Julie Polito is the Head of Brand + Content Communications at Osano, a leading data privacy SaaS company. I’ve known Julie for many years now. In her career, she's been a journalist for national publications, an award-winning creative director, and led content, brand, and communications for several B2B technology companies, from startups to Fortune 50 organizations.
Julie and I worked at a national computer magazine published by Ziff-Davis years ago, and she was one of the top freelancers I worked with at Mobile, a pioneering mobile-technology magazine published by Future. She wrote for Salon, Fortune, CNET, ZDNet, San Francisco, Self, Make, Mademoiselle, and more before switching to writing and doing strategic work for companies, first at Ogilivy and then IBM. She’s done freelance work for a truly impressive list of companies, including IBM, Google, Yahoo!, Cisco Systems, Adobe, Safeway, Netflix, Wells Fargo, Twitter, and many more. Later, she held marketing leadership roles at Matillion and Boardspan before coming to Osano this year.
No matter which hat she wears, her mission is the same: Find the story and tell it as effectively as possible. She lives in Denver with her husband and Jack Russell terrier. And, as you’ll see below, she has an excellent, wry sense of humor, which is one of the reasons I love talking with her!
This is the latest in a series of interviews I'm doing with top content creators, editors, and writers. Subscribe now, and you'll get each of them:
Q: Can you tell me a bit about your role at Osano?
Polito: I'm leading brand, content, and communications. Osano is a Series B company, and I oversee all the typical content needs: blogs, webinars, infographics, and the like. One of the more exciting projects is the Osano podcast, which is the "love of my life" right now. It’s my first time producing a podcast, and I get to come up with the ideas, do the research, and write the questions. Our CEO, Arlo, hosts it. Recently, we interviewed Keith Enright, Google's former Chief Privacy Officer, and had an amazing conversation about data privacy and its impact, including how he helped shape global privacy policies. So, in addition to typical content work, I get to do things like that, which ties back to my love of talking to interesting people and asking questions.
Q: That sounds like a lot of fun. Who are your main audiences?
Polito: Externally, we’re focused on privacy professionals, compliance officers, and the legal community. Privacy has two sides—there’s the legal aspect and the operational side of managing data. Internally, I also support colleagues, from our CEO to fellow marketers, helping them create better content and communicate more effectively.
Q: You’ve been a writer and an editor for a long time. What do you think makes a good editor?
Polito: A good editor is a steward of a brand's voice and style. But I think the difference between a good editor and a great editor is subtle but important—a great editor enhances a writer’s work without losing the essence of the writer’s voice. It’s about making them sound like the best version of themselves while respecting the style and grammar rules.
Q: How do you balance your voice, the writer's voice, and the organization's voice?
Polito: I believe it’s entirely possible to maintain an organization’s voice and style while letting individual writers shine. At my previous job, I worked with a lot of sales engineers and solution architects who were incredibly cool and interesting. They were the voices our customers trusted, so I made sure their voices came through in the content. For example, we had a very smart, very technical CTO who wasn’t as media-trained or charismatic as the CEO, but he really resonated with our technical community. He was technical and quirky, but so were they! He wasn’t going to go on CNN, but he was relatable and trusted by the people who bought and used our products.
“I’d rather have an authentic piece with a few rough edges than a flawless but emotionally flat one.”
Q: Authenticity seems really important to you. How do you ensure that?
Polito: If you try to make someone sound like something they’re not, the audience can sense it. I prioritize authenticity over grammatical perfection. I’d rather have an authentic, compelling piece with a few rough edges than a technically flawless but emotionally flat one. You’re not just delivering information—you’re building trust and rapport.
Q: Do you work directly with writers or do subject matter expert interviews?
Polito: Both. I encourage people to take a crack at writing if they’re willing. But if it’s too time-consuming or stressful, I step in to help. For executives or busy leaders, I’ll often take the lead, conduct interviews, and outline the content for them. The goal is always to facilitate the process, not take it over.
Q: Any tips for handling the review and approval process smoothly?
Polito: Absolutely. Start by limiting the number of cooks in the kitchen. Too many people giving feedback at once can be chaotic.
I went into a document once, and it was like a gang was beating up on a helpless individual. There were so many people in there making real-time comments with conflicting opinions, it was harrowing to watch. I was like, show some mercy! All these different colored comments, the anonymous llama and the anonymous narwhal were at odds with each other… it was chaos. I just wanted to say: for the love of god, stop this.
To avoid that situation, I stagger the process, getting input from those closest to the content first, then bringing in stakeholders further out once it’s in a cleaner state. Setting clear guidelines is also essential. I tell people, "This is what we’re trying to achieve—these are the non-negotiables. And this is what I need from you." It helps avoid unnecessary rewrites later on.
Q: I find it can be helpful to get agreement ahead of time on what the purpose of the piece is and put that goal at the top of the document— that way everyone’s aligned on what we’re trying to achieve. And maybe even put a list of people who have approved it or need to approve it.
Polito: Yes — there are modern content review platforms now that build a lot of that in so you can see the history and who's approved it. I'm a big fan of that. A lot of times, I'll informally do that and remind people, for instance, that this is not an exhaustive list of our integrations — this is a diagram that shows how our products relate to one another. So please don't go down a rabbit hole. But putting it up at the top of the document so people don't miss it is a great idea.
“Content builds awareness and trust, which doesn’t always translate directly into revenue. I’m thinking about next quarter and the one after that.”
Q: How do you demonstrate the value of good content to an organization?
Polito: Data, mostly. It’s hard to argue with results. For instance, we’ve exceeded our podcast download goals by 60% for four months in a row. The podcast is ranking in the Top 25 in its category in the U.S. Showing that kind of performance makes it clear that the content is working. It’s especially important in organizations where people want to tie content directly to revenue. But content also builds awareness and trust, which doesn’t always translate directly into immediate revenue. Much of the business operates quarter to quarter. I remind people that I’m thinking about next quarter and the one after that, not just this one.
Q: Are you using AI in your content processes?
Polito: Yes and no. We use AI for tasks like building outlines or writing commoditized content like emails. It’s great for helping people for whom writing isn’t their strength. But AI is a starting point, not the final word. A human touch is always needed to make the content truly engaging. There’s still no AI that produces something better than what I could write myself. For now, I see AI as a tool that can assist but never replace the content creation process.
Q: Any last advice for content professionals?
Polito: Collaboration is key, but it works best at the brainstorming stage and again during the review process. When it comes to actually drafting content, too much collaboration can lead to chaos. Set clear goals and structure the process so everyone contributes in a meaningful way without slowing things down.
