As consultants, we often find ourselves caught in the perpetual cycle of client work – sometimes overwhelmed with projects, other times anxiously seeking new opportunities. This feast or famine pattern is all too familiar in the consulting world. However, there’s a powerful solution that many overlook or take for granted: consistently publishing authority content.
While there are many types of content you can create, we’re specifically focusing on thought leadership pieces – typically blogs, video series, or podcasts – that demonstrate your deep understanding of your clients’ challenges and solutions.
By consistently publishing such content, you position yourself as a trusted expert in your niche, making it easier for potential clients to find you and understand the value you bring to the table.
Breaking the Feast or Famine Cycle
One of the most challenging aspects of consulting is managing the unpredictable workflow. When you’re busy with clients, marketing takes a backseat. When work slows down, you scramble to find new opportunities. This reactive approach creates a rollercoaster of income and stress.
However, this difficulty is precisely what makes it valuable. Because it’s hard, many consultants won’t do it consistently.
Publishing authority content serves as a stabilizing force. It maintains your visibility even when you’re deep in client work, ensuring a steady stream of inbound inquiries rather than relying solely on outbound marketing or referrals.
Content marketing is indeed a long-tail game, and while the real benefits often don’t materialize for months or even years, the payoff directly addresses the feast or famine cycle that plagues many consultants. When your content strategy matures, you’ll find yourself with increased visibility and authority in your industry, which naturally leads to a steady stream of inbound leads from people who already understand your value. These aren’t just any leads – they’re higher quality clients who are pre-sold on your expertise before they even reach out.
What’s particularly powerful about this approach is that it creates a passive lead generation system that works even when you’re deep in client work. Over time, you build a valuable body of work that continues to attract opportunities, effectively smoothing out the peaks and valleys of traditional consulting work patterns. This creates a more predictable and sustainable business model, helping you break free from the constant cycle of feast or famine.
Gaining Clarity Through Teaching
There’s truth in the saying, “The best way to learn is to teach.” When you regularly share your expertise through content, you’re forced to articulate your knowledge clearly and systematically. This process often leads to unexpected insights and helps refine your own methodologies.
Even more beneficial, the act of sharing your expertise helps you identify gaps in your knowledge and areas where you can provide unique value to clients. It’s a form of professional development that pays dividends in multiple ways.
Why It’s Hard (And Why That’s Good)
Let’s be honest – creating consistent, high-quality content is challenging. It requires time, effort, and vulnerability. You need to share your insights publicly, open yourself to feedback, and maintain consistency even when immediate results aren’t visible.
We recommend thought leadership content to our clients based on their comfort level with different mediums and their available time commitment. For consultants who can articulate their thoughts easily in conversation, video or audio content often works best. For those who prefer working behind the scenes, we typically suggest blogs or podcasts. For professional speakers, we recommend video content to showcase their presentation style to potential event organizers.
When a new client begins working with us, we determine the best format and frequency for their authority content through careful consideration. This involves understanding their short-term and long-term goals and having an in-depth discussion about implementation requirements before they make their final commitment.
Many consultants start strong but abandon their content efforts before seeing results. They expect immediate returns and become discouraged when quick wins don’t materialize. This is a crucial mistake.
The most valuable benefits of authority content come from consistency over time. Those who persist gain a significant competitive advantage.
Creating Systems for Sustainable Content Creation
Many consultants scramble to produce content during lean times, only to abandon their efforts when they land a new client and become “too busy.” This pattern reveals they haven’t created systems to make content creation sustainable in the long term.
The key to maintaining a consistent content strategy is developing systems that make it manageable. This includes:
- Establishing a regular publishing schedule that aligns with your workload
- Creating content templates and frameworks to streamline the writing process
- Building a content calendar to plan topics in advance
- Setting aside dedicated time blocks for content creation
- Developing a promotion strategy to maximize each piece’s reach
When to Take Action
We recommend to start small but start now. Commit to a realistic publishing schedule and stick to it. Focus on quality over quantity, but prioritize consistency over perfection.
Remember, every piece of content you publish is an asset that works for your business 24/7, building your authority library and attracting opportunities while you focus on serving your clients.
Honestly, the best time to start building your authority content library was years ago. But the good news is, the second best time is today. Your future self will thank you for making this investment in your consulting business’s long-term success.
Lost on where to start with your authority content strategy? We can help simplify things and create a sustainable plan that works for your business. Schedule an introductory call today to discuss how we can help you build your thought leadership presence.