---
title: "Lessons learned from scaling a blog - The Intercom Blog"
description: "Drawing from nearly four years of running the Intercom blog, John Collins shares eight lessons on scaling content marketing. It provides a slow but compound return: Tomasz Tunguz’s data shows articles tied to principles remain relevant for years, offering lasting value beyond page views. Opinionated, high-quality articles like ‘Why Cards Are The Future Of The Web’ and ‘Growth Hacking Is Bullshit’ outperform generic content, and writing must be practiced as a muscle with company-wide contribution. Not every article needs to sell, but all content is marketing aimed at growing audience loyalty. Scaling requires an editor backed by a clear content strategy that defines topics, depth, and quality bar; not every company should become a publisher."
---

# Lessons learned from scaling a blog - The Intercom Blog

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

**Type:** Explainer

## Summary

Drawing from nearly four years of running the Intercom blog, John Collins shares eight lessons on scaling content marketing. It provides a slow but compound return: Tomasz Tunguz’s data shows articles tied to principles remain relevant for years, offering lasting value beyond page views. Opinionated, high-quality articles like ‘Why Cards Are The Future Of The Web’ and ‘Growth Hacking Is Bullshit’ outperform generic content, and writing must be practiced as a muscle with company-wide contribution. Not every article needs to sell, but all content is marketing aimed at growing audience loyalty. Scaling requires an editor backed by a clear content strategy that defines topics, depth, and quality bar; not every company should become a publisher.

## Context

Based on nearly four years of operating the Intercom blog, John Collins wrote this article in June 2015 to share scaling lessons.

## Takeaways

- Content marketing offers a slow but compound return; articles tied to principles stay relevant for months or years, delivering value beyond page views.
- High-quality, opinionated articles outperform generic content; examples like ‘Why Cards Are The Future Of The Web’ and ‘Growth Hacking Is Bullshit’ drove wide sharing.
- Scaling a blog requires an editor with a clear strategy covering topics, depth, and quality; not every company with a utility product should become a publisher.

## FAQ

### Does content marketing pay off quickly?

No, it provides a slow but compound return. Articles remain relevant for months or years after publication, as shown by Tomasz Tunguz's data, offering lasting value beyond immediate page views.

### How can a company find time to blog?

Companies do not find time, they make it. Writing is a muscle that requires regular practice, and the whole company contributes across all levels, treating it as a valued activity.

### Should every company start a blog?

No. Only companies with a clear worldview about their product have a strong basis for a blog. Utility products like image compression apps may lack that foundation.

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

- Source: [Intercom](https://www.intercom.com/blog/lessons-learned-from-scaling-a-blog)
- Source URL: https://www.intercom.com/blog/lessons-learned-from-scaling-a-blog
- Ingested by Yomu: 2026-10-08T21:00:23.846Z

[Read original post](https://www.intercom.com/blog/lessons-learned-from-scaling-a-blog)