---
aliases: ["Content Strategy"]
Is A: Topic
---
# Content Strategy

Content strategy is the practice of planning, creating, and distributing content that serves both the audience and the business. For a newsletter-first operation like Refactoring, it means deciding what to write about, in what format, at what cadence, and through which channels — all in service of building trust, growing the audience, and sustaining revenue.

## Why this matters

Content strategy is not a side concern for Refactoring — it is the business. Every decision about what to publish, how to frame it, and where to distribute it directly affects subscriber growth, reader engagement, and sponsorship value. Getting strategy right means the weekly writing effort compounds over time instead of feeling like a treadmill. The evergreen note [[the-real-job-of-a-newsletter]] grounds the strategy in a clear purpose, and [[on-consistency-in-creative-work]] is a reminder that showing up reliably matters more than occasional brilliance.

## Key resources

- [[the-real-job-of-a-newsletter]] — defining what the newsletter is actually for, beyond "content"
- [[on-consistency-in-creative-work]] — why cadence and reliability trump sporadic quality
- [[note-essentialism]] — a framework for saying no to content ideas that dilute focus
- [[note-show-your-work]] — Austin Kleon's case for sharing the process, not just the output
- Stacking the Bricks by Amy Hoy — practical thinking on building an audience through useful content

## Notes

- The best content strategy for a solo creator is simple: pick a niche, publish consistently, and let compounding do the work
- Pillar content (deep, reusable essays) should drive the calendar, with timely takes layered on top — not the other way around
- Repurposing is underrated: a single essay can become a newsletter edition, a LinkedIn post, a podcast episode prompt, and a thread
- The temptation to chase trending topics is real but usually counterproductive — the audience subscribed for a specific point of view, not for news
- Distribution matters as much as creation, but it is the part most writers neglect because it feels less creative
