When you are building an internet business on the side, your content creation process can make or break your consistency. Without a reliable workflow, interruptions from your day job, family, and life in general will derail your publishing schedule. Mark shares the exact tools and workflow he uses to keep his podcast, blog, and social media content moving forward, even when life gets busy.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why having a defined content workflow matters more than any single tool
• How to use templated writing tools to speed up content creation
• The power of automation tools like Zapier for publishing workflows
• How to evaluate content creation tools for your specific platform and needs
• Why switching tools when better options emerge is a sign of healthy business growth

Episode Summary

Mark starts this episode with an update on his Late Night Affiliate course development. He has been working through Amy Porterfield's Courses that Convert program and conducting phone interviews with potential students to validate his course concept. He asks listeners to complete a four-minute survey about their affiliate marketing challenges, which he plans to use both for course research and for generating future episode ideas.

The main topic is content workflow software. Mark explains that a workflow is simply a set of steps you follow from start to finish to get something done. For part-time entrepreneurs, these steps can be overwhelming, so having the right tools to organize and automate them is critical.

Mark's primary writing tool at the time was Ulysses, a Mac application built around hierarchical organizational note cards. He created template cards for different parts of each podcast episode, duplicated the template for each new show, and filled in the cards as he progressed through his workflow. Ulysses uses plain text with Markdown formatting and syncs across Apple devices. For Windows users, Mark suggests Sublime Text, OneNote, or Write Plus as alternatives.

The second major tool in Mark's workflow is Zapier, an automation platform that monitors activity and triggers assigned tasks. Mark uses Zapier to automate his podcast publishing workflow. When a new episode goes live, Zapier automatically triggers a chain of tasks that handle social media posting, email notifications, and other distribution steps. He describes the user interface as fantastic and emphasizes how powerful automation becomes when you have a repeatable publishing process.

Mark also touches on his decision to switch from SurveyMonkey to SurveyGizmo for surveys, and from Aweber to ConvertKit for email marketing. His broader point is that the tool landscape changes constantly, and being willing to evaluate and switch to better tools is part of running a healthy business. The tool that was best three years ago may not be the best choice today.

Key Takeaways

• A defined content workflow prevents interruptions from killing your publishing consistency
• Template-based writing tools let you break content creation into manageable, repeatable steps
• Automation tools like Zapier eliminate manual distribution tasks and reduce the chance of forgetting steps
• Evaluate your tool stack regularly and switch when better options emerge
• Your workflow matters more than any individual tool within it

What's Changed Since This Episode

Mark recorded this episode in 2016, and the content creation tool landscape has been completely transformed. As of 2026, 72% of content creators report using AI tools as part of their regular workflow. The “tool stack” approach Mark advocated has become the industry standard, but the specific tools have evolved dramatically.

For podcast editing, Descript has become the go-to tool for many creators, offering AI-powered transcription, text-based audio and video editing, and automatic filler word removal. For podcast recording, Riverside.fm provides studio-quality remote recording that far surpasses what was available in 2016. These tools have made professional-quality podcasting accessible to solo creators without audio engineering backgrounds.

Notion has largely replaced tools like Ulysses, Evernote, and OneNote as the central planning hub for content creators. Its combination of databases, templates, and collaborative features makes it ideal for managing editorial calendars, episode planning, and content workflows. Many creators run their entire content operation from a single Notion workspace.

AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude have become standard for ideation, outline creation, show notes drafting, and repurposing content across formats. Canva dominates visual content creation with AI-powered design features. OpusClip and similar tools automatically identify the best clips from long-form video and reformat them for short-form platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

Zapier remains a major player in workflow automation, now processing billions of tasks and integrating with thousands of apps. However, it faces competition from Make (formerly Integromat) and native integrations built into platforms like Notion and ConvertKit. The core principle Mark taught, that automation is essential for consistent content publishing, has only become more true as creators manage more platforms simultaneously. Content repurposing across platforms is now standard practice rather than an advanced strategy.

Resources Mentioned

• Zapier — workflow automation platform (rhymes with “happier”)
• Sublime Text — text editor for PC
• Microsoft OneNote — note-taking and organization tool
• OmniFocus — task management for Mac
• Asana — project management platform
• IFTTT — simple automation tool
• LNIM Podcast

Related Episodes

If you found this episode helpful, you might also enjoy:

• LNIM110 — Defeating Imposter Syndrome: How To Become An Expert
• LNIM116 — Facebook Live Ads On TV

Listen and Subscribe

Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/. Have a question for Mark? Call the digital recorder at 214-444-8655 or drop a comment below.