Ever feel like you’re publishing on LinkedIn or sending an email, but the ideas seem… random? Like there’s no common thread tying everything together? No coherent theme?

Fortunately, there’s a solution.

You can build a foundation that helps you find a central theme for your writing.

With this method:

1. You know exactly what you want to write about

2. Bind all your content ideas with a single, unifying message

It’s called the “Solar System Content Model”. I learned it from Jonathan Stark, though I’ve added my spin to it. It’s simple. But it’s not always easy.

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Your content looks like a solar system with three elements

1. The Sun

2. The Planets

3. The Moons

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The Sun is your unique point of view. Your big idea. The villain that you want to defeat. It is the central theme around which all your content revolves. This is the guiding force behind all your content. But the Sun, by itself, can’t do the job. It needs support.

The Planets are that support. Think of them as content pillars that revolve around the Sun. These are the most common recurring topics that you would write about. But what does the final expression of the planets look like?

The Moons are the actual content pieces you publish. This is your LinkedIn post. Or an email. Or a blog post.

Easy, peasy, right?

Okay, not really.

I sense your craving for an example. Let’s take the example of the very charming Jonathan Stark.
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Hourly Billing is Nuts

Jonathan’s Sun is “Hourly Billing is Nuts.” He believes that Consultants and Experts should not charge by the hour but rather price according to the value they bring to the client.

This Sun has inspired different content pillars, a.k.a. Planets.

– Positioning

– Value Pricing

– Specialization

– Niching Down

– Daily Email

– Podcasting

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And ultimately, the Moons

Here’s a LinkedIn post he published recently. See how it aligns with his Planets and the Sun?

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Let’s get over my obsession with Jonathan and move to another example.

The very handsome Jay Acunzo.

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The Sun

Jay’s content mainly revolves around “Resonance Over Reach”. He calls it his premise. He believes that while Marketers are obsessed with reaching more people, we should instead work on resonating deeply with our audience.

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The Planets

For Jay, the pillars look like –

1. Premise Development

2. Content Creation

3. Storytelling

4. Podcasting

5. Speaking

6. Thought Leadership

7. IP Development

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The Moons

Here’s an example of a blog post that Jay published last month –

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Yep, it’s aligned. Everything is well in Jay’s Solar System.

What does your Solar System look like?

P.S. – Build your solar system with me

If you want to develop your own Solar System Content Model, reply SOLAR to this email, and we will work together to map out your Sun, Planets, and Moons.