The simple one-page planning sheet that makes every piece of content valuable
“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly.” David McCullough
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Quick link: 👉 Download the Valuable Content Planning Sheet
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Content struggles
There’s enough pointless content out there already, isn’t there?
And if you’re writing and creating your own content (newsletters, blogs, guides, social posts, talks and films too) you might feel another pressure: the fear of adding to the pile. When you finally sit down to write, you want what you share to actually matter. You want it to be useful, purposeful, worth someone’s precious time (yours and theirs).
If there’s one thing I’ve learned after years of writing, and coaching others to write well it is this:
Most “content struggles” aren’t writing struggles. They’re thinking struggles.
If the thinking isn’t clear upfront (the audience, the purpose, the message) then the writing will always feel muddy. Editing becomes a slog. Confidence drops. And too often, whole drafts get abandoned.
The fix is surprisingly simple.
For the last decade or so, I’ve used a simple one-page content planning sheet to help people think before they write. It’s the quiet hero behind so many strong articles and newsletters, and funnily enough, we’ve never really shared it publicly.
Sharon Tanton and I created it back in the Pub School days (yes, the marketing school we ran in our local pub). It’s part of my coaching practice, and we still give it to every new member of the writing club. Each and every time, it works its understated magic.
Today I want to share it with you and show you why it’s so powerful.
Good writing starts long before you start writing
As scholar Janet Emig teaches us: writing doesn’t just reflect thinking, it refines it. In her view, “good writing is thinking made visible.” (I love that). And that’s exactly what this planning sheet gives you: clear thinking.
The Valuable Content Template helps you:
Write with a real reader in mind
Solve a real problem for someone who genuinely needs your help
Clarify your message before you type a single word
Stay focused, concise and on-point
Connect what you’re writing to your broader mission
Save hours of wasted drafting and redrafting
Produce content you’re proud to share
Once you feel the difference, it’s hard to go back.
Suddenly the blank page isn’t so blank. You’re not grasping at sentences, you have clarity. Your writing flows: faster, lighter, more confident. And the final piece? Way more valuable (to your intended readers, and to you).
That’s the power of a little thinking in advance.
Why does it work so well? Because, planning activates the part of your brain responsible for organising ideas, making connections and filtering what matters from what doesn’t. So, when you sit down to write, you’re not thinking from scratch, you’re simply translating clarity into words.
👉 Download the Valuable Content Planning Sheet
How I used it to write this article
Here’s the very meta bit: before writing this article, I filled in my Valuable Content Planning Sheet myself. It helped me heaps. Here’s how.
1. What’s the story behind it? What motivated me to write this?
This one was clear as soon as I put pen to paper.
Over the years I’ve watched so many smart, thoughtful people get stuck, not because they can’t write, but because they haven’t done the thinking first. And this little sheet has quietly helped hundreds of writers find clarity.
I realised I’d never actually shared it properly. That was the nudge.
2. Who am I writing for?
This innocuous question is GOLD.
For this piece I pictured Steve, a real person joining the Writing Club this month. Smart, deeply experienced in his field, and a little underconfident. Keen to write better content, but unsure how to get there.
With Steve in mind, the tone became clearer. The examples had direction. I wasn’t writing “to the internet”, I was writing to Steve.
3. Why does he need it?
Because content takes time, and time is money.
Because the world is full of mediocre content and nobody wants to add to that pile.
Because confidence comes from clarity.
Naming the fear (“I don’t want to write something pointless”) let me meet the reader where they are.
4. What question does this content answer?
Two big ones jumped straight off the page:
How do I make sure what I write is valuable?
How do I save time and avoid pointless content?
Those questions sharpened the whole focus of the blog.
5. What’s the big idea?
This line almost wrote itself:
Most ‘content struggles’ are thinking struggles.
And suddenly, there was the heart of the piece.
6. What do I want him to do or think differently?
Simple:
Do the thinking in advance.
Fill in the sheet every time you write.
That became the call to action.
7. Why am I creating this piece of content?
This surfaced something important for me.
I wanted to be helpful, to introduce new members of the Content Writing Club to this powerful little tool. And beyond that, I’d love more people to think of me for content coaching – the deeper, strategic work that makes confident writing possible.
Naming this openly helped me shape how I told the story and how I close the piece.
8. What will I do with it? How will I share it?
Once I’d drafted it, I knew exactly where it belonged:
On my blog
Shared in the Writing Club
Sent to new clients who struggle with “where do I start?”
Clarity on the purpose made the distribution obvious.
This right here is the value of the exercise. In five minutes, the fog cleared and the writing became easy.
How to use the planning sheet for your next piece of content
Before you write:
Print the sheet (or open it on your screen).
Fill it in honestly.
Don’t overthink it (instinctive answers are often the clearest).
You’ll be amazed how much time you save and how much stronger your content becomes when the thinking is done upfront.
You might be thinking:
“Do I really need to fill in a sheet every time?”
My honest answer?
Try it for your next 2–3 pieces. If it doesn’t make your writing faster, clearer and more focused, stop. But my guess, based on hundreds of writers, is that you’ll feel the difference instantly.
It’s five minutes of thinking that save you hours of writing.
And if the answers don’t come easily? That’s not a writing issue, that’s a strategy and perspective issue. (In which case, drop me a line for some coaching. That’s the deeper work.)
Ready to write more valuable content more quickly?
Download the one-page planning sheet, and use it for your next blog, newsletter, guide or post.
👉 Download the Valuable Content Planning Sheet
In the end, valuable content always starts the same way: with a moment of intention. This sheet simply gives that intention a shape.
And if you want help working out what your content should talk about – the deeper strategic thinking – I’d love to support you. That’s where the clarity and confidence really grows.
