I want to share a different type of content strategy post with you today.

There are plenty of posts out there teaching you how content strategy works, or how to set a killer content strategy for the entire year in just 1 day, or exploring content cadence and volume.

Today, I want to show you how to infuse purpose into your content strategy and the good news is, it is completely compatible with traditional content strategy development.

If you want to be able to connect your day-to-day content creation activities to something bigger, this post is for you.

I’m going to share with you how I do it, including the steps I followed and questions that I had to answer.

Purpose & Pillars

Not surprisingly, having a purpose-driven content strategy starts with defining your purpose. If you find yourself having trouble locating your purpose, it helps to look for things in the world you’d like to change, or thinking deeply about what you believe.

My purpose is to help make the world kinder, safer, and more equitable.

I believe that many things in our world are sub-optimal or outright broken. I believe that in a world consumed by capitalism, many of these problems can be found in the spaces where we work.

Therefore, I believe we need to change a lot of how we relate to our work. I believe that one way I’m able to pursue this, is by building a community around a set of ideas, and providing the tools for meaningful action.

Therefore, I have focused my work and my content on helping people in the following three pillars:

• Unlocking Human Potential
• Living a Purpose-Drive Life
• Becoming Heroic & Lovable Leaders

The intersection points for these topics enable one to become powerful, prepared, clear. I believe those who are powerful, prepared, and clear, are capable of changing the world. I believe that by exploring why we work, how we work, and the impact of our work, we can make meaningful change in both our day-to-day lives, and the future of our society.

If everything works perfectly, I would help every single person in my audience transform into an unstoppable catalyst for change.

These three pillars allow me to talk about my topics with purpose. Whether it’s Brand, Leadership & Culture, Marketing, Sales, Productivity, or Entrepreneurship, each topic is presented through the lenses of these three pillars and the ultimate transformation I’m after.

The Framework

1. What change do you want to make in the world?

This is your big WHY. It’s the things that are too big for you to actually ever accomplish or finish.

1. What could you help people with, to make that change possible? Pick 3 things.

Try to think of three areas of expertise, that you can focus on to make the change possible. These are your content pillars.

1. If people learned it, what benefits would it bring to them?

Look for the overlaps between each topic. What would that enable someone to be, feel, or accomplish? These are the benefits of your content.

1. If everything worked perfectly, how would it transform your audience?

Imagine your best audience member, who follows every piece of content, who implements every piece of advice. What will they transform into? This is actually the purpose of your content, the grand transformation your content enables.

Lay out these elements in a venn diagram. Hang it in your office.

Form & Function

While many will tell you that a content strategy is “all about the audience,” not only do I disagree, but I would offer that any such assertions are disingenuous, at b