeaways: stay committed for the long term, make content relevant, impose a high editorial bar, and embrace unexpected benefits like easier hiring."
---

# Content as a growth engine for your business - The Intercom Blog

[Intercom](https://yomu.fyi/company/intercom) · Oct 8, 2026

**Type:** Explainer

## Summary

Content marketing advice often focuses on promotion rather than the substance of the content itself, leaving businesses without a clear strategy. Drawing on his experience leading Intercom’s content team and two decades as a journalist, John Collins argues for evergreen content that addresses timeless themes like filing a good bug report rather than news events. Evergreen content decays slowly and provides a compound return, with analysis showing it grows traffic three times faster than news-focused blogs over a year. He applies a journalist’s 5W and 1H framework—who, what, where, when, why, how—to plan content strategy, emphasizing that specialists should write, topics should help customers solve problems, and content must be relevant to the business. Collins concludes with four key takeaways: stay committed for the long term, make content relevant, impose a high editorial bar, and embrace unexpected benefits like easier hiring.

## Context

The content marketing landscape is filled with advice about promotion and getting rich quick, but little about the quality of the content itself. The author, John Collins, Managing Editor at Intercom, spoke at the Paris stop of the Inside Intercom world tour, sharing lessons from leading Intercom’s content team for two years and 20 years as a professional journalist. He argues for creating evergreen content that addresses timeless themes rather than chasing news events.

## Approach / What changed

Apply the journalist’s 5W and 1H framework (who, what, where, when, why, how) to structure a content marketing strategy. Focus on evergreen content that addresses timeless themes, produced by specialists and edited by the content team. Set achievable publishing goals and commit for the long term.

## Takeaways

- Evergreen content that addresses timeless themes decays slowly and provides a compound return. Analysis shows evergreen blogs grow traffic three times faster than news-focused blogs over a year, though results take time to accumulate.
- Use the 5W and 1H framework (who, what, where, when, why, how) to plan content strategy. Specialists should produce the material, with editors helping shape stories; topics should help customers solve problems, not just promote features.
- Content marketing requires consistent commitment over time. Over-ambitious publishing schedules often lead to burnout and jaded content, so start with achievable goals and hold nerve since returns are compound not immediate.

## FAQ

### What makes evergreen content more effective than news-focused content?

Evergreen content addresses timeless themes and decays slowly, continuing to generate traffic months after publication. Analysis shows it grows traffic three times faster than news-focused content over a year, providing a compound return.

### Who should produce content in a content marketing strategy?

Content should be produced by specialists—product managers, designers, engineers—who have deep knowledge. The editorial team works with them to identify good stories and edit for readability, as this depth cannot be matched by generalist writers.

### Why is it important to set achievable publishing goals?

Over-enthusiasm in early days leads to unachievable goals, burnout, and jaded content. It is better to start with a manageable schedule and hold nerve, as content marketing takes time to pay off with compound returns.

**Tags:** [Content Strategy](https://yomu.fyi/topic/content-strategy), [Marketing](https://yomu.fyi/topic/marketing)

- Source: [Intercom](https://www.intercom.com/blog/videos/content-growth-engine-business)
- Source URL: https://www.intercom.com/blog/videos/content-growth-engine-business
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-10-08T21:00:43.750Z

[Read original post](https://www.intercom.com/blog/videos/content-growth-engine-business)