🦾 Get More Juice Out of Your Content
Ever wonder how prolific creators manage to keep creating (without burning out)?
Mike Cardona
June 09, 2023
Hey there đź‘‹
If creating content is something you’ve done for awhile then you know how time-consuming it is. A common theme amongst “prolific” creators and how they’re able to put out so much content without burning out is due to their systems.
For example, Justin Welsh uses the Hub and Spoke model (read about it here).
Hub and Spoke model - Visual by Justin Welsh
Chenell Basilio from Growth in Reverse wrote a great deep-dive on Dan Koe and broke down his system which goes something like this:
Newsletter: Dan starts by writing a long-form article. Publishes it on his website and emails it.
YouTube: Converts the article into a script and records a YouTube video.
Podcast: Extract audio from the video. Publish it as a podcast episode.
Twitter: Creates a series of tweets related to the article and schedules them throughout the week.
Instagram: Uses Twitter content to create an Instagram post or carousel.
LinkedIn: Repurpose content again for LinkedIn.
Understanding Content Repurposing
Content Repurposing Flywheel – Source: First Class Founders
A core component of Justin’s and Dan’s system is effectively repurposing content.
Content repurposing is a way to extract maximum value from each piece of content. For instance, you might transform a tweet and expand it into a newsletter article, and then into a LinkedIn carousel.
Another is taking an idea from a piece of content and turning that into a standalone article or thread or LinkedIn post.
Or, as my friend Yong-Soo calls it, "squeezing more juice" out of every piece of content.
Now, without a system in place to manage it all it becomes a huge time suck.
To illustrate, I brain-dumped a list of data points – all the things someone who writes a newsletter and repurposes their content on Twitter and LinkedIn would need to track.
Content Creation Data Points
A lot to track and manage, right?
It’s easy to see why “burnout” is a common topic of discussion amongst creators.
If you aren’t intentional about creating a system so you can automate and delegate the repetitive stuff then you’ll easily get stuck in the “hamster wheel” of content creation.
I’ve been wracking my brain trying to find a way to create a “starting point” – a template, of sorts to help you build your own system.
The problem is that templates hardly ever work. We all have different workflows and tools we prefer to use. So instead, I thought I’d share my approach as I’m building out my own content system.
If you already have a content system in place that works I’d love to hear about it! And feel free to skip to the Automation templates I’ve included at the bottom.Â
📢 Weekly Shoutout
One of my favorite AI newsletters is Ponderer. Great content and such a well-designed newsletter. “The most signal (and motion) per word of any AI newsletter.” (Not a sponsor)
I’ve boiled down my content system to 3 core principles:
Purposeful Planning: Strategizing before creating content is key. Each piece of content should have a purpose and fit into our larger strategy.
Efficient Repurposing: Every piece of content should wear many hats. Crafted a killer article or email? Great, now let's morph that into a visual, a meme, a Twitter thread, or a LinkedIn carousel. The idea is to squeeze as much value (or “juice”) as we can from each piece of content we create. This means we spend less time brainstorming new ideas and more time on distribution.
Automation and Delegation: Using digital resources like ChatGPT, Zapier, and Make can help streamline the process. The goal is to spend less time on the nitty-gritty.
So, we've talked about the three key principles. Now, let's talk about how to start building one so you don’t have to spend hours creating content.
It all begins with creating a Single Source of Truth or SSOT.
Imagine having a big box where you keep all of your content. It could be your newsletter, blog posts, podcast episodes, or social media posts. Everything is in that one box, not scattered all over the place. Your big box of content also tracks all the data points I showed you earlier.
Why is this useful? Because when you want to reuse some of your old content, you know exactly where to find it.
Let me ask you this: after you publish something, do you know where to look if you needed to find it?
And do you understand what actions you need to take after it's published and are you intentional about it? Or are you randomly selecting content and guessing as to which platform you'll be publishing it on?
