From Post to Pipeline: Content to Clients

In this episode, we explore why content alone won’t save your consulting agency or coaching business. While posting boosts visibility, it rarely translates directly into paying clients—especially when you’re at the mercy of ever-changing algorithms. We discuss the pitfalls of relying solely on social media, the burnout that comes from constant posting, and the frustration of seeing little return on your efforts.

Key topics include:
- The difference between visibility and revenue
- Real-life examples of algorithm changes derailing business growth
- Why consistent posting doesn’t guarantee clients
- The importance of having a system or funnel behind your content
- How to turn content from noise into a client-generating machine
- The power of clear calls to action and next steps
- Questions to assess your current content strategy

Tune in to learn how to make every piece of content work harder for your business and discover practical steps to move from posting for engagement to building a reliable client pipeline.

Curious about one-to-one coaching? Submit an application here and we can chat about your business.

If you’re ready for more personalised support, I currently have space for five new one-to-one coaching clients.

It’s 11 hours of tailored coaching for £2,500, designed to help you build a marketing system that feels like you — no formulas, no pretending.

If you want to apply for one of these spots before we open it up more widely, you can do that here:

https://airtable.com/app28MNir9SrqMbbK/pagGT2MCWXEbrEUVH/form

Transcript

0:28

Hey, on today's episode of the Caffeine Authority Builder Podcast, we're gonna be talking about how content alone won't save your consulting agency or coaching business. Posting is great for visibility. It gets you likes, maybe even some dms, but here's the hard truth. Visibility doesn't pay the bills, and you're very much reliant on somebody else's algorithm to do the work. I know this isn't news to you, but if you listen to the last episode and if you've met with me, you know I'm all about taking control back and not depending on other people's platforms. To grow your business content on its own is not gonna save your service-based business in the short term or the long term for many different reasons. I have seen, in fact, I've spoken this week with somebody, ahead of interviewing them for a podcast episode who became really, really famous on TikTok during COVID. they were just in the right place at the right time. They made it into a business, but then the algorithm changed on, TikTok and their, Their reach plummeted and the ability to get in front of people was just no longer there. They actually reverted back to using Instagram as a platform and pivoted their own business. Now that is somebody who took advantage of an opportunity. They all of a sudden found themselves TikTok famous and then capitalized on it. and you may feel like your business is more structured than that, but I just wanna point out it's not actually that different. If you're putting content out there and you're hoping for engagement, you're hoping for it to maybe not go viral, but attract enough eyes and ears that people start picking up the phone and speaking to you, it's not necessarily, the case doesn't always translate into. A single new client, and I really wanted you to consider at this point, Have you ever looked into all the energy you're putting into posting and wondered where's the return? Because I know I have, I, you've heard me talk about this at length at all, you'll know that I am a massive cynic about posting on social media. The big irony being that you are most likely listen to this podcast episode'cause you've either received my email, which is fine. That's my own list. Or I've posted on LinkedIn, which is not my own platform. I am. Just wanna say something on that, number one. Social media. I'm not social media first. I create stuff for the people who are on my email list and who open my emails and who listen in to things. And for clients who find this really helpful and like they've got a buddy in their business, that's why I do it. And also, frankly, because speaking out loud helps me to get ideas out of my head, which helps me both mentally and also helps me in terms of marketing. LinkedIn is a platform on which I share stuff. So is Instagram to a lesser extent, but I really bloody hate posting on social media. It's a huge phobia of, I wouldn't say phobia. That's a bit extreme. It's a huge resistance point of mind. And there are some personal reasons behind that. And there is also just the kind of sense of this feels like a hell of a lot of energy for not a lot of return. And, Being somebody who prioritizes efficiency. That is, it's a frustrating point for me. I was recently working with somebody who was posting every single day on LinkedIn and she was recording a podcast episode each couple of weeks. She was also sending out an email every single Friday. She never missed a single slot. She was also doing, she was speaking onto other people's podcasts. she was hosting her own. Seminars. She was going to speak on stage at massive national events. She's also a parent and is handling a lot of stuff in addition to her day job because she still did her day job alongside her