Ep 164 – Why AI Is Creating a Sea of Sameness in Content, with David J. Ebner

Featuring: David J. Ebner, Content Workshop

In episode 164, I sit down with David J. Ebner, president of Content Workshop, a story-first content marketing agency built for B2B tech brands, and author of Kingmakers.

David and I trace his path from a creative writing MFA to running a content agency, and the moment he realized artistic storytelling and brand storytelling are really the same skill aimed at different outcomes. We get into why even the most technical, sophisticated buyers still respond to story, what agencies get wrong when they lean on AI without understanding what good content actually looks like, and why some of his clients have left for AI tools only to come back once they realized nothing was actually getting produced.

For agency owners, this one's a reminder that content is still fundamentally about earning someone's attention and respecting their time. David makes the case for zagging when every competitor is zigging toward the same AI-flavored sameness, and for treating freelancers and internal team members with the same care you'd give your best client.

Key Bytes

• Storytelling isn't a tactic. It's how humans have always made emotional connections, long before it became a marketing buzzword.

• In every great brand story, the hero is the customer, not the company. Most founders have a hard time getting out of their own way on that one.

• B2B tech buyers are still human. They don't need buzzwords, they need concise, honest content that respects how much they already know.

• Selling on fear, uncertainty, and doubt might close a deal, but it rarely keeps a client. The moment they find a solution that doesn't scare them, they're gone.

• AI doesn't fix bad writing. It just makes bad writing faster, and now you have to already know what good looks like to catch it.

• The agencies producing content that wastes people's time are stealing back the one asset nobody gets returned: attention.

• When every competitor is zigging toward the same AI-flavored sameness, zagging with something genuinely different becomes the actual differentiator.

• In the end, all we really have is how we make people feel, whether that's a client, a freelancer, or a teammate.

Chapters

00:00 Why storytelling matters more than ever in agency marketing

00:58 David's storytelling roots growing up the youngest of five in Ohio

03:34 What Story Brand gets right about the hero's journey

04:58 Where B2B tech brands go wrong telling their story

08:28 The shift from creative writer to strategist and business owner

11:15 David's daily writing habit and why pen and paper still matters

13:46 The real cost of low quality content and AI slop

17:15 Why clients ask if they still need to pay an agency that uses AI

21:23 Zagging when every competitor leans on AI the same way

25:08 Rapid fire on coffee, book recommendations, and Slaughterhouse-Five

David J Ebner is the President of Content Workshop, a story-first content marketing agency serving B2B tech brands, especially in cybersecurity, SaaS, and manufacturing. A former creative writer turned strategist, David leads a team of classically trained storytellers who’ve produced over 30,000 content assets for clients across North America. He’s the author of Kingmakers: A Content Marketing Story and a sought-after speaker on brand voice, narrative content strategy, and the evolving intersection of AI and storytelling.

Contact David on the Content Workshop website, Chatter Agent, or LinkedIn.