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If you’re reading this, chances are you’re struggling to build a solid content strategy or generate consistent ideas.

Or you don’t know how to connect your content to your business goals. 

You’re scattered and lack a solid foundation or framework for organizing your content.

But don’t worry—in this blog post, you’ll learn all you need to know about content pillars, how to create them for your business, and how to measure their effectiveness.

I’ll give you the step-by-step guide I use to create content pillars for my clients. This will help you stop throwing random content at your audience and instead have a strong foundation for your content strategy.

 

What Are Content Pillars? 

Okay, let’s start with a simple definition of what a content pillar is……. or actually, it might be better to tell you what a content pillar is not. 

It might help you understand better cause a lot of people get confused about what it is or isn’t. 

A content pillar is not inspiration, education, promotion, or entertainment.

Those are more like content types. Your content can be educational, entertaining, or inspiring. But they need structure to guide them.

When you think of content pillars, think of structural foundations, but instead of the pillars holding up a building, they are holding up the content for your business. 

Content pillars are the core themes or topics that guide your business’s content. They are the topics you want your business to be known for. 

For example, If you run an online graphic design business, your pillars could be ‘Design tutorials,’ ‘Branding tips,’ and ‘Industry trends.’ This means every content you produce for your business would fall under one of those three pillars. 

Remember, pillars = structural foundation for all your business’s content. 

That’s why content pillars are an integral part of your overall content marketing strategy—you can’t have a well-functioning strategy if you don’t have pillars to hold all your content together. 

Going into this a bit further………..

Why You Need Content Pillars 

1. Enhances Brand Authority: Authority and expertise are invaluable in a world where everyone is talking. You need to differentiate yourself and your business as an expert in your industry. Content pillars can help you do this. When you only focus on 3-5 key topics, you can dive deeper into each and position your business as an expert. 
   
   Do you know that saying “Jack of all trades, master of none”? That’s exactly what not having content pillars would mean for your business. When you spend time trying to know and master every single topic in your industry, you end up not knowing anything enough to stand out. 
   
   You don’t want that. 
   
   
2. Saves Time & Effort: A narrowed but focused approach to content marketing is always better than a broad and unfocused one. 
   Let me explain. 
   
   When you have content pillars, you already know the general topics all your content will fall under. 
   
   You have a guide….sort of.  And when you have a guide, it’s easier to stay on track and complete your task quickly. 
   
   When you have content pillars, you won’t waste time thinking about what your content should be cause you already know. Ergo, the less time you spend brainstorming, the more time you have to create. 
   
   
3. Improves SEO & Discoverability: Being an entrepreneur or solopreneur is difficult. You have 100 different things to do in not enough time. Effective shortcuts are your best friend. Trust me, as a solopreneur myself, I know. If you have a way to hit two birds with one stone, you should be doing it. That is where content pillars come in.
   
   Not only can they save you time in content creation, but they can also help you be more discoverable in terms of SEO. 
   
   Now, just to note: I’m not saying you only need content pillars for SEO. I’m saying they certainly help. 
   
   Search engines notice you as an expert when you consistently create content around the same key topics or themes. Once they recognize you as an expert, they will push your content higher on the results page. 
   
   Also, social media platforms tend to categorize how they show content. If you only create content under specific topics, you can better target certain keywords and control how you show up and which type of people find you.
   
   
4. Ensures Content Consistency Across Channels: Suppose someone goes to your website and sees you sell custom wall art. They’re intrigued but not ready to buy yet, so they go on your business Instagram page. On your Instagram page, they see pet memes, recipe posts, and some posts about the wall art you sell. 
   
   How likely will they be to return to your website and buy from you? 
   
   That’s right, not likely at all. 
   
   Your page is all over the place; no one will take your business seriously cause there’s no consistency. 
   
   Now, if you had relevant content pillars to guide every piece of content you make, you would get consistency on all your platforms, people would see that you’re serious about your business, and they’d be more likely to buy from you. 
   
   
5. Improves engagement and audience connection: Going back to the first point, content pillars help you build authority and expertise. People, aka your target audience, would want to engage and interact with you more when they see you as an expert. 
   
   Here is a quick tip: building a strong community is the key to a successful social media presence. (p.s. If you want more social media tips, you should check out this post)
   
   The only way to build a strong community is through audience engagement. You get your audience to engage with you by setting yourself up as an expert. You set yourself up as an expert by narrowing your focus and diving deeper. You narrow your focus through content pillars. 
    
   
   See how everything connects? 

How to Create Your Content Pillars (Step-by-Step Guide)

Hopefully, I’ve convinced you of the importance of content pillars. Now, let’s get into how to create your content pillars. 

