The Experiment in a Nutshell

• Scope: 90 posts a week for up to 90 days

• Timeline: Intended June 2 through September, with strategy work beginning mid-April

• Platforms: Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, my paid Breakthrough Boss community, and my free Skool community

• Big Four Setup: Strategy, systems, tracking, and the content itself

I documented the entire plan in a live strategy doc and spreadsheet so I could track what worked, what flopped, and what to change. I went in open minded on metrics and set light targets since the goal was to learn, not to hit arbitrary numbers.

Strategy Highlights

• Content goals: Teach, promote, and convert without pretending promotion and value are opposites. Most posts included both.

• Cadence: Instagram was the heaviest lift. Long form on YouTube fed short form across platforms. Communities received regular, relevant posts.

• Batching: I created three streams

  1. Long form

  2. Long form cascades like shorts, carousels, graphics, blogs

  3. Fill-in content for gaps and timely ideas

If you want the granular details, hooks, and examples, grab the strategy doc.

Systems and Tools That Kept Us Moving

• Team roles: I owned strategy, long-form planning and filming, carousels and graphics, captions, community posts, DMs, data reads, and adjustments. Editors handled video. My VA and a social media manager handled uploading, scheduling, and admin.

• Tools: ClickUp, Google Workspace, ManyChat, RevTrack, Canva, and selective brainstorming with ChatGPT.

  • Note on AI: I used it for idea prompts, analogies, and light research. I wrote the content myself to keep the voice sharp and avoid clean-up time.

• Scheduling: We switched mid-sprint to GoHighLevel’s social planner. Not perfect, but virtually free since I already use GHL for funnels, checkout, and messaging. It saved meaningful time and helped us avoid another subscription.

The Actual Posting Load

• YouTube: 1 long-form video per week, plus 3 to 4 shorts from each

• Instagram: 20 posts per week

  • Half reels or shorts, one quarter carousels, one quarter graphics

  • Four posts Monday through Thursday, two Friday, one each Saturday and Sunday

• Communities: Free Skool and paid Breakthrough Boss, about 5 posts each per week

• LinkedIn: About 5 posts per week

• Pinterest: Targeted 10 pins per weekday, but this became the first thing to cut

Most content went out Monday through Friday to match how my audience consumes work-mode content and to preserve weekend boundaries.

Time Investment

My time per month, on average:

• Long form planning 6 hours

• Recording long form 4 hours

• Writing video descriptions, emails, and extras 2 hours

• Reels planning 1 to 2 half days

• Reels recording 1 to 2 half days

• Communities 1 hour total

• LinkedIn repurposing 3 to 4 hours

Team time:

• Editor time varied by video

• My team spent roughly 2 to 3 hours per week on uploads, scheduling, and coordination

• Social media manager handled overflow and organization

Real talk: 35 to 40 hours of my own time each month for content alone is heavy when you also run a business.

Costs

Monthly averages during the sprint:

• Long-form editor: $300 per video

• Short-form editor plus hook research: $750

• IG strategist: $500 (annual retainer spread monthly)

• ManyChat for IG: $15

• Scheduler: GoHighLevel planner included in my existing plan

• Social media manager: ~$1,000

Total monthly outlay: about $3,465, not including my time. Worth it for sanity and speed with a tiny team.

Results: Growth vs Revenue

Vanity metrics:

• Instagram grew modestly, with much of the reach clearly coming from ads

• YouTube subs and CTR did not pop during summer slow season

• LinkedIn followers grew, but reach and profile views dropped when quality dipped under the posting load

• Pinterest barely moved, and we ultimately cut it

Direct content revenue tracked:

• About $8,000 from sponsorships

• About $2,500 from content-driven sales we could attribute

The bigger win: how organic content supported paid media.
Cold prospects coming from Meta ads were warming up quickly when they found a strong grid of current content, then moved through email and into webinars. That lift turned a slow season into a solid one.

Cash collected in the period: $65,000, with more than double that sold on payment plans to be collected over the next 3 to 9 months. For June through August, historically my slowest season, that was a meaningful improvement.

Personal Impact

This pace had a cost. I manage chronic and genetic conditions. Higher stress increased symptoms like fatigue, pain, and brain fog. Boundaries are non-negotiable for me, and the sheer volume clashed with my values and energy. I want content that serves people, not the algorithm.

Mileage will vary, but do not underestimate the toll of volume for volume’s sake.

Is It Worth Continuing?

For me, not at this level. I am keeping the systems, but scaling to something sustainable that still looks robust from the outside.

My new plan:

• YouTube: 2 long-form videos per month

• Shorts and Reels: 3 to 4 from each long form, plus about 15 additional reels per month

• Pinterest: Only for new long forms or new lead magnets

• LinkedIn: About once a week

• Communities: 1 to 3 posts per week based on needs

• Total volume: About 40 pieces per month, with smart repurposing

Why this works: the systems are now built. Lower volume still feels consistent, on brand, and human. Most important, it fits my definition of business success. Freedom. Flexibility. Fun. Profits that do not cost my health.

Takeaways for Tiny Teams

• High volume is not automatically high value.

• Content performs best as part of an ecosystem that includes email and offers.

• Systems beat willpower. Build them first.

• Track both vanity metrics and money. Make decisions from both.

• Protect your energy. Sustainable beats spectacular.

Prefer to implement right now? Start by mapping your Big Four, reduce platforms to where your buyers actually convert, and pick a cadence you can keep for 6 to 12 months without hating your life. And check out GoHighLevel for scheduling your content.