SCOPE: A strategic content formula for busy founders & brands

Content pillars, as we know them, are dead. 

And using them might be why your content isn’t performing or feels irrelevant. 

Hear me out… 

In response to founder challenges like “What should I post about?” or “I don’t have anything to say”, marketers alike (myself included) often advise putting together 3 - 5 content pillars that reflect expertise. 

Mine previously have been: marketing, brand, copywriting & freelance life. A business coach might have pillars like entrepreneurship, mindset, growth and strategy. 

Within those, you’re free to talk about your experience and expertise. The pillars give you a framework for consistency, so you don’t go rogue.  

I’ve been using this model for years. At one point, it got really detailed and even involved multiple tabs on a spreadsheet — I actually overwhelmed myself. 

But the reason why it had so many extra layers (sub-pillars, formats and themes) is because the concept of the content pillars is flawed.

For someone who is getting started or revamping their content plans: 

• What about a topic outside of your pillars?

• Where is the link to customers’ challenges and pain points?

• How do I share my approach to solving these challenges?  

So it's time for a change. 

Introducing the SCOPE Method 

SCOPE offers a more strategic approach to content. It’s a simple framework for creating content that actually speaks to your audience, demonstrates your expertise and builds trust. 

S – Struggle → Address the challenge your audience is facing.

C – Cure → Show them your way of solving it.

O – Opinion → Share what you believe and why it matters.

P – Proof → Back it up with evidence or results.

E – Experience → Let them see the human side of you.

And within this framework, you can talk about anything. Typically, you’ll lean into your area of expertise (marketing, coaching, tech etc), but it’s not limited to just that. 

You can use any of these as a direction for a one piece of content, or combine a couple to say, address a customer pain point and then share your methodology on how you are fixing that. 

S – Struggle

Demonstrate your understanding of your customer by highlighting their struggles, challenges, problems, and pain points. Make sure they feel seen and understood.  

Examples:

“You know you’re amazing at what you do, but trying to explain it is so difficult” 

“Pretend you don’t know you. Does your website copy sound like everyone else?”

C – Cure

Share your solution, your cure to the problems. This might be a methodology, a process or an approach that helps your customers resolve their pain points. 

Examples:

“These are the 3 questions I ask every client before I touch their website copy.”

“Here’s how I step in as an extension of your team.”

O – Opinion

We all have a unique point of view and take on the world — get it out there! Share your pov and any personal insights that make you stand out from the rest. 

Examples:

“Content pillars are dead; it’s time for a more strategic approach to content.”

“Why AI is ruining company messaging. And it’s not because it's writing it.”

P – Proof

This is where you share your evidence, the proof, the testimonials, the case studies, the success stories, and the before-and-afters. Anything that shows what you do works for your customers. 

Examples:

Clear email strategy and updated messaging led to €500,000 worth of leads in just 2 weeks. 

Before and after images of a homepage website and its main message. 

E – Experience

People buy from people. Show the human side of your business through stories, learnings, experiences and a bit of BTS (behind the scenes). 

Examples:

“After 365 days in business, here are my top learnings.”

BTS video: your workflow for juggling multiple projects. 

My invitation to you 

I am currently testing this exact framework out on my own channels and seeing how it lands with YOU, my audience. 

And I invite you to steal it and try it out for yourself. 

Within your area of expertise, you can simply rotate through the 5 pillars post by post — it’s that simple. 

And this method, this is my CURE to your ongoing struggle (What should I post about?” or “I don’t have anything to say”) when it comes to content. 

TL;DR:

S – Struggle → Address the challenge your audience is facing.

C – Cure → Show them your way of solving it.

O – Opinion → Share what you believe and why it matters.

P – Proof → Back up your expertise with evidence or results.

E – Experience → Let them see the human side of you.