Before You Create More Content in 2026, Ask These 5 Questions
The start of a new year finds many of us reveling in the freedom and possibilities of a fresh calendar.
And with that wide open schedule also comes the pull to fill it with more emails, more social posts, more content.
But more content without clarity just results in more noise, which we’re guessing is not your goal. You want to create content marketing that speaks directly to people who want to interact with and buy from you, not distracted passersby who hear your message once and forget it (and you) the very next.
So how do you do that? First, let’s clarify what NOT to do when it comes to content marketing in 2026, then we’ll outline how to decide what’s right for your business to focus on.
More Content Isn’t Always the Answer
Let’s be clear: the “create more content” message you may hear from a lot of online influencers only works when you’ve dialed in on what is already working and create more of that.
If you saw less-than-stellar performance throughout 2025 and your first move in 2026 is to go from 2 posts per week to 5, we hate to break it to you but the only thing you’ll amplify is poor performance.
Content marketing performs best when your message is so clear there’s no question as to what you do and who you do it for. Without that clarity, adding more volume to the schedule rarely changes the result.
5 Clarifying Questions for Your Content Plan
So how do you create a 2026 content strategy that actually works for your business? Before you build a calendar, start by answering these five questions.
1. What Content Is Actually Working Right Now?
Start by gathering content performance analytics from your email marketing platform and any social media channels you post on.
(Hopefully these are marketing metrics you track regularly, which will make this part of the process so much easier! If you’re not, start now. A simple spreadsheet works just fine.)
Look at the last 3-6 months for:
➞ Standout emails or posts with high open and/or click rates
➞ Formats (visual OR text) that consistently get more views or engagement
➞ Overall channel performance – is there a clear winner?
If anything sticks out here as a proven performer, then plan to double down on it before adding any new experiments.
2. What Content Is Converting?
The engagement you uncover from Question #1 is great, but attention doesn’t pay the bills.
Conversion does.
So, take a closer look at which posts or emails have been effective at driving more inquiries, meetings, and closed contracts.
Bonus points if there’s a piece of content that new leads or clients consistently reference as where they first interacted with your brand or that led them to reach out.
3. What Content Are People Already Asking You For?
Some of your best content ideas may already exist in your inbox.
Think about:
➞ Topics you’re repeatedly asked about on sales calls
➞ Objections you’re always addressing over email
➞ Questions that consistently show up in comments or replies
Audience research is valuable, but so is paying attention to what your customers are already telling you they need and want.
4. What Content Can You Realistically Sustain?
Real talk: good content creation does require time, resources, and skill.
If your quality is slipping or, worse, that creating it keeps rolling off your to do list week after week, here is your reminder that it’s ok to ask for help.
The best thing you can do for your 2026 content strategy is to be honest about what you can reasonably and sustainably produce with the capacity and expertise you or your team have today.
If you KNOW your audience can’t get enough Reels, but your skin crawls just thinking about the time and effort it takes to create another one, that’s a clear signal to outsource to someone who lives and breathes that format so you can focus on other areas of your business.
Similarly, even with a small team, if everyone is already at capacity, adding content creation, review, and publishing on top of existing responsibilities can quickly become an uphill battle.
Publishing high-quality content consistently beats publishing lackluster content frequently every time.
If after you take stock, you realize that your original content plan is going to stretch you or your team too thin, don’t hesitate to hire someone 🙋♀️.
5. What Can You Stop Creating This Year?
We saved the best for last.
If through answering these questions and reviewing the numbers you uncover:
➞ an entire channel,
➞ a format you may love that just isn’t getting engagement
➞ or something you’ve always done as habit,
that is no longer pulling its weight, here’s your permission to stop doing it. It’s really that simple!
Removing things that no longer serve you just makes more space for what will actually connect your marketing to sales.
Building a Smarter 2026 Content Plan
At the end of answering these questions, you may find yourself thinking “Okay, great. But how does all of this actually translate into my content plan?”
Great question. We’re so glad you asked. And here’s the short version:
1. Focus on your top-performing channels
2. Prioritize content that is directly linked to bringing more leads and money into your business
3. Be realistic about you and your team’s capacity
And last but not least, if your plan can’t be done well or consistently with the resources you currently have, bring in someone who can help.
So, please. For your own sanity, before you start stuffing your 2026 content calendar, spend some time answering these questions.
January may be beckoning for more, but intentional is the way to go.
And in case you’ve missed the subtle hints thus far, let us be clear:
Whether you have no time or interest in walking through these questions on your own OR already know you need an expert’s help, you’re in luck. We can do it for you! Book your discovery call.
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