Why content feels exhausting without a system, and what consistency looks like now

I've been in business since before social media existed. When Facebook arrived it was the only platform there was, and I've watched the expectations on business owners grow with every new app since. Post more, post daily, get on YouTube because someone's friend went viral there. It can leave even the most capable people feeling like performing monkeys for an algorithm.

This week on the podcast I sat down with content strategist Mariah Macinnes, and one line of hers has stayed with me: "You're a business owner, you are not a full-time content creator. This is not your full-time gig. You're not an influencer."

It sounds obvious written down. Day to day, if you run a service-based or online business and rely on digital marketing, content can feel like it has become your actual job, the thing that eats your mornings and still leaves you wondering whether you've done enough.

Most people who tell me they don't know what to post have plenty to say. Mariah described it perfectly: "It's more like I don't know how to consolidate all the things I've got going on in my brain into something that makes sense for an audience." The way through is to go back to your plan. What are you selling, what's in the diary, what's coming up, and what do you want to be known for? Work backwards from there and the ideas stop feeling random. Without that anchor, you hit record, can't think what to talk about, and default to whatever you're selling, which is how content ends up feeling salesy.

The other block is the fear of repeating yourself. Mariah's answer made me laugh because it's so accurate: "No one remembers. Everyone's forgotten." The people who do remember are your super fans, and they're exactly who you want. I've caught myself holding back an idea because it felt too obvious, when the people I'm trying to reach haven't heard it at all. Your peers might know it, and the people you want to attract very often don't.

A plan also gives you a filter for the personal side. As entrepreneurs we're multi-passionate, and sharing who you are and what you stand for is what creates connection. A strategy lets you check an idea against your values and brand personality before you post it, so you're choosing how to show up instead of reacting. Mariah's own brand archetype is the lover, so even her strong opinions come with care, and that consistency of tone is a big part of why people trust her.

Then there's consistency itself, which has been treated as the golden rule for years. I agree with the principle. A restaurant that opens one day and stays shut the next loses your trust, and eventually you stop going. The trouble comes when consistency is measured only by frequency. Get to 5pm with nothing posted and no system behind you, and you either scramble or post nothing, then nothing again, until you're apologising to an audience that hadn't noticed you'd gone.

Mariah's view is that with the volume of AI-generated content now, showing up every day is more likely to make people tune out than lean in. Consistency can mean a recognisable message, a weekly email, a podcast, or turning up in other people's spaces. She also made a distinction I loved. A Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule with themed days is a posting plan. It has its uses, and it's only the execution layer of a strategy.

What struck me most was how she lives this. She manages twelve clients and travels Australia full time in a bus with her partner. She still works hard, and when she sits down to create she knows what she's doing because the foundations are in place. She recently asked a room of business owners why they started their businesses and told them to skip the fluffy answer. Every one of them said freedom.

Content is meant to serve that freedom. If it's been eating into it, the answer is a structure that leaves room for your creativity and fits the life you started your business to have.

If this resonates, I invite you to listen to the full episode here: Born To Be Brilliant Podcast

Mariah and I are teaching her seven-step framework live on Thursday 15 October, in a 90-minute workshop designed to help you build content that works without taking over. Save your seat here:

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