I could talk all day long about the benefits of creating content for your business but something I’ve been guilty of overlooking is that not all content is equal.

Because many of the clients I’ve historically worked with have struggled to maintain a content habit, my focus as their coach has often been more about cultivating consistency than about the strategic quality of the content itself. But over time I’ve noticed something interesting. Even the ones who do crack the consistency piece often find that their content still isn’t converting into clients. 

The obvious assumption is that it’s a reach issue, but something else is just as important, if not more so.

And that’s relevance.

Oftentimes, and I’ve been guilty of this too, we write about what feels relevant to us. What we feel inspired to write about. But it’s important to remember: we are not our ideal client. Perhaps an earlier version of ourselves is, but what concerns or inspires us today isn’t necessarily what our ideal client needs to hear.

I’m a big believer in having a purpose for every piece of content you create. For years, one intention has guided my content creation: 

“I want the person reading these words to feel like they are being coached by me.”

And as such, I’ve used my client sessions and group program calls as the inspiration for almost everything I write.

A question I like to  share in my group programs is this:

If your ideal client read this, would it feel relevant and useful to them?

To answer that question, you need to know who your ideal client is, what struggles they’re facing, and why they’re on your list or following you in the first place. If there’s confusion about who you help and what you help them with, that confusion shows up in your content.

And even once you know who they are, understanding what they actually need isn’t always a given.

This is where I’m a big believer in making a decision for now and committing to it long enough to learn from it. Double down on a specific problem or ideal client. Set up research calls with those people. Offer gift sessions. Create content for them. If it’s aligned, you’ll feel it. And so will they.

Since I made the decision to focus more specifically on mid-stage business owners navigating the feast and famine cycle, a few things have happened. First, an uptick in unsubscribes, which can feel disheartening in the moment. I also had some pushback from readers who weren’t fully aligned with the direction I was taking. But here’s the thing: both of those are signs that your message is becoming clearer. The people who aren’t a fit are opting out, and that’s healthy.

And then came the thing that told me I was on the right track: a noticeable uptick in referrals. People responding to my newsletter saying a friend forwarded this because it was so relevant to a conversation they’d just had. Not once or twice, enough times for me to know that writing with a specific person in mind makes it genuinely easier for people to refer you.

Relevance is the thing that makes content travel.

If you want to check your own content for this, I put together a content audit tool that walks you through exactly these questions. It’s free and you can grab it here.

If you do use it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments – let me know what came up and whether it was helpful.