An Audience-First Content Strategy Checklist

A new tool to help you focus on the audience that matters, not the metrics that don't.

My goal is always to turn the ideas we discuss on Backstory & Strategy into tools you can actually use. Here’s a look at the new Audience-First Checklist, created to bridge that gap between theory and practice.

In the creator economy, there's constant pressure to chase what's trending, what's getting engagement, what the algorithm seems to favor this week. But chasing viral moments that don't connect to your actual work? That's just empty calories for your brand.

The real challenge is staying focused on the readers who matter—the ones who care about your mission, not just your latest post.

I've used a mental checklist for this for years, and I've finally formalized it into a practical guide that I'm sharing today: The Audience-First Content Strategy Checklist.

This isn't just a list of tips; it's a diagnostic tool designed to make you pause and think critically about your work. It focuses on four essential questions:

• Audience & Problem: Are you solving a real problem?

• Voice & Authority: Are you the right person to tell this story?

• Relationship & Trust: Does this build loyalty?

• Intent & Metrics: Are you creating this for the right reasons?

The checklist includes a simple scoring system. Nothing fancy—just a way to force yourself to be honest about whether what you're about to publish actually serves your readers or if you're just adding to the noise.

You can download the complete, printable checklist here:

The Audience-First Content Strategy Checklist.

249KB ∙ PDF file

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A practical checklist to help you create more strategic, audience-focused content. Use the guiding questions and self-scoring system to ensure your work builds trust and provides real value.

Download

I hope this is helpful for your own work, and I look forward to hearing what you think.

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P.S. I hope this checklist is a valuable addition to your workflow.

It's the latest in a growing collection of practical resources I'm creating for the Backstory & Strategy community. You can find all of them—including the interactive "Purpose & Sustainability Framework"—by visiting the Backstory & Strategy homepage.