Blinkist
How do you transform a 400-page book into a compelling 15-minute read without losing its core value? At Blinkist, I created content for 18 million users who wanted to grasp big ideas quickly. The real challenge wasn't just summarizing – it was crafting experiences that delivered insights conversationally, in both text and audio formats.
Period
2019-2021
The Strategy
Working with dense non-fiction required a delicate balance. Our readers were smart, curious people who didn't want oversimplified summaries. They wanted the meat of the ideas, stripped of repetition and filler.
So, Blinkist established a framework that focused on identifying key concepts, establishing clear narratives, and giving readers a smooth, conversational experience.
As Blinkist shifted toward an audio-first experience, I pioneered new approaches to content creation. After all, writing for the ear is fundamentally different from writing for the eye – it requires clearer structure, more natural language, and careful attention to flow.
And as Blinkist’s style changed, I was trusted to rewrite our most popular titles and bring them into line: big titles in the world of non-fiction, like Robert T. Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, and Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.
Don’t Say
"The psychological concept of cognitive dissonance, first introduced by Leon Festinger in 1957, refers to the mental discomfort experienced when simultaneously holding contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values, or is confronted by new information that conflicts with existing beliefs."
Do Say
“Imagine you've just spent $500 on a new phone, only to discover it's got serious flaws. But instead of returning it, you find yourself defending the purchase to friends. Why is that?
Well, you can thank “cognitive dissonance” – the mental tension we feel when our actions don't match our attitudes, or when our ideas simply don’t tally.”
The Results
Consistency
This approach helped scale our content operation and onboard new writers while maintaining quality and a coherent tone of voice.
Killer Metrics
Our audio-optimized content achieved consistently high completion rates, and user feedback showed we were hitting the sweet spot between accessibility and depth.
Development and Growth
I trained freelance subject-matter experts in these new approaches, and helped Blinkist successfully transition to an audio-first platform without sacrificing content quality.
MY WORK
MY WORK
The titles below are just a handful of the books I covered at Blinkist. Click on them to see more — and if the paywall is an issue, just let me know.
Pitstop
As the second hire, I led on all things content. I defined our strategy, built a content library, established a tone of voice, managed four writers, edited their work, and created AI-enhanced audio.
Case Studies
Finimize
At Finimize, I edited the daily newsletter (known in-app as the “Daily Brief”), making complex financial news clear and compelling for 1 million global subscribers. The task: maintaining industry-leading engagement while meeting strict compliance standards.
Blinkist
At Blinkist, I wrote summaries of top non-fiction books, making big ideas accessible for 20 million users. While there, I pioneered new approaches and tones-of-voice as the platform shifted to audio-first writing.