Content pillars: what they are and how to choose yours
Content pillar sounds like agency jargon, so plenty of people ignore it. What sits behind it is mundane: the three or four subjects your business always has something to say about.
What they are actually for
They stop you ever answering "what do I talk about today" from scratch. With pillars defined, the question becomes "which of the four is up?", which is infinitely easier.
And they stop the month leaning to one side. Without them, almost every account ends up posting only product, because product is what is at hand.
Four pillars that fit almost any business
They are not mandatory, but they cover the four doubts that stand between someone and buying.
- Questions: what people ask before buying. Answers "how does it work?".
- Behind the scenes: how the work gets done. Answers "can I trust this?".
- Proof: results and customers. Answers "does it actually work?".
- You: who makes it and why. Answers "why this person and not another?".
Weighting matters more than listing
The four pillars rarely have the same size. If you sell made-to-order and doubt blocks the sale, "questions" deserves half the month. If you are starting out and nobody knows you, "proof" weighs more.
The weight changes over time, and it should. Reviewing every three months is enough.
How to find yours in twenty minutes
Write down the last ten questions customers asked you. Group the similar ones. The groups left are your pillars, with names that make sense to you and not to a slide deck.
If seven groups are left, merge them. More than five pillars is the same as none: it goes back to being a hard decision every day.
In ReadyMonth the pillars live in the project, and the month comes out already distributed across them.