In this post, I'm taking you behind-the-scenes of my 40K per month content systems.
I never thought I’d see the day when I’d proudly declare that my content strategy and systems are a little boring but that’s just the way I like it. It’s taken a lot of growth to get to the point where I realize that sticking to what works (with just a bit of space left for experimenting) is what works when it comes to using content to generate and scale sales.
While I still get a lot of joy from creating content, it fits into a system that doesn’t change much from month to month. And it wasn’t until I tweaked my way into this system that I started being able to hit $40K per month consistently (rather than the high-low-high-low revenue rollercoaster I’d experienced in the past).
What’s funny is that this is the same system that consistently generated $10K per month, then $20K per month and so on until I found myself here at my goldilocks number. The only things that have really changed are the shifts to my business model and stacking of systems that have allowed it to scale.
↑ And because of that, I believe this system (or your own version of it) can work with whatever sales goal you have in mind—as long as you’re okay with working your way up to it.
It goes hand in hand with what I’ve also known about goals, which is that while goals are great, they’re only as great as the systems you set up to support them.
In this post, I’m walking you through the big rocks of my 40K Per Month Content System.
Setting a Solid Foundation for my 40K per month content systems
There were a few essential prerequisites that I personally had to put into place before starting to scale my monthly content system. For me these were:
#1 – Adjusting My Business Model
The first thing that I had to get figured out was my business model. If I wanted to hit 40K a month, I had to have a business model that would support it. So this involved taking a careful look at my offers, delivery resources and capacity. Then I had to make some tough decisions about what offers to cut (or put on a ‘secret menu’ for past clients only) and pricing.
This step also involved systemizing and automating much of the delivery admin for my offers and looking at potential team members to bring on in order to support the delivery of my remaining offers.
When planning out my offers, I considered 2 main strategies: recurring revenue (where could I inject more recurring revenue into my business either through subscriptions or payment plans) and where could I diversify my offers without diluting them.
With these in mind, I ended up choosing 3 main offers to focus on (the Minimalist Content System, the 10K Monthly Content System and the Profitable Funnel Sprint) that would each solve a problem in my customer’s content journey, 2 introductory loss leader offers I could use to attract great-fit potential customers (the Content Empire Planner + Content Habit App) and 1 premium offer that work with past clients most closely (my 3-month coaching package).
I might have other pop-up offers but this is my current main offer suite (in addition to my consulting and agency which I oversee).
#2 – Revenue Planning
Once I had my offers figured out, the next thing I did to set a solid foundation for my sales-aligned content system was to do some revenue planning. I didn’t do this so much to figure out the exact amount I would sell of each offer to reach my revenue target, but it was more about seeing the possibilities of different ways I could get there.
This let me play with the numbers (I did adjust some pricing) until I found a mix that I could believe was possible with the right strategy.
For a long time it felt like I was pursuing growth just for the sake of it—like lusting after the million dollar business just because everyone else was. And even as I was making more and more sales, I was finding myself uninspired by my goals. It wasn’t until I really thought about how I wanted to use the money as a tool in my life, my business and for the causes I support that I was able to come up with my goal and so my “big enough” business was born. What inspires me even more than making money is being able to donate 1% of it, pay off my mortgage in 6 years and take knocking off bucket list trips every other year.
Speaking of numbers, that’s another thing I did as part of this revenue process—building out projection models. Yes, it was helpful to know how much of each offer I’d roughly need to hit, but I took it one step further and figured out the # of leads and # of traffic I’d need as well.
I believe it’s essential to view each person in your community as a person instead of just an email address or number. But with that being said, knowing your numbers and your projection model, helps take a lot of the attachment out of goal setting which I find is really helpful in reducing much of the pressure I know I feel when launch planning or campaign planning. So people first, but there’s still room for the numbers too.
#3 – Content Systems
The final major thing I had to get into place were my systems. I’ve already mentioned the delivery systems (to make sure that my offers are scalable up to the spots I want to be selling), but I also needed systems to make sticking to my marketing plans easier too.
Here are some of the systems I focused on:
- Content Bank
- Inspiration System
- Core Content Workflow and Templates
- Daily Marketing Routine
- Measurement Systems
- Customer Support & Inbox Systems
My 40K Per Month Content Systems
Instead of just a single, isolated system, there are 3 stackable content systems that make up my 40K monthly content system—and they’re broken down based on audience segments:
System #1: For People New to My Community and Email List
The first system is set up to welcome and nurture anyone who is new to my community and email list. The main channels for this system are email, facebook ads, a quiz and content upgrades.
The main goal of this system is to make a great first impression, figure out their primary goal when it comes to content and send them content (and an offer) that relates to that goal.
While people are in this system (which can last anywhere between 4-6 weeks depending on their actions in the funnel), they’re excluded from regular newsletters and campaigns so that the messaging is clear and focused.
In terms of how I manage this system on a monthly basis, I collect measurements, implement experimental tweaks and manage the paid ads.
System #2: For People Already in My Community and Email List (Completed System #1)
The second system (I consider this the main system in the overall 40K Monthly Content System) is our ongoing content campaign system that are sent just to people who are in our community (social and email) and have completed system #1.
The main channels for this system are email, social media, the blog and sometimes paid ads.
The main goal of this system is to take people on a journey (from empathizing with a problem they might be struggling with when it comes to content, help them achieve mini goals related to that problem and then invite them to the solution—one of our paid offers).
Each campaign lasts around 4-6 weeks so we fit in about 2 per quarter.
In terms of the monthly management, here’s what I do for this system:
- Choose a paid offer for the campaign
- Reverse engineer juicy content topics for identifying the problem, solving goals, tackling objections and empowering them as to what’s possible on the other side of solving that problem
- Write and schedule the posts along with emails and social posts
- Then I come up with some kind of workshop or event
- Write sales messages (or reuse ones that have worked really well before)
- Build and schedule content
- Measure results and tweak the campaign for the next time I run it
I prefer these content campaigns instead of launches (even though in a lot of ways they’re similar, the strategy is where the difference lies).
The underlying strategy for my content in these campaigns is the EASE content method and making sure that I have 1 channel/strategy for each of these in the campaign.
- E = Educate: this refers to my blog posts (how I’m educating people)
- A = Attract: this refers to how I’m using this content to attract new people to my email list
- S = Sell: this refers to how I’m selling to anyone who engages with the content in this campaign (in this case, usually a sales event and emails)
- E = Engage: this refers to how I’m starting and encouraging conversations around this topic
BANNER
System #3: For Existing Customers
The final system is set up to invite existing customers to upgrade to more high-touch or next-step solutions. I have a secret menu of offers that are just for past customers and roll these out at intentional points in their journey via automations as well as run a few campaigns per year exclusively for that inner circle.
The only channel used for this system is email.
In terms of how I manage this system monthly, I review and measure the automated campaigns and plan and prep the next live campaigns.
Wrapping Up
So to wrap up, let's get real about what makes the “40K Per Month Content Systems” work. It's all about nailing down a content strategy that's as steady as it is smart.
We're talking about fine-tuning your business model, getting clever with your revenue plans, and rolling out content systems that really speak to your audience, whether they're newcomers, dedicated followers, or repeat customers.
From my own climb from $10K to $40K a month, I've learned it's not just about creating content; it's about creating content that works hard for you and your goals. This journey's been a significant shift for me, and I hope it sparks some ideas for you to turn your content strategy into a consistent money-maker.
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