If you are, don’t worry – I’m just as guilty.
Here's How an SSOT and Repurposing Content Work Together:
Inventory: With an SSOT, you have a clear inventory of all your content, making it easy to identify what can be repurposed.
Efficiency: It becomes more efficient to repurpose content when you know exactly what content you have (inventory), where it has been published, and how it has performed.
Consistency: Since all your content data is stored in one place, you maintain a consistent voice and brand message across all your repurposed content.
Tracking: It becomes easier to track the performance of repurposed content and compare it with the original piece.
Planning: With an SSOT, you can strategize and plan your content repurposing more effectively. You can see which pieces of content have done well and might lend themselves to repurposing, and you can also identify gaps where new content could be created.
Remember, an SSOT doesn't automatically result in repurposed content – it's a tool that makes the process of content repurposing more streamlined and efficient.
How To Start Building Your SSOT
Too many people get caught up in the tools/tech which isn’t that important it's how you use it to create and maintain your Single Source of Truth (SSOT).
A few things I’d keep in mind as you build your SSOT:
Structure is Key: Organize your SSOT in a way that makes sense for your content creation process. You might want to categorize content by topic, format, target audience, or any other criteria relevant to your strategy.
Keep it Updated: An SSOT is only as good as its most recent update. Make it a habit to update your database whenever there's a new piece of content or a significant update to an existing one.
Regular Reviews: Regularly review and clean your SSOT to ensure it stays relevant and useful. Archive or delete outdated content that no longer aligns with your content strategy.
Automations: Take advantage of automation features in your chosen platform to reduce manual work. For example, you can automate the process of adding new content to your SSOT.
Taplio: Publish a LinkedIn post with Taplio? Send that post to your SSOT immediately after publishing it.
Typefully and Twitter: Publish a Tweet or Twitter thread? Send it to your SSOT too.
YouTube: Upload a new video? Straight to your Airtable (or Notion) SSOT
Backups: Regularly back up your SSOT. This is crucial in case of any unforeseen data loss.
Integration: Consider how your SSOT can integrate with other tools you use. For example, if you're using social media scheduling tools or a content management system, having these integrated with your SSOT can streamline your workflow.
Custom Views: Use the custom view features in tools like Airtable or Notion to create personalized views or different parts of the content process. This makes it easier to navigate and find what you need.
This is also important because you can keep everything in a single database – regardless if it has to do with content or personal projects. All you do is filter by view and get the info you need depending on whatever you’re working on. This reduces context switching and friction – helping you ensure you stick with your system.
I’ll keep you posted as I keep iterating on my own system.
Since I wasn’t able to provide you with a finished template, I’ll share a few automation ideas and templates you can implement. Or, use it to help you brainstorm and “see” what’s possible.
Automation Templates You Can Steal
Swipe File – Content SSOT Automation: Ideally you’d want to stick with your core tools and avoid using a bunch of apps since it only creates chaos and siloed data.
But, let’s say you have a few different note-taking and reader apps you really enjoy using. This automation will trigger any time you “like” an article in one of these apps and sends it to your SSOT. (You’re free to change the Trigger, of course).
A database to manage all your ChatGPT Prompts (full tutorial)
Anytime a new note created is created in AudioPen, create a record in Airtable.
Create Airtable record in your SSOT whenever a new video is published on YouTube
When a newly published podcast episode is published in Podcast.co, create a new record in Airtable
Post Medium stories whenever a new file appears in a Google Drive folder
Add the Airtable “Create Record” as the last step so your “Single Source of Truth” stays updated
Bulk Create Social Media Images with Switchboard Canvas and Airtable (“at scale”)
Anytime a Taplio (LinkedIn) post is created, Create Record in Airtable
Thank you for reading this far. I hope you enjoyed this post. Have questions or thoughts? I’d love to hear them – reply to this email, I read every single one. 🙂Â
If not, any feedback is appreciated. I want to make sure this is valuable to you.
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