# Joe Pulizzi

> Joe Pulizzi is the originator of the term 'content marketing' and the founder of the Content Marketing Institute, which he built from a cocktail-napkin idea to a $17.6 million exit. Known universally as 'The Godfather of Content Marketing,' he has written nine books, spoken in 20+ countries, and now publishes the Orangeletter newsletter to 50,000+ subscribers while advising creators to own their audiences before AI makes discovery obsolete.

- **Role:** Founder at Joe Pulizzi (personal brand)
- **Organizations:** Content Marketing Institute (Founder, sold 2016), Orange Effect Foundation (Co-Founder, active), The Tilt (Founder, sold 2023), Junta42 (Founder, evolved 2010)
- **From:** Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Bowling Green State University, Master's in Communications, Penn State University
- **Known for:** Coined and popularized the term 'content marketing' (2001), Founded Content Marketing Institute and sold for $17.6M to UBM plc (2016), Content Marketing World grew from 660 to 4,000+ annual attendees

## Career timeline

- **2000** — Joined Penton Media; rose to VP of Penton Custom Media
- **2001** — First used the term 'content marketing'
- **2007** — Left Penton Media; founded Junta42; launched blog 'Content Marketing Revolution' on April 2
- **2010** — Launched Content Marketing Institute (CMI) in May
- **2011** — Launched Content Marketing World conference; debuted in orange NASA jumpsuit before 660 attendees
- **2013** — Published 'Epic Content Marketing' (Fortune: Must-Read Business Book)
- **2014** — Co-founded Orange Effect Foundation with wife Pam
- **2015** — Published 'Content Inc.'; CMI reached ~$10M revenue
- **2016** — Sold CMI to UBM plc for $17.6 million
- **2017** — Departed CMI; published 'Killing Marketing' with Robert Rose; inducted into DMN Hall of Fame
- **2020** — Published thriller novel 'The Will to Die'; won National Indie Excellence Award (Best Suspense)
- **2021** — Founded The Tilt newsletter and Creator Economy Expo (CEX)
- **2023** — Sold The Tilt and CEX to Lulu; relaunched personal brand and Orangeletter newsletter
- **2025** — Published 'Burn the Playbook'; won BookFest 2025 Award (Business/Entrepreneurship)

## Achievements

- Coined and popularized the term 'content marketing' (2001)
- Founded Content Marketing Institute and sold for $17.6M to UBM plc (2016)
- Content Marketing World grew from 660 to 4,000+ annual attendees
- Epic Content Marketing named Fortune Must-Read Business Book; 100,000+ copies sold
- Content Inc. (2nd Ed.) became essential creator economy reading
- DMN Hall of Fame inductee (2017)
- Lifetime Achievement Award from The Content Council (2014)
- National Indie Excellence Award - Best Suspense 2020 for 'The Will to Die'
- BookFest 2025 Award - Business/Entrepreneurship for 'Burn the Playbook'
- Orange Effect Foundation: 500+ children in 40+ states received speech therapy grants
- Keynoted for Disney, IBM, Dell, LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon, Oracle, SAP, Wall Street Journal
- 150,000+ Twitter/X followers
- 50,000+ Orangeletter newsletter subscribers

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Burn the Playbook published; won BookFest 2025 Award in Business/Entrepreneurship category
- **2024-12** — Orangeletter newsletter surpassed 50,000 subscribers
- **2024-01** — Relaunched joepulizzi.com with updated focus on ownership, creator economy, and AI's impact on content discovery
- **2023-08** — Sold The Tilt and Creator Economy Expo to Lulu publishing platform
- **2023-01** — Epic Content Marketing 2nd Edition (co-authored with Brian Piper) published by McGraw-Hill

## Links

- Website: https://www.joepulizzi.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joepulizzi/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/JoePulizzi
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSpefFapG_-SK4Fwd6Q5R9w
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joepulizzi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoePulizziAuthor/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joe-pulizzi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-28