Before we do that, to make sure you’re also doing the work instead of just reading this blog post. I will provide you with a content pillar template workbook that will incorporate everything discussed here and turn it into actionable steps you can follow to create your own content pillars. 

Step 1- Identify your business’s values and goals.

In marketing, before creating any strategy or piece of content, you should first get a clear understanding of your business goals and values. 

What does your business stand for? What do you want to achieve? What do you want to be known for? Do you want your content to be the type that entertains? Inspires? Educates? Or all of the above? 

Your brand’s values and goals will guide the kind of content you create and ensure everything aligns with your business vision.

For example, if you’re a fitness coach, your goal might be to help people build healthy habits. That means your content should focus on workout tips, nutrition advice, and motivation.

Step 2- Understand your target audience and their pain points.

You can’t create great content if you don’t know who you’re speaking to. Understanding your audience means knowing what they struggle with, what they want to learn, and what interests them. 

Ask yourself these questions: what does your audience care about? What are their problems? Why should they care about your business? 

The more you know about them, the easier it is to create content that resonates. Your content pillars should focus on solving their problems. 

Step 3- Do keyword research 

Now that you know what your audience cares about, it’s time to find the exact words and phrases they search for. Keyword research helps you create content that people are actively looking for, making it easier for them to discover you online.

For example, if you’re a personal finance expert, you might find that people search for “how to budget on a low income” or “best savings accounts for beginners.” These can be content ideas that fall under content pillars like “budgeting” and “savings.”  

Step 4- Analyze competitors and industry trends.

Checking what competitors are doing can give you great insights into what works (and what doesn’t). Look at businesses similar to yours—what kind of content do they post? Which topics get the most engagement?

At the same time, keep an eye on industry trends. What is on the rise? What is slowly dying down? Use the information you find to decide what topics you want to cover. 

If you’re like me and you tend to overconsume content and get overwhelmed, limit the number of competitors you look at. Pick three strong ones and only focus on them. That way, you control what you’re taking in.

Step 5- Audit your existing content and engagement metrics.

Before choosing your content pillars, look at what you already have. If you’ve been posting content, analyze what’s working. 

Let your audience help you. 

What gets the most likes, shares, or comments? What topics connect most with your audience?

If certain topics perform well, they might be strong candidates for your content pillars. On the other hand, if some content isn’t getting engagement, it might not be worth focusing on.

Step 6- Choose your content pillars. 

Now comes the fun part—picking your content pillars.

Based on everything you’ve gathered so far, you should start seeing patterns in the topics that matter to your brand and audience.

Most businesses have 3-5 core content pillars to keep their strategy focused and effective. For example, if you’re a wellness coach, your content pillars might be:

1. Mindset & Motivation – Helping people stay motivated and build positive habits.
2. Nutrition & Meal Planning – Sharing healthy recipes and dietary advice.
3. Fitness & Movement – Workout routines, fitness tips, and active lifestyle advice.

As I said, I have provided you with a free content pillar template so you can work through these steps and create your own content pillars. I have also added some content pillar examples for popular businesses. 

Take what you need from it. 

Tools and Resources to Help You

Now that you have the steps to create your content pillars, you should know that some tools and resources can make your content marketing easier.

It’d be a crime not to tell you about these resources. 

Keyword research tools 

As I mentioned in step 3 of the previous section, you need to find the keywords your target audience searches for to create content pillars that are relevant to them. 

This is where keyword research tools come in. Here are some that I use and personally recommend to you (p.s, If you want to know how I perform keyword research for my blog, check out this post): 

• Google Keyword Planner– This free tool can help you find good keywords and their corresponding search volume. 
  
  

• Ubersuggest– This tool saves me a lot of time when finding keywords and content ideas. It has both a free and paid version. But what’s great about it is it also has a lifetime price–meaning you can pay once and never pay again (that’s what I did!). 

Pro Tip: Even if you’re only focusing on social media, keyword research is still important. Platforms like YouTube, Pinterest, and TikTok function as search engines, so using the right keywords can increase visibility.

Design and Visual Tools 

Creating your content pillars, while extremely important, is only half the work. Once you’ve done that, you have to make the content. These tools can help you. 

• Canva– I mean no exaggeration when I say I SWEAR by Canva. Seriously, I do. Canva has been a game-changer for me. Not only has it helped me create content, but it’s also helped me make money! Yep, that’s right, it did. 
  
  If you don’t believe me, check out my template shop here. I won’t go into too much detail because I won’t stop talking, but you should get Canva if you haven’t already. It’s a very user-friendly tool for creating branded graphics, presentations, mockups, you name it. 
  
