The Digital Landfill
Everywhere you look, people are posting. And they’re posting A LOT.
Social media within the coaching industry has become this digital landfill of humble-bragging, subtle (or not so subtle) flexing, and business “one-liners” that sound quippy and clever but don’t deliver even an ounce of value.
Seems these coaches have all taken the old “publish, publish, publish” mantra to heart.
We’re drowning in content. But very little of it is content that anyone actually cares about.
It may sound, from these first few lines at least, that we’re dogging on the idea of content creation. We’re not. Consistent, quality content is one of the most unassailable defenses you have as an online business.
However, if you want that content to turn into actual cash, you’re going to need to do more than sling AI generated slop at your audience and hope they are unsophisticated enough to fall for it.
You need to make that market fall in love by mastering resonance.
The ability to make your audience feel like you’re in their head, finishing their sentences, stealing their journal entries. You need more than engagement. You need emotional equity – the kind of loyalty that leads to repeat buyers, referrals, and yes, actual revenue.
Resonance isn’t a gift. It’s a skill. One that any founder, coach, or consultant can learn. So let’s get to work.
Set the Thermostat (Emotional Connection)
Content that converts always carries an emotional charge. Like a battery.
Not because it’s dramatic or manipulative, but because it calibrates to the audience’s inner temperature. Feeling stuck? They’ll lean into content that gives momentum. Feeling overwhelmed? They’ll gravitate to simplicity and clarity.
In their landmark work, “Made to Stick,” Chip and Dan Heath laid out their 6 principles of stickiness – the core things that nearly all viral marketing and advertising messages shared. Number 5 was EMOTIONAL. Not by coincidence either. Human beings want to feel something. They’re wired to care when they “connect” at a deeper level.
One way that the Heaths recommend creating this connection is through an association bridge. Form an association between something the audience does not yet care about and something you already know that they DO care about.
A great place to start is by asking: what is my market feeling before they hear from us? Then build content that validates that emotion and offers a practical next step. Use analogies, micro-stories… maybe even a two-sentence confession.
Emotional resonance loops like these generate the kind of psychological stickiness that facts and tips never will.
We’ve covered how consistency in publishing supports this emotional tether in our Consistency and Content article. But consistency without emotional calibration is just scheduled noise. You want signal.
Mirror, Don’t Flex
Expertise is necessary, but expertise alone rarely wins hearts. What people fall in love with is familiarity. The sense that the person behind the content has walked a road that looks (perhaps uncomfortably) similar to their own.
A majority of “guru content” we see ignores what we’re about say, so PAY ATTENTION here.
When you tell a story, don’t skip to the polished outcome. Stay a minute in the messy middle. Why? Because that is where your audience currently is.
The version of you who was stuck, uncertain, and two wrong moves from giving up. That’s the moment your audience will see themselves in. That’s where trust begins to take root.
For practical use: start your next piece of content with the phrase “Here’s what I didn’t know back then.” You’ll instantly shift from expert to guide, from impressive to resonant.
Calibrate Certainty with Humanity
Authority matters. We won’t deny that.
But it’s the kind of authority that knows when to speak from the podium and when to sit on the front porch. You know… when to be a HUMAN.
Too many thought leaders go all-in on certainty, forgetting that a little humility goes a long way.
The magic lives in the tension between the two. The moment you teach a principle with conviction, then follow it with a real story of how you learned it the hard way. That contrast builds credibility and connection. Our most trusted brands show up with clarity and character, rather than one at the expense of the other.
For more on this dance between brand and message, our Brand Integrated Marketing piece goes deep on aligning brand voice with content behavior.
Use the Time Loop
Linear storytelling is for textbooks. In content, the good stuff jumps timelines. Start at the peak. Flash back to the pain. Bring it full circle with a realization your audience can apply right now.
A good friend of ours and owner of Biggest Agency, Brady Edwards, calls this the “Then, Now, Wow” method.
- Then: the origin story.
- Now: what shifted.
- Wow: the insight that changes the game.
This technique pulls your reader into a journey, and more importantly, keeps them there. Attention is a scarce currency. The time loop earns it.
Let Your Lines Polarize
If you want your content to create action (especially the kind that pays you money), the very worst place you can be is in the middle. In other words, refusing to lean into concepts and ideas that might polarize the audience.
Your content should, naturally, filter and sort your audience. If you’re doing it right, the “right people” will love it. The “wrong people” will ignore it, or (if it’s really spicy) despise it. If it’s the latter, they’ll probably be pretty vocal about it. GOOD. Let them be vocal.
That doesn’t mean being controversial for clicks, by the way. It means being clear enough to repel confusion. Write something that would make your ideal client nod and make someone else scroll past without a second thought.
Striking the balance with a well-drawn line in the sand is often the difference between 1,000 likes and 10 loyal buyers. You want the 10 loyal buyers.
Human Scale Wins the Long Game
Algorithms reward velocity. Humans are a little bit different. They reward consistency of character. Resonant brands know this. They build rituals. They anchor their audience with dependable tone, frequency, and human moments.
This is where legacy lives. Not in the volume of content, but in its depth. The voice that becomes familiar. The presence that becomes expected. The message that becomes unforgettable.
If you chase the algorithm in some attempt to capitalize on what everyone is talking about (rather than focusing on what your specific niche is talking about) you’ll end up with a mass of confusing, whiplash-ing content that won’t move them. Timeliness of content is important, but never at the expense of your audience’s trust. You should have predictable content “buckets” that define what you will (and, by exclusion, what you will not) talk about in your content.
We break this down further in the Building Brand That Lasts episode, which unpacks the long arc of trust and how to play the infinite game with your content.
Why Any of this Matters
Resonance is not some parlor trick. It’s not a headline tweak or a viral formula. The tactical piece here is ever shifting and largely dependent upon industry. But tuning that resonance is a result of listening deeper, sharing smarter, and showing up with intention.
When content stops trying to impress and starts aiming to connect, everything changes. Engagement climbs. Revenue follows. And your audience doesn’t just listen. They lean in.
Putting the Pieces Together
Content is merely one part of a much larger organism that is your marketing strategy. There are 6 categories of “Demonstration Assets” that help you turn the attention of your market into money in your pocket. We teach all 6 inside of our book, “The Wealthy Consultant.” It’s available for just $7.95 by clicking the button below, and we’ll send the physical version directly to your home, office, or address of choice!