coaching business. That is a hell of a lot. Like I, I dunno how that person was doing. I was burnt out even looking at what she was doing. and that was even the stuff that was separate from. The client finding, right? Like it was not an individual one-to-one conversation saying, Hey, let's jump on a call. It was really it. Her feed looked really polished. Her marketing looked well, I mean, maybe polished isn't the word. She was an imperfect action person. I thought it was bloody brilliant. But she, and she was getting out there. it, it was consistent and it was there, and that is amazing. You know, I live consistency, but the reality was it wasn't translating to clients for her and, clients were, I rather leads were becoming very expensive. And I, I hear this from people. They'll say to me, especially agencies, they'll say, we post so much on Instagram. and, but we feel like we're shouting out into the void. We're not getting any traction. And number one, often they're posting on platforms where their clients aren't hanging out. Number two, often they're posting things that aren't of interest to their potential clients. If anything, they may be of interest to people for HR purposes like talent, but often more often than not, they're just talking about themselves as an agency rather than anybody's issue or problem. So it is not gonna have engagement regardless of what platform it's on and. A lot of these people are thinking if I just post more, something has to change. It's this behavior spiral. that means that you're constantly refreshing Instagram or LinkedIn and you still don't have any discovery calls booked and you feel like you just need to double down even more. but I just wanna. To give you a bit of a mindset shift here on on posting, it doesn't have to equal pipeline pi. Rather, posting doesn't equal pipeline content can build awareness, but without a system, it doesn't move people from interested party slash follower to client. So. You know, I love an analogy, so it is a bit like throwing seeds on concrete. No matter how many you scatter, they're not gonna grow without the soil, water and structure. I thought that over the very beginning of social media, that is how old I am. No, but when, as a business, when I was in somebody else's business and, and. We just started to realize that companies could have their own social media profiles on, for example, LinkedIn, on Instagram. I thought being visible meant we'd be booked out, which is so naive, but we are talking God, I mean. 15 years ago, a really, really long time ago now, it was the early days of the internet, says the old woman. but what I learned is that visibility is only step one. And after a very relatively short period of time, I got really sick of checking for success in the form of likes. That isn't the bottom line of the business that I was in at the time or any business. Now it's clients, it's revenue, and if you are chasing engagement in the hope that something will change in the future, I, it might, but there's a strong chance it won't, and I don't think it's the right thing to be focusing on. But here's a reframe for you. When you add a funnel, content becomes fuel, not just noise. A funnel gives you structure. It tells people what to do next. I know a lot of people don't like the word funnel, but honestly just think of it as your next step, as if you are an interested party, what you do now. So for example, one client's post. All now point toward a free resource. They all relate back to a free resource and that resource. So also called a lead magnet. It could be a book, it could be a webinar, it could be a training, it could be a podcast episode. But that resource feeds into calls because once they go ca get the resource, the prospective client has shared their email, which allows us to send them a message across, welcoming them and offering them an opportunity to have a call. Some of those calls will lead to clients, and suddenly every post has a purpose. So. Think about how this works for your business. For example, in my own podcasts, don't just sit there. Each one links back to a call to action, which links to more often than not a call or to direct people towards the next best next step with me, even if we're not. Promoting a particular service or product at that time. We're always encouraging people to take a next action. We don't just share something for the sake of it. If you think about, it almost looks a bit megalomaniac and and egotistical to share something for the sake of it. I do feel like there always has to be a, and if this was of interest to you here, some next steps. I, as a marketing and new business person, would recommend that those next steps are how they can work with you. But it may well be that you're saying, actually, here's another book you might want to go read if you're interested in this topic. It's something that gives people, a next point of interest, which is. I, to me, this is more like a conversation, right? When we speak to people, we don't just shout at them and then walk off. We, we kind of leave a trail of breadcrumbs, and although posting on social media doesn't necessarily feel like a conversation a lot of the time, by putting in a call to action, you are offering people a next step in that conversation. It becomes a dialogue, or