Let me tell you something I didn’t expect to happen.
After 62 episodes, consistent growth, and hitting #1 in the marketing category on Apple Podcasts in my country… I stopped publishing new episodes of the Useful Content Podcast.
Why? It wasn’t burnout. It wasn’t a lack of ideas. It wasn’t poor performance.
It was clarity.
At the start, I didn’t know exactly what shape the podcast would take. So I experimented. Over time, I discovered a formula that worked:
- It would be an interview show
- It would focus on marketing and content
- Guests would need to be teachers, not just talkers
- We’d call the space the Useful Content Classroom
- At the end of each episode, I’d “dismiss” the class
- Each episode had to be under an hour, perfect for your lunch break
I hoped people would develop a ritual around it. Listen during lunch on Thursdays. A bite of food, and a bite of Useful Content.
It started working. Listeners came back week after week. The show climbed the charts. People told me they were learning from the conversations.
I even interviewed Chris Do for episode 50, a dream guest.
To keep this going, I built systems: for outreach, booking, recording, editing, uploading, and even gathering guest feedback. It was smooth. Until it wasn’t. Somewhere between episodes 53 and 54, I started feeling it. The format didn’t fit anymore.
By the time I reached episode 58, the momentum had shifted. I took a break in December. And I haven’t published since.
But the pause wasn’t the end. It was an intentional reset.
A moment of clarity from an unexpected source
I was in the UK, speaking at UpLift Live. At the pre-event social one of the conference attendees came up to me and said, “You do so many things!” I was confused. “So many things?” I asked. She rattled off a list: branding, design, video, content strategy, email marketing…
That’s when it hit me.
She was naming all the types of people I had interviewed on the podcast. And because of that, she thought I personally did all those things too.
NOT GOOD.
In my effort to be cover many marketing topics with guest expertise, I’d blurred my own positioning. That moment told me what I already knew: the podcast needed more focus.
The New Focus: 3 Types of Guests Only
So here’s where I’m going next. When the Useful Content Podcast returns, it will feature just three types of guests:
- Professionals who use video to build a personal brand, grow their career or business.
- Creators who make a living from video content or run video-first businesses.
- Businesses that help other businesses with strategy or done-for-you video creation.
That’s it.
No more confusion. No more scatter.
If it doesn’t align with the video content journey, it’s not on the show.
What You Should Take Away
Here are some principles you can apply to your own content journey, especially if you’re a professional trying to grow your presence, build your brand, or just get more consistent:
- Don’t be afraid to pause and pivot. Growth isn’t always about going faster, sometimes it’s about stopping long enough to see if the path you’re on still makes sense. A break can be strategic, not a failure.
- Clarity comes from doing. I didn’t start with the perfect format. I built it while I was doing it. Every interview taught me something. So if you’re stuck planning, start publishing. You’ll figure it out faster in motion.
- Systems create sustainability. One of the reasons I made it to 62 episodes was because I built repeatable systems for booking, recording, editing, and promotion. If you want to create content consistently, don’t rely on motivation. Rely on a system.
- The audience sees what you show them. That moment in the UK reminded me: people make assumptions based on the content you put out. If your messaging is unclear or too broad, they’ll fill in the blanks and not always in a way that reflects what you actually do.
- Your content should serve your positioning. I want to be known for helping people use video to grow. That means everything I put out podcast, posts, videos should reinforce that. Content that confuses your audience weakens your brand. Keep it aligned.
- Momentum doesn’t mean you’re on the right track. Just because something is working doesn’t mean it’s right. Downloads were growing. The feedback was great. But the format no longer served the message I wanted to send. It’s okay to change direction, even when things look successful on the outside.
Hope this gives you something to think about in your own content process. If you’re feeling unclear, overwhelmed, or like the thing you’re building needs a second look — you’re not alone.
Sometimes, the most useful content you can create… starts with a reset.
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER: I’m kind of enjoying writing this newsletter. I get to share things that I don’t usually share when I’m creating video. And I’m getting in the reps for when I start my main email newsletter. I’m not sure how long I’ll do this on LinkedIn so you should subscribe to my mailing list to get the MAIN USEFUL CREATOR newsletter that will be launching soon. Here’s the link: https://sendfox.com/jumabannister
ABOUT THE HEADER IMAGE: I’m also starting a YouTube channel soon, and I did a small thumbnail photo shoot in my studio, and these are some of the images on myself from the shoot that I’m sharing in the header of the newsletter. Let me know is you like them. Also, the bee that you’re seeing in the header image and that has been around my content recently is the useful content mascot. I decided I wanted a mascot after listening to the amazing marketing psychology and behavioural science podcast Nudge Podcast (for the past two years). Big up Phill Agnew.
