Content IP: The Framework That Generated $1M+ in Pipeline

Most companies waste time trying to be clever with their solutions.

They’re obsessed with creating new categories and fancy names for their products.

Trust is, nobody cares if you’re calling your project management tool a “cross-functional collaboration hub” or whatever.

Instead of getting creative with solutions, what if we created IP around the problems our customers actually have?

What is Content IP?

Content IP is a framework I developed after seeing two major trends collide:

1. SaaS companies desperately trying to name new categories (and failing)
2. The power of “conceptual scoops” in journalism

You’ve heard of conceptual scoops before, even if you don’t recognize the term.

“Quiet quitting” and “The Great Resignation” are perfect examples.

Journalists identified macro trends and gave them memorable names that instantly resonated with people.

When someone gave words to what people were experiencing, it spread like wildfire. Why? Because people finally had language to describe what they were feeling but couldn’t articulate.

The same principle works in business. When you truly understand your customers and give them phrases to describe problems they’ve been struggling to explain for years, something magical happens. They throw money at you.

The entire “Content IP” concept makes too much sense. once you start using it in your marketing, it’s hard to imagine NOT doing it this way ever again. – Mark Huber, VP of Marketing @ UserEvidence

How Content IP Works

The framework is simple but powerful. Here’s how it breaks down:

Step 1: Name (and Own) a Problem Your Customers Have

Instead of trying to create a new category for your solution, identify and name a specific problem your customers face. In my work, I’ve created IP around problems like:

• Relay Race Marketing: The endless handoff (and decline) of marketing materials between teams
• Checkbox Marketing: The habit of large companies to pursue low-quality marketing efforts as a box-checking exercise

Step 2: Turn it Into Content IP

For each piece of Content IP, create separate content pieces around:

1. The problem itself
2. The first roadblock to solving the problem
3. A template/framework for solving it
4. A customer case study showing the solution in action
5. A high-level interesting insight about the problem

This content can then be distributed across any demand gen channel and referenced in channels that capture demand (like search).

Why Content IP Works

When you name problems your customers face, a few powerful things happen:

1. You create a shared language with your audience
2. You demonstrate deep understanding of their challenges
3. You build trust before they ever need your solution
4. You generate demand instead of just capturing it

Here’s the thing – when someone can articulate your problem better than you can, they become the obvious choice when you’re ready for a solution.

The Results

Using this framework, I’ve seen some serious results:

• 9M impressions on LinkedIn (and 31k followers)
• $1M in directly attributable pipeline last year
• $27k ARR from a single social media post

How to Create Your Own Content IP

Want to implement this yourself? Here’s your three-step process:

1. Find a problem your customers have
2. Name it in a way that resonates
3. Exist only to help them solve it

Don’t overcomplicate it. Don’t create a new category. Don’t start a podcast or community (yet). Just give people words for the frustrations they’ve felt for years.

Then, that Content IP becomes the foundation for everything else:

• Your community
• Your podcast
• Your newsletter
• Your marketing

Inspiration: B2C Content IP Examples

Beardbrand: Scent Confusion

This is one of my favorite examples. Beardbrand identified a problem that men didn’t even realize they had – using grooming products with competing fragrances. They coined the term “scent confusion” to describe when your cologne, beard oil, deodorant, and hair products all have different scents that clash with each other.

The genius? They didn’t invent a new product category. They just gave men words to describe something that had been annoying them for years.

Sleep Number: Sleep Divorce

Sleep Number didn’t invent the concept of couples sleeping in separate rooms. But they gave it a powerful, emotionally resonant name: “sleep divorce.” This term perfectly captures the emotional and relationship impact of sleeping separately due to snoring, different schedules, or comfort preferences.

The phrase “sleep divorce” is more compelling than “sleeping in separate rooms” because it taps into deeper concerns about relationship health and connection. It creates urgency around solving the problem.

Inspiration: B2B Content IP Examples

SparkToro: Dark Social

This is an example I initially dismissed but grew to respect immensely. SparkToro popularized “dark social” to describe the unmeasurable, untrackable ways that people share and consume content. When I first heard it, I thought, “That’s just word of mouth with a fancy name.” But that’s exactly why it works.

What’s fascinating is that SparkToro doesn’t even solve dark social directly. But by naming this invisible yet crucial aspect of marketing, they’ve positioned themselves as experts in understanding hidden audience behavior. Now there are literally job titles with “Dark Social” in them. That’s the power of great Content IP.

Operator: The Great Ignore

Operator coined “The Great Ignore” to describe how B2B buyers are increasingly ignoring traditional sales outreach. It’s clever because it plays off “The Great Resignation” while capturing a frustrating reality for sales teams – prospects are harder than ever to reach through conventional methods.

This IP gives sales leaders a way to describe their declining connection rates and positions Operator’s solution as the answer to this new reality.

UserEvidence: The Evidence Gap

UserEvidence created the concept of the “evidence gap” to describe the disconnect between what customers say about a product and what evidence companies can actually show to prospects. It’s brilliant because every B2B marketing team has felt this pain – knowing they have happy customers but struggling to turn that into compelling social proof.

Clari: Revenue Leak

Clari’s “revenue leak” concept takes a complex problem – revenue falling through the cracks due to poor pipeline visibility and forecasting – and makes it tangible. Everyone understands a leak is bad and needs to be fixed. By framing pipeline and forecast issues as “revenue leaks,” they’ve made an abstract problem concrete and urgent.

A Final Thought

Stop saying: “we help you solve the endless handoffs of marketing materials between design, product and marketing.”

Start saying: “we put an end to relay race marketing.”

Notice the difference? That’s the power of Content IP.

---

This framework was developed after spending a decade as a teacher, leading teams at two agencies, and helping ActiveCampaign grow to $165M ARR. Now, I use it at Growth Sprints to help SaaS companies scale from $10M to $100M ARR with content.