253: Give me 29 Minutes and I’ll Teach You 15 Years of Content Marketing
Oct 22, 2025
The Evergreen Content Marketing Strategy That’s Driven $30M+ in Sales
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by flashy trends or a constant stream of “hacks,” this will feel like a deep breath. I’ve used one simple content marketing strategy for 15+ years across two very different businesses—an Inc. 500 company (twice) and a fitness brand with 25,000+ customers. It’s generated over $30M in revenue, and it’s still working because it’s built for the long game.
Below I’ll give you the whole system—Content → Delivery → Marketing—plus the psychology underneath each step, the cadence I use, and exactly how to plan six revenue-generating offers a year without burning out your audience (or yourself).
The Big Idea: Deposits Before Withdrawals
Think of your business as a bank account with your audience.
Deposits = Content. Valuable, useful, personal.
Withdrawals = Marketing. Clear, ethical asks.
My rule of thumb: for every withdrawal, make at least two deposits. You’ll sell more—and sleep better.
Phase 1: Content (Your Deposits)
Psychology at work: Reciprocity and Liking (Cialdini).
Reciprocity: Give useful, action-oriented content freely. When you genuinely help, people naturally lean toward helping back—by opening, sharing, and eventually buying.
Liking: Robots don’t build relationships. Humans do. Share stories. Show your work. Mention failures and lessons learned. Bring your voice and your life into the message.
Make It Unskippable with a No-Fail Publishing Calendar
Pick a cadence you cannot miss for at least 12 weeks—minimum once per week. Treat it like payroll. It happens.
Publish on Your Website First
You don’t own social platforms. You do own your site. Make your site the hub; social is distribution.
Niche Down (Broad = Bad)
Talk to a specific somebody, not a vague everybody. Keep your ideal reader in mind every time you publish.
Answer: “Why Should Anyone Care?”
There are thousands of voices saying what you’re saying. Define your edge: a stance, a method, a worldview, a result, or a story that only you can tell.
Phase 2: Delivery (Get Your Content Seen)
Psychology at work: Authority and Consensus.
Authority: Display credentials, experience, or results (subtly—email signature, site bio, “as seen in,” client outcomes).
Consensus: Show that others are doing this, too. Case snippets, “most people struggle with…,” community wins. People take action when they see peers taking action.
Your No-Fail Delivery Channel: Email
Email is the delivery mechanism I refuse to miss. It’s the most reliable, ROI-positive way to reach your audience without an algorithm gatekeeper. (I send a weekly “Five-Line Friday”—it compounds.)
Use Social as an Amplifier
Post native snippets and point back to the full content on your site. Choose one platform to own, and be consistent.
Frequency
You can publish multiple content pieces weekly and summarize them in one weekly email. Don’t drown your list; train them to expect and value your cadence.
Phase 3: Marketing (Your Ethical Withdrawals)
Marketing = asking. But ask smart.
Psychology at work: Scarcity and Consistency.
Scarcity (authentic only): Time-bound pricing, limited seats, cohort start dates. Give a real reason to act now.
Consistency: First, ask people to raise their hand for a topic. Later, when you offer it, remind them they said they were interested. People like to follow through on what they’ve already stated.
Segment Nearly Always
Three kinds of emails:
Broadcast Content (to everyone)
Broadcast Segmentation (to everyone: “Interested in X? Click here.” Tag clickers.)
Sales (to the interested segment, not everyone)
Save full-list launches for the 1–2 truly big moments each year.
The “Six Offers” Year
You don’t need 12 launches. Plan six compelling offers (not six new products). One product can produce multiple offers.
Examples (one product, different offers):
Bundle: Squat Program + 30-min coaching call (limited week)
Stack: Squat Program + Shoulder Primer (same price, limited time)
Cohort: Live kickoff + private forum (cap at 50)
Bonus: Program + form-check video review (first 20 buyers)
Payment: Extended plan for 5 days only
Certification: Completion badge/CE credits (limited cohort)
Simple quarterly flow:
Jan – Big Launch (full list)
Feb – Segmentation (who wants X?)
Mar – Sell to segment (with authentic scarcity)
Apr – Content-heavy month (deposits), light segmentation
Repeat with a new angle or topic.
Why This Content Marketing Strategy Works
It builds trust before asking for transactions.
It respects attention with cadence and relevance.
It focuses on owned assets (site + email).
It scales because you’re not inventing new tactics monthly—you’re repeating a reliable system with fresh stories, angles, and offers.
Your 7-Day Action Plan
Pick a weekly publishing day. No-fail for 12 weeks.
Publish on your site. Then distribute on email + one social platform.
Add a personal story to your next piece (even 3–4 sentences).
Create a simple segmentation email. “Interested in [topic]?” Tag clickers.
Design one offer for that segment with real scarcity.
Send 2 deposits before that sales email.
Log results. Open/click rates, replies, revenue. Improve the next cycle.
This is the same content marketing strategy I’ve used for more than a decade. It’s not sexy. It’s durable. Do the reps—and try harder.
Show Notes
00:30 – Why this content marketing strategy still works; proof and context
01:20 – The “deposit vs. withdrawal” framework for content and marketing
02:30 – Content psychology: reciprocity & liking (how to be human in your content)
05:00 – Build a no-fail publishing calendar (minimum weekly for 12 weeks)
06:20 – Website-first publishing: why you must own the hub
07:20 – Narrow your niche (broad = bad)
08:20 – “Who cares?” crafting your differentiator and edge
09:30 – Delivery psychology: authority & consensus (subtle signals, social proof)
11:00 – Email as the no-fail delivery channel; how social amplifies
12:30 – Delivery frequency: batching content, summarizing in weekly email
13:40 – Marketing as withdrawals; the 2-deposits rule
15:00 – Segment nearly always: broadcast vs. segmentation vs. launch
18:00 – Authentic scarcity and the consistency principle (why it converts)
20:30 – The “six offers” plan (offers ≠ products) with examples
23:30 – A simple quarterly calendar (launch, segment, sell, deposit)
26:00 – Measuring ROI, why consistency compounds
28:30 – Recap + 7-day action plan to operationalize the system
29:30 – Closing: play the long game and try harder
