How I Produce Content Consistently as a Solopreneur

Back in 2022, I had an inkling that I might become self-employed one day. I also realized that the easiest way for me to create a sustainable business was to build a personal brand.

It worked. Almost two years later, all of my work is inbound, and I rarely have to do any hard selling with clients. That doesn't mean I don't spend any time on sales. But instead of sending dozens of cold DMs per week, I create content that puts me in front of my target audience.

Today, I post two times per day on LinkedIn and create content for Threads and Instagram (though the latter two are not my primary platforms). I create both short-form and long-form videos. I send out a newsletter every other week, publish on Substack once a week, and write blog posts. And yes, I do sleep! And I have three kids!

I'm not superhuman, but I focus very intently on content production as a solopreneur. It fits naturally into my week and relies heavily on repurposing my ideas to create volume.

Here's how to get started and how to maintain a high volume of content, even as your business grows.

Repurposing Comments from LinkedIn

My original LinkedIn game was much more chill. I'd post once per week (Thursday mornings) with whatever popped into my head that day.

However, I also spent a lot of time commenting on other people's posts, usually five or more per day. These weren't basic comments like, "I agree!" I would leave thoughtful comments, adding my perspective to the conversation.

These comments eventually became the basis of my own posts for LinkedIn. You can see the math: if you end up with at least seven good comments per week, you have seven of your own posts the following week. At the rate I was commenting, I had a lot more. And a giant queue of ideas is never a bad thing (for example, I can take a step back from commenting and know that I have plenty of ideas for future posts of my own).

I used to have a great process of exporting my comments once per month from LinkedIn. However, LinkedIn stopped including comments in the available data export. I'm still hoping this will return at some point, but in the meantime I have a workaround.

I use an app called Readwise that allows me to highlight text on any website. On my LinkedIn profile, I can see all of the comments I've left on other posts. I use Readwise to highlight my comment, and then Readwise will sync my highlights to an external source. I sync to an app called Reflect, but you could also sync to something like Notion or a Google Doc.

Then, you can work through your document of comments and create your own social posts. Simply delete the comment from the doc once you've used it.

At this point, my queue of comments to turn into posts is hundreds of comments long. I'm never at risk of running out of ideas. Turning comments into social posts is an easy one since you're using someone else's ideas as a prompt for your own ideas.

Here's why this works: My clients are all on LinkedIn. Commenting and posting my own content increase my visibility on the platform.

Repurpose from Other Platforms

I used to post on Twitter (back when it was known as Twitter), though I was never really good at it. By the time I started taking Twitter seriously, it had a very specific vibe, and I had a tough time gaining any traction.

While I no longer use Twitter, I downloaded my archive of Twitter data. This now serves as an additional source of inspiration, especially Twitter threads, which are a different format than my typical LinkedIn content.

I also repurpose my content from one platform to another. I start with a LinkedIn post and repurpose it to Threads. Between the two platforms, I use generative AI to tweak the format. That way, I'm not simply copying and pasting my posts from LinkedIn to Threads. It's a preference of mine: I know people follow me on both platforms, and I don't want duplicate content. Plus, my Threads style is different (and Threads has a different character limit).

I use Buffer to schedule my LinkedIn content and have this process automated with Zapier. It works like this:

1. New post published to LinkedIn via Buffer
2. Zapier picks up the post and runs it through ChatGPT with some instructions for reformatting for Threads
3. The reformatted post is sent back to Buffer as a draft for my Threads profile

I edit the post before scheduling it for Threads, because the output is never quite how I'd word my posts. But it's close, and faster than doing this manually.

If you're not comfortable using generative AI but still want to automate sending your content from one platform to another, you could do something like this:

1. New post published to LinkedIn via Buffer
2. Zapier picks up the post and uses a 30-day delay
3. 30 days later, the post is added to your Buffer queue for your Threads profile

The 30-day delay accomplishes the same goal of not copying/pasting from one platform to another. After 30 days, anyone who saw the post the first time will likely have forgotten.

Creating Long-Form Content

Because I'm a writer, I create a lot of long-form content. This isn't directly related to my client work, but is adjacent to my overall strategy.

