99: The Real Reason You Should Be Creating Content
Posting just to post? Let’s fix that!
In this episode, Heather explains why content isn’t just about churning out posts or chasing ad dollars. You’ll learn the real role content plays in your business (hint: it’s marketing, not the product), why building an email list is essential, and how platforms like podcasting can help you create deeper, lasting relationships with your audience. Plus, Heather shares simple action steps to help you stop spinning your wheels and start using your content to actually grow and convert.
Whether you’re just starting out or feeling a little stuck, this episode will help you see content in a whole new light and start using it to build the business you really want!
Key Takeaways:
- (04:15) Shifting your mindset; content as marketing, not the product
- (07:00) How content builds connection and authority; benefits of podcasting
- (11:00) Why growing an email list is essential
- (15:05) Using content to benefit your business
Episodes mentioned:
#16: Why You Need to Grow an Email List From the Start
#17: How to Start Building Your Email List TODAY
#98: The Best and Worst Ways to Monetize Your Online Business
Listen on:
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How to Use Content to Grow Your Teacher Business and Find Your Ideal Customers
If you’ve spent even a small amount of time in the online business world, you’ve heard it: “Create content consistently to grow your business.” But after you’ve posted your 15th blog, shared your 50th Instagram reel, or launched your podcast, you might start to wonder—why am I doing all this? Is content really the business… or is there another reason every expert pushes you to “just create more”?
Today, we’re diving deep into the heart of this question. We’ll break down why content matters, why ad revenue is NOT the point, and the two major reasons your content should always, always be working for you.
The Mindset Shift: You’re Not Just a Creator—You’re a Business Owner
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking of yourself as a blogger, podcaster, or YouTuber. But as Heather reminds us: that’s only a small piece of your actual role.
Your real title? Business Owner. Content is just one of the powerful tools in your toolbox.
Instead of focusing your efforts on ad revenue (which, by the way, Heather describes as “the worst way to monetize your business”), your main goal should be to use your content as marketing for your products. Ad dollars are fleeting, but a loyal audience that trusts you? That’s where the transformation—and the income—happen.
Content Is Marketing, Not the Product
Here’s a crucial distinction: content itself is not your business, but the marketing arm of it. Blog posts, podcasts, videos, social posts—they exist to attract, connect, and warm up your audience. Ultimately, their main job is to lead people to your products and services.
Heather explains: “Your content will help you market those products. Money will flow into your business from customers purchasing your products, and your content is what helps you connect with them.”
If you’ve spent years thinking your blog or podcast was your business, take heart—it’s a common misconception, and a mindset shift that can set you on an entirely new and more profitable path.
Building Deep Connections (the “Podcast Advantage”)
Podcasting, Heather shares, is a powerful tool not because it brings immediate cash, but because it fosters trust and intimacy. Unlike a fleeting Instagram post, a podcast episode sits in your audience’s ears during daily life—building a relationship that sells.
“Listeners of the podcast are so much more likely to purchase because they know me well, they know my character, and they know my heart for my business,” Heather explains. When it’s time to offer your course, membership, or signature resource, your audience is primed—not by ads, but by authentic connection.
Content’s Twin Purposes: Warming Leads and Growing Your Email List
Aside from building trust, there’s a second—often overlooked—purpose for content: growing your email list. It’s not enough for your audience to passively consume your free materials; you want to guide them towards an opt-in, freebie, or resource that gets them on your list.
Heather drives this point home: “The entire point of content is to either bring people to your email list or make a sale. And by the way, if you’re making a sale, those people should also be getting on your list.”
Why? Because you own your list. Unlike your social media followers or YouTube subscribers, your email list can’t be taken away by a pesky algorithm change or a sudden ban.
Action Steps: Stop, Refocus, and Start With Your List
If you’ve been pouring your heart into free content without an opt-in strategy, pause. There’s no need to be on a relentless treadmill. Instead:
- Create a valuable freebie that speaks to your audience’s biggest struggle.
- Set up a landing page and signup system—Heather says this should only take a few focused days.
- Add clear calls-to-action in ALL your content (think links in your blogs, CTAs in your podcast, forms in your posts).
Only then, once your foundation is solid, should you return to a regular content schedule—confident every new piece is bringing people closer to your business.
Content is powerful—but not when it’s aimless. When you see yourself as a savvy business owner, you’ll create content that truly moves the needle by growing your list, deepening relationships, and ultimately building a business that serves both you and your audience for years to come.