  
• CapCut or Inshot: These are mobile-friendly apps for editing short-form video content like Instagram Reels and TikToks. I use CapCut, and it’s super helpful. It has ready-to-use templates, and I love their Meme Library. 
  
  

• Pexels and Unsplash: These are great platforms to find high-quality images. They are free to use, but I believe Unsplash has some paid features. 
  
  

Content planning and scheduling tools

After using your content pillars as a guide to create your content pieces, you’ll need to schedule them to get them out in the world for your audience to find and love (hopefully). There are some tools to help you. 

• Notion: I can go on and on about Notion. It’s one tool that people underestimate. I use it to organize my tasks and plan out my content. I also have some fantastic Notion templates that I use. 
  
  

• Tailwind: This has been a godsend for me when scheduling my content. It is the perfect automation tool for my Pinterest and Instagram posts. It has many cool features, like bulk creating and scheduling, and gives you optimal posting times. 
  
  

Measuring the Success of Your Content Pillars

To recap, you’ve learned content pillars, how to create them, and some tools to make your content marketing process more manageable. What’s left for you to know is how to measure the effectiveness of your content pillars. 

Key Metrics to Track

Here are the most important metrics to evaluate the success of your content pillars:

🔹 Website Traffic & Time on Page

• Are people actually visiting your website to read your content?
• How long are they staying on the page?
• A high bounce rate (people leaving quickly) may indicate that your content isn’t engaging enough or doesn’t match their expectations.
  
  

🔹 Social Media Engagement

• Which content pillars are getting the most likes, shares, and comments?
• Are certain topics sparking more conversations or community engagement?
• Are people saving or sharing your posts? High saves and shares indicate valuable content.
  
  

🔹 Conversions or Leads Generated

• Are people opting into your offers, signing up for your newsletter, or purchasing your products/services as a result of your content?
• Do certain content pillars drive more sign-ups than others?
• A well-performing pillar should naturally lead people toward your business goals.
  
  

Adjusting Pillars Based on your Data

Not every content pillar will perform equally well—and that’s okay! The key is to analyze what’s working and adjust accordingly.

• Double down on high-performing content pillars. If one pillar consistently generates engagement and leads, create more content around it.
  
  
• Update or replace underperforming pillars. If a pillar isn’t resonating with your audience, refine its focus or replace it with a more relevant topic.
  
  
• Experiment with different content formats. If a pillar isn’t gaining traction in one format (e.g., blog posts), try repurposing it as a video, infographic, or podcast episode.
  
  

For one of my clients, we had four pillars; two of the four were event guides and industry news. Over time, I noticed the event guides would get a lot of engagement, but the industry news would not. 

So, instead of posting content on industry news when I knew the audience didn’t care for it, I changed tactics. I doubled down on the events guide–creating more of it. And changed the format of the industry news from an Intsagram feed content to Stories, and it did better in that format. 

Don’t be afraid to pivot! Content pillars should evolve as your audience’s needs and interests shift over time.

Best Practices 

To warp things up, here are some best practices for you to keep in mind when working on your content pillars. 

• Maintain Consistency Without Over-Repeating– Keep your messaging aligned across different content pieces, but vary your approach. Don’t just repeat the same message in every post without adding new value.
  
  For example, if one of your pillars is “Mindset & Motivation,” don’t just post generic quotes repeatedly. Instead, explore different angles like:
  • Success stories from real people
  • Productivity hacks
  • Science-backed mindset techniques
    
    

• Find the Right Balance Between Broad and Niche Topics– Make sure your pillars are specific enough to provide direction but broad enough to generate multiple content ideas. 
  
  Remember, your content pillars should be the foundation for all your content. 
  
  For example. A content pillar like “Health” is too vague—it could include fitness, nutrition, sleep, mental health, and more.
  
  
• Pay Attention to Audience Feedback– I’ve mentioned this a couple of times already because it’s super important. 
  
  Actively listen to what your audience is asking for in comments, DMs, emails, and social media interactions. People will tell you what they want from you; you just have to listen and implement. 
  
  If your audience keeps asking for content around a specific topic that isn’t part of your current pillars, consider adapting your strategy to include it.
  
  
• Update Your Content Pillars as Your Business Grows– Reevaluate your content pillars every few months to ensure they align with your business evolution and audience interests. 
  
  

And that’s it from me.

Creating content pillars takes some initial work, but once you have them, your content strategy becomes much easier. You’ll always have a clear direction, your audience will connect more with your content, and you’ll build a strong, recognizable brand.

Don’t forget to get your copy of the free content pillar workbook I created. (note: grabbing your copy does mean signing up for my newsletter; I hope you don’t mind). 

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them down below!