• I create free resources for fellow solopreneurs
• By publishing long-form content, I can use a CTA that encourages readers to download a resource
• I can repurpose the long-form content into other formats, like LinkedIn, where potential clients see me
• Even though the content isn't directly tied to my client work, it shows that I'm an organized, seasoned freelance writer — someone clients can trust

But building up that writing muscle takes time, especially if you're not used to writing long-form content. Back in 2022, I started with one Substack essay every other week. Eventually, it became weekly. Then I added a newsletter of actionable tips every other week. And I continue to write on my blog.

If you write any long-form content, you have to ask yourself:

• What purpose does it serve? (For example, does it demonstrate expertise to your clients? Are you publishing to boost your SEO?)
• Can you set aside time in your week to commit to writing?

I set aside time every morning for writing, before I begin client work. That fits best with my schedule and natural body rhythm (I'm a morning person).

Because it takes a lot more time to create, I make sure I repurpose long-form content in a few ways.

Re-Sharing the Content

Once I publish the content, I share the link across my social platforms and in my newsletter.

I also make sure to add links to my older content. Some of my older blog posts rank for keywords in Google, and (if appropriate) I want to direct people to newer content.

I keep track of everything I've written in a "content library" that I've created in Airtable. Every single thing I've published is listed, with the URL, topics, and some other things I track. A content library makes it easy for me to find related content and link to it.

I also have a process of re-sharing my content. If the older content is evergreen, I re-share it in the future — whether it's re-sharing the actual post, or simply re-sharing some of the ideas as a social post. My content library makes it easy for me to resurface older content.

Generative AI

I use generative AI to repurpose my new blog posts into different formats. For each piece of long-form content, my ChatGPT instructions create the following for me:

• Three LinkedIn posts
• The text of a carousel (that I design in Canva)
• A short video script

(This is all happening automatically when a new blog post is published. You check out this tutorial for step-by-step instructions.)

I want to get the most mileage possible out of my long-form content, and that means turning it into shorter content for other platforms. Generative AI is a good head start, since I can then edit the output rather than staring at a blank screen. I even use generative AI to create the teaser that I use when I initially share a link to the blog post on my social platforms.

Use Generative AI Without Sacrificing Quality

You can benefit from generative AI without lowering quality.

Anna Burgess YangAnna Burgess Yang

Video Content

Vido is especially challenging for me, but I recognize that it's an increasingly important platform. Even LinkedIn, which is my primary platform, is pushing a video feed. And as someone who relies on an online presence to get clients, I have to follow what the market is doing.

My generative AI step gets me started. I can use my long-form content and turn it into a short-form video (about 100 words for a 1-minute video).

But another easy way to create video content is to rely directly on social posts you've created in the past, especially if you're creating longer posts for a platform like LinkedIn. Just use the prior post as your video script. That way, you're not trying to think of new ideas for video content.

Batching Your Content Production as a Solopreneur

When you're relying on content to drive your business, consistency is everything. It matters for your visibility on any platform and the relationship you build with your audience (and potential clients).

In addition to all gathering ideas, you also have to write and schedule your content.

I create content in batches. I'll usually spend about two or three hours on weekends writing and scheduling social media posts for the upcoming week. There are a few factors in play. First, I'm scheduling content for a lot of platforms, so it takes longer than focusing on a single platform. Second, I've also been doing this a long time, so posts don't take me long to write.

You may focus only on one platform (like LinkedIn) and only one post per day, but the process of batching content might take longer in the beginning simply because you're not used to mining your ideas and drafting posts.

I also have separate blocks of time to work on video content and long-form content creation.

Scheduling Your Content

I strongly recommend using a social media scheduling tool of some kind. You can write and post on the fly, but life will inevitably get in the way. I find it's much easier to schedule, so I don't have to think about it. Plus, scheduling can reduce your anxiety if you're nervous about putting yourself out there or if posting feels cringe. When scheduled in advance, you'll forget what you had planned for the day until notifications start rolling in.

Ultimately, content production as a solopreneur is something you have to plan for and set aside time to work on. With a strategy to collect ideas and product content, it doesn't have to feel like a chore.

And once you start seeing results (like more inbound opportunities), you'll be even more motivated to work on content as a necessary part of running your business.

Check out this free guide: How to Create Your Content Library (... and why you need one!)