Background

Are you struggling to create content consistently?

Two weeks ago, I asked my audience what they needed help with.

The results were pretty close.

Most people don’t have confidence in their content systems.

I can relate.

On October 28, 2022, I started on my creator journey on Twitter. I had no idea how to write online, make a good video, or create anything worth paying attention to.

I bought many courses to gain clarity.

Some of which were helpful but others not so much.

My biggest mistake was trying to combine them all at the start. I’ve been an optimization junkie (don’t recommend it).

Fortunately, I’ve been able to figure out what works.

Before we dive in, here are 3 beginner mistakes you want to avoid at all costs!

1. Using too many platforms at once - This is one way to spread yourself too thin and burn out. Pick your favorite platform that’s low-friction, and has the least amount of drawbacks. For me, it’s Twitter (X).

2. Expecting quick results (virality) - Leave the viral stuff to the 17-year-old life coaches. Play the long game. Never sacrifice your reputation for reach. You don’t write viral content, content just happens to go viral.

3. Reduce your consumption to high-quality sources - Mindlessly scrolling the timeline is too easy. Choose 3-5 of your favorite creators, then consume from them only. If you want, swap creators once a month. I recommend their books, podcasts, and courses if they have them. Short-form posts never changed anyone’s life but I can name a few books that have.

Today I’m going to show you the content system I use now. This helped me gain 1000+ followers and make $275 side income in only 2-4 hours per day.

Core Concept

First, let’s get clear on what a content system is.

A content system is a defined process for generating, organizing, and efficiently creating ideas or content.

Your goals with a content system may be:

• Monetization

• Building an audience

• Sharing your journey in public

• Generating leads for your business

• Meeting other creators similar to yourself

Tons of skills are involved in the content creation process in 3 common forms: writing, video, and audio.

Decide on which one best suits your platform, personal interests, strengths, and niche.

In this article, we’ll focus on writing because it’s the foundation for all good content. A great video or podcast starts with a well-written script.

These are the components of a good content system:

1. Offers

2. Collecting data

3. Idea generation

4. The writing process

5. Daily and weekly routines

6. Networking and growth strategies

Let’s jump in.

Focus Formula

Here’s how to use it:

Offers

If you have an offer, your content should promote its benefits.

Use the consumer levels of awareness to target the lower levels on social media. Use the higher levels in your offers.

What are your audience’s problems, pains, dreams, and desires?

No offer? No worries.

You can use a newsletter as an offer if you’re still exploring potential ideas or building in public. If you need help starting a newsletter, I wrote a short guide for you:

Collecting data

Most platforms allow you to track your analytics.

These become important when you’ve been posting for at least 6 months.

I’ll show you how to use your Twitter analytics to repurpose your best-performing content.

Idea generation

You don’t know what to write about? Lies! Ideas are everywhere.

Use a notebook, app, or napkin to write anything that sticks out to you during the day.

Here’s how:

1. Write idea

2. Revisit once per day

3. Schedule tweet in Hypefury

Anything you experience can become high-performing content. People follow people. Share your expertise, wins/losses, stories, personality, and client wins!

The Writing Process

How many tweets should you post per day? It depends.

Are you a beginner? (0-1000 engaged followers)

1-2 tweets a day is a good starting point for practice until you’ve learned how to write engaging content.

So how do you grow?

Use the networking strategy below.

Are you growing? (1000+ engaged followers)

3-5 tweets per day are solid to get more data on what your audience loves.

Then repurpose using the data strategy.

What do you post about? Check out this content pillar guide.

Lastly, I like to schedule tweets as they come to mind using the idea generation process and I’ll fill in the rest of them one day per week for about 1-2 hours.

Set that time aside and schedule 10-20 pieces of content per week.

Daily and weekly routines

So when are you supposed to write each type of content?

• Tweets - anytime (1-5 per day)

• Threads & long posts - it depends (0-2+ per week)

• Newsletters - see offers (0-1 per week)

For threads, I recommend building an engaged following first.

Most of the time, threads will go unseen if you don’t get them shared by bigger accounts. I can’t speak on threads or long-form too much since I don’t do them well yet.

For newsletters, start with posting once a week on the same day.

Plug your subscribe form in your bio and on your highest performing content (easy with Hypefury).

I like to outline on Sunday, write on Monday, edit on Tuesday, and do any extra stuff like visuals and links on Wednesday. Then schedule the following Friday.

Experiment with what works for your schedule.

(More on time management later).

Networking and growth strategies

Find 10-20 accounts you like, and comment under their posts.

In the beginning, it’s easier to grow when personalizing comments under big accounts.

You can ethically steal their audience.

Don’t forget to meet people in the DM’s and comment with a personalized message.

But please don’t just say “hi, how’s it going?” or “how are you doing bro?” People are busy and will not respond.

Instead, use this networking framework:

Why It Works

This strategy gives you a minimal framework to start posting. It only requires a minimum of 2 hours per day.

If you’re busy during the week, 4-5 hours on a weekend will do.

You need practice and momentum.

Start small, then add more when it becomes automatic.

Try a 30-day challenge.

In March, I’m writing 250 words a day in a long-form post on storytelling.

This gives you a daily target to improve your writing.

Time is a big factor for parents and hybrid solopreneurs like us.

Find your daily minimum and use this notion doc to prioritize your week depending on how much time you have.

Best of luck on your content journey.

Please share this with someone who can benefit and reach out if you have any questions about the Efficient Content Curriculum!

P.S.

Serious about writing online?

I highly recommend Kieran Drew’s new course, High Impact Writing 2.0.

He just updated it with brand new modules based on feedback from his customers (myself included).

Here’s the affiliate link if you’re interested.

And lastly, most of my content system came from a course by Justin Welsh.

Simplicity is the key to lasting long in the content game and he makes it super easy in his course The Content OS.

I still use his newsletter promotion strategy and content template systems today!

You can pick it up here at no extra cost to you.

Either way, hope this was valuable to you. Let me know what you think!