there is an opportunity for a dialogue rather than just shouting out there with your monologue. So another thing I wanna talk about is this filthy word here, funnel, because people really, a lot of people really don't like that. I just want you to think of that as an inverted triangle where there's. Say one client at the bottom. For every one client at the bottom that comes out at the pointy bit of the triangle, there has to be a hundred people going at the top. Now that isn't necessarily in the number that would work for your business. It may be a great deal higher, it may be a great deal on the lower, depending on what your business model is, but. This is true of all businesses. Funnels do not have to be complicated. Sometimes it's literally a post that reaches many and directs people to a next step, which is some kind of freebie that offers a solution and adds value, to a situation or a problem that they're facing. And in turn, that leads to the opportunity to have a call and some of those calls will convert into clients. It's just the nature that lots of people will see that very few people will take action. One person might come out the other end as a client. That's all you've got to be aware of. But the important thing to note here is it's always more people at the top of that inverted triangle at the top of that funnel than you can ever imagine, and oftentimes it's invisible to us. Oftentimes, if you're just waiting for people to pick up the phone and call you or schedule an appointment, then you are completely unaware of how many people you were actually in consideration for. As a prospective service provider, the only thing that you are in control of is. Your visibility, but also encouraging people to take next steps. So if you are in consideration with any of those people, you are giving them opportunities to speak to you, to discuss it with you. So they are as best prepared as they can be to hire you if and when the time is right for them. And it still work, won't work out for some of them. You won't be a good chemistry fit for whatever reason. But unless you try, you don't have an opportunity to take the next step. Or rather they won't. So imagine if every post or podcast or article you put out had a system behind it, one that steadily turned visibility into clients. This is what it feels like now when I post with a pheno behind it. It's relief, confidence, and calm. Like I'm recording this podcast episode right before my kids walk through the door and cause complete carnage. I have some potatoes on the boil downstairs. There are sausages about to go into the air fryer. It's probably too much information, but I am recording this podcast episode and there is going to be a series of messages that are shared with my audience and on different platforms, so it's reaching as many people as it can, and at the bottom of. Each of the posts around it. And at the end of this podcast episode as well, and at the bottom of each of the emails, there's gonna be a call to action. Just take the next step with me. And at this point in time, that is because I've got some spaces coming up to work with people one to one, and it's very timely. They're gonna start on October 1st. 2025. We're now, Tuesday, September 9th, and, I'm hoping some of the people listen into this. It struck a chord with, and they start considering potentially taking one of those spots at the bottom of every piece of that content that I share. Whether it's audio, it's video, it's a post, or it's an email. It will have a link to go take that next step, whether it's book a call with me or complete an application. So what would change for you if you knew that each piece of content had a job to do and not just sit there and hope that it's gonna do the right thing on your behalf? So some questions to consider. How often are you posting or creating content right now? What results are you actually seeing from that content? Either visibility or paying clients? And do you have a clear next step for people who engage with your posts? How much time or energy is content creation taking from you each week? For me, that's a huge one. I find it's one of the most energy zapping things ever, unless it's me talking to this microphone, which is exactly what I'm doing now. And what would change if every postal podcast episode or email you created had a clear path that led. To clients. So something I want you to think about now, if you are tired of posting without payoff, let's build your funnel out with you in my one-to-one coaching. Let's see why I did that. We map out the exact system that turns your content into clients. You can apply at the link below in the show notes, or you can book a chemistry call with me if you want to chat in more detail. You can find that in the show notes as well. And the very first thing we're gonna do together is order. your existing content to spot missing conversion steps, real easy call to actions that we can put into play. For your business, you're gonna walk away from our call knowing how to make the content you are already creating, actually count, and my hope is you'll reach the bottom of that funnel and we'll actually start working together and I'll get you to actually do that in your own business. I'll be a part of implementing it. Okay, see you next time. Bye.