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If your strategy is 'post more and hope,' you're competing in a game you can't win.

👋 Welcome to Creators In Business, a newsletter where creators learn to think like CEOs, and businesses learn to move like creators.

Last week, I sat down with someone I'm helping launch a podcast.

She's got a back catalogue that would make most creators ask how on earth did she get that opportunity? She’s got decades of experience in Australian media and has interviewed people like Tom Cruise, Chris Martin, and Russell Crowe.

The stories she tells are of insane credibility and access.

So naturally, she's going to crush it when she launches, right?

Nope.

As we were discussing her content strategy plan, she told me:

"I need to post every day. Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook-everywhere. That's how you build an audience now, right?"

Except there was no plan, positioning, or narrative. Just... more content across more platforms, with the hope it shepherds people to her podcast.

She's not alone in her thinking.

In fact, most people do this.

But it’s a total trap.

You’ve got people with incredible stories and real credibility who are trying to compete in today's content ecosystem using the wrong playbook.

They think the game is pure volume.

What they don’t realise is we’re heading into an "abundance crisis" in the creator economy, and it’s changing the way your audience interacts with you.

So why does someone with decades of media experience think the answer is "post everywhere, every day"?

Because that's what all the content advice says.

Everywhere you look:

This logic makes sense because "If I show up everywhere, people will eventually find me and listen to my podcast."

If you keep thinking this, then you’ve created a trap of your own making.

When everyone is creating content, and AI makes it easier than ever to pump out "good enough" posts, who you are becomes more valuable than how much you post.

That would work if your audience cares about who posts the most.

They're asking:

My client has incredible answers to those questions.

But "I post every day across all platforms" isn't one of them.

Neither is yours.

So what should you do instead?

Stop trying to beat other content creators at their own game.

Your advantage is your own truth, experience, perspective, taste, and opinion.

That's your advantage. You need to use it.

We've shifted from scheduled TV to on-demand streaming. YET most creators still think like broadcasters, hoping mass reach will convert to something.

Old playbook (traditional media mindset): Build reach → Hope it converts → Launch

New playbook (abundance era): Build narrative → Attract the right people → Convert them

So many still follow the old playbook.

The difference?

In the old world, you needed mass reach because you just simply couldn't target.

So you broadcast to everyone and hoped someone would stick.

In today's content ecosystem, you don't need everyone. You need the right people to care deeply.

That means:

Instead of: Posting everywhere hoping to be discovered Do this: Tell your story in a way that makes the right people seek you out

Instead of: Chasing every platform trend Do this: Own one narrative that differentiates you completely

Instead of: Prioritise building an audience Do this: Build a brand that makes people want to be your audience

Here's what I'm having her do instead of posting everywhere every day.

Step 1: Define your narrative (not just your niche)

She's not "another podcast host interviewing successful people."

She's a 20-year media veteran with access nobody else has, bringing you conversations you can't get anywhere else. Her perspective and experience in life are different to what is being served in abundance.

That's a brand position.

Your version:

Step 2: Choose ONE to TWO platforms to own (not seven)

Instead of spreading thin, we're going deep on Instagram and YouTube.

Why? Because Instagram is where her audience already is, and YouTube is where we leverage the platform’s discovery tools.

Your version:

Step 3: Create narrative-driven content (not algorithm bait (you’ll catch a small fish))

Every post should reinforce WHO she is and WHY she's worth paying attention to.

That means:

Not:

Your version:

Step 4: Build anticipation, don't just announce

She's not launching her podcast with "New episode out! Link in bio!"

She's building a 6-week narrative arc BEFORE launch.

By the time she launches, more people are likely to already care than if we were to just do a hard sell.

Your version:

Step 5: Treat content as brand-building, not traffic-driving

Every piece of content isn't trying to "get clicks."

It's trying to answer the question: "Why should someone care about me?"

If your content doesn't reinforce your narrative, get rid of it.

The bottom line:

You don't have a content problem. You have a differentiation problem.

At the end of the day, people who care about your content are there because it’s different, not because of a big following.

The people who invest in what you do or want to work with you want to know:

Figure out your narrative. Own it. Build everything around it.

Because the abundance crisis means a good narrative beats numbers.

Your story is literally the only thing nobody else can copy.

See you next week,
Jess Smalley 🔑

P.S. This is exactly what I'm doing with Creators in Business.

I’m building a brand and business by having a clear narrative, not just posting more.

If you're figuring out how to position yourself, monetise premium, or turn your audience into actual revenue, you're in the right place.