I messed up early days by creating content I wanted.
Turns out what I want isn’t necessarily what others want. I had to adjust. I had to serve.
When I first started creating content about AI, I jumped straight into the more technical topics that fascinated me—prompt engineering techniques, model architecture explanations, complex implementation guides.
Oh and things like the history of AI and people like Alan Turing.
The stuff that got my gears turning.
You know what happened? No one cared.
The occasional technical person would engage, but I was completely missing the broader audience I needed to reach first.
By creating only in-depth content, I was essentially saying, "If you're not already knowledgeable about this topic, this content isn't for you." Which isn’t very inviting. Especially when trying to talk to entrepreneurs and business owners.
I was setting up a massive barrier to entry. And then wondering why my audience wasn't growing.
My breakthrough came when I asked "Where is my audience now, and what content do they need?"
Let's get started:
Not all content serves the same purpose.
Some content is great for discovery but terrible for conversion. Other content is fantastic for demonstrating expertise but won't help you reach new people. Some content builds emotional connection but doesn't showcase your knowledge depth.
So…what do we do? Where do we focus?
This is where content funnels come in.
The content funnel is a simple three-layer approach to content creation:
Wide Content = Trend-based, news-oriented, easy to understand, broad appeal
Middle Content = Opinion-based, perspective-oriented, moderately specific
Deep Content = Guide-based, expertise-oriented, very specific, detailed
Each layer serves a specific purpose in your audience-building strategy:
Think of it like a real funnel—wide at the top, narrow at the bottom. Many people will see your wide content, fewer will engage with your middle content, and fewer still will consume your deep content. But that's exactly how it should work.
Let's break down each layer in detail.
Wide content is all about discovery. Its job is to get in front of as many relevant people as possible.
The key characteristics of effective wide content are:
Examples of wide content include:
For my AI content, some of my best-performing wide content has been:
The beautiful thing about wide content is that it's relatively easy to create. You're tapping into existing conversations and trends, giving your take or explaining something in an accessible way.
It should be quick and dirty. Not highly produced and complex. Short, fast videos about what is hot right now.
Here's an AI prompt to help generate wide content ideas:
You are a content strategy expert focused on creating discoverable "wide" content for audience building. Based on my niche, help me identify trending topics and news I can leverage for wide-appeal content.
My niche: [Your specific focus area]
My platform: [TikTok/Instagram/LinkedIn/etc.]
Please provide:
1. 5 recent news stories or trends in my niche that would make good wide content
2. For each trend/news item, suggest:
- A hook or attention-grabbing opening
- The core insight I should share
- A simple way to present this (visual idea, explanation approach, etc.)
Focus on ideas that require minimal background knowledge to understand and could appeal to people just discovering my niche.Remember, with wide content, you're meeting people where they are—at the beginning of their journey. Don't overwhelm them with jargon or complexity. Your goal is to make them think, "Hey, this is interesting and I can actually understand it!"
Middle content is where you start to build deeper connections with your audience. People who enjoyed your wide content may have followed you and will stick around for this. So it's your chance to share more of your perspective and personality.
The key characteristics of effective middle content are:
Examples of middle content include:
Some of my best-performing middle content has been:
Middle content is where you start to differentiate yourself from the general, wide viral content. While your wide content might cover similar topics to other creators, your middle content should showcase your unique perspective and approach.
Here's a prompt to help generate middle content ideas:
You are a content strategy expert focused on creating "middle" content that builds connection and showcases perspective. Based on my niche, help me develop content ideas that share my viewpoint and build deeper audience relationships.
My niche: [Your specific focus area]
My unique angle/perspective: [What makes your approach different]
Common problems my audience faces: [List 2-3 key challenges]
Please provide:
1. 5 opinion-based content ideas where I can share my perspective on industry topics
2. 3 comparison ideas (X vs Y) relevant to my niche
3. 4 "how I approach this" topics where I can share my personal process
4. 3 ideas for sharing lessons learned from my experiences
5. For each idea, suggest:
- A promising hook or opening
- The core value/insight to deliver
- How to make it personal while keeping it valuable
These ideas should assume basic familiarity with my field but not require deep expertise to understand.With middle content, you're meeting people who already have some interest in your topic. They are probably already followers and they are more likely to give you the time of day.
Deep content is where you fully showcase your expertise. It's detailed, comprehensive, and demonstrates the depth of your knowledge.
The key characteristics of effective deep content are:
Examples of deep content include:
Generally (but not always!) these will be longer videos. You may find yourself shifting towards Youtube rather than TikTok and Instagram with these sort of videos, just because it’s a more natural place for people to consume longer form guides.
These are a much more involved content type, harder to encapsulate in a prompt so we’ll cover it in another Playbook.
So how do you balance these three types of content? While there's no one-size-fits-all formula, here's a ratio that's worked well for me:
50% Wide / 30% Middle / 20% Deep
You always want more of the wider content because that’s what gets your funnel started.
A typical week of content for me might look like:
I don’t recommend starting with this much though! Work up to it. And start with the wide content first and foremost to gain momentum.
Now that you understand the content funnel approach and have tools to generate ideas for each layer, the next critical factor in reaching your first 1,000 followers is consistency.
In Part 4, we'll dive into the practical aspects of consistent content creation. I'll share how to build a sustainable content habit, maintain high volume without burning out, and use simple production techniques that let you focus on value rather than perfection.