Building a content strategy: self-honesty, pillars, and team

Executive overview

Most creators fail not from lack of talent but from lying to themselves about what they'll actually do. The real work is matching your content format to your genuine behaviour, then building a team that converts that into output.

The biggest variable in any content strategy is self-honesty about what you will and won't do.

Know the platforms well enough to audit your team

• You don't need to be a practitioner, but you can't be ignorant.
• Knowing the craft protects you — people get exploited in any field they don't understand.
• Aim for at least a "101" level so you can evaluate quality and catch problems.

Choose formats you'll actually sustain

• Street interviews, hiking monologues, daily vlogs — each works, but only if it's genuinely you.
• The best content often comes from forgetting the camera is there; ambient filming produces stream-of-consciousness material.
• Anchor formats (recurring events, locations, setups) give post-production something to work from.
• Don't rule out a format before trying it; one day or one week is enough to find out.

Mike Posner's content pillars

• Weekly podcast in a natural outdoor setting near Topanga Canyon — at least once a week as a floor.
• Guided audio experiences — short recordings tied to emotional states (tired, angry, joyful) designed to shift internal state.
• Public speaking documentation — keynotes, corporate sessions, and TED talks already being filmed; repurpose as content.
• Music remains the foundation from which everything else grows; not a separate content vertical.

The market opportunity in modern spirituality

• Spiritual and mental-health content is following the same curve fitness followed from the 1970s to today.
• Supply is nowhere near demand, especially content aimed at men.
• A musician-creator framing makes spirituality relatable rather than niche or preachy.
• Nostalgia around earlier career moments is an underused asset for re-engagement.

Building the team

• Hire a creative director (not a president) as the first key role — someone who leads content, not operations.
• Measure success by growth in actual consumption (views, watch time) and qualitative resonance — not follower count.
• A daily filmmaker only works if you find someone whose presence you genuinely forget; that's the test.
• Resistance to daily filming usually comes from poor editing, not the format itself.