MMarketing Against The Grain
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Marketing

Tangible Utility Upgrade

Turn an informative article into a practical asset readers can immediately use

Difficulty
Easy
Time to result
~days to results
Steps
6
Confidence
99%

The utility upgrade adds an action layer to a piece of content. After completing or refreshing an article, the creator gives the article to an AI assistant and asks for several ideas for a tangible template, guide, resource, or asset that would make it more useful. A human chooses the concept that most directly supports the reader’s next step and asks the AI to generate a structured draft, such as a spreadsheet. The team then verifies the content, improves instructions, formats the document, applies appropriate design, and embeds or offers it within the article. The article therefore progresses from explaining a subject to enabling execution, creating a stronger reason to visit, save, share, or reference it.

Origin

Extracted from Marketing Against The Grain as Ross Simmons described a recent B2B content optimization “cheat code.”

Core principles

  • 01The best content helps readers act, not merely understand
  • 02A practical companion asset can differentiate similar articles
  • 03AI can accelerate ideation and first-draft production
  • 04Human selection, formatting, and design determine final usefulness

How to run it

  1. 1

    Identify the Reader’s Next Action

    Determine what a reader should be able to plan, calculate, decide, or execute after consuming the article.

    Pro tip Phrase the action as a concrete verb such as audit, compare, schedule, or score.

    Watch out Do not create an asset unrelated to the article’s central promise.

  2. 2

    Generate Several Asset Concepts

    Provide the article to an AI assistant and request multiple template, guide, resource, or tool ideas.

    Pro tip Ask for concepts serving different levels of reader sophistication.

    Watch out The first generated idea is not automatically the best one.

  3. 3

    Select for Utility

    Choose the concept that removes the most friction from the reader’s next action and fits the team’s expertise.

    Pro tip Prefer a simple asset people can use immediately over an impressive but complex one.

    Watch out Avoid selecting solely for lead-capture potential.

  4. 4

    Generate the Structured Draft

    Ask AI to create the initial spreadsheet, worksheet, checklist, or guide with fields and instructions.

    Pro tip Request sample rows or a completed example to expose unclear logic.

    Watch out Never assume formulas or recommendations are correct without testing.

  5. 5

    Validate and Design

    Have a subject expert verify the substance, then format and redesign the asset for clarity and brand consistency.

    Pro tip Test it by completing the intended task from beginning to end.

    Watch out An attractive but unusable asset damages trust.

  6. 6

    Integrate with the Article

    Place the asset where it naturally helps the reader act and explain exactly how to use it.

    Pro tip Reference the asset at the moment the article introduces the relevant task.

    Watch out Do not hide the article’s main value behind an unnecessary gate.

In the wild

Adding a Campaign Planning Spreadsheet

A team finishes a guide to planning a B2B launch. AI proposes four companion resources, and the editor chooses a campaign-planning spreadsheet. AI drafts the tabs and fields; a marketer tests the workflow, fixes formulas, adds an example campaign, and embeds the download beside the planning section.

→ Readers can apply the guide immediately instead of translating advice into a system themselves.

Common mistakes

Shipping the First AI Draft

Generated spreadsheets and templates may contain unclear instructions, flawed formulas, or impractical fields and require expert validation.

Creating Decorative Downloads

A resource that does not help the reader perform a meaningful action adds conversion friction rather than value.

Is it for you?

Best for

It is best for B2B guides where readers need a repeatable worksheet, template, calculator, checklist, or planning resource.

Not ideal for

It is not ideal when the topic has no meaningful reader action or when the team cannot validate the generated asset’s logic.

From the transcript

“One of the best cheat codes that we found recently to do that is to leverage AI to say, hey, chat GPT, I just created…”

Ross Simmons · 22:30

“You then can take that and tell them to turn it into a spreadsheet, chef's kiss, while that we can do that these days.”

Ross Simmons · 22:30

From